disappeared.
His words were everything I had hoped for, but also everything I feared. Ryland held too much power over me. The Meraki bond was more than I could handle on top of everything else, and I wasn’t sure I could accept his apology.
At least, not in the way he seemed to be expecting.
Chapter Twenty
Porting without thinking of the exact place I wanted to be probably wasn’t the smartest thing I’d done since learning how to use my magic, but I’d been in such a panic that I didn’t care. Thankfully, I’d landed right at the edge of the falls and not somewhere I’d never been.
Deciding I wanted to remain as unseen as possible, I searched for a spot near the rock wall and took a seat within the shadows. I needed time to think. Time to figure out what I wanted, or more importantly, what was best for me.
The one thing I was sure of was that the Meraki bond was starting to piss me off. Sure, the idea of it was great. Having one perfect match for yourself, finding them, and—bam—happily-ever-after like I’d read about in the princess stories.
Even though I was technically a princess, this was no fairytale.
Things hadn’t transformed into a utopia as soon as I saw my soulmate. Far from it. Ryland hadn’t swooped in and saved the day, making me fall immediately in love with him. No, he’d pushed me away, because he’d been mad at himself. All of the nice things that I knew about him did not make the other stuff go away.
At least, not easily.
Leaning back against the rock, I closed my eyes, which probably wasn’t a smart thing to do since it had been an extremely long day and I was ready for bed, but I wasn’t prepared to face my best friend. I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep any of this hidden from Jordan, and once I said certain things out loud, I wouldn’t be able to unsay them.
I needed more time.
But I didn’t have more time.
Alaryk wasn’t going to wait for us to be ready, and I needed to make a choice, but it wasn’t fair that I needed to forgive Ryland merely for the benefit of Arvayta. When or if we decided to trust each other and really get to know each other, I wanted to do it because I knew without a doubt it was the right choice.
Eventually, my thoughts slowed down and I drifted off. When I did, images flashed within my mind of happier and easier times back on Earth. Then, they transitioned into my first meetings with Stryx and all those insane but very real moments that followed.
Just when the weird slideshow of a dream was ending with my human death, the vision of my dying body burst into a vivid yellow light, and my eyes flew open. Except the light wasn’t only from my dream; it was standing right before me, too brilliant to look directly at.
“Hello, Kaliah,” the angelic voice said softly as the glow around her began dimming to a more manageable level.
“Uh, hi?”
“Do you know who I am?” she asked, and my head shook, though she did look incredibly familiar. “I’m your grandmother Taliah.”
Crap, was I dead for a second time? If not, I didn’t imagine her being in Arvayta was a good thing, considering she was supposed to be in the In-Between with the Fates. I certainly wasn’t ready to be there myself.
“No, you’re not dead, but you do need help, and that’s what I’m here to give.” She smiled softly, and I finally saw the spitting image of Mother in her.
My heart softened, and my throat burned as emotion built within me. This was my family. Family I’d never had the chance to meet. She had the same brunette hair as my mother, but she also had shimmering blonde running through it like I did. Her eyes were a light golden brown that stood out with the radiant light around her.
“Do you mind if I sit with you? I can’t walk any further from the falls or I could disappear,” she said.
“Of course not.” There was no letting her disappear on me, so I scooted over, allowing her to sit nearest to the water. Then, I immediately felt weird about having a past queen sit on the ground with me. She should be on a throne, not the grass.
“Definitely not, my sweet granddaughter. When I was queen, I was never higher up than my people. They