Page 110 of Terragnata and the Heir of the Earth

Gia looked stricken for a moment, clearly weighing carefully what to say. She squeezed my hand once more. “That may be true, but we’ll get to the bottom of all this. We’resafenow, Terra.”

She was right—we’d made it out of Viribrum alive—almost all of us.Olea. Jana.Their names repeated in my head, leaving little scores, etchings of regret and pain in my chest alongside the ones I bore for my human family. And for all I knew, the queen could be added to that list… at the very least, theDrakkarian’s had captured her. Whether Fayzien or Xinlan had escaped, I had no clue.

But Gia was safe. So were Leiya and Leuffen. Cas. Dane. Sanah. Cobal. And Ezren. I’d lost so much, my own blood and not, but I’d also gained. And though I felt uncomfortable with the semi-royal treatment I’d received earlier, a familial atmosphere now lingered on the ship, a sense that laced every conversation and interaction.

That feeling was loyalty… and, perhaps, even family.

And my new little family was safe.

But as I uttered those words in my head, they rang hollow. I’d appeared safe for years in Argention, and that was an illusion. Had I ever truly been safe? And now… a sinking feeling wound tight around my chest. I didn’t know how our voyage would go, or what our acceptance at Nebbiolo would look like. I didn’t know how to save the queen, or evenifshe could be saved. Or how in the gods’ names we could defeat a kingdom like Drakkar. I didn’t know why they’d called me “the key,” what that could mean, if the people of Nebbiolo would kill me for it, or call me to the throne. The one thing I knew, with chilling certainty, was a war had just begun. And for reasons still outside my grasp, I seemed to be at its center.

And if that wasn’t harrowing enough—everyone on this ship seemed to believeIcould save the world from conflict.

I shuddered, brushing off the constricting feelings of pressure and looming disappointment that always seemed to accompany thoughts of duty. “And you—you’re okay with this? With coming to Nebbiolo?” I turned to face Gia once again. “I wish I had time to bring you home.”

“Even if you could, I know traveling back to Argention pregnant is a fool’s errand. You are my home now. And you are the queen expectant of an unfamiliar land—you will need as many allies by your side as you can get. These past few monthshave been… so unexpected. But no matter what happens, no matter what you face, you canalwaystrust in me.” A hint of a smile played on Gia’s lips as she rested her hand on her swelling belly. I had the distinct feeling she wanted to say more, but I didn’t push her. The gods knew it was a miracle she even made it here, carrying my brother’s child.

“Your confidence never fails to surprise me.” I chuckled silently. “But thank you. You are my truest friend.” I rested a gentle hand on her round stomach. “My little niece or nephew could not be coming into this world to a better mother.”

A sadness flickered across her face, but she only nodded and headed below deck, no doubt seeking respite from the biting sea air.

An unexpected couple of months, indeed.I’d been a human in a small mining town facing the sheer dread of conventional arranged marriage. If only I’d known what was coming for me on that Spring Day. If only I knew what was coming for me now. The cold air should have forced me to follow Gia below deck, but I remained still, frozen in time, anticipating what was ahead, my gaze fixed stubbornly upon a horizon that did not yet reveal an island.

Nebbiolo. My birthright. And perhaps, one day, my home.

EPILOGUE

WICKED QUEEN

When my daughter’s blade pierced my skin, I knew it immediately. She had found her Siphon—or at least something close to it. Perhaps that was how she broke through my shield, though the thought was a trifle embarrassing. I’d been away from the Stone Throne too long. But indeed, that unique tone of power reverberated through her. A small, weak part of me grieved to think she might never realize it.

She looked young—so painfully young. She was brave and fierce, reminding me of a different self, one untouched by the Stone. Though she would likely never know such a sentiment from me, I played the part I always knew I must: the Wicked Queen.

And that bastard Darlan—the fat king had admitted to plotting Terra’s end before he lost his head. Clever… manipulating her, throwing her off guard while he planned her assassination in thatwretchedcompetition. Claiming it served only to protect Cas from the prophecy.

Of course, he failed to mention that her death would undo a thousand years of progress, wreaking havoc across our queendom, and weakening those he viewed as rivals.

Ever the political mastermind. Too bad that lost him his head this round.

Still, a blunder on my part, underestimating him. I should’ve known he’d figured out what she was. Not that it mattered now.

I flashed back to that room where I birthed her—when the Elders visited. And everything had changed.

The Drakkarians called her ‘the key.’Theyclearly had been misinformed.

If they truly knew our bloodline’s ugly past, or what the Rexiprima sacrificed to form the island I’d inherited to rule, they wouldn’t call her the key.

They’d call her the Undoing.

Terragnata, the first Earth Daughter in a thousand years, born on the day of the Creatrix Full Moon, to a future queen, was nokey.

She was an impending explosion. She was the fulfillment of the prophecy delivered to the Witch Killer who’d formed our great nation.

I’d tried to stop it. To send her away. To eliminate anyone who might try and succeed at locating her, using her. I’d spared Cas, only a child, thinking naively he would move on.

Even Cold Hearts could make foolish mistakes.

My wound oozed, throbbing in a way that would kill me. Should they let it.

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