The Reader - Chapter 27

Chapter 27 

Watching the sun rise had to be the most beautiful experience Emmeline had ever had. It was worth waking at an early hour to go and see. 

The entire village stretched out beneath the mountain peak Emmeline was sitting on. No one was awake yet the town possessed an eerie calmness. Just looking at the tiny houses all lined up it was impossible to tell that somewhere else there was an angry Goddess. 

But that was a problem for another time. 

The mountain peak was supposedly the highest point in both of the kingdoms, and many people hiked up it just for the view. 

Of course, the serene view of the kingdoms was worth it too. With the sun casting gold, pink, and purple hues across the sky it was positively lovely. Not to mention the rolling hills and fields that Emmeline could see from up on her perch. 

If she lived through her fight with Baelle, Emmeline decided she would tour the kingdoms. Assuming she survived. And assuming that she wasn’t a fugitive by then. 

Emmeline sighed, pulling her cloak tighter around herself to ward off shivers. She had stolen a blanket from the lobby in the inn to sit on so the snow didn’t seep into her clothes. She had lugged the blanket up the hill for this view and she had no regrets about it. 

The whole world seemed to be holding its breath, as if waiting for something. Maybe it was waiting for Baelle to destroy all of it. 

Or maybe it was waiting for some hero to come and save it. 

“It’s lovely, isn’t it?” someone asked from behind Emmeline. She didn’t turn to look at Newt, instead she moved over so he could share the blanket with her. 

“It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” Emmeline said, her breath making a small puff in front of her face. The sun was rising over the border of the mountains far off in the distance, and they looked like jagged teeth silhouetted against the blending colors of the sunrise. Nevertheless, the sky was too pretty to be ruined by the thought of fangs or anything like that. 

“Not the most beautiful,” Newt said, and Emmeline turned to see he was looking at her. 

“Am I competing with the sky now?” Emmeline laughed, realizing he had been talking about her. The concept of someone liking her was foreign. 

“There’s no competition,” Newt replied. “You’d win in a heartbeat.” 

Emmeline’s heart fluttered with anticipation and her stomach seemed filled with butterflies. She blushed, turning away and brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. 

“So, it’s just us, is it?” she asked, trying to change the subject. 

Newt shrugged. “I heard you leave this morning and went to make sure you weren’t running off to fight Baelle alone. Beckett and Clara are dead to the world when they sleep, so I’m not expecting them to join us.” 

“This is how it all began,” Emmeline said, remembering how she had first pulled Newt into the caravan to tell him about Beckett. “Just the two of us, journeying to find Beckett.” 

“If only someone had told us where we’d end up,” Newt sighed. “I know I wouldn’t have believed it. I mean, if someone told you that you would fight Baelle one on one and technically die from a stab wound from a pen, would you believe them?” 

Emmeline shrugged. “It’s not the craziest thing I’ve ever seen, but it’s close. Besides, I think I would do it all over again if I had too.” 

“Same here,” Newt said. “Not just to escape the caravan again, but just to actually focus on all we did. If you had died and stayed dead like a normal person, our time together would have been so much shorter.” 

“That sounds like an accusation,” Emmeline laughed. “Sorry, next time I’ll ask your permission before dying.” 

“Good,” Newt said, laughing as well. 

“Do I need your permission to stick my sword into someone too?” Emmeline asked. She was reluctant about self defense anymore. 

“No, of course not,” Newt replied. “Just as long as that someone isn’t me.” 

“Aw, you think I would stab you?” 

“It’s not out of the question.” 

“Hey! What did I ever do to you?” 

Newt looked up at her, his eyes big. “You didn’t kiss me back.” 

“That’s not fair,” Emmeline argued. “You were just possessed by some evil Goddess and I thought you wanted me dead.” 

“And you said you didn’t have trust issues,” Newt said, sticking out his tongue. “But you still owe me for that. I’m not going to forget and you’re not allowed to die to try and get out of it.” 

“That’s not fair,” Emmeline protested. 

Newt raised an eyebrow and Newt chuckled. “I’m kidding - I don’t want to force you into something you’re not ready for.” 

“Thanks,” Emmeline muttered, but she truly meant it. 

She didn’t want to be forced into yet another thing she didn’t want to do. And Newt’s willingness to wait until she was ready meant a lot to her. 

Besides, she was still new to the whole … relationship thing. What if she did it wrong? 

Newt drew himself a little closer to her until their arms were touching. When Emmeline didn’t move away he wrapped his arm around her and she laid her head on his shoulder, yawning. 

“You didn’t have to get up this early,” Newt told her. “I’d be fine if we slept in a little.” 

“You didn’t have to follow me,” Emmeline argued, but she was grateful he was there with her. 

“I didn’t have to - I wanted to,” Newt sighed. 

“Sappy,” Emmeline commented with a giggle. “You really love this nonsense romance stuff, don’t you.” 

“Not as much as I love you,” he whispered back. 

And then his lips were on hers and they were pressed together. When Emmeline finally pulled away she felt blissful, as peaceful as the scenery. Her cheeks were on fire and her heart was beating as fast as a hummingbird. 

