by R. A. Rock
In this spot, the Starshine river, which began its travels here at this very spot, came out of the side of a cliff into a shining pool that was perfect for swimming and then continued its meandering way through the forest.
The river, it was said, passed right through Ahlenerra’s source of magic, so when it emerged from the cliffside here, it was absolutely full of Starlight—giving it its glow, like liquid Starshine.
Drinking from the river was forbidden at this point because so many Fae had died in an explosion of Starlight, like when people United too long. There was simply so much magic in the water that most normal Fae couldn’t handle it.
But bathing in it wasn’t dangerous and was very pleasant, Tess remembered.
“I used to love swimming here,” Ethan said, gazing at the water that shimmered with golden light.
Tess gave him a surprised look. “Me too,” she told him, and Tess felt a sense of connection. And regret over the way she had behaved with him. “Hey, Ethan, I’m sorry for treating you so badly. I was really horrible.”
He pulled his gaze from the sparkling water and turned it on her, surprised at her apology.
“It’s okay, Stars. I know you were under a lot of stress.”
“And I changed my mind,” she said.
“About what?” he said, his expression intrigued.
“If I was looking for a hero, which I’m not,” she clarified, biting her lip at the sentimentality of the thought she was about to express. “But if I was, I’d hire you. Hands down.”
“Thanks, Tessa,” he said, his eyes bright. “That means a lot to me.”
Ethan clearly recognized her snarky comment from back when he hadn't wanted to help them, which she had turned into a compliment. He gave her a smile that was warm and real. She wondered if he felt the connection between them, too. Acting on impulse, Tess went up on her toes and kissed him on the cheek.
Ethan looked surprised and pleased. He took her hand, interlacing their fingers, and they gazed at the lovely waterfall.
Maybe she should truly give Ethan a chance. Maybe she could, now that they were back in Ahlenerra and she would have a moment to catch her breath. Perhaps once Finn was healed, the four of them could go to the Keeper’s quarters and just chill and hang out for a while.
As Tess was lost in these musing, a Light Fae woman approached. Startled, Tess wrenched her hand from Ethan’s and pulled her gun, training it on the pretty young woman who wore the livery of a messenger from Lumenstone Fortress.
“Tessa Callahan?
“Yes,” Tess said, narrowing her eyes at the woman. “Do I know you?”
“I’m a messenger from the Light Court.”
Tess took a step back.
“A messenger,” the faerie repeated with a gentle smile, raising her graceful hands to show she meant no harm. “Not a bounty hunter.”
“What do you want?” Tess said, not letting down her guard or her gun. The Faerie before her didn’t seem afraid at all and Tess wondered why that was.
“You’re needed immediately in the Light Court, your excellency.”
“What? Why would I be needed? Unless it’s to throw me in jail. The King has a price on my head, remember?” Tess was becoming more perplexed and suspicious with every word this woman spoke.
And why had the woman called Tess your excellency? Had the woman recognized her and remembered her from before Tess had left? Tess didn’t remember the woman’s face at all. There was a time when the use of such honorifics to describe her were an everyday occurrence that she hardly noticed. Obviously, that was no longer the case and the title was jarring to her ears.
“The bounty is all over and done with, considering the situation,” the woman said with an elegant wave of her slender fingers. She put her hand on Tessa’s gun and gently pushed it down.
“Can you please just explain what’s going on?” Tess said, losing patience with the messenger not getting to the point. After all she had been through in the past twenty-four hours, she had little tolerance left. She tucked her gun back in her thigh holster.
“Of course, your excellency. I thought you knew. The King is missing. For some time now. No one knows where he’s gone.”
Tess exchanged glances with Ethan.
“That’s strange but I don’t see what it has to do with me. Other than I’m glad that the bounty’s been lifted.”
“No. You don’t understand. Your entire family mysteriously fell ill right after the King disappeared.”
“My whole family?”
“Yes. And the next thing we knew, the Dark Queen was attacking Lumenstone with Dark Magic. We think all three events are linked.”
“You still haven’t said what all this has to do with Tess,” Ethan pointed out, his face looking dangerous. No doubt, he was as exhausted and impatient as she was.
“I thought it was clear,” the messenger said, her lovely hazel eyes big and wide. “We desperately need someone to take over the throne. And you’re next in line, Tessa Callahan.”
“You’re kidding, right?” Tess said, going very still.
“I am not joking in the slightest, your excellency,” the messenger assured her, looking worried. “We need you to take over immediately as Queen Regent.”
“What?” Tess looked at Ethan to see what he thought, and all he did was shrug with his eyebrows raised, completely taken aback as well.
“You are the current ruler of the Light Court, your excellency. And your presence is required at Lumenstone Fortress immediately.”
The End
Continue the Saga…
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Author Note
Dear Readers,
I have to admit that this book was my favourite to write. I had so much fun with the universal translation spells and Tess and Finn finding their way in the modern human world. You got to meet Ethan, so I hoped that was interesting. And we brought in Ignis, for those of you who have read the Immortal Huntress series, I hope you enjoyed that. It was tricky to use someone else's character, but we managed it and I hope you liked having him show up in my books!
I really love archeological adventures and I wanted to incorporate that. And I love when stories explain the unexplainable.
I'm so happy that you read Chalice of Life and I hope you're looking forward to book 4 where Tess will be thrown into another totally foreign situation. All sorts of fun stuff coming up and I hope you'll join me. And as they say in Ahlenerra...
May the stars shine their light upon you.
Sincerely,
R. A. Rock
About Seven Sons
Seven Sons is Fantasy. Urban Fantasy. Paranormal. Romance. Adventure. Relationships. Trials. Death. Journey. Finding yourself. Stepping into your next Big Adventure. Join us. Now.
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About The Author
When I was in grade two, my well-meaning teacher told me that I overused the word nice in my writing. As you can imagine, my younger self was both irritated and insulted. Somehow my eight-year-old brain thought that nice was the perfect adjective to describe… well, just about everything, I suppose. And anyways who was she to tell me how to write? If I wanted to use the word nice, I was darn well going to use it.
Fast-forward thirty-three years and my stories are anything but nice, perhaps in reaction to that very first criticism. I like to write about what people do when terrible things occur. Hm. What would these characters do if the worst thing they can possibly imagine… happened? Let’s put them in that situation and see. I love magic and mystery, action and adventure, fight scenes, and sweet moments, too. And I’m all about taking the reader along for the ride. So, I hope you’ll come along on this magical adventure. I can’t wait to see where it leads! (I hope
it’s someplace nice.)
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COPYRIGHT
Chalice Of Life
Blade Of The Fae Book 3
Copyright © R. A. Rock 2019
First published in US as a paperback and ebook. This imprint by BrixBaxter Publishing & LMBPN Publishing 2019
Cover Designer: Moonchild Ljilia
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
The novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and plot are all either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons – living or dead – is purely coincidental.
