I stomp his toe. Muriel doesn’t need specifics; she needs the peaceful life we’re providing her. “Where are Anna and Marcus?”
“Coming,” Anna calls. She and her brother jog away from the busy barn.
“They helped me with Mirain. I wish you had time to see the foal.”
“Me, too, but we have to get going.” I kiss Muriel’s cheek and then head for the portal. “See you tonight.”
We step through the glimmering door to Encardia and right into the field where we fought our last battle with Dughbal. I used my mother’s letter to move the doors where they would be most effective. Wilde’s Meadow is always the first place I visit in Encardia, so it only made sense to move the portal to my sister’s memorial.
Arland puts Brianna down, then takes my hand. She zips off with Anna and Marcus, squealing and running through the tall wheat grasses, playing a game of tag. The sun’s rays make the field glow like honey, and my heart swells.
My dreams have come true.
We walk through the field and stop where my sister gave her life for us, and I choke back the tears that always come—they always come.
“Thank you, Brit. I miss you more and more every day. Brianna is such a mixture of you and Flanna. I wish you could meet her. The baby is due in a few weeks. The doctors said we’re having a boy. Can you believe that? A boy! I don’t have a clue of what to name him. I considered mixing Brad and Gary’s names like I did for you and Flanna, but nothing I’ve come up with does anything short of make Arland cringe.”
Arland laughs and rolls out a blanket next to the wooden sign marking this as Brit’s spot. “Barry is not acceptable.”
I sit and stare at my daughter, at Anna and Marcus who are so close to my children I can never let them go, and breathe in the fresh air. Sometimes I feel my sister’s presence here, like she’s sitting next to me, her arm over my shoulder, a smile on her face. Sometimes I think I hear her telling me everything will be okay, that one day the guilt for all the lives lost will go away, that no one resents me, but until I get to Heaven and see for myself, I’m not sure I’ll ever let go of the pain.
Grady … . The name floats through my thoughts and sounds perfect.
“How about Grady, Arland?”
“Grady,” he says, trying out the word on his tongue. “Grady Maher. I like that.”
“Did you hear that, Brit? Your nephew’s name will be Grady. Tell Flanna she’ll need to sing to him, too.”
Arland draws me near, and we sit in silence, enjoying an hour of peace before we go about our day. There will always be time for politics, but there will never be enough time for family.
Never.
The End.
Thank You For Reading
Now that you have completed this book, we hope you will leave a review so that other readers may benefit from your perspective. Authors like Krystal Wade live and die by your reviews, after all!
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© 2012 Krystal Wade
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information about Subsidiary Rights, Bulk Purchases, Live Events, or any other questions - please contact Curiosity Quills Press at [email protected], or visit http://curiosityquills.com
Cover design by Harvey Bunda (http://soulspline.deviantart.com)
ISBN: 978-1-62007-108-3 (ebook)
ISBN: 978-1-62007-109-0 (paperback)
ISBN: 978-1-62007-110-6 (hardcover)
About the Author
Official Homepage | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | GoodReads
Krystal Wade can be found in the sluglines outside Washington D.C. every morning, Monday through Friday. With coffee in hand, iPod plugged in, and strangers – who sometimes snore, smell, or have incredibly bad gas – sitting next to her, she zones out and thinks of fantastical worlds for you and me to read.
How else can she cope with a fifty mile commute?
Good thing she has her husband and three kids to go home to. They keep her sane.
Acknowledgments
A lot of people claim writing is a lonely profession, and to some extent, they are correct. However, publication is not lonely, nor is it achieved alone. For my successes, I have many wonderful people to thank and never enough time.
Sarah Ballance opened my eyes to a new world. She encouraged me to seek publication, pointed out my talent, and helped me develop my skills.
Dawna Raver critiqued chapter after chapter after chapter—sometimes the same one. She became my best friend, my go to girl, my daily phone call.
Mary Harris taught me everything I know about editing, and then some. Please don’t search for missing commas, Mary; I’m writing this in a hurry!
Vicki Keire, Verity Linden, and Jessa Russo did an awesome job editing and proofreading the second and third books, and I couldn’t be more grateful!
Kimberly Glenn, Laura Archer, Aimee Hultzapple, and Katherine Polk read my books before they were edited, before they should have been read, and took precious time out of their lives to help me. They helped me mold Kate and Encardia, and they cheered on my story from day one.
Alisa Gus and Eugene Teplitsky saved me from a near career-crushing experience, promoted me, had faith in me. They are the reason my books have beautiful covers and grace the homes and Kindles of so many fans!
And of course, I cannot forget my family. You’ve allowed me to miss laundry, write through dinner, spend a lot of money shipping out books, post cards, magnets, and you’ve continued loving me through it all.
I love you, too!
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Table of Contents
Appetizer:
Book Cover
Title Page
Dedication
Main Course:
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Epilogue
Dessert:
Closing
About the Author
Acknowledgments
Copyright & Publisher
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