Newt didn’t seem to mind it at all, but he was blushing as well. 

“See, that wasn’t so hard,” he mumbled. “But I thought you were waiting?” It was a question Emmeline didn’t know how to answer. 

“I’m facing my fears,” Emmeline said at last. “First, I fought Baelle instead of running. And then … that.” She didn’t know what to call it. Or even what had happened in the first place. Or what would happen between Newt and her in the future. 

Newt smiled. “That.” 

“What would you call it?” Emmeline retorted, wondering what the answer would be. 

“Disgusting,” someone else interrupted. Emmeline sighed as Beckett plopped down on Emmeline’s other side. 

“How much did you see?” Newt asked him. 

“Well, the others and I came up here when we saw your beds were empty.” Beckett beckoned backwards where Clara, Coral, and Forrest were standing. “But we arrived at the whole ‘I love you’ thing going on.” 

“Beckett owes me some gold coins,” Clara announced, seeming extremely proud. 

“You bet on us?” Emmeline asked, not sure if she should be offended or impressed. Probably offended. 

Clara shrugged. “Not you, just how long it would take you to confess. And I win.” 

“That’s not fair,” Beckett mumbled. “I don’t have any gold.” 

“You’re a prince - a king now - for goddess sakes,” Clara sighed, exasperated. She took a seat on the other side of Newt. “It doesn’t matter anyways.” 

“So, you just come up here because you didn’t want Newt and I to be alone?” Emmeline asked. She wasn’t sure that she wanted an entourage following her around, though it would be nice to keep her friends in one place. 

“I came to see the sunrise,” Coral clarified. 

“I came to settle a bet,” Clara answered. “And Beckett followed me because he thought I was sneaking out for food.” 

“What?” Beckett exclaimed. “You can never eat too much.” 

Forrest didn’t answer, he kept quiet like always. Coral sighed, and the two squeezed in on the edge of the blanket. The sun was almost above the mountains now. 

“Oh, and we came because the innkeeper gave us some news,” Coral said after a long while of silence. “I completely forgot to tell you - one of the villages in Quigon was burnt down a few nights ago. There were only about ten survivors.” 

“Baelle?” Newt asked. Coral nodded. 

Emmeline’s stomach dropped. And then Coral added some life changing words. 

“The Silver Kingdom has declared war on the Green Kingdom. Villagers are being drafted. This is the beginning of the end.” 

No. It couldn’t be happening. Baelle was declaring war on the other kingdom which meant she had gotten her goal. The one thing Emmeline had tried to prevent was happening. Innocents would be slaughtered on Baelle’s rise to power. 

She would destroy the other goddesses. She and the Rogues would take power over all. 

Death. Destruction. There was no end to Baelle’s cruelty. 

Emmeline felt all the peace from before leaving her with a sense of fear and foreboding. The future didn’t look well. 

“What are we going to do?” Clara asked, her voice breathy and high. 

“What can we do?” Beckett retorted. “Baelle is a Goddess and the only people who can kill her are Echo and I. Neither of us are really fighters.” 

“There’s not a choice,” Emmeline interrupted. “Yes, it shouldn’t be our job to fight. It shouldn’t be the job of people no more than children to overthrow the power hungry goddess. But it’s our world, our lives, our people being killed. We don’t have a choice if we want anyone to survive.” 

“Very true,” Coral sighed. “So what do you plan on doing?” 

“For now? We wait.” Emmeline stared out into the scenic kingdoms, wondering how many people had already lost their lives to Baelle’s reign. “We’ll come up with a foolproof plan and we’ll try it. Baelle has to die.” 

“As long as you don’t run off and try to do this alone,” Newt said, reaching for her hand and squeezing it. “It’s not a burden for someone to bear alone.” 

“When have I ever run off to do something myself?” Emmeline asked. 

“You haven’t,” Clara said, reaching around Newt to place her hand on Emmeline’s shoulder. “We just want to end bad habits before they start. It’s not heroic - it’s stupid.” 

“I would never leave my team behind,” Emmeline said, rolling her eyes. 

“Aww, she called us a team,” Beckett laughed. “You know, I thought we were more of a family, but whatever …” 

“Who’s with me?” Emmeline said before Beckett could begin ranting. 

“I’ll always be there for you,” Newt said, holding out his hand towards the sunrise. Emmeline placed her hand over his. 

“You can’t do this without me,” Clara added, putting her hand over Emmeline’s. 

“There’s no way I’m missing out on this adventure,” Beckett smiled, placing his hand in the pile. 

“Count me in,” Coral said. Her hand joined the stack. 

Finally, everyone turned to Forrest. He spoke not a word, but he thumped his chest with one hand and saluted with the other, placing one hand on the top of the pile. They all cheered and threw their hands upwards in the air. 

Life was perfect and Emmeline had never been happier. 

“Great,” Emmeline smiled brightly, hope flooding through her. “As for my first order of business - breakfast!”

End Book 1