First Light (Forever After Series)

by Michele Paige Holmes

  My gamble had paid off. Partially, at least. I wasn’t sure about the rest. But at least she will be dead. Cristian is safe.

  I struggled for breath, each movement bringing agonizing pain. I couldn’t recall hurting this badly when I’d almost died before, but I didn’t tell Cristian. He held my bloodied hand, and I squeezed his reassuringly. “Take the blue vial from my pouch and give it to me.”

  Cristian fumbled with the flaps of my satchel, spilling out a pile of twigs before he found the tiny blue vial. I reached for it. “Help me drink it. Quickly.”

  He uncorked the top and raised my head so I might drink. Before the vial reached my lips, a bony hand swiped it from his grasp. Nadamaris’s flesh was all but gone. The black magic in the sword was working much faster and in a much more grotesque way than it had on Cristian.

  Because she was the one who created it? Did the black magic take longer to flow through blood that was pure or good, whereas it found quick transport in that which was already tainted with evil?

  Cristian lunged at her, trying to retrieve the bottle, but she’d thrown its contents to the back of her throat before he could take it. “No!” His cry was filled with anguish.

  Nadamaris’s shriek reached a new intensity, then abruptly stopped. She clutched at her throat and gasped for breath, but none came.

  The poison was working.

  As she’d fallen for her sister’s trickery so long ago, she’d fallen for mine. I struggled for my own life as hers left, disintegrating to a pile of ash in a matter of seconds. Cristian’s eyes were wide and terrified as he fell to his knees beside me and took my hand once more.

  “The green bottle,” I managed to whisper. He found it quickly, but there was fear in his eyes as he held it out to me.

  I tried to nod. “Pour it over my wound. And yours,” I added, noting the blood trickling down his neck.

  His fingers trembled as he unscrewed the lid and held it over me. I closed my eyes, bracing for the pain to come, the agony Florence had warned of. The first drop fell, and I cried out as fire engulfed my insides, cleansing the wound, cauterizing it with the most potent and magical healing elixir. The bleeding began to slow, the skin reknitting together before our eyes. Cristian poured more of the precious liquid over me, and I cried out, begging him to stop. Instead, he splashed some upon his own neck. His jaw clenched, and his eyes watered as he endured the awful burning. I took his hand, and we clung to each other through our suffering.

  When the last drop was spilt, we lay side by side in the clearing, staring up at the pale sky above. The moon appeared faint in the light of the rising sun.

  The first light. We sat up together, as if we’d both shared the same thought. Cristian stood first, then tenderly pulled me to my feet. I was tired, scratched, bruised, and dirty, but beyond that I was whole. Alive.

  I touched the scar at his neck, knowing I’d have a wicked one across my belly as well. No matter, I thought, pushing aside any girlish vanity I might have felt.

  “Symbols of our love,” Cristian informed me.

  “Oh?” I arched an eyebrow at him. “Are you a mind reader now, too?”

  “Maybe.” His devil-may-care smile was back.

  Hand in hand we walked to the forest’s edge, to a hill overlooking the city and distant castle far below. On the other side of the main tower, the sun was just making its appearance, streaking the sky with orange-pink light.

  “How about a test?” Cristian asked. I turned to him, and he enfolded me in his arms, then pressed his lips to mine in the most tender of kisses. I put my hands around him, tickling the hairs at the back of his neck. His kiss grew deeper. Lightning did not flash; the only thundering came from my heart.

  Not a drop of rain fell.

  But across Tallinyne, near the mountain, clouds were gathering as they should, forming the weather as it had been, as it would be now, bringing rain in the season as was to be expected. Nadamaris and her curse were no more.

  I lay my head against Cristian’s shoulder and looked out at our kingdom, enjoying the first light on the first day of the rest of our lives together.

  Dear Reader,

  I hope you enjoyed Adrielle’s story and stepping into a world of mixed-up fairy tales and magical possibilities. If you’re wondering about Adrielle’s and Cristian’s wedding, you’re not alone. It’s coming! Keep reading for a preview of my next fairy tale romance, Last Day.

