Maeve"Can I have a bite of that?" I asked, motioning toward the turkey leg wrapped in greasy brown paper that Troy was holding up to his mouth as he prepared to take a bite. He arched his brow, then sighed, handing me the leg and shaking his head at me as I took the largest bite possible."I could
It was all worth it–every minute, every second of the past ten or eleven months–because it led to this moment right here, right now."That man right there, in the red jacket, that bastard cut in front of me in line," he said as he sat down next to me, handing me the steaming, golden cider."Little d
***We spent a good hour in the beer garden before the chilly night air forced us to start moving again, this time in search of my parents and our children. I was bursting with milk after eating my weight in food, and three or four cups of hot cider, and was thankful to see them toward the entrance
TroyMaeve and Ethan needed to talk; that was obvious.Things had been tense between them since we had arrived in Winter Forest several weeks ago and had only escalated from there. The situation with Tasia and the moonstones was out of our control and only made things worse, but that was over now.I
I decided to go upstairs, grabbing an armful of cardboard boxes that Gretchen had rested against the stairs. We only had a day to prepare Rowan and Maeve for their new lives, after all. ***The color of the walls in Maeve's room was a deep violet, of course. She loved the color purple. It matched
"Why? Maeve's situation was… much worse, if I'm being blunt–""I know. And I disagreed wholeheartedly with it, but Maeve wanted to go. She wanted it more than anything. Maeve would be White Queen one day; she would come home to us when her time in Mirage was at an end. "But Rowan? He would've remai
Hundreds of branches sprouted from the base of the tree, heavy with names–names of mates, names of siblings, of aunts and uncles. But the names of the White Queens were written in bold, sometimes in a separate color, and it was plain that additions had been made to this page over the centuries. I lo
MaeveI shifted uncomfortably in my seat on one of the long, marble pews in the temple of the Moon Goddess in Mirage, staring over my shoulder at the small crowd of onlookers who had gathered to witness Tempest, the new High Priestess, be ordained as the leader of the Church. I'd only ever been to
The entire family had gathered in the dining room and was chatting amiably over a very impressive spread that had been laid out by the kitchen–two prime rib roasts, a honeyed ham, and three roast ducks were the centerpieces of the table, all of which were being enjoyed liberally by everyone.George
RowanMom ran her fingers across Selene's head, admiring her fine white hair. She looked every ounce the doting grandmother instead of a ball of uncertainty, like Maeve. Maeve was pacing back and forth near the fall wall of my bedroom, her arms folded across her chest and her head bent as she tried
Kacidra joined in the conversation. "Maeve is right, Rowan. We need to know what's happening with you and Hanna, or else we'll never be able to help."Rosalie's voice was calm and supportive as she asked, "Is it Hanna that's troubling you, son? Is she doing all right?My first instinct was to tell t
Gemma and Ernest had flown down with my parents and their son George, who was just two months older than Maeve's sons.A moment later, the library door opened and more of our family members poured in, as if they were fully aware of the thoughts I'd just had and I'd summoned them. I pushed aside my n
RowanThe castle was abuzz with its usual day-to-day activities. Servants and maids passed me in the hallway carrying baskets of laundry and trays of tea. I could hear the clattering of cookware as I left my office and walked toward the grand staircase off the foyer, seeing the door to the servants'
"Who? What happens?""There's so much more out there," Mara said dreamily. "So, so much more.""Maeve!" Troy called from down the beach.I turned to look at him, and when I turned back to Mara, she had taken off. "Wait!" I called after her, but she had already made it out of earshot, her footsteps l
Best of all, Troy was happy. He was at peace and at home. But there was still much work to be done.We were spending several weeks jumping from island to island, taking stock of the wellbeing of the inhabitants, and making a list of what was needed. Most of the islands were in need of medicine, inf
Maeve–Four Months LaterSuntra was not what I was expecting. I had become accustomed to the seemingly endless white-sand beaches of Avondale, where the sand grit was so fine it felt like powdered sugar as you walked barefoot in the surf. Suntra's sand was coarse and golden and dappled with tidepool
I straightened up a bit, shifting Oliver's weight in my arms as I narrowed my eyes back at him, sizing him up. A man roughly my father's age came bounding out of their house, waving at me apologetically as he leaned to whisper harshly in the ear of the man I assumed was his father.Whatever his son