Total pages in book: 126
Estimated words: 123779 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 619(@200wpm)___ 495(@250wpm)___ 413(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 123779 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 619(@200wpm)___ 495(@250wpm)___ 413(@300wpm)
“It will be fun,” Raighne says once again as he holds his hand out to me.
I suck in a deep breath before I place my palm in his, and linking our fingers, he tugs me toward the front door.
The moment we step out of the house, my eyes dart up and down the busy street. There are stalls lining the sidewalks, and I swear I smell fries.
When we approach the gate in the knee-high wall around the house, a man I’ve never met before notices us, and he instantly throws his hand in the air, shouting, “Alchera’s here.”
Silence falls over the street, making me feel awkward as hell.
When we step onto the cobblestones, applause starts to fill the air as everyone moves closer, forming a tunnel of sorts for me to walk through.
“Nope,” I mutter to Raighne. “You said it would be fun.”
“Let them welcome you home,” he whispers. “You deserve this.”
My muscles tense up, and not having much of a choice without looking like an ungrateful asshole, I walk down the street, doing my best to force a smile on my face.
“Welcome home, Princess,” a lady calls out.
“You were missed,” another shouts.
Soon, the air fills with people telling me how loved I am, and it makes it near impossible for me not to cry. I swallow hard, keeping my chin raised, but then I see my chosen ones, and the battle is lost.
Letting go of Raighne’s hand, I hurry to them, and when Jason opens his arms, I plow into his chest.
He gives me a bear hug, then says, “It felt weird not getting to see you the past few days.”
When he lets go of me, the others take turns giving me hugs, and when it’s Sarah’s turn, she sobs, “Thank you for saving us.”
She looks so much better, and I assume Aster managed to heal her.
“Yes,” Dylan agrees. “And sorry for the hard time some of us gave you.”
I let out a chuckle as I pull free from Sarah, and looking at each of them, I’m relieved to see they seem to be okay. “How are you all holding up?”
“It’s an adjustment,” Jason mutters, “But it’s not bad. The leather clothes are weird as fuck, though. I miss jeans and T-shirts.” He gives me a happy grin. “And I’m glad to be reunited with my animals. Thank you for saving them, Alchera.”
A lump forms in my throat as I nod.
Before I get too emotional, Matt says, “They said as soon as we’re settled, Sky and I can work at the seminarium. I have to learn everything about Vaalbara, and I’m looking forward to it.”
I glance at Lydia and Pearl. “Will you work at the infirmarius?”
They nod, and Lydia mentions, “But apparently, we need to learn about stuff called elixirs before we can start working.”
“I’m glad you’re all finding your place,” I say.
“What about you?” Dylan asks. “Do you get some time off now that you’re done saving our assess?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s weird seeing you with blue sparkly eyes,” Jason says. “But it looks badass.”
“Yeah?” I chuckle, feeling much better now that I’ve seen with my own eyes they’re all okay.
“Alchera,” Raighne says, pulling my attention away from my chosen ones. “There are more people to speak to.”
“I’ll catch up later with you all.”
When I turn around, it’s to see Janak, Aster, and my mother waiting.
“Peace be, Alchera,” Janak says loud enough for everyone to hear. “We’re overcome with joy to have you home.”
“Peace be is the way we greet each other,” Raighne reminds me mentally.
“Peace be,” I reply before fidgeting with my hands because it’s awkward as hell to have all this attention directed at me.
“You have made us so proud,” Janak continues. “This celebration is in your honor.”
My voice is strained as I say, “Thank you.”
With a gesture from Janak, the music fills the air again, and the celebration begins.
Janak walks to me, and in a softer tone, he says, “You must meet with me next week so I can explain your new destiny to you.”
Needing to know, I ask, “Is it bad?”
He shakes his head. “Not at all. It’s nothing to worry about.”
Feeling a little better, my mouth curves up. “That’s a relief to hear.”
“Raighne mentioned your idea of having a ceremony to honor the fallen,” he says. “We’ll arrange it for next Sunday.”
“Thank you.”
He reaches for my arm and gives it a squeeze. “Enjoy your day, Alchera.”
I nod, and when he walks away to speak to someone else, Mom comes closer. Her eyes drift over my face, then she asks, “How are you doing, sweetheart?”
“Better.”
When she hesitates to hug me, I move forward and wrap my arms around her.
I feel her body shudder, and I whisper, “You don’t have to be careful around me. I’m okay.”
She presses a kiss to the side of my head before pulling back. “The color in your face looks better. Did you get plenty of rest?”