After a long moment, the enchantress let out a mighty scream of agony, hands raised above her head, the twirling green and brown mists grabbing and swirling her scream until it seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere.
Then she vanished.
Bella ran for Riven’s last known place, falling to her hands and knees at the sight of his broken body.Henriette knelt behind her, and even the queen came to the ground as they encircled the frog’s body.
“My son, my poor, sweet, loving son.”
Bella wept at the loss, resting her head on Henriette’s shoulder when the world felt too heavy to support her.
The queen waved a man over.“Carefully collect the castle he made.It will be his shrine.And bring me something that will suffice as a...casket.”The last word was little more than a whisper.
Henriette stretched for their lunch basket and dumped out their sandwiches.She refolded the linen inside and reverently placed the container in Bella’s hands.“Will this do, Your Majesty?”
A sob fell out of Bella.“He deserved a long, full life.I wanted to share every moment with him.”
A gentle hand fell on her shoulder, and the queen said, “I am so glad you two found each other.True love is rare and admirable.”
“I loved him, Your Majesty.I swear I did.”
That hand now squeezed her shoulder.“You saw him for who he was, not what he was.That, my dear, is commendable, and something for which I will be forever grateful.”
Bella nodded through her tears at the sweet words.She turned her gaze back to Riven’s broken body.
It was gone.
Chapter 23
Everything around himwas blackish/gray.Riven gazed left and right, noting with utter detachment that he was human again.Before him, shrouded in the grayish swirl of mists, appeared both enchantresses.With no sense of moving his body, Riven drifted close, as if he knew instinctively how to navigate this realm.
“Hello.”He noticed the words did not come from his mouth.
Tilisandre’s meadow-colored eyes beamed in the bleak surroundings, while her hair, today the color of summer skies, encircled her frame.She seemed to ask his unspoken question.“Yes, we are here for you.”
“Me?Did I not work hard enough in the former realm to earn your satisfaction?”It was as if Riven’s soul spoke, not his brain or mouth, for Riven had no knowledge of realms, current or former, and no words tumbled off his tongue.His words, like theirs, simply filled the air around them.
“You labored gloriously,” Tilisandre said, and she looked to her sister for confirmation.
