Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 91049 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91049 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
I give a small smile. “No, I guess not.”
Chapter 24
A New Plan
Coralo
“What are we going to do?”
Mother paces before me in our home with a scowl on her face. The king was on his deathbed this morning. Her plan was almost complete.
I don’t know what Argon did, but he restored the king seemingly effortlessly. He shouldn’t have been able to undo Mother’s spell so easily, or so we thought.
“How did he do it?” she mumbles to herself, still pacing.
“Argon is very powerful.”
“Yes, but he did it so quickly. He didn’t have time to figure out that spell to create a counter. His power has boundaries,” she says, waving me off.
“But the power of a Kunglig is still more powerful than any dark sorcery.”
I jump as she causes a wooden chair to fly across the room and shatter against the wall in a million pieces. Her anger is palpable. She’s been growing angrier each day as the king has resisted her magic.
It’s just like Mother to underestimate those around her because she’s so overconfident in her own power. My father wasn’t nearly as useless as she made him seem. His greatest weakness was loving her.
“He’s back and that old fart looks healthier than ever. This changes everything,” Mother seethes.
“He sealed the portal and from the sound of it, he didn’t slay the beast like you thought he would. You were so sure he would kill her for harming his father.”
Mother spins on me. Gold-and-black sparks of light begin to circle her hands. I take a step back. Her power has become unstable with the black magic she’s been using to try to poison the king.
I bite my tongue. I always say too much. It’s clear in her eyes that I’ve gained her ire.
“Thank you for stating the obvious, genius. The wolves I enchanted failed as well. There, we have all my failures out in the open.
“Now we can get to solutions. She will be a beast forever soon. She’s the least of my worries. I need the king to drink another dose of the poison.”
“Mother, respectfully, that ship has sailed. Did you not see the king? He looks way too strong for the poison to work. Didn’t you say you needed him to go to that castle to weaken so the poison could take root?”
I hold my breath as her nostrils flare and she narrows her gaze on me. The magic circling her hands fades. She runs a hand over her hair.
“You’re right,” she mutters. I release a breath and sag my shoulders in relief. “I need to deal with them and that beast.”
“Argon doesn’t seem like he plans to go back to destroy her. Besides, he can’t return on his own.”
Mother scoffs and flips her long braids. Her brown eyes light up as she thinks her plan through. I note the moment her plan begins to take hold.
“Her time is coming. Once she has become a full beast, her powers will weaken once and for all and I’ll take care of her myself.
“That curse has always been problematic. The castle was meant to bind her, not her visitors. Yet, she’s gotten stronger within those walls,” she murmurs more to herself.
“I know I altered the original curse properly. It had to be that silly enchantress. Perhaps I should’ve disposed of her after I fiddled with it.”
I shake my head at Mother. Of course, she didn’t do anything wrong. I roll my eyes. We have to fix this mess before we get caught.
“How do we unseal the portal? Argon has no reason to unseal it. Again, he doesn’t seem to want revenge,” I say.
The bitterness in my voice is clear even to my own ears. His anger when I mentioned that beast is still unsettling, as if he meant to protect her. It’s no secret that the prince has never wanted me as his soul match. He thinks I’m weak, just like Mother does.
“He wears the answer to that. The pendant watch around his neck. I’ve seen one like it before. Once I get my hands on it, we can open the portal and he won’t be able to follow,” she says with renewed joy.
“I can get it.”
“No, it’s our only chance. I’ll handle this myself. Go do something with yourself. You look pale and frumpy. Bring some color to your cheeks and change your clothes. You’re still his fiancée.”
“Yes, Mother.”
Chapter 25
Forbidden Pages
Argon
I’ve tossed and turned all night. My spirit link has pulsed greater for my soul match with every passing hour. Something is wrong, I just haven’t put my finger on it yet.
Agitated and restless, I toss the covers and get out of bed. It’s as if the soul link guides my steps as I grab a robe and exit my room. I find myself in the royal library.
When I stop before the hologram machine, my spirit roars. I knit my brows. Without thinking, I type in the coding that comes to me.