  Michele

  From the moment we are born, we are dying. This my father taught me.

  We gasp, and tiny lungs expand, inhaling that first breath of air— air we need to live but that ultimately ages us. The heart, already beating for several months, pounds away at a frenetic pace, pumping blood throughout the body. Its rhythm feels dependable— invincible, even— but eventually it will grow old, tire, and cease to beat.

  With time bones become brittle, baby-soft skin gives way to the work-worn skin of adulthood, with blemishes, then wrinkles. Hair thins and grays; bodies grow infirm. Death is the inevitable end to life. All this my father taught me. I wish, for me, it was still true.

  “Cecilia!”

  My chamber door flew open, and Adrielle stood there, mouth agape as she stared at me.

  “You’re still abed? Are you ill?” She ran toward me, though it seemed almost as if she floated on air. Adrielle’s gifts had only increased in the ten months I’d known her. When moving she was both quick and graceful— a combination I never ceased to admire. She reached my bed and stretched out her hand as if to touch my forehead.

  “I’m quite fine.” Perfectly well, as always. I mustered a smile and threw back the covers. “Just thinking of what a splendid day this will be.”

  Relief spread across her face. “Oh, good. You had me worried.”

  “Nothing shall spoil your perfect day.” Not even sullen old me.

  “I wasn’t thinking of my day.” Adrielle turned away and headed toward the wardrobe. “'Tis you I’ve hopes for. Have you forgotten that Hale is to be in attendance this afternoon?”

  “Not at all.” Just hearing his name caused a tightening in my chest. It was this precise problem— Hale’s presence today— that held me still in my bed at this late hour. Seeing him once more was something I both eagerly awaited and dreaded.

  “Do you want a morning frock? Or a day gown?” Adrielle had opened my wardrobe and stood staring at the dresses crammed inside. I knew her closet held only half as many gowns. Having grown up an impoverished farm girl, she had an appreciation, but no great desire, for fine things. Oh, that I had been the same. I pushed the thought aside. It was not my love for finery that got me into this mess.

  No? Some other, inner voice argued. Well, it certainly didn’t help.

  Perhaps not, but what am I to do about it now?

  “The violet day dress, please.” I’d known for weeks exactly what I’d be wearing this morning, lest Hale arrived earlier than expected. The violet was my favorite. Once, when Cristian had believed he was courting me, and before he’d fallen in love with Adrielle, he had told me my eyes were the color of violets. I hadn’t thought much of his compliment at the time— as I didn’t have feelings for him— but I’d remembered it when I had the opportunity to be near Hale. Perhaps violet eyes were attractive to him as well.

  I slid from the bed and walked behind the screen. Adrielle handed me the gown, then plopped herself into the chair by the fire, much as she’d done the first night she’d ever visited this chamber— her chamber, or that was what it was meant to be. Ten months earlier, after she and Cristian had broken the curse and saved the kingdom, Adrielle had insisted I continue living in Castle Canelia, and she’d refused to take the room that had been mine for nearly eighteen years.

  After shedding my nightgown, I pulled a petticoat from a hook on the wall, then stepped into it. Servants were nearby to assist, and normally I availed them. But with Adrielle here, there was no need. Though she was the rightful princess of Canelia, and would, this very evening, be married to the
Prince of Rincoln, she never objected to helping others, even if it meant doing a servant’s task. Another consequence of growing up poor, of having grown up with my family.

  One would have thought I was jealous of her from thoughts like this that popped into my mind almost daily. But it was not jealousy that ate at me, but regret. A deep, abiding regret that I had not appreciated the life I'd had and so willingly traded it away for the chance at riches, leisure… everlasting youth.

  “Will you help me with my laces?” I turned to find Adrielle, having already anticipated my need, waiting just beyond the screen.

  “Ridiculous things, corsets,” she muttered.

  “Bet you’ll be wearing one this afternoon.” I couldn’t resist teasing her. Her wedding gown was the loveliest creation I’d ever seen— but it required a corset and petticoats beneath.

