Hidden: Rapunzel's Story (Destined Book 2)

by Kaylin Lee

  “That’s fine.” I didn’t know if I’d be able to bring myself to read it when the time came.

  She smiled knowingly. “You’re a brave woman, Zel. It was an honor to meet you.”

  Really? “Um … that’s— Well, thank you.”

  She waved good-bye, and I shut the door as she walked away. I turned and rested my back against the closed door, letting the cool, polished wood of the door sooth my overheated skin through my dress.

  My words at the end of the interview echoed in my mind. It hadn’t been until I’d spoken them aloud that I’d realized how true they were. I’d been tempted to use my power against others, especially Cyrus, but I hadn’t done it. Being tempted wasn’t the same thing as committing the crime, was it? It couldn’t be. By that logic, they’d have to lock up the entire city.

  I’d lived my whole life believing I was a monster, and every time I was tempted to use my power on my own, it felt like confirmation of the truth. But maybe it just made me human.

  So much had happened in the past two weeks, I could barely keep up. Now that we were out of the bakery, in the real Asylia, I’d learned that the city didn’t slow down for anyone. In less than a month, I’d start teaching classes at the Mage Academy where Bri and Alba would be students. Around that time, Ella would be wrapping up the first set of changes to mage regulations. I had a feeling Weslan would soon be giving her the same traditional words of love and promise Darien had given me in the tower years ago.

  Ella, engaged to be married? It was too much. I couldn’t help but let out a quiet laugh under my breath. Why did life’s moments always slow down when I wanted them to hurry, and speed up when I wanted them to last?

  Darien and the Sentinels still hadn’t discovered anything about the strange magic Drusilla had used on me before she and Helis were killed. They had searched the Badlands outside Asylia and found no trace of where she had stayed or who her masters had been.

  At Prince Estevan’s insistence, we had kept the incident quiet. No one knew except the guards who had been there. The public would be frightened enough when they learned that mages would no longer be under True Name control. We couldn’t risk introducing knowledge of a new threat now.

  It had been over thirteen years since Darien had appeared in my tower, offering hope to a hopeless young woman. I had spent those years hiding, worrying, grieving, and barely surviving. But that time had also been spent loving my three daughters and working for each of them to have a future. They’d been years of laughing, hoping, learning, quiet breakfasts, and long nights. Years full of heartache, but of sweet, cherished memories too.

  I returned to the kitchen and smiled as I gathered the breakfast dishes and put them in the sink. How many times in our final few months at the bakery had I worried that we were eating our last breakfast together as a family? And now, our family had expanded to include Darien and Weslan.

  Ella and Weslan had left before the interview, and Darien and the twins were out on their shopping trip. It was time for a fresh cup of coffee and a quiet moment with my journal.

  Who knew how long this moment would last? I planned to make the most of it.

  Afterword

  Thank you for taking the time to read Zel’s retelling of the Rapunzel story. I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. If so, please make my day and leave a quick review! Reviews are often the best way to get the word out about indie books like this one.

  In the original Grimm version of Rapunzel, she marries her prince while still trapped in her tower. When the enchantress discovers Rapunzel’s betrayal, she casts Rapunzel out to the desert, where Rapunzel raises her twin children “in wretchedness.” Years later, the heartbroken, blinded prince stumbles across Rapunzel in the desert. Her tears heal his blindness and they finally live happily ever after.

  When I first read that story, I thought, “No wonder you don’t see many Rapunzel retellings.” But isn’t Rapunzel’s fairy tale ending a bit closer to real life than we’d care to admit? Just because we fall in love and get married doesn’t mean heartbreak and hardship are over.

  Here’s to everyone who is still waiting for happily ever after to show up. Keep loving, keep hoping, and don’t forget who you are. Who knows? Maybe the hard times will end up holding sweet memories too.

  Craving more of Zel and her family? Sign up for my new release email list at http://smarturl.it/torn-freebie and get the free prequel novelette Torn, a short story set two years before the Destined series begins.

  Acknowledgements

  Special thanks to my editor Kathrese, whose hard work and invaluable advice made this book what it is.

  Thanks to my mom, for being the very first reader of this book and loving it, for caring deeply about the characters in the Destined world, and for helping me make this book better with countless spreadsheets and notes.

  And thanks to my dad, for teaching me that princesses should have “skills.” (You meant assassin skills, right, Dad?)

  Thanks to my husband, for being utterly determined to love me, no matter what.

  Finally, thanks to God, for showing me that the even the irredeemable can be redeemed.

  About the Author

  Kaylin Lee is an Army wife, mama, and white cheddar popcorn devotee. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her real-life hero husband and sweet toddler girl. After a lifetime of staying up too late reading stories, she now wakes up too early writing them. It was probably inevitable.