Total pages in book: 147
Estimated words: 139662 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 698(@200wpm)___ 559(@250wpm)___ 466(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 139662 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 698(@200wpm)___ 559(@250wpm)___ 466(@300wpm)
Chapter Twenty-Three
The sun stretches low across the horizon, casting oranges and reds across the sky. Boots crunch on the gravel behind me, but I don’t budge from the rock I’m perched on or turn to see who’s checking on me. I know who stands behind me, and now I have an explanation for why his presence has always been so clear to me.
Tethered. The word echoes through me like a hawk’s cry in a canyon.
This is supposed to be a quick stop to stretch and take care of our needs, but I’m in no rush to get back on my horse. We’ve been riding for hours, trying to get back to the Midnight Palace before nightfall, and I’ve had plenty of time to think. Too much time.
Finn’s boots scuff on the rocks as he approaches my side and lowers himself to sit beside me. “How are you holding up?”
My eyes burn. Every time I think I have my footing, my entire world changes, but I have no right to the tinge of self-pity I’m feeling now. “How do you not hate me?”
He gently takes my chin in one big hand and turns me to face him. “Why on earth would I hate you?”
I swallow hard. “Finn, you were raised to lead your kingdom. You’ve spent your whole life preparing to take the throne, and suddenly you’re told I’m supposed to take it instead. How are you so accepting of this?”
His expression softening, he strokes my cheek, his eyes and his touch full of tenderness. “I was raised to serve my kingdom. To do whatever I needed to protect my people and provide for them. I once thought I could do that best from the throne, but then everything happened and . . .” He shrugs, his gaze dropping to my mouth. “You need to remember that I’d already come to terms with Sebastian’s taking the throne. Suddenly that’s not the plan anymore because we have you, and you are exactly what this court needs. I knew it when I knelt before you on that mountain and signaled to the people of Staraelia that you would be their queen. I know it with every breath I take.”
“Because I’m supposedly some lost descendant of Mab?”
“That’s merely the technicality that will allow you to take the seat. But this court doesn’t need you because of what’s in your blood.” His hand drops from my face and rests on my chest. “It needs you because of what’s in your heart.”
“Finn . . .” I bite my bottom lip, not wanting to say too much. Some ancient magic has tied our lives and power together, but I don’t understand what role this tethering plays in what I feel for him. For now I need to keep these feelings to myself. “I’m scared. I don’t know anything about being queen.”
“I’m sorry if you feel trapped. If you feel—”
“No.” I shake my head, wanting to erase the words that feel like profanity in the face of the gift I’ve been given. Because when they knelt before me and called me their queen, my only thought had been finally. Finally I can make a difference. Finally I have the power to help.
Queen was the answer to the question that’s been haunting me all my life.
“Not trapped. I’m scared because I want to do it right. I’m scared because all I’ve ever wanted was to be able to help those who were powerless to help themselves, and now . . .” I squeeze my eyes shut. “I don’t want to fail.”
“I’ll be right by your side,” he says, his lips brushing my ear with each word. “And doing so will be the greatest honor of my life.”
“There has to be a way that doesn’t require her to go to the Underworld,” Sebastian snaps, his sea-green eyes blazing with frustration.
“Mab wants to see her heir, and we need to know how to fix the mess we’re in,” Finn explains again, rubbing his head. “We need to go.”
After our short stop in the woods, we rode directly to the Midnight Palace. We’ve been here for less than an hour, and the news of my supposed bloodline and my plans to go to the Underworld have sparked pure chaos among our friends. Sebastian’s struggling the most. Tynan, Kane, Misha, Pretha, Finn, Juliana, Riaan, Sebastian, and I are all gathered around the long table in the briefing room. The map of the Court of the Moon is spread out between us. We’re trying to plan the best way to get Finn and me to the portal, but Sebastian keeps circling back, hoping he can talk us out of our plans.
“I’ll go with her, then,” Sebastian says. “We’re bonded, and the bond will allow me to protect her.”
“The problem with that plan,” Misha says, “is that you’re descended from Deaglan, Mab’s greatest enemy, the one who killed her son. If we’re worried about Mab deeming anyone unworthy, sending you seems a little risky.”