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Hooking a finger in the material that’s drenched with my arousal, he’s about to pull them off when he abruptly stops.
Lifting his head, he angles his ears as though he’s straining to listen, then he blanches with fear.
“What?” I ask, not liking the grayish hue of his skin.
“Singing. Children are singing the birthday song,” he replies huskily.
“No.No.” Dread makes my stomach drop as I deny the unthinkable. Because we just escaped hell. We can’t go through it again. “You could be mistaken. Tell me you’re mistaken, Kai.”
“I’m not.” His eyes are filled with terror as he states the awful conclusion, “We came back on the day the world ends. We’re out of time.”
Ro
In a rush, Kai and I zoom above the city. We go by the barracks and pass the maypole. Soaring over the palace wall, we land on the walkway leading to the entrance.
Holding hands, we charge at the door. Alosi and his crew are guarding the area, only this time, we’re not invisible.
At first, Alosi is ecstatic to see Kai. With a huge smile on his face, he turns to the men next to him and orders someone to go tell the kings and queens that Kai and I have returned, and his jovial tone conveys the happy news.
However, once he pivots back to us and notes how disheveled we are, his grin drops.
Yeah, we look horrible. We’re covered in dirt and blood. Our clothing is torn. Our hair couldn’t look worse. We’ve just been through a battle, and it shows.
And I’m sure we look like we’ve seen a ghost, but at least we’re not the ghosts in this scenario.
Automatically, Alosi opens the door to let us through because we’re not even pausing for pleasantries.
Not beating around the bush, Kai barks, “Is it Princess Greenlee’s birthday?”
“Yes, it is,” Alosi responds, sounding confused while following us into the foyer. “Are you all right? Is there something I can do for you?”
Ignoring his inquiries, we dart around the caterers holding the snack trays and head straight into the throne room where we can hear the commotion of dozens of people talking.
When the long table comes into view, all the seats are filling with guests. Greenlee is at the end, hopping in her chair while she waits for her cake. Torius and Danyetta are on either side of her, and the rest of the royals are seated near her.
No one has noticed us yet. The guard who was sent to announce our arrival hasn’t made it to Kirian, but he’s getting there with brisk footsteps.
The kitchen door swings open, and I know what will happen next.
Music starts up from the string quartet, and everyone sings as a grand cake is carried out. The lit candles on the top tier glow brightly, and when the cake set in front of the young princess, the little flames illuminate Greenlee’s delighted face.
Her smile is what captivates me the most. Such a big, adorable smile.
I hate that we have to wipe it away.
Making our presence known with a very untactful method, Kai shouts, “Stop!”
The singing cuts off, shocked silence takes over, and all heads swivel toward us.
Kirian stands from his chair so fast the seat almost topples over.
“Kai,” he says with a mixture of surprise and relief. His lavender eyes move to me. “And Queen Ro. You’re back.” A wide grin spreads over his face and he whoops with a fist pump. “They’re back!”
“Mama?” Zander shoots up across from Kirian.
Time seems to stop as my son looks at me. He looks at me with perfect sight. That hasn’t happened since he was a child before he was inflicted with the coven’s curse because I left before I could see the result of his restored vision. Overwhelming emotion speeds up my heart as I stare back at his golden eyes.
Everyone starts clapping and talking all at once.
