Total pages in book: 162
Estimated words: 151630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 758(@200wpm)___ 607(@250wpm)___ 505(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 151630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 758(@200wpm)___ 607(@250wpm)___ 505(@300wpm)
“The safest place for me is with the servants,” Ostara said. “This palace is massive, and there are rooms no one but the house servants know exist. This magic I feel is going to destroy the spells the magician and king put on the serving class no matter the wards, and if they’re smart, they won’t allow them to know. I get the feeling they have waited a long while to be able to rise against their tyrant king. I thought I could help to sway Devinshea away from his brutality, but I was also prepared to fight him once I regained my strength.”
“He was never going to give it to you,” Dev said.
Ostara’s head bent slightly, a show of respect from a goddess. “I know that now. But you would. There once was goodness in the man, and there could be again. Remember that. I will go with Meadow’s mate. I will heal and be ready to aid you in any way possible. If there is no ready way to get back to your timeline, I will consult with the scholars on my plane. They know much of the mystic ways. You came in with some interesting crystals. Dolerite. We have long believed it aids travel in ways that do not involve distance.”
So they might not be stuck. There was so damn much to do and so little time to do it. He held out a hand to her.
She smiled and took it.
He turned to Neil. “If I know Rhys, he’s waited a long time for this. He’ll be at it for a while, and anyone not directly in the palace will feel the effects strongly. You should be able to move fairly freely outside the wards. Consider Bibi’s quarters our home base. I’m taking Ostara there to her personal maid. You make sure Dev is fed. I get the feeling they won’t care about him starving tomorrow. Take him off that damn hook and make him comfortable for the rest of the night. Dev…”
“Don’t die.” Dev seemed to understand the assignment. “You’ll get me out when the time is right.”
Neil was already helping Dev down, and he would put him back up when the time came.
There was no more reason to wait. He held Ostara’s hand and led her out of the dungeon.
After another long walk through too small hallways, Sasha breathed a deep sigh of relief as they made it to the door leading back to Bibi’s shared quarters.
The troll sat on the couch, holding the hand of Ione, who was still weeping. She looked up as the door opened and was on her feet in an instant.
“My baby,” she sobbed as she launched herself at Ostara, who smiled and lifted the much smaller troll into her arms.
“Oh, sweet Ione, she missed you as well. When she thought she would die, she wept at the thought of never seeing you again, good mother,” the goddess whispered.
Sasha took it in. The sight was odd. Ione, small and weathered, and so unlike the gorgeous Meadow. Ostara was merely a light inside her body. The beauty was all Meadow. She’d been raised in these strange, wonderous lands. She was Fae. She was love and light and had an embodiment of spring in her soul.
What if she didn’t want a vampire?
He stayed back as they spoke in hushed tones. Bibi walked over to join him.
“I’m sorry. The magic the Green Man weaves is potent. I was worried I would shame myself,” she admitted. “I can still feel it here, but it is like a distant song. However, I noticed Hubbie. He is one of the lowest servants. He cleans floors and washrooms. He spoke to me for the first time in years.”
Then the magic was doing what Ostara thought it would. Or rather undoing. She’d told him the wards couldn’t keep out some parts of the magic. “You need to get word to everyone to pretend. Pretend they are still under the spell. Otherwise, the king will likely put a stronger one on them. Tell them to bide their time. The Green Man and his goddess are here now. All will be well. They need only wait for the right opportunity.”
Bibi’s dark eyes shone in the candlelight, and he could see hope there. “I will begin spreading the word. I know who to talk to and who to…well, who to deal with so we don’t have problems.”
“If you can, access weapons. Hide them. Do you have any witches close by?”
Bibi’s head shook. “Not in here. He killed all the ones who worked in the palace, but there are some who would not leave the forests. I can send word.”
“Have them make charms to protect every servant from the king and the wizard. Sew them into your clothes. Hide them in your personal spaces. How many will fight?”