  She grinned. “Well, only this once.”

  “That’s what you think.” Adrielle’s presence in the castle the past months had wrought many changes, but Queen Ellen was not likely to end foreign visits, balls, and the like anytime soon. It seemed to me, anyway, that she still felt a need to make up for all those years when the castle had been closed off to the rest of the world.

  Adrielle finished with my laces, then returned to the wardrobe for stockings and shoes. “Sit,” she ordered, pointing at a chair.

  I did, knowing it was useless to argue, but I took the stockings from her before she could put them on for me. When I’d pulled each up to my knee, I held out a foot. Adrielle slid on one slipper and then the other. As her head bent to the task, I felt a surge of protective love for this little sister who was only that by the strangest set of circumstances. Blood did not bind us together, but the workings of an evil curse, and the path we’d taken that had saved each other’s lives, created ties as strong as if we were siblings.

  Her continued gratitude for me— when I did not deserve it— and the simple way she went about things, as if she was as ordinary as the next person, were what endeared her to all.

  “Stunning, as usual,” Adrielle proclaimed as she rose from the ground and looked down upon me. “I simply cannot wait for Hale to see you again.”

  The strange feeling in my chest returned.

  “I think I am almost more excited for that than I am to wed.”

  “You’d best not let Cristian hear you say that.”

  Adrielle pulled me to my feet and linked her arm through mine. “I said almost. You of all people know how much I love him, how I long to be with him always.”

  “That I do.” After the curse was lifted they had decided to postpone their wedding, so Adrielle might have time to get to know her real parents. But as the date for the wedding had drawn closer, I had sensed her eagerness to be married, to be with Cristian always and to begin the life they were meant to live.

  We left the room and proceeded down the hall, past vases of flowers no longer enchanted to keep intruders out. Today was the most important of Adrielle’s life. True, she had saved a kingdom already, but this day was just for her. I vowed to forget my own troubles and do all I could to make sure the wedding went perfectly.

  By two o’clock, everything in the castle and surrounding grounds had achieved perfection. Florence had worked her magic on the gardens and all things growing. A profusion of yellow roses covered the trellis beneath which Cristian and Adrielle were to stand while reciting their vows. I’d wondered at their choice of color. Was not red the color symbolizing deep and abiding love?

  But Adrielle had explained that all was to be festooned in yellow, the color of friendship, significant as two kingdoms were about to unite and a third, Baldwinidad, was also being welcomed back, after a long period as our enemy.

  As I stood in the shadow of the castle, I thought Adrielle’s color choice could not have been better. Vines climbed the walls with delicate buttercup flowers spread out over the stone. Ribbon strung between chairs and lining the aisle up which Adrielle would walk shimmered golden in the sunlight. Tall and stately daffodils resided in crystal vases on the tables, almost every bush and tree boasted yellow blossoms and bows, and a carpet of discarded petals covered the ground. The air was heady and fragrant.

  “Florence has outdone herself, has she not?” A burst of sparkles appeared in the air beside me, and a few seconds later Merry Anne was at my side gathering me in a hug.

  I stayed in her embrace perhaps a bit longer than necessary, but oh, how I’d missed her. Merry Anne was the closest person— well, fairy— I had to family. She and her sisters had been gone much of the past ten months, off protecting some other princess, now that Evil Queen Nadamaris was dead and Adrielle was safe.

  “How are you, dear?” Merry Anne held me at arm’s length and looked me up and down. “Such lovely curls today. And that glorious gown— Maggie’s work?”

  I nodded. The previous cook had turned seamstress when Castle Canelia had been liberated from the curse. To all our delight, she was much better with a needle and thread than she’d been with a kettle and stove.

  “However did she do the beading on the bodice? 'Tis absolutely stunning. You’re like to outshine the bride.”

  “Oh no,” I shook my head. “Adrielle is the one who is stunning. Wait until you see her gown.”

