Philippe is still watching me, and I realize I haven’t answered him. “I think it’s part of it.” I confess. “I’ve been saying I have to find out where I came from – which is true. But in my brain finding out where I came from is one in the same as finding out who my parents were and why they left me.
Ella “Before the world existed, before there were planets or stars or even dust, there was only darkness. The darkness was ruled by a god of creation, an all-powerful celestial being the universe dreamed up to rule the heavens. He existed in quiet solitude for millennia, exploring the farthest reac
“It wasn’ her fault she was busy.” I defend, “I don’ think she woulda forgotten.” “She wouldn’t.” The woman responds decisively. “Not ever. But the damage was done. Fear and loneliness are powerful forces, and one day he decided it would be better to destroy their greatest creation. I do not know i
Ella There are tears in my eyes as I come out of the memory, the heady drug still swirling through my senses. I forget that I’m not alone in the room, trying to wrap my brain around the conversation I just recalled. My mind feels as though it might splinter with the weight of so many astounding r
“Can I have a blanket?” I ask after a while, my words soft and slurred. “And maybe a cupcake? A warm, heavy weight settles over my shoulders, and I burrow into the coverlet, “You can have as many cupcakes as you want when you wake up, angel.” Henry promises, even though I can hear Sinclair complain
Ella I’m staring at Sinclair in utter shock, wishing I could unhear the words that just came out of his mouth. “You’re saying that my father is King Xavier?” I gape, all the joy from the last hour slipping away. “The King who died without an heir and led to your father’s campaign against Damon’s?
“Don’t turn this into something it’s not,” Cora warned as he handed her the glass. “I’ve just had a really long day and I just need to decompress a bit.” “Do you want to talk about it?” Roger inquired, certain she would turn down the offer. But she surprised him again, “I think I might be a terrib
Ella If I thought the world was going to look different waking up as a princess, I was wrong. Everything is the same, even though I feel like an entirely different person than I was yesterday. I suppose I should be getting used to having my entire identity and sense of self turned upside down and i
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