Page 64 of The Court of Truth

Flora’s cheeks turn pink.

“Stop, Janie. You’re embarrassing her,” I breathe, completely agreeing with her assessment, but I don’t want to encourage making Flora uncomfortable, even if that’s not Janie’s intention.

“I’m sorry, that wasn’t my?—”

“No, it’s okay. There are a lot of jumbled feelings, and I wish I was as confident as you to embrace it all like that,” Flora murmurs, nervously tucking her hair behind her ear.

“Honestly, the history I have with my husband is insane. How we survived, I’ll never know, but it has taught me to never take it for granted. If it’s worth fighting for, my advice will always be to go for it. You never know what’s around the corner, and it’s better to love as fiercely as possible than to let anyone or anything get in your way. Even if that person is yourself.”

I blink at Janie, intrigued by the story she’s alluding to, but again, if she doesn’t want to share, I’m not going to push for it. Either way, those are some strong words of wisdom, coming from a deep place, and even though they weren’t aimed at me, I still take them in and allow them to settle somewhere deep in my chest.

“Thanks, Janie. Maybe one day I will,” Flora mutters, a soft smile on her lips before she turns her attention to me. “Maybe when we get back to the castle we can plan a night to do this again, but with Nora here too,” she offers, redirecting the conversation as far away from herself as possible, and I take the hint.

A shiver runs down my spine as I shake my head. “Please, she’s going to be the death of me. I don’t need her listening to Janie talk about stiff cocks,” I retort, earning a round of giggles.

“Has she considered her wolf yet?” Janie asks, sending ice through my veins as I freeze, blinking at her a few times as I process her words.

Fuck.

My tongue is lead in my mouth, my brain spinning uncontrollably as my chest tightens. “I haven’t discussed it with her,” I admit, shame and guilt flooding my senses as I press my lips into a thin line.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Flora asks, concern crinkling the corner of her eyes, and I sigh.

“I’m always so caught up in how things are affecting me, I forget they can have an impact on her too. That makes me a terrible sister.”

“No it doesn’t. You’re the freaking queen of an entire kingdom, which you practically have to rebuild from the ground up, I might add. She’s going to understand. Besides, it’s her life, her journey to take, she doesn’t need you guiding every step she takes,” Flora insists, her tone soothing, but I frown at the last part of her comment.

“She needs all of the guiding,” I insist, and Janie shakes her head.

“No she doesn’t. Just because no one guided you through certain things doesn’t mean you have to make up for it with her. She’s her own person. She’s going to make her own mistakes and she’s going to figure out her own happiness. If she doesn’t find those things by herself, it will be superficial, and we all deserve better than that,” Janie adds, providing more words of wisdom that my overwhelmed brain struggles to comprehend.

“Why would I give her the opportunity to get hurt? Nobody wants that.” My lips purse as I try to understand.

“For sure nobody wants that, but she’s never going to grow in life without the downs to balance the ups, Addi,” Janie adds, and I scoff.

“We’re going to have to agree to disagree. I can’t even fathom the thought of someone hurting her and me just standing by to let it happen.”

“That wouldn’t be the case, silly,” Flora says with a soft sigh. “Of course you’re going to cause mayhem in the aftermath of it, even try to prevent it, but she’s eventually going to need a little freedom.”

Her words hit me square in the chest. There’s a part of me that understands, almost agrees, but I can’t comprehend it right now. The kingdom is in tatters, and with all the dangers lurking around every corner, her safety has to be my priority over her happiness.

But maybe that’s what I need to focus on. That’s what Nora deserves. Maybe, if I survive this turmoil, I can offer her that. I can find her freedom.

36

ADRIANNA

One week.

Seven whole days.

One hundred and sixty eight hours.

Ten thousand and eighty minutes.

Six hundred and four thousand, eight hundred seconds.

And…

---