Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 123190 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 616(@200wpm)___ 493(@250wpm)___ 411(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 123190 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 616(@200wpm)___ 493(@250wpm)___ 411(@300wpm)
My heart twists at the thought. She would. If my sister realized Felicity was an impostor, Brie would tear apart her whole court to find me, and she’d make an example of anyone who stood in her way.
“You will be our guests of honor tomorrow night,” Lons says.
I glance toward Kendrick. I assumed we’d be leaving in the morning. “What’s tomorrow?”
“The people of Ironmoore want to host a celebration to wish us luck on our journey,” Kendrick says.
I wonder if he even knows he’s still holding my hand, or if he realizes how much the tiny gesture means to me in this place where they all seem to know each other but I’m the stranger.
“It’s the least we can do,” Lons says, but then his gaze catches on our joined hands, and his expression turns stern for a beat before he pastes on a smile.
I take my hand from Kendrick’s to press it against my stomach. Happy and full of fluttering butterflies moments before, now it’s sinking. I didn’t imagine the disapproval in his eyes. Is it because he sees me as fae or something else?
“Thank you for everything, Lons,” Kendrick says.
“Son, it is we who are thanking you. We owe the future of Elora to you.”
“We haven’t done anything yet. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”
Lons claps Kendrick on the back. “I have full faith in you.” He turns to me and gives a courteous nod. Am I imagining it, or are his eyes a little less bright than they were when we were introduced? “I’ll let you alone to your evening. We look forward to celebrating tomorrow.”
We wander the streets for a while longer, Kendrick pointing out where they have school for the children and the grassy village square that will host the celebration tomorrow night. He doesn’t take my hand again, and I try not to think about it.
I can’t tell how he feels about our kiss. It seems so long ago now, but I can’t stop thinking about it. Does he think it was a mistake? And if he does, does the reason have anything to do with the way Lons looked at our joined hands?
I’m so tangled in my spinning thoughts that I barely notice the sun is setting until Remme says he’s going to the archives to check on Natan, and Kendrick says we should go back inside.
Skylar excuses herself, and Kendrick walks me back up to my room, closing the door softly behind us.
The space suddenly seems too big and too small all at once. It’s impossible to be this close and not want him closer, but I have no excuse to press my body into him the way I long to.
I clear my throat and blurt out the first thought that comes to mind. “So, Natan and Remme? They’re . . . lovers?”
Kendrick stiffens and glances over my shoulder, as if checking to make sure the door is closed. “Don’t say that.”
I frown. “Because it’s a secret?”
He steps closer. “You were young the last time you lived in Elora,” he says, his voice low, “but did you know any men who loved each other?”
“No, though we didn’t really know many people at all. Brie and I were busy trying to make the payments on our contract.”
He draws in a long, ragged breath. “A contract you signed when you were children? The contract that allowed your aunt to sell you to Mordeus?”
I can’t hide my flinch at his name.
“We’re going to make those contracts a thing of the past. That will be a day to celebrate.”
“So, Remme and Natan?” I prod.
“I ask you not to say it because if it becomes a habit, you might say it somewhere that could get them killed. The rulers of Elora do not allow men to love other men. It is a crime punishable by death.”
My heart twists with the unnecessary cruelty of it. “That’s . . . It’s senseless. There are children starving, and they are busy persecuting people for who they love?”
“One of the countless reasons it’s past time for change.”
I think of the tenderness I witnessed in the forest. Why would anyone want to have less of that in the world? “I will help you, Kendrick. Whatever I have to do. I knew my life was hard at home, but I don’t think I understood the extent of . . . I didn’t know.”
He’s quiet for a long time, and he spends the silence searching my face. “You couldn’t have.”
“I can be trusted with a secret, but between you and me, I am sorry I can’t tease Remme just a little. Natan is way out of his league.”
I see his laughter in the shaking of his chest more than I hear it. He takes another step closer, and I have to crane my neck to look up at him.