Anna, Violet, and Quilla stood off to the side of us. Quilla kept wiping at her eyes like a doting parent watching her only child being married off. I found it comforting since my actual parents weren't here.Polly cleared her throat. "Now is the time of restoration. Our land has waited for this day for more than a thousand years. To be a part of this mending is - ""Twixit. By all that is magical, wait!" Quilla jumped in front of Leo and me, waving her hands in the air. Sparkles flew everywhere, causing her to sneeze."What is it?" I asked, concerned."You aren't dressed for a wedding."I looked down at my basic human clothing and shrugged. "It's okay." It really wasn't. I wanted to look gorgeous on my wedding day even if I wasn't marrying the man of my dreams. But how I looked wasn't as important as getting married and making things right in the land."It is not okay." Quilla stomped her foot, speaking words I didn't understand. As she spoke, my clothing was replaced by a stun
"Leo!" I cried as pain tore through my insides. I worked to ignore it, focusing on the fallen prince. His head had smacked hard against a rock and he lay on the ground, his eyes closed. I knelt in front of him, placing his head in my lap, trying to think of a spell to heal him. One came to mind and I raised my hand as the words formed on my lips. "Silence," Mizrabel said, shooting a blaze of magic at my chest. Unprepared, for the impact, I fell back."Do not speak," she yelled, twisting her hand and causing my mouth to seal shut. She floated down, getting closer to us.I was confused. Was Mizrabel on my side or not? It appeared all she knew was how to betray those she was supposed to love. Quilla and Violet were huddled together, and I wondered why until I saw Polly behind them. They were protecting her.Anna jumped into the air, her wings beating against the air as she moved toward Mizrabel. She held something in her hand, but I couldn't tell what it was. "You will leave Polly an
"Get up," King Loyalor shouted, grabbing me by the arm, shaking me. "Answer me." "Keep what's yours. I don't want any of it. All I want is to save Polly and this land and if you were smart, you would want that too," I spat, shoving away all emotions but the anger. "She's lying," Mizrabel said. "She only came here to take her place as queen of Polonias." My moth fell open in shock before I quickly closed it. Mizrabel was playing the king. That much was obvious. "Why are you doing this?" I asked her, ignoring the king, even though my arm pulsed with pain where he still held me. She rolled her eyes. "I'm here to help the king save his land from the likes of you," she said. "You're the one who's lying," I said between clenched teeth and knew without a doubt Polly was right. My mother wanted revenge. Did she want Polonias destroyed? It seemed that she did. Turning my focus back to the king, I tried to relax. "Mizrabel doesn't care about you or Polonias. Let me save this land and t
As we made our way back to the castle, I could see Leo's eyes were open. He was watching me but said nothing. What was there to say? We failed. Several times I tried to utter words to a spell that would set me free, but they wouldn't leave my mouth. Frustrated, I huffed. "What's wrong with me?"Lawson chuckled. "It's the cuffs. They won't allow you to perform any magic." "Figures." I sighed, wishing there was something else to do, but it seemed I was out of options. Merde. I was tres pissed and couldn't do a thing about it."You were supposed to be my bride. Now you'll burn. What a waste." Lawson glanced back at me. "Perhaps I can have my way with you before you die." His smile turned oily."That will never happen," I spat, disgusted. He didn't speak again.We rode through the forest, over a hill, and into a lovely meadow filled with pink and violet flowers. We kept going through the town built around the castle. The streets were paved with stone. Four wooden bridges went along
I woke to the smell of smoke. I opened my eyes and saw I was tied to a stake. A roaring fire blazed only a few feet from me.People were standing around, gawking and whispering as they watched.A bulky guard with beefy hands unrolled a parchment. His voice boomed out across the open field. "Cinderella, by order of King Loyalor, supreme ruler over the land of Polonias, you are hereby sentenced to burn at the stake until such time as you are dead." He glanced at me, and through the billowing smoke I held his gaze. He cleared his throat. "Do you have anything to say for yourself?"Only one word popped into my head. "Merde." A curse word in French. One of my favorites. Truthfully, it was the only one I remembered.The man rolled his eyes along with the parchment and stepped off the podium and into the noisy crowd."Gabe," I whispered before repeating his name in my mind over and over. "I need you." Another guard shoved a torch into the fire, lighting it. When it was fully ablaze, he
"Hello, Cindy," he said, breathing out two puffs of smoke. I shook my head in shock, unable to believe my eyes. "What the hell? Is it really you?" Part of me wondered if I died back there and this was some kind of afterlife dream. I hadn't seen the dragon in two years, since he helped me save Snow's mom. After our return, he simply vanished. "Yes, child, it's really me." Like a cat, he curled himself into a ball and rested his head on his front paws. "It seems your life is still crazy. I thought after you saved Ariel and began teaching full time, you would settle down a bit. Perhaps even marry your chayot boyfriend. Obviously, I was mistaken." "Obviously," I said, crossing my arms. He chuckled, sending twin clouds of smoke from his enormous nostrils."How did you get here? How did you know I was in trouble?" I wiped the soot and tears from my cheeks before rubbing my palms on the bodice of my dress. It had a really rough day, but it still seemed to be in one piece."I've been aliv
