AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Not at all. I love you so much, all four of you.”
“It’s incredible, isn’t it?” Sindri mutters. “That we made it. That we’re here.”
I laugh, the sound catching in my throat like a sob. “Yes.”
“The Queen and the Four beasts.” Ashton snickers. “Sounds like a post-apocalyptic TV show.”
“I’ll show you who is the beast,” Emrys growls.
“I never thought I’d have anything like this… family,” Jason whispers, burying his face against my breasts.
“Neither did I,” Sindri says quietly.
“We’re so lucky,” Emrys says.
“And we’ll never let go,” Ashton vows, making my heart soar.
Then there’s classes and lunches at the refectory and as Melissa and Vanessa sit down in front of me, I have this niggling fear they’ll act differently now that I’m not only a witch but the Queen of witches.
But they don’t. They stare at me, then relax. “You okay?” Melissa says. “That battle on the lakeshore was impressive. I never trusted that Ophelia woman.”
“I know.” I smile at her. From anyone else, I’d have thought that she was just repeating what everyone is saying. Hindsight is, after all, twenty-twenty. But Melissa has always been honest, even if she was wrong about the boys.
After all, I’d trusted Ophelia for most of my life.
“You were gone for a few days,” Vanessa says, twirling her pasta on her fork. “We thought you might be resting and recovering. With the boys.” She wags her brows. “All of them. How dare you take all the pretty boys for yourself? So selfish.”
I snort. “Um, sorry, not sorry. Look, Melissa…”
Melissa lifts a brow at me. “Got something to say?”
I swallow hard. “I just wanted to say… thank you. For everything you have done for me. I know I wasn’t the easiest person to be around, that I didn’t always appreciate how you tried to help me.”
“I wasn’t much help. I told you things born out of anger about those boys.” She puts her fork down, pushes her plate away. “I was so sure they were to blame…”
“We all made mistakes,” Vanessa says. “I’m sorry I sided with Ophelia.”
“To be fair, she is a master manipulator,” I whisper. “And you trained me. Stood beside me. I’ll never forget it.” I lick my lips, suddenly nervous. “Friends?”
“Friends,” Melissa says.
“For sure,” Vanessa mutters, winks. “Your Majesty.”
“Don’t. I… I should go.” I start to get up and Vanessa reaches across the table and grabs my hand. Smiles. “What?”
“It must be hard to always be apart. First as an outcast and then as a powerful Queen. But we will be here, just like we were at the beginning. Remember that.”
I smile back, relieved. “I know. See you girls later?”
“Don’t be a stranger.” Melissa sticks her tongue out at me, and the world seems to settle better on its axis.
The air outside is fresh, smelling of hopes and possibilities. I head over to the library, hoping to get in some studying while the boys train, and almost run smack dab into Brianna.
“Well, if it isn’t the Queen Witch herself,” she says with a grin. “What’s cooking?”
I give her a look, not sure whether she’s making fun of me or not. “I’m good. What about you?”
“Fine, fine. Zoey had a meltdown and is leaving the school. She wanted to follow Ophelia but nobody knows where she has been taken.”
