Total pages in book: 247
Estimated words: 231436 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1157(@200wpm)___ 926(@250wpm)___ 771(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 231436 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1157(@200wpm)___ 926(@250wpm)___ 771(@300wpm)
In the dream that wasn’t a dream, Vikter told her things he nor she could have known, like Aios stopping Poppy from walking off the cliff in the Skotos Mountains, that Nyktos and the Consort approved of Poppy and Casteel’s marriage, that Cas had been taken, and that Poppy would eventually free him. He also told her about being a viktor, and she relays all of that to Poppy.
She and Kieran bicker over how unhelpful her information was, and Tawny says that Vikter didn’t think they knew the whole prophecy. She shares the complete version (see Prophecy section).
They ask if she ever saw or met anyone named Malik, and she tells them she doesn’t know anyone by that name.
She doesn’t, because he went by Elian.
When Poppy worries about her destiny, especially given the harbinger bits in the prophecy, Tawny tells her that she didn’t get the impression from Vikter that Poppy was destined for evil. She then relays to Poppy alone what Vikter told her about the Consort.
She also mentions how she didn’t want to believe what Ian said about what happens to third sons and daughters. Despite being a second daughter, she worries that she is like a Revenant now—dead but not—and Poppy promises to find out what happened to her.
After telling Poppy she has always known how much she is loved, she promises to see her friend again in Three Rivers.
They actually see each other next in Padonia, and Tawny tells Poppy how Netta and Gianna are teaching her how to fight.
When Casteel returns, she greets him, and he tells her that he’s happy to see her alive and well. She tells him that she’s glad he loves Poppy as fiercely as her friend loves him and that she doesn’t have to punch him for lying to her and kidnapping Poppy.
I’m sure this was another moment where Cas thinks she’s his favorite person. Anyone that fiercely loyal to his Queen deserves respect.
When Poppy leaves to confront the Queen and take Malec to the Bone Temple, Tawny sees her off.
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EXCLUSIVE SCENE ~ THE LAKE
~Poppy~
“You’re going to get us into so much trouble.” In the dappled silver light of the moon, Tawny’s cloaked figure dipped beneath a low-hanging branch. Even though no one entered this part of the Grove, neither of us removed our hoods yet out of caution. “You know that, right?”
“This was your idea,” I reminded her. “I was about to go to bed when you came to my chamber with this grand plan.”
Her cloaked head turned toward me. I couldn’t see her face, but I could hear the smile in her voice. “How dare you accuse me of such tomfoolery?”
“Tomfoolery?” I wrinkled my nose. “That is such a silly word.”
“A silly word for silly behaviors,” she remarked. “I heard Rylan saying it the other day. He told Vikter that he suspected you were up to some tomfoolery when you were supposed to be in your chambers.”
Rylan was likely correct. I grinned as I stepped around a large boulder tangled in some exposed roots. Tawny and I had walked this path so many times at night. The scant moonlight breaking up the shadows was no hindrance. “If I was, I was likely doing something else you suggested we do.”
Tawny’s quiet giggle reached me. “Just so we’re clear, tonight may have been my idea, but you started it.”
“And how did I start this?”
“Was it not originally your idea?” She walked under a pine that must’ve fallen against another during one of the late-summer storms. Its fallen, dried-out branches crunched with her footsteps. “To go swimming in the lake?”
“Possibly.” Truth be told, I couldn’t remember who’d suggested the first late-night swim.
I glanced behind me, unable to see anything more than the dark outline of the sweeping pines. We were far enough inside the Grove that no one could see us. Anyone within the large swath of woods that separated the haves from the have-nots of Masadonia wouldn’t be able to see the inner walls around the castle, either—even in broad daylight. We also weren’t near the section they’d cleared to use as a park of sorts.
“Are you worried someone will discover us?”
“Not at all.” Tawny’s steps slowed. “No one but fools like us travels this deep into the Grove. I’m just being overly dramatic so I won’t be able to hear a spirit if one is following us.”
My grin turned wry. “As often as I’ve walked the Grove, I’ve yet to see a single ghost.”
She snorted. “You sound disappointed.”
“I kind of am.”
“Well, there’s always a first time,” she remarked. “I’m not sure what would be more frightening, though. The spirit of a guard? Or an animal, like a wolf.”
My brows knitted. “I’d have to go with the spirit of a guard. But I thought the ghosts here were those who died within the Grove.”