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Chapters (55)
  1. Title Page
  2. Dedication
  3. World Map
  4. Pronunciations
  5. Author’s Notes
  6. Table of Contents
  7. A Forbidden Fate
  8. Prologue
  9. Chapter One
  10. Chapter Two
  11. Chapter Three
  12. Chapter Four
  13. Chapter Five
  14. Chapter Six
  15. Chapter Seven
  16. Chapter Eight
  17. Chapter Nine
  18. Chapter Ten
  19. Chapter Eleven
  20. Chapter Twelve
  21. Chapter Thirteen
  22. Chapter Fourteen
  23. Chapter Fifteen
  24. Chapter Sixteen
  25. Chapter Seventeen
  26. Chapter Eighteen
  27. Chapter Nineteen
  28. Chapter Twenty
  29. Chapter Twenty-One
  30. Chapter Twenty-Two
  31. Chapter Twenty-Three
  32. Chapter Twenty-Four
  33. Chapter Twenty-Five
  34. Chapter Twenty-Six
  35. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  36. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  37. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  38. Chapter Thirty
  39. Chapter Thirty-One
  40. Chapter Thirty-Two
  41. Chapter Thirty-Three
  42. Chapter Thirty-Four
  43. Chapter Thirty-Five
  44. Chapter Thirty-Six
  45. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  46. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  47. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  48. Chapter Forty
  49. Chapter Forty-One
  50. Chapter Forty-Two
  51. Chapter Forty-Three
  52. Chapter Forty-Four
  53. Chapter Forty-Five
  54. Acknowledgements
  55. About the Author

There are times in a person’s life when a singular moment seems to last longer than it should. As if the gods themselves plucked it straight out of time and lengthened it between their hands like string. Stretching and pulling until mere seconds extend into what feels like an eternity. Depending on what you’re doing at that exact moment, this can be wholly wonderful or completely unbearable.

I watch Lachlan’s face, at how his eyes glow as Idalia runs towards him, and the gods stretch time for me.

She flings her arms around his neck.

This singular moment is not wholly wonderful.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Braizen

As Idalia throws her arms around his neck, Lachlan tightens his around her waist without hesitation. The two embrace for several minutes before he pulls back.

“Idalia?”

She throws herself at him again and cries into his chest. “I made it. I’m alive.”

Lachlan appears more confused than welcoming, but he caresses her back. His eyes meet mine as I walk towards them.

“Braizen!?” He mouths silently.

I nod, trying to ignore the heat rippling through my body at the sight of him touching her.

“The two of you came here… together?” He says aloud.

“Yes,” Idalia says and finally pulls away.

Lachlan blinks slowly, then places his fingers to his temples. “So, the curse? Is it…?”

“I can assure you the curse is still perfectly intact,” Idalia says. “Braizen… well, he helped me get here. He helped me get to you.”

Her words sear like a hot iron against my skin, but I hold a calm smile.

“But Verdana and Baelliles, you’re enemies. You hate each other. Don’t you?” Lachlan asks, his puzzled gaze darting between us.

“Well, he did kidnap me,” Idalia says. “So, there’s that. But eventually, something changed.”

“What changed?” Lachlan asks.

Idalia opens her mouth and then shuts it. She finally speaks. “I… I don’t know.” Her eyes meet mine as if searching for an answer.

Lachlan looks at me straight on. “Is it true, Braizen? You helped her come here?”

His question drains me, and I fight an urge to hit him in the face. So, I nod and wink. “It’s true, Lach. I helped her get here safely.”

A grin slowly stretches across the King’s face. Behind him, I see Idalia examines me as if waiting for something else.

“I wouldn’t get too excited about it, though,” I add with a shrug. “She’s a real pain in the ass once you get to know her.”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Idalia