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 know it’s wishful thinking, but I’d like nothing more than to see the queen relinquish her power, but I ask anyway. “Do we know this for sure?”
“We do,” Finn says softly. “Otherwise she wouldn’t be moving her forces into the Goblin Mountains.”
Of course. If she planned to give her son power over both courts, she wouldn’t be readying for war. “Do we have any hope of holding her back without anyone on the throne?”
“No,” Jalek says darkly.
“Finn should be wearing that crown,” Kane says.
“Should won’t get us anywhere,” Pretha says.
“Can Sebastian give it to him?” I swallow. “Sebastian cares for the people of the Unseelie Court, and he’s proved that by helping the refugees. If he could help by giving Finn the crown—”
“The transfer of the crown requires a forfeiture of life,” Jalek says, “so unless you’re suggesting that he sacrifice himself so that Finn may wear it—”
“Sounds good to me,” Kane says.
“What do you mean?” I ask. “Wouldn’t it be the same as a king passing a crown to his heir?”
Misha shakes his head. “It doesn’t work here the way it does in the mortal realm. When the rule of a Faerie court is passed on—whether it’s the golden court, the shadow court, or my own—the prior ruler forfeits their life on this plane and moves on to the Twilight. Since the power is tied to their lives, the only way they can pass on the power is to yield that life.”
Finn cocks his head to the side and studies me. “You know this. It’s how my father saved you.”
“Yes, but I . . .” I thought it was different with me. I thought what Oberon did for me was some strange, unused magic, not the tradition of generations of rulers. “I didn’t realize.”
“This whole line of thought is a waste of time,” Jalek says. “Prince Ronan’s been raised to believe that throne is his. If you think he’s going to cut his life short so Finn can have it—”
Finn meets my eyes. “It wouldn’t matter anyway. The throne would reject me without the power, just as it rejected Sebastian.”
Jalek looks at me. “Are you ready to end your days to pass over the power?”
“I . . .” I don’t know what to say. One life versus thousands. I can’t say no, but—
“That’s not an option,” Finn snaps. “As you pointed out, Abriella has no Unseelie blood, so we don’t even know how that would work. We could risk losing the power of the throne altogether.”
“I’m not sure I trust Sebastian on the throne anyway,” Kane mutters. “I don’t care how much he claims to want the best for the shadow fae. I don’t trust anyone who’s been close to that bitch.”
Finn swallows. “We might not have a choice, Kane. If I have to choose between allowing an imperfect boy to rule and watching my kingdom die, there’s no choice at all.”
“Then what have we been fighting for all this time?” Jalek asks, and at the same time, Kane says, “Think of the future of the court. Think of—”
“Sebastian’s a good male,” I say, cutting them all off.
Everyone goes silent, and all eyes in the room turn to me.
“You’re the last person I’d expect to defend him, after all he did,” Pretha says.
“And you of all people should understand why he did what he did.” I shake my head. “I’m not defending the decisions he made, but I would venture that you’d have done the same in his position.”
“I wouldn’t have given you the damn potion,” Jalek says, his voice deadly soft. When I meet his glare with my own, he says, “Never doubt my appreciation for the way you saved me from the queen’s clutches, Princess, but with all due respect, there are bigger things at stake here than your broken heart.”
“Don’t be a dick, Jalek,” Pretha says.
Jalek shrugs. “I won’t change who I am or what I’m willing to sacrifice for this fight just because you think she’s too fragile.”
“I’m not,” I say quickly, straightening, all too aware of Finn’s heavy gaze boring into me. “I’m not fragile, and I’m not worried about my broken heart.” Don’t they understand that Sebastian’s betrayal isn’t the only reason for my heartache? “My very existence may mean the destruction of an entire court. Every Unseelie child who is vulnerable to the queen is at risk simply because I breathe. Because of a decision that was forced on me. Trust me when I say I understand the stakes.”
The meeting with Finn and his people leaves me feeling dizzy and overwhelmed. As everyone stands from the table, Pretha turns to me, but I dodge her and leave the room, heading straight to my chambers.
As the subject turned to the various locations and numbers of their forces and allies, I tried dropping my shield to see if I could feel Finn and Kane the way I feel the Unseelie children in the settlement, but all I accomplished was feeling Sebastian. He’s in trouble. I don’t know why, and I’m not familiar enough with the workings of this bond to be able to say where he is, other than far, but an undeniable sense of dread crept over me. Now I can’t stop thinking—worrying—about him. And I don’t want to worry about him. I don’t want to give in to this temptation to drop my shields altogether so I can monitor him throughout the day.