  “'Tis not simply a dress that makes one lovely. Though I’ve no doubt Adrielle’s countenance shall be positively radiant tonight. But what of yours, Cecilia?”

  Merry Anne’s eyes, almost always bright and sparkling, darkened with question.

  “I am most happy for both bride and groom,” I said honestly. Adrielle and Cristian were a perfect match. It took but a short while in their company to see it, to realize the depth of their friendship and love for one another.

  “Yes, yes, I know.” Merry Anne waved a hand dismissively, sending a cascade of fairy dust through the air. “It’s your happiness I’m concerned with. Behind your eyes, there.” She moved to my side, squinting as she peered at my profile. “I see beneath the surface. You’re troubled.”

  “It’s nothing.” The protest was a waste of breath, and I knew it. Merry Anne and her fairy sisters could read minds, and as we’d spent nearly eighteen years together, they knew mine well.

  “Ahh— oh.” The merry twinkle did not return to her eyes. “You’re worried about your everlasting youth. I’m so sorry, Cecilia. We should have explained to you before we left, should have—”

  “There is nothing to explain.” And should haves are too painful to consider. I forced a bright smile to my face. “All will be well. You’ll see. I’ve only to find a young man, also immortally eighteen. And then I, too, can live happily ever after. I shall expect your help with that, as you’ve wings to fly and can search farther." Turning away, I willed my heart to close, my mind to seal before she could see the thoughts swirling there.

  There is no other man immortally eighteen. Even if there was, it would not matter.

  It was Hale I was fond of, Hale whose affection I desired. But to choose him would only be to ultimately lose him as he aged and died, while I lived on forever.

  Alone.

  Click on the covers to visit Michele’s Amazon Author Page

  Michele Paige Holmes spent her childhood and youth in Arizona and northern California, often curled up with a good book instead of out enjoying the sunshine. She graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in elementary education and found it an excellent major with which to indulge her love of children’s literature.

  Her first novel, Counting Stars, won the 2007 Whitney Award for Best Romance. Its companion novel, a romantic suspense titled All the Stars in Heaven, was a Whitney Award finalist, as was her first historical romance, Captive Heart. My Lucky Stars completed the Stars series.

  In 2014 Michele launched the Hearthfire Historical Romance line, with the debut title, Saving Grace. Loving Helen is the companion novel, with a third, Marrying Christopher released in July 2015.

  When not reading or writing romance, Michele is busy with her fu
ll-time job as a wife and mother. She and her husband live in Utah with their five high-maintenance children, and a Shih Tzu that resembles a teddy bear, in a house with a wonderful view of the mountains.

  You can find Michele on the web: http://michelepaigeholmes.com

  Facebook: Michele Holmes

  Twitter: @MichelePHolmes

  First Light has been a long time in coming, as writing fractured fairytales for a young adult audience is a different, and in some ways more challenging, adventure than the romances I have written in the past. This story was one of the last to go through my critique group, and I am especially indebted to each member— Stephanni Myers, Annette Lyon, Lu Ann Staheli, Heather Moore, Lynda Keith, Sarah Eden, Jeff Savage, and Rob Wells— for the insights and inspiration they added to Adrielle’s story.

  I am also grateful for skilled editors Angela Eschler, Cassidy Wadsworth, and Lisa Walker Shepherd whose sharp eyes and talents always make a manuscript better. I am thankful to Heather Justesen for formatting.

  Once again Rachael Anderson has designed a gorgeous cover, and I so appreciative of her talents. I continue to be thankful to Heather Moore and Mirror Press for the opportunity to publish clean romance. Thank you for taking a chance on this one.

  And finally, I am grateful for a family who allow me the time to dream and make those dreams come true. I’ve been so fortunate to raise two little boys who enjoyed playing superhero, wearing capes, and brandishing tinfoil-covered swords, while jumping off the furniture. I’ve been blessed to watch three daughters, who danced around in tutus and princess gowns, grow into lovely young women. Mostly, I am grateful to be married to their father, prince charming if there ever was one.

  Other Books by Michele Paige Holmes

  Part I

  One

  Two