Wind roars through my ears and my heart races at breakneck speed. I shut my eyes against the killing drop rushing up my face. A burst of power surges through me and with everything I am, I will wings of fire to sprout from my back.
It doesn't work.
Fear explodes within me and I cross my hands over my face, a last, useless attempt to shield my fall. But then I'm suspended in the air. My heart soars. A quick look behind shows me two flaming wings!
I flex them, coming to a startling discovery. They feel just like limbs! I amp my speed, soaring high above the castle. I squint, shielding my eyes from the sun with one hand. In a distance, I make out a glinting blue current. On further inspection, I see it's a raging vortex. A portal? I start in that direction.
One look below has me dragging in a breath. What is this place?
Stretching the wide, deserted space are large mountains. White coats their soaring peaks, drifts of snow curling around the rocky spi
Two weeks later.__"How is he?""He's recovering, Luna," the healer says."How long until he's fully recovered?""We cannot know for sure, Luna. He might... He might not--""I want to see him.""Luna, I don't think that's advisable. He isn't in the best condition.""Step out of the way," I say.The guards standing post to the healer's wing tense, torn between letting me through and sparing me form seeing whatever's beyond. They relax when they see Elias approaching. The Elder comes to stand beside me, immediately reading the situation. He turns to me. "Come, Luna. Take a walk with me. I have important news for you."I hesitate, wanting more than anything to see Malcolm. His life is hanging on by a thread. Literally. Elenora's blade missed a muscle. And now, the healers are making the best they can out of it. Misery clamps around my chest. I'm not even sure I'm ready to see him. To Elias, I nod. "Lead the way."
Three weeks laterCoronation day.___Everything is in place, the procession has led to the wonderful arrangement by the sea side. Cream lights thread colourful garlands, lanterns winding around fluted pillars. From where I stand, I see the mighty throne. On it sits Bowen, here in place of his brother. Beside him is another throne. It's almost the same size as the king's."Okay, remember. Go up there, wait for the elder to tie both your hands together. Then he'll place the crown on your head and it's over. You've got this," Umber says.Still I don't stand from my position with my knees to my chest. Dread is a living thing within me.I couldn't do this without Malcolm.I couldn--Hands grasp my face. Umber pulls my gaze to her's. "Look at me. You," she spells out slowly, "have. Got. This. Say it after me."My mouth moves. "I..."She expels a breath, eyes softening. "Gwen. You battled an entire Eld
MALCOLMOver a month ago.___My being narrows down to the cool press of metal against my throat. "A life for a life!" Elenora screams, har claws holding me in place. My consciousness trickles away like the blood dribbling out of the open cut. I fight to stay lucid, my eyes on Gwen's white face on the stairs.Fury grips me, at Elenora. At myself. Once again, I am helpless to save the woman I love. With that realization, I feel pain fork across my neck. My world slows.When I start to gurgle on my blood, Elenora lets go, leaving me to land limply on the floor, rapidly losing sensation allover my body. I am...dying. When darkness begins to creep around the edges of my vision, I hear an unholy scream. Gwen, I think dimly before I am sucked under.Hours, days, (weeks?), pass by before I float into consciousness. I am in a white room. I look up at the high ceilings, disoriented. Images unblur into focus and through the layer of antiseptic, a
MALCOLMFive days later.__"Any wider and a fly will be able to get in," I tell Killian.He snaps his jaw shut, chuckling. "Sorry. It's just it...it still feels unreal. You, alive.""So you wanted me dead, then?"He laughs. "No. Not at all."Elias trails in along with the rest. They all take their assigned seats. "They're almost here," he says.I start to respond but lose my train of thought when the fresh scent of vanilla fills the air. Gwen. She's wearing a green dress. The colour makes her eyes pop and it highlights the the shade of he hair as well. There is a glow to her I can't explain. Almost like she's trapped the rays of the sun beneath her skin.But whatever it is, I f*cking love it.From behind me, Killian laughs. "Goddess. Get a room, you both."Gwen draws level with me and kisses me briefly. She starts to draw away when I add pressure to her nape, pulling her in me to kiss her soundly
EpilogueGWENTen years later___"Tamara!" I snap, then gentle my voice. "Tammy, you cannot put your brother in the water."The little girl with the largest grey eyes looks up at me. "But he's new. And looks like an egg."I breathe in for patience. "An egg?"She nods. "Yeah. When you buy eggs, you put them in the water to see if they float. I'm doing the same to Zizi. If he sinks, then he's a bad egg and should be thrown away."Zion gurgles in the corner, deliriously happy and unaware of his impending doom.The door opens and I breathe out a sigh of relieve, handing the other twin to Umber. "Oh, my God, I'm so glad you're here.""Hannah!" Tammy screeches, running toward her.I call after her, "It's aunty Hannah! Aunty. Hannah."The little devil ignores me, wrapping her little arms around her favorite--and only--aunty--unless you want to add Rylan's wild flings. Umber draws level wi
EMMA__I will not crack.I will NOT crack.I will NOT CRA--With a whimper, my arm shoots out, knocking items off the cabinet in a desperate rush to grab the pills. I pop one in my mouth, then two, slinking down the stall with the ugly mixture of shame and defeat.My fingers thread through my hair, gripping tight, but I feel nothing, the effects of the drug already working. When a sense of calm engulfs me, the usual question floats in.Will I stop seeing them now?A slow breath leaves me and I stay there, back against the cold tiles, staring at the pills scattered around the floor. I should pack.Just as I decide that, a knock on my door sounds. When I don't answer, it grows insistent, then frantic. The door is pushed open and the clacking of heels is heard rushing in. The pointy soles of my mum's Louboutins fall into my line of vision. My eyes climb up her stick-thin legs to her face. I see the stark
It sounded like an explosion.A roar tears through the metal ward, quickly followed by wild, erratic bangings. The immortal shifter throwing himself repeatedly against the enclosures. If I were to only walk further in the direction of the sound, I'd see the gruesome smears of blood painting the unbreakable glass.But like always, I stifle down bile and turn away. Armed men rush past me, going to subdue the man, speakers blaring out commands."Hold him down!" one of them orders harshly."He's too strong! We need reinforcement."I make my way down the linoleum floors, making sure to keep my gaze down and away from the transparent prisons. White LED light shines down, the air rife with the cloying scent of antiseptic, death, and decay. I clutch my logbook closer to me, my chest constricting with each breath I pull in.Rounding into the clinic, I head toward Dr. Sarah's cubicle.She looks up when I drop the book in front of her. "Here. All done," I say with a forced chirp.She grabs it im
MALCOLM BLAINE.___The resigned voice of one of the four elders in my council floats through the room, stirring my wolf. "Alpha, you need to take a step back and view this matter from a distance. This is not wise."I eye the wide panorama glass stretching the entire east wall before me, scoping out the boisterous city of Manhattan down below. Humans flit around, bundled up in thick wool from the early November chill. Dressed in a plain black tee and a pair of slacks, I hardly feel the cold. My voice is low. "There is no time."Another spoke then, louder and with more conviction, "Your Highness, Garreth is right. Going down to South Carolina is a bad idea. You'll be offering yourself up to the Hunters on a silver platter. Yes, they have your brother but they'll be lying in wait for you. This is a trap. With Prince Bowen being the bait."When I turn around, three of them take a step back at the sight of my wolf's glowing blue eyes, all with the exception of the stooped Elder standing i