"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
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