“That’s an idea.” Sinclair is watching me with narrowed eyes, and too late I realize he’s still got one hand on my tummy, no doubt channeling my feelings through the baby. “But what aren’t you saying, trouble? What aren’t you telling me?” I summon a growl, hating his perceptiveness. “Look, if I try
Ella .“I’m in the Royal Palace.” I finally burst out. “The third floor, my windows look out over the southern gate… it’s a corner suite.” At once the crushing weight of his orders dissipate, and I’m left a puddle in his arms. “Good girl.” Sinclair praises me, and I feel positively sick to my stoma
“Call what off?” I fret, blinking up at him with wide eyes. “The Prince is waiting until the end of the day to hear from me. I’ll set the meet and tell him the location fifteen minutes before the planned rendezvous – just like we did the ransom meeting.” I’m surprised to hear that Sinclair already
Ella I wipe the tears from my face and scan the room, Sinclair’s voice ringing in my mind. I’m still upset with him for making me share my location, but I’m determined to escape before he can endanger himself coming after me. If there’s a way out of this room, I’m going to find it. Let me help! My
Sincerely, Ella Sinclair P.S. Go fuck yourself. Dropping the pen, I pause to glance at the go-bag I took to the safehouse. I don’t want it to weigh me down, but I can’t afford to lose the herbs Adolpho gave me. I grab the tin, leaving the rest behind, and tuck it into my pocket. I quickly return
Sinclair After waking from my dream with Ella, I immediately get to work trying to find a way into the Royal Palace. I’m hopeful that Ella might be able to find a way out on her own, but I’m leaving nothing to chance. I call Adolpho and my father for insights on secret passages while Hugo and Roger
I wait until an hour before the Prince’s deadline to finally call him to set our meeting. At this point it’s been eight hours since I woke up, and I figure that if Ella hasn’t found a way out by now, she’s not going to. I use the same protocol from our first rendezvous, promising to send the locatio
Ella I gaze around at the icy mountains, squinting up at the sky. The sun is high overhead, only halfway through its daily journey from East to West. That means it’s about noon… three hours from when I found the passage, according to the bedroom clock. The Prince’s deadline isn’t until dusk, which
He shakes his head at me as tears fill his own eyes and he leans forward, pulling me against him while somehow miraculously managing not to crush our children between us as he holds me tight in his arms. “So, I guess it wouldn’t matter,” he murmurs against my hair as I sniff back my tears and nod.
“Even more than the kids!?” I gasp, my mouth falling open a bit. “I mean, the kids,” he says, shrugging as if they’re not much, which makes me laugh. But then he goes a little rigid as he realizes something, raising his eyes to glare at me a bit. “Wait, are you saying you like the kids more than m
Ella “Nope,” Sinclair says, heaving himself out of bed and grabbing his phone off the bedside table as he does. “I can’t live like this, Ella – I’m calling Roger, I’ve got to know –“ “Dominic!” I say, laughing and grabbing for him, trying to catch the edge of his pajamas and failing because I’v
She laughs and I look first at Sinclair, who shrugs, and then back at my sister. “Come on,” Roger says, nodding at the crowds of people waiting to congratulate us and at the small table of refreshments. “Let’s decide this over some champagne.” Sinclair nods at me and I sigh, moving with my famil
The last image, though, lingers. Ariel, with Rafe and Jesse on either side – as they always are – and her two mates behind her. All standing together on a battlefield with Ariel at the center, magic welling between her hands and passing to her brother, to her cousin. Their faces are serious as t
Cora The images of Ariel’s future come in quick flashes, and somehow I get the impression that the Goddess is eager to share these glimpses of her life. The ones that come first are what I sort of expected, especially after seeing some images of Rafe’s childhood and hearing about the ones that
“We are not,” Cora scoffs, gently taking Ariel into her arms as Sinclair and I laugh. Roger grins, leaning forward to kiss me on the cheek before passing Jesse to me. “You know I’m kidding, right, Ells?” he whispers. I smile at my brother-in-law and gently pat his cheek. “When in doubt, Roger,”
Ella Three weeks later – Ariel was born under a waning quarter moon, not a new moon like her brother and her cousin – I stand anxiously in the woods, my little girl held tight in my arms. “I’m sensing some anxiety,” Cora says, grinning at me with a little too much glee as she comes up to my sid
“Oh my god,” I say, the words spilling out of my mouth. “Oh my god,” I sit up straight, staring at Henry, my eyes flicking to his legs – because honestly, I don’t even notice his chair anymore, or think of him at all as someone whose abilities are hindered. Or of me as someone who is able to do an