ChristopherToday is the today that I return home. I can not wait. It has been a hard year. Learning that something killed a large amount of subjects, in such a short time, during Raleigh’s birthday almost made me come back. I was panicked.Erin assured me that she, meaning Raleigh, was fine. The amount of injured and dead was staggering though. I had lost a few friends in that attack. My father sent word that I was to stay put, no matter what I felt.A few weeks later, I got word that the Regent, Reginald, was in charge because my father had passed. To say that I was livid, is an understatement. I knew this day was coming. That didn’t lesson the pain and anger any.He didn’t want me to come home. It hurt. It hurt that I didn’t get to see him off. It hurt that I didn’t light his pyre. It hurt that my Mother had to handle it all by herself. It hurt that..it just hurt.I didn’t visit Erin after that. I worked on my training. I worked out, perfected my sword fighting skills, perfected my

Toby’s POVThe second that she opens her eyes, I freeze. I know what my strange need to be with her is now. The problem is, that she isn’t old enough to know it yet. She’s my fated mate! How have I not noticed it before? The strange jealousy, the urge to protect her, the constant thoughts of her.She’s always been mine. I’m twenty one and she’s only 17. She won’t know what her attraction is to me until she turns eighteen. That’s when we know, for sure, who our mates are. I look at Erin. Everything in me wants to say ‘mine’ but I know that it would confuse her.*Erin.**What’s wrong, Brother?**She’s my fated!*She glances at Rae, stunned. She studies her face and suddenly recognition sets in her facial features. She’s starting to connect the dots. She kneels beside us, checking on Rae’s wounds. When the horse fell, all I could think about was Rae. I didn’t get to her in time and my heart seized. I heard her arm break and the air rush out of her lungs. Panic seized me.*Chris is going

Chris’s POVI’m walking back to my room at the palace when I run into Emma. When she first notices me, she rolls her eyes and starts taking off.“Em.” I call out to her. She starts running faster, irritating me. I groan frustrated. “Em.” I holler out again, using my authoritative tone.She spins around. “Yes, your Majesty?” She bows, sarcastically.It irritates me. We were best friends. I struggle to keep my irritance at bay. I scowl at her and take a deep breath. I’m already upset that Rae didn’t show. I had hoped that years apart would help her feel better.“Em. Get up, you know that you can call me Chris.” I tell her.She doesn’t look very happy that I consider her a friend. Great. I knew that Rae and her were best friends but could they both not forgive me? I’ve changed. I’m sorry for what I’ve done. She looks at me disbelieving.She raises her eye in defiance. The smirk on her face irritates me more. “I can?? Oh!! How exciting! Is it only Rae who isn’t good enough to call you Chr

The doctor is standing off to the side, talking to Chris, when we enter the building. I immediately rush over to her. Selene is running behind me and Chris turns at our approach. I se him grimace as he steps to the side.“How is she?” I ask.“She’s out of surgery. Now, it’s just a waiting game.” The doctor answers.“What happened?”“Part of her lung had collapsed. Even though it healed with her natural healing abilities, it remained weak. However, what we didn’t know is that she had some internal bleeding.”My eyes widen. “Were you able to fix it?”“Yes, Alpha. We did fix it.” She assures me.I breathe a sigh of relief. A weak lung could cause major problems in the future.“There is a but in there, isn’t there?” Selene questions.I tense and wait. I hadn’t heard it but the look on the doctor’s face confirms it. What could it be?The doctor sighs. “Yes. She’s in a coma.”“You said that you put her in a coma for the surgery and recovery. Why does it sound like there’s more?” Selene asks

I walk around to the desk and take a seat, silently watching the witch. When Reginald enters, I wave my hand in the direction of the chairs for him to sit. He and Katrina sit down next to each other. Reginald slightly moves his chair away from her. I suppress the laughter. We don’t trust witches, obviously.“Alright, Katrina. What is this promise that you speak of?” I ask.“When you were just a toddler, I was summoned by your father.” She starts.That surprises me but I keep my face neutral so that she’ll continue.“The night of your coronation I am to give you this potion.” She holds up a bottle of purple liquid. “You need to drink this, in the next fifteen minutes, or it will be too late.”I tilt my head in question. What is this? Does she really think that I am going to drink some random potion? No matter what, though, my interest is piqued.“What is it for? And, why did he summon you?”“You are powerful.” She answers simply, like I should already know this.What? I scrunch my eyes