Page 45 of The Last Wish of Bristol Keats
“She spent last night in his room,” Rose whispered, like it was a big secret.
“Where have you been?” Sashka hooted. “She’s spent the last three nights with him!”
Rose laughed. “I know! I wasn’t sure if anyone else did! I guess they’re officially an item now.”
Julia chuckled. “I think they’ve been an item since Quin snatched her from the jaws of a snapping hound and put her in his pocket for safekeeping.”
They all turned and watched the partially camouflaged couple in the shade of a tree. Quin held Hollis’s hand to his lips.
“Aren’t they cute?” Avery swooned. “Wynn and I were never that cute together. He didn’t believe in PDA.”
“Shit,” Sashka said. “PDA is what I live for. To be publicly adored!”
Avery gave Sashka a playful elbow in the ribs. “Says the person who told the king to get a room when he kissed Bristol.”
“That was more than PDA. Did you see his hands? I thought he was about to—”
“Okay,” Bristol said. “Point made.”
They all laughed, but Rose reached out and touched Bristol’s arm. “I’m so glad you and the king reconciled and are together again—after that whole mess with your father. I was so worried.”
Avery nodded. “I think we all were. Even Olivia and Esmee said they were worried.”
Bristol was confused. “Worried about what?”
“That it was over and so was the plan,” Rose said.
Julia spoke up to clarify. “The Knight Commander is the only one capable of leading the Danu army and uniting the kingdoms against Kormick, and you’re the only one who can stop your mother. For a time, the future was shaky.”
“With you two at war, the other war looked grimmer,” Avery added.
“You heard the troops this morning,” Rose said. “The cheers and excitement. Seeing the king lift your hand in his made all the difference. They feel powerful again. A little confidence goes a long way.”
Bristol knew what Rose really meant.Trust. A littletrustgoes a long way.
She remembered when Tyghan was afraid to trust her, afraid to dance with her, afraid to love her, but then he took a chance, and in front of the glaring lords and ladies, and the powerful council members eyeing her at Sun Court, he made a grand gesture—he asked her to dance in front of them all. He showed them that he trusted her. Things changed after that. The whispers and sideways glances mostly stopped. He believed in her, and so they did too. She never considered the risk he took. How they might not just reject her but him too, a new king just beginning to garner trust and power. He risked throwing it all away. How fragile their efforts were on so many levels.
Today was another grand gesture, confirming to the throngs that he believed in her. If their Knight Commander could trust her, so could they. Otherwise, she was still only the monster’s daughter.
She surveyed her squad, her friends. They had believed in her from day one, before she had even earned their trust, looping her arms in theirs, cheering her on when she failed at every magic spell she attempted, before they even knew that their dreams depended on her. And even when she and Tyghan had their terrible argument, her friends remained steady and true. Especially Julia, not pushing Bristol to any one decision, but supporting, healing her, and leaving her to make her own choices.
“I’m sorry I worried you all,” she told them now.
“Hey, they fucked you over,” Sashka said, “but they came around. We all make mistakes, right?”
Bristol nodded. “And you can all rest assured that Tyghan and I are completely committed to each other. One argument can’t end us.”
Avery grinned. “Yeah, we kind of got that.”
Hollis rushed up to meet them. “Sorry to keep you all waiting. I just needed to talk to—”
“Ohhh, we don’t need to hear the details,” Sashka said, making kissing sounds.
“Speak for yourself. I want the details!” Avery snapped, and they all laughed.
Easy. Comfortable. It was the best feeling, Bristol thought, having these women as friends, sisters of another kind. When the time came, she would ask them to be there when the Lumessa removed the tick, to help her accept whatever she might become. And to comfort Tyghan too.
He had asked her so many times that morning if she was all right, it was clear he wasn’t all right. She wasn’t happy about the scales, but it didn’t change anything. Acquiring all of her power was a necessity, not an option. That was all she concentrated on—what was necessary—like paying an electric bill. She had to whittle it down to something small like that or she might implode. She smiled. Life lessons from Bowskeep.
