“But we did,” Harrison says, smiling down at her.
“And it worked out,” Libby answers, grinning back up at him.
Harrison looks at Emma. “Listen, I’m sorry I got so mad this morning. Clearly, you two have something worth pursuing here. The way Pierce stood up for you says a lot about his character.”
Emma sighs. “As much as I appreciate your intentions on this one, you don’t know the first thing about Pierce,” she says. “He doesn’t believe in love or marriage or really any type of happiness that has anything to do with other human beings. He likes being a reclusive, miserable, lonely writer, and you know what? I’m fine with that. I don’t need anything more from him than what he’s got to offer while he's here. You may not understand that, but it works for me, okay?”
“Oh, Baby Bear, you’re going to run again,” Rosy says, shaking her head. She stands and walks over to Emma, taking both hands in hers. “Don’t be scared. You don’t have to run.”
“Oh my God! Is no one here listening? I’m not running. I’m not scared. I’m just...a realist,” Emma says. “Now, if you don’t mind, we’re going to leave. We have another 24 hours of meaningless fucking ahead of us and I’d like to make sure we get to it.”
She storms into the house, leaving me standing with her family. Well, this is awkward in a way few things in my life have been. “Umm, thank you for your hospitality,” I say, looking from Rosy to Darnell. “Delightful evening, really. Delicious food, lovely company.”
“Pierce!” Emma calls from inside the kitchen.
“I should go.”
26
Emotional Rollercoasters, Awe-Inspiring Endings, and a Feast for a King
Emma
“What the hell was that?” Pierce asks as soon as we pull onto the tree-lined freeway.
“My family. I tried to warn you,” I say, shifting gears roughly as I change lanes.
“Not them.You. What was that crap about me being a lonely recluse and the meaningless fucking?” he asks. “Was that really necessary?”
I feel a twinge of guilt, but push it away. “Sorry. I didn’t mean the thing about you being lonely.”
“But you meant the bit about the meaningless fucking?” he asks in a hard tone.
Instead of answering, I take the next corner too fast, throwing us both off balance for a second.
“Slow down,” he says. “I don’t need to get killed because you’re in a pissy mood.”
“I’m not in a pissy mood,” I answer, accelerating to beat the red light. “This is just how I drive.”
We ride along in silence all the way back to the resort. It isn’t until I pull into the stall that I remember we’re staying here for the night rather than risking the trip back to Eden in the dark. We’ve got a suite booked and had planned to wrap up the last chapter, then spend the rest of the night doing all sorts of fun, sexy celebrating. But obviously that’s off the table now, isn’t it?
I cut the engine, then we sit for a moment, not looking at each other. Finally, I say, “We should get to work.”
Pierce turns to me and tilts his head. “So, that’s it then? We just pretend none of that happened and go back to the way things were?”
“Look, I don’t have all the answers here, okay, but I do know we have a job to do. The rest can wait.”
“Fine.”
* * *
Three hours later
It’s close to midnight which means that back in Avonia, people will just be getting into the office. Pierce has already avoided two phone calls from NBO, one from Sullivan and Stone, and a text from Zach that said:Call NOW. URGENT.
He’s closing in on the end of the story, and I had no idea what an emotional journey this would be. As I type, I’m pulled along with the two remaining sons of King Draqen—Lucaemor and Matalyx—who finally unite to battle Zhordal mo Rhandar’s army. After years of betrayal, lies, and pain, they have formed an alliance foretold by Mehesi the witch way back in book two. But I’m kind of crapping here because she foretold that only one heir would survive the great war, and honestly, I can’t decide who to root for, since they’ve both had to do such evil things to survive the unending night, but they’re also so incredibly brave and amazing at the same time.
I’ve all but forgotten what happened at Rosy and Darnell’s, and I couldn’t care less that we’re spending the night in the uber-romantic Palatial Suite because I’m so swept up in what’s happening in the realms of Qadeathas. Ihaveto know how it will end. My heart pounds and I feel like I might literally die if Luc doesn’t make it out of the battle alive and find his way back to Oona, who has been wandering hopelessly in a terrifying labyrinth for four days. She’s pregnant, starving, exhausted, and she can’t sleep because there’s a damn manananggal stalking her who is definitely going to kill her, then suck the heart out of their unborn baby.