Abernathy landed on a patch of grass behind the castle. Again no one was about. "Where is everyone?""In Polonias, when a member of the royal family dies, everything shuts down and the people go into seclusion until the funeral." Abernathy lay down on the grass, crossing his front paws and resting his head on top. "But then how will they know when the funeral will be?" His answer seemed too easy. "It's always the same day and the same time and will be held in the grand hall of the castle.""Does that mean there won't be anyone guarding Leo?" That gave me a ray of hope. "There shouldn't be. Be ready, just in case." He smacked his lips. "Leo is in the cellar. Enter through those doors there." He indicated a set of double wooden doors just off the castle, near the base, angled into the ground. "Off you go. Rescue your husband, Cinderella." "I - He isn't my husband." My thoughts were everywhere as I slid off his back and went over to the doors. "If you say so," the dragon said. "Wil
Polly heard us coming and glanced over her shoulder. A smile splayed across her lips but didn't reach her eyes. "Cinderella. Leolas. It's good of you to come. It won't be long now," she said, her voice soft, her eyes lingering of Leo's face.I could have just kissed Leo and had the whole affair over with, but while I was in the fire, about to be burned, a thought came to me. And I knew as I stood there that my plan would work. "Listen, Polly, I have an idea."She turned her body so one leg was draped on the rock. I sat beside her, pulling Leo down with me. "What is it?" she asked. "Well - " I didn't know how to begin so just blurted it out. "You love Leo," I said, blatantly putting it out there. She sucked in a breath but didn't deny it. I hurried on. "And since you and I are sisters, that means if you married Leo, it would save the land just the same as if I married him." "We already talked about this. Polonias needs a heart." She coughed, her shoulders shaking violently. Leo
That night, after all of the festivities were over and we said our goodbyes, Troy and I went back to the small house that used to be my mother's. Now that Sharra was no longer a threat, the chayot set up a meeting between several of the heads of different countries in the human realm and me. There, with the help of the chayot, we discussed relaxing the laws for supernaturals. Together we came to an agreement and I created a magical system with the help of Heathcliff and several other human scientists. After much discussion, I became aware of the KPID, a supernatural government agency known as the King's Paranormal Inquiries Division. The organization had been tracking supernaturals for hundreds of years, at first in the United Kingdom, but in the mid seventeen hundreds, they'd moved over to America as well. Given access to the KPID's super top secret information, I was able to update and strengthen the magic already in place as well as add some newer, more technical attributes with He
"Are you ready?" I asked. We were standing outside on my balcony. I took Troy's hand as my wings fluttered behind me. My engagement ring sparkled in the midday light and I couldn't help but admire it. Troy had asked Jesse and the gargoyles to create the ring for me. A thick platinum band with vines filigreed on either side leading to the center where sat a delicate jasmine flower made of diamonds and blue topaz."Are you sure you can do this?" Troy was teasing me, pretending to be nervous about me flying him around Sharra. "There's only one way to find out," I said, and leaped into the air. Troy whooped out a holler as he clung to my hands, his body dangling below."Don't drop him, Jasmine. It isn't every day you find someone crazy enough to fall for you," Abrea said beside me, her pixilette wings fluttering gracefully. "True." I laughed and the action felt really good."Jasmine? We need to leave for the wedding," my mom called from back in my room. I rolled my eyes and glanced at
Before I knew it, I was laughing as tears of joy leaked onto my cheeks. He set me on the ground and pushed my hair out of my face, then cupped it in his hands. "I love you vampire girl." "You do?" I believed him, but needed reassurance as my hands curled around his wrists. "More than I believed it was possible to love." He bent his head and gently touched his lips to mine, his eyes still open and on me. I kissed him back, as a gurgle of happiness shot through me. The sweet kiss turned hot and needy. I loved him and wanted him and didn't care who knew it. He pressed my mouth open, deepening our kiss as his arms went around my waist and he lifted me off the ground. "Hey you two?" It was my Mom. I froze and opened my eyes. Troy was watching me again. "Should we tell them?" he asked. I knew he was talking about our engagement. "Now's as good a time as any," I said as he set me on my feet. Troy took my hand and I turned to face the group. "We have an announcement," he said. The
