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
My eyes blinked open. I appeared to be surrounded by a cocoon. Pink and white. I pulled my hand from the dirt and touched it. So soft, like a petal, and I knew instantly that's what it was. As the new heart of Polonias, this was my flower. Soft footsteps came toward me. I wasn't sure what to do, so I waited inside the blossom, listening. In moments, I sensed it was Polly and Leo. They were happy. So happy! And there was more. She was already expecting. Without knowing how, I came out of the ground, my flower, a vivid pink peony, became clothing as I found purchase atop the grass. My eyes first caught and held Leo's. He looked the same, only the worried edge to his features had gone. When I noticed Polly, I gawked. She no longer looked like a thousand-year-old child, but a woman with long blond hair, bright blue eyes, and womanly curves. She looked like me. "Polly, you look beautiful," I said, utterly shocked. Going to her, I took her outstretched hands. "Hello, sister," s
A noise came from deep within the dragon, almost like the sound of a thousand men humming at once. As it grew louder, I moved back to Polly and Leo. They took hold of my shoulders, protecting me. As well as the uproar coming from Abernathy, the color of his scales began to change. Shifting from their usual golden to an orange-red. Heat radiated off him, like a fire in an enormous furnace, causing me to sweat.The noise grew louder and louder until Polly, Leo, and I had to cover our ears. The sound reverberated off the dragon and all around us until I moaned at the pain. Abernathy's scales changed again from orange red to a stark white and his eyes rolled back into his head.When I didn't think the noise could get any louder, he lifted his head to the sky and opened his mouth, sending a stream of fire into the air. It shot high into the sky before arcing in every direction like a spider's web until the whole land was covered in a fiery ball. The air became thin and it was moment
I knew I was back in Sharra because of the smell of musty old spell books. Travelling was different this time. There were no witch mists. Nothing to distract me or sway me from my goal. It was a relief and yet another reason to be grateful for what Abernathy had done. Happy to be in my office, I used a spell to check the date and time. It was late Friday night. Snow was probably asleep, but I needed to speak with her. Only a little hesitant, I went to the mirror hanging next to the door. "Mirror, mirror - " I paused. It was the first time seeing my reflection since the magic I held when I was the heart left me. My face looked the same, but the white-looking burns of the leaves and vines still covered my face and neck. I checked my arms as well and knew they were all over my body. At the sight of myself, tears formed and fell onto my cheeks. It wasn't vanity. I didn't mind the marks and whether they stayed or not mattered little to me. That they were there reminded me of all