Meg caught his strong jaw in her hands. “It’s going to be fine,
 
 Beck. I love you. Ci loves you. Nothing is going to change that.”
 
 “Nothing,” Cian promised.
 
 Beck allowed Meg to start soaping his hair. She could see he
 
 hoped Cian’s words would prove true.
 
 238
 
 Sophie Oak
 
 Chapter Eighteen
 
 “They look so perfect together,” the girl sighed to her friend. She
 
 couldn’t be more than sixteen, with soft skin and shiny hair. Her eyes
 
 were wide and clear, and her mouth was a perfect bow on her heart-
 
 shaped face.
 
 Liadan hated her.
 
 She hated her and all the little twits like her. They took their youth
 
 and beauty for granted. They wasted those perfect years. They didn’t
 
 deserve their fine porcelain skin or firm bodies. If they understood an
 
 ounce of what she had to go through for a fraction of their youthful
 
 glow, they would be staggered by her strength.
 
 “Bri, you’re such a romantic. My mum feels sorry for the queen,”
 
 the girl’s equally young friend said.
 
 The golden-haired girl named Bri looked offended. She was
 
 obviously a fan of the twins. The girls sat at the edge of a crowd that
 
 gathered near a huge bonfire. There was much entertainment at this
 
 celebration, but Bri kept watching the kings and their queen. Beckett
 
 Finn had returned, and the villagers were effusive in welcoming their
 
 warrior king back.
 
 “How can anyone feel sorry for Queen Meg? She has two
 
 gorgeous, strong husbands,” Bri argued.
 
 The brown-haired friend shook her head. “My mum says that the
 
 queen must be sore all the time. I don’t know why. Do you think they