"Do not do this," Christopher said, a look of complete disbelief on his injured face. "You have the power within you to destroy her. You know you do. So why?" I couldn't explain. But I hoped one day he and the rest would understand. If I failed, Laeddin could tell them the truth about the Unknowns, what they had planned. In the end my family would see I made the best choice. The only choice."Silence, Hunter. I'll deal with your insubordination later," Sharra said, sending a bolt of magic at Christopher. He was thrown back, landing against the other side of the cell before falling to the ground with a groan. Chris bared his fangs in anger and jumped to his feet, though slower than expected. "Hurt them and the deal is off," I seethed, facing her, my hands in fists at my sides. She gave me an innocent look. "I didn't do any permanent damage." She crossed her arms, sauntering toward me. "Now then, let's do this."I swallowed, forcing myself to remain calm. My plan would work. It had t
Determination weighed my shoulders down as I traversed the inkiness. As I went, I called out in my mind, using the magic within me to speak with Silindra and Laeddin. At once, my mind was there, in Laeddin's realm, in his library full of books. He and Silindra were there, standing close, reading something aloud. "Laeddin," I said. Laeddin glanced at me, or rather, my mental presence. Silindra looked up as well. "Is it just me or am I seeing Jasmine?" Surprise flickered across her too lovely face. "I see her too - somehow." Laeddin reached out, but his fingers couldn't touch me. I was there, but not really there. "I'm going to Sharra," I said, and looked from Laeddin to Silindra. "The darkness will swallow the earth soon. There is no more time. I need your help now. Please find me." "We're coming, Jasmine," Laeddin said, and took Silindra's hand. Were they a couple now? There was no time to figure it out. Silindra said, "Watch out for my sister. She's tricky.""I will," I said, a
Now that we had nothing to fear, Lirle and I moved quickly and undeterred toward the stronghold. As we went, Lirle talked more about the dragon she liked as well as growing up in the dragon realm. Hearing her talk, I couldn't help but admire the Hollow. It was stark and vast and though it wasn't blooming with all manner of flowers like Sharra, it still held beauty. That night as we rested and ate under a canopy of trees, I was able to witness one of the wonders of her realm. Here, the forest stirred to life at night. Everything seemed to possess a bioluminescence. Trees whose leaves were pink during the day glowed a soft white, like millions of fireflies covered them. Animals I hadn't known were there, insects and little creatures that reminded me of spider monkeys, lit up as well. It was beautiful and a little terrifying. "Why does it do this?" I asked, mesmerized. Lirle took another bite of whatever she was eating. Her lips were luminescent blue like the spider monkeys and I force
He looked up and for the briefest moment, I thought he was staring right at me. No longer angry, but still unsure. Troy spoke: I love you, too, Jazz. He stopped speaking and adjusted his weight, sitting up straighter. They added: Someone is coming. He closed his eyes and pretended to be sleeping. His cell door cranked open and a female voice spoke. "I brought you a friend. Try not to kill each other." Christopher stumbled into the room before turning and flashing his fangs. "You touch me like that again and you won't live to tell anyone about it." His hands were behind his back and black magic held his wrists together. The person he spoke to laughed. It was Sharra.I focused on Troy. His eyes burned into Chris like he would kill him. To Troy, I begged: Please remember, Chris is on our side. He believes in our love too. When Sharra forced me to kiss him, Chris stopped me and freed me from her magic. He's changed and he can help.I hoped that was true. As much as I trusted Chris
"How nice to see you, Lirle." The voice came from a gray dragon with blood red eyes. His sharp and pointy teeth glistened like they held their own light. Huge talons clamped around Lirle from behind, holding her like a sharpened straight jacket. She gasped and struggled but couldn't move. Her captor's clutches were bigger than Lirle's body. The first dragon looked at me. "And you are Jasmine, heir to Sharra and an original vampire. But where are your wings?" He opened his mouth and I thought he intended to burn me to a crisp. Instead his tongue came out and he licked me. Tasting. "Strange," he said. "Gross." I wiped my cheek with the sleeve of my shirt. It occurred to me he was speaking like Abernathy did, with his mouth and not in my mind like Lirle. Perhaps speaking aloud was a skill that came with age. The first dragon pushed through the trees, causing them to snap and break. Then he pounded his tail on the ground several times in a rhythmic fashion while lifting his head. He ro
Lirle took to the air, her attention on the direction where the sound came from. Her whole body trembled. "You're frightened. What is it?" I asked, fighting my own nerves. Lirle's eyes bore into mine and her terror shone brightly as she said: We're too late. The Ondror's magic is upon us. Listen carefully. A dragon's magic comes from the soul. Our greatest weapon is using the weaknesses of our enemy against them by showing them what they fear most. She flew over to the stream before coming back to me and pointing with one claw. Lirle asked: Do you see the soul magic coming?I followed her gaze and squinted until I saw the blackness, traveling like a deadly mist through the trees, and heading right for us. "Can we outrun it?" She shook her head and said: No. It's everywhere. She spun in a circle and I followed her. Lirle was right. It was coming from every direction, like we had a homing beacon on us. She met my gaze and said: You see? Whatever happens, whatever you experience o