Total pages in book: 147
Estimated words: 139662 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 698(@200wpm)___ 559(@250wpm)___ 466(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 139662 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 698(@200wpm)___ 559(@250wpm)___ 466(@300wpm)
I nod and watch him leave. I’m anxious to get to Jas’s letter.
As soon as I start reading, I can hear her voice in my head as if she’s talking to me. It’s a comfort and an ache deeper than any homesickness I’ve ever felt.
Chapter Ten
Everyone’s gathered in Misha’s personal meeting room. Their voices are low murmurs from the hall, so I can’t tell if I’m choosing a good time or a terrible one to interrupt—Misha would likely argue that they are one in the same. Finn may be his ally, but he’s set on showing Finn that I am Misha’s ally.
Lifting my chin and straightening my shoulders, I swing the door open and stroll inside. Finn’s wolves lounge in the far corners and perk up at my entrance before laying their heads back down.
There are eight seats around the massive polished oval table, which has room for many more. Misha and Amira sit at opposite ends, and Pretha and Finn sit with their backs to me, Tynan, Kane, and Jalek opposite them. The lone available chair is to Finn’s right, and I can’t help but wonder if Misha planned it that way. He already asked me to join the meeting late for the purpose of throwing Finn off guard, but is he seating me next to the shadow prince an effort to rock Finn or me?
Jalek spots me first, and his green eyes go wide. Then Kane, who pushes his chair back with a squeak and rises to his feet. The room goes silent, and seven heads turn in my direction.
Pretha’s jaw drops, gasping as if the sight of me is some monumental relief. “Brie.”
But it’s Finn’s reaction I can’t move on from—not that he’s giving anything away. His face is stoic, his sharp eyes assessing as he looks me over, taking in my boots, my pants, the belt of knives slung around my hips. My power purrs in his presence, and I don’t bother reining it in. Tendrils of shadow slip from my fingertips and coil around my wrists before snaking up my arms. Finn follows their path, impassive.
“Ah,” Misha says, not even trying to hide the delight in his tone. “My guest has joined us.”
“You said the princess was no longer in residence,” Finn says coolly, still not standing to greet me, but not taking his eyes off me. His silver gaze has drifted from my shadows and settled on my face. I wonder what he’s thinking, wonder if he’s angry that I’ve pushed him away when he visited my dreams.
“Did I?” Misha asks with a shrug. “I stand corrected. She’s here.”
Finn’s eyes glitter, and when he turns them on Misha, I almost feel sorry for my new friend.
“We’ve been worried about you,” Pretha says to me, standing and stepping closer.
I arch a brow. “About me or about the power I still carry?”
Pretha straightens. “I care for far more than your magic, Abriella.”
“Is that so?” I cock my head to the side. “Do you plan to kill everyone you care about, or should I feel special?”
She closes her eyes and sighs. “Brie—”
“Don’t. It doesn’t matter.”
“It matters to me,” Pretha says. “What you think of us, of the decisions we made . . . that matters a great deal to me.”
I swallow hard, thinking of what Finn said in my dream after I’d taken the potion. He said he’d found me in the mortal realm two years ago, and instead of trying to trick me out of my power, he’d worked on finding another way. Not that it made a difference.
“Did you know this would happen?” I ask Finn. “Could Sebastian have known that giving me the Potion of Life would end this way?” I’ve already heard it from Misha, but I want to hear it from Finn.
“We didn’t know,” Finn says. “No one knew anything. It was all speculation. But it makes sense—the potion saved your life, and in doing so bound your life to your magic.” He shrugs, as if this is as inconsequential as who drank the last of the coffee and not a matter tied to the destruction within his own realm.
The empty chair beside Finn backs away from the table on its own. Misha says, “Please join us, Princess. We speak of the future of your court.”
Kane whips around to glare at Misha. “Her court?”
Misha shrugs. “Sorry. Would you rather I call it Prince Ronan’s court?”
“It’s Finn’s court,” Kane says.
Finn props his elbows on the table and steeples his fingers. “It’s no one’s court so long as the crown and the power are divided. Sit, Princess. It seems you’re to join this little planning session, so let’s get started.”
I’m tempted to remain standing just to spite him, but my stubbornness wouldn’t serve anything but my own childish satisfaction, so I take the seat.
Across the table, Tynan meets my eyes and gives me a gentle smile. “It’s good to see you’re well, Abriella.”