Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 123190 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 616(@200wpm)___ 493(@250wpm)___ 411(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 123190 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 616(@200wpm)___ 493(@250wpm)___ 411(@300wpm)
“But he’s not.” I lunge for the door, pushing outside.
“What are you doing?” he calls.
With the last of my energy, I sprint around the corner and squat behind the charred remains of a horse stall.
When I look back, Kendrick’s standing on the steps, looking out toward the street and scraping a hand over his face, confusion knitting his brow.
He turns into the house. “Have any of you seen Jasalyn today?”
I know what I need to do. I’ve known since Natan told us about Mordeus wearing the match to my ring. But now I know I have to do it alone.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Misha
THE FAE GODDESS IN MY dungeon is straight from my dreams. I don’t know what makes me more angry—how satisfying it was to see even an impersonation of her in the flesh after over three years of nightly visions or knowing that Felicity was manipulating me again. That she must’ve somehow gotten in my head and chosen the one face I’d be weak to.
I shouldn’t be surprised. She’s gotten in my head since the moment she arrived in my court. My gut told me something was radically different about her. Something big felt off. But I didn’t trust that instinct. I let this unexpected attraction override my good sense. I let it scare me into ignoring all the signs when the truth should’ve been so obvious.
Once I opened my eyes, my mind was flooded with reasons I knew the woman staying with me couldn’t be Jasalyn. The way she laughs too easily. The way she flips her hair. The way she looks at me.
“Misha,” Abriella says, pulling me into my meeting room by my tunic. Her shadows slam the door shut behind me.
Across the room, Finn stares out at the dark night, stewing.
“I’m sorry.” I shove my hands into my pockets. “I don’t know how I let this happen.”
“We have to find her,” she says. The anxiety rolling off her is palpable.
“I promise we will turn the realm inside out looking, but I don’t want you to get your hopes up. We have—”
“Misha.” She’s breathless, her eyes wild. “Listen to me. I’ve told no one that the Grimoricon was missing.”
I freeze. “It’s missing?”
Her expression is bleak. “Yes. It disappeared three months ago.”
My stomach plummets. Felicity’s story could be true. Jasalyn could’ve been the one who took it. “Would that be possible? How would Jas have been able to take it from the palace?”
Her throat bobs. “It was spelled so that it couldn’t be moved by anyone who didn’t have Mab’s blood.”
“Abriella.” I drag a hand over my face. “It never occurred to you that your sister might have been the one to take it?”
“Misha, back off,” Finn says. “It wouldn’t have occurred to you either. You’ve seen what Jas has been like.”
“Jas didn’t even know about it,” Brie says, “not beyond the tale of what I did to rescue her. She didn’t know where I kept it or how we used it. She didn’t care about things like that. And I hadn’t—” She looks up to the ceiling, eyes still wet with tears. “I hadn’t made her learn the things she needed to because I was so worried about her healing.”
“You can’t blame yourself for this,” Finn says, placing a hand on her shoulder. “You were doing what you thought was right.”
“I wanted to protect her from all the bad parts of this realm and pretend that everything was good, that everything was fine. And in doing so, I failed her.”
I squeeze the back of my neck. “We’ll get everyone looking, and we’ll find her in no time.”
“No,” Brie says. “We must keep this quiet. If word spreads and people know my sister is out there on her own, she’ll be in more danger. Never mind the kind of chaos it would cause in my court in the midst of the faceless plague and Mordeus’s resurrection.” She takes a breath and meets my eyes. “In fact, we need your shifter friend to help us find Jasalyn.”
“No.” I shake my head. “Absolutely not. Even if we could trust her, she’s not going to want to do me any favors at this point.”
“Then we bargain,” Brie says. “There has to be something she wants.”
She stares at me so long I know she’s not going to let it go. Brie wants my prisoner to help her, and I’m not stupid enough to stand between the shadow queen and her sister.
I sigh, resigned. “She was trying to find the Wild Fae Hall of Doors.”
“Why?”
“She said they were trying to get to the Eloran Palace, but our Hall doesn’t have a portal to the palace. They never allowed it.”
Brie and Finn exchange a look.
“The Court of the Moon does,” Brie says. “It became part of the Hall back when Mordeus stole the throne.”
“He was real friendly with the Magical Seven of Elora,” Finn says. “At least when it served him.”