Total pages in book: 154
Estimated words: 145728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 729(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 729(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
“Thank you,” I said, smiling at her. “What do you think we should do today?”
“Why not take a walk in the woods?” she suggested. “Explore the forest outside the palace. The further you get from Queen Mab, the more you can see and appreciate the natural beauty of the Winter Realm. It’s really quite lovely, you know, away from her influence.”
That sounded like a wonderful idea. After we finished breakfast, we wandered through the halls of the palace until we reached the front gates—which were silver here instead of gold—and guarded by trolls with green skin and thick rings through their nostrils and upper lips. They looked fearsome, but they were polite enough when they learned who I was, and opened the gate for us to go outside.
Beyond the palace grounds, it really was winter. The vast forest was filled with naked branches and fluffy white snow lay heaped on the ground.
“Brrr—it’s chilly!” I exclaimed, stamping my feet. Being a Florida girl, I wasn’t used to any kind of cold temperatures. I especially wasn’t used to snow. In fact, this was only the second time I had even seen it. (The first time was when my mom and I went on a special Christmas trip to visit her friend living in Colorado. We had saved for months for that and after Groperson started raising our rent, there was no way to go again.)
“It is chilly,” Bran remarked.
Lachlan laughed at both of us.
“You’re creatures of the summertime, the both of you,” he remarked. “Well, let me see…”
He frowned as he scanned the forest around us and I wondered what he was looking for. Finally he bent down and plucked something from the branches of a skeletal bush. Looking at it, I saw that he was holding a small tuft of brownish-red fur pinched between his fingers and thumb.
“A squirrel probably left it,” he murmured, stroking it gently with his fingertips. “Just wait—we’ll make good use of it.”
I wanted to ask how he would use it but then I felt a surge of power and saw the tiny tuft of fur began to grow and change. In just a moment, Lachlan had made all three of us warm fur coats from the abandoned squirrel fur.
I slipped into mine gratefully and so did the guys. After changing our shoes to snow boots, Lachlan was finished and we were all cozy and warm.
“I wish I was able to do magic like you can without something going wrong,” I told Lachlan as we tramped through the snowy forest.
“You did all right yesterday, with the ogre,” Bran pointed out. He winced. “Sorry, Lachlan—I know he was your father.”
“Don’t be sorry,” Lachlan said calmly. “I’m glad Emma bound him away from us and from my mother! You don’t know how he’s tormented her over the years,” he added darkly.
“You could have told me he was your father, you know,” Bran said. “I wouldn’t have thought any less of you.”
“I know.” Lachlan looked down at his feet. “I just…I guess I thought less of myself.” He lifted his chin. “But I don’t anymore—none of us can help our parentage.”
“You’re right about that,” I said and decided to bring things back the original topic. “Do you think I’ll ever learn to control my magic like you do?” I asked the dark Fae.
“Bran was right—you did excellent yesterday with that binding,” he replied. “You’ll find your control, Emma. It’s just that you have so much power in your blood and access to so much more, it’s difficult for you to contain and focus it.”
“It’s like a human fireman trying to hold onto a fire hose when it’s spraying at high volume,” Bran suggested. “The force of it is so great, it’s easy to get carried away.”
“A very good analogy.” Lachlan nodded thoughtfully. “But as you get used to your power, you’ll learn how to deal with it. Have you been practicing the magical shielding spell I taught you last night?”
I nodded.
“I’m ready for the banquet tonight. Well, as ready as I can be.”
“Good.” He nodded approvingly. “If you can block Mab’s siphoning spell, you should be just fine.” He looked sad. “You and Bran should be back in the Summer Court just a little after midnight.”
I frowned.
“And you, too. And your mom—I’m taking the two of you with me. And you and I and Bran are all going to stay together, no matter what.”
“Little one, you cannot have two consorts,” Lachlan said gently. “And it only makes sense for you to choose Bran over me, considering the circumstances.”
“I don’t want to choose just one of you,” I said stubbornly. “And what about that one Fae ruler I’ve heard the two of you talk about? The one whose name started with an E—didn’t she have two consorts?”
“You mean Elianna, the first Queen of the Realm?” Bran asked.