Page 132 of Tower of Tempest
She smiled. “Not in the slightest.”
“You just saved my life, found Spirit Sky’s bolt, and faced your father. You’re definitely ready.” I pressed a quick kiss to her lips. “It’s time to show everyone who you are. It’s time to spread your wings and soar.”
Epilogue
POPPY
Iblinked my eyes open as sunlight poured into the room—Loch’s room at his castle in the water court. We’d arrived late last night, and I hadn’t even had a chance to meet his family yet. He’d ushered me here, and we’d fallen into a deep sleep.
I sat up in bed, looking at the empty space beside me. But now, in the early morning light, he was nowhere to be found. Maybe he was meeting with his family before the conclave later today.
I glanced around the room. The walls were made of white rugged stone, the floors smooth and gleaming.
And that view. I gasped and twisted my neck to better see it.
I hadn’t been able to last night when we’d arrived, but it was breathtaking. The sapphire sea stretched out as far as the eye could see, glittering under the sun like jewels, matching Loch’s eyes. He hadn’t lied. His court was beautiful. Even better was the warm breeze brushing through the open windows, so different from the icy chill of Valoris.
A knock sounded on my door. “Come in,” I called out.
The door clicked open, and I expected a servant or maid or even Loch. My mouth dropped open when instead, three women strode into the room.
Each was so beautiful, I could barely focus. One had shoulder-length black hair with piercing green eyes, the next had long blond hair that fell in beautiful waves, and the last one, well, I recognized her immediately: she had the same shade of auburn hair as her brother, except hers was plaited into a neat braid and instead of Loch’s blue eyes, hers were a light shade of brown.
“Hi,” the woman with the black hair said warmly, “my name is Liliath.”
As in Queen Liliath. Oh my. I suddenly felt very faint.
The blond woman stepped forward, her blue dress swishing around her ankles. “And I’m Seraphina.”
The queen of the fire court.Breathe, Poppy. Just breathe.
The last one smiled. “I’m Princess Gabrielle.”
Loch’s older sister.
“May we sit?” Gabrielle gestured toward the couch and chairs in the opposite corner.
“Of course.” I looked down at my nightgown, face flushing as I got out of bed and snatched a thin white shawl, draping it over my shoulders before I padded back to my bed and sat on the edge. “How can I help all of you?”
“Actually.” Seraphina leaned forward. “We wanted to know how we could help you.”
Gabrielle flipped her braid over her shoulder. “We wanted to let you know how excited we are to get to know you, the future queen of Valoris.”
The title still didn’t sound right. A future queen. Gran would be proud.
“I don’t know about that,” I said. I hadn’t even spoken with my father since I’d seen him at the tower. He’d said he believed me, that I was his daughter, but that didn’t mean he’d accept me as the future queen.
“It’s okay to be scared,” Seraphina said, peering at me like she knew exactly how I was feeling. “I was scared too.” She smoothed out her dark blue gown. “I’m still scared, but that doesn’t mean I’m not a good queen. Not a good leader for my people.”
“Thank you,” I said, glancing around the group of women. “I know I can do this.” I sighed. “But the doubts...”
“Will always be there.” Liliath leaned forward, her ink-black hair grazing her shoulders. “Don’t listen to them.”
I tugged my shawl tighter around my shoulders and shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know how to be a queen.”
Gabrielle’s eyes crinkled. “Well, that’s funny, considering you were raised by one.”
That stopped me as I stared at the three women sitting in front of me. So Loch must’ve already filled his sister in on everything that had happened.
