This Is My Kingdom Come by Megan Rees (red white and royal blue hardcover txt) 📕

Technically, the oldest person in the group trusts me since Adele is over a thousand years old, Oscar reflected, glancing up as Leon gently placed his cousin’s head down on the ground. They’ll listen to her and they might even help me take back the High Kingdom.

Careful not to make Ash’s injuries worse, Oscar slid one arm under the unconscious boy’s shoulder blades and another under his knees, picking him up. Adele had been right: he was a lot heavier than Cody putting height and strength into comparison, but not as heavy as he first dreaded. He clearly hadn’t been eating much because Oscar could see a pretty detailed outline of his rib cage against the light grey fabric of his t-shirt. His dark brown hair also carried flecks of grey ash from the explosion as pretty much everyone else involved did.

Atlas nimbly leapt over a wooden beam towards the group looking a little shaken. “I’ve found Luna and Teddy.” he announced thinly.

“Where are they, then?” Adele inquired, narrowing her blue eyes.

“Luna’s trying to calm down – she’s in complete meltdown mode. She’s terrified of heights and the whole explosion didn’t help because she was flung into the air before plummeting down,” Atlas explained, brushing the ash off his slender hands. “On the other hand, she was luckier than poor little Teddy. His wounds were too severe and he died as soon as I pulled him from the rubble. Imogen’s gone to return him to the Pack.”

“Bring Luna over. We’ll need to return back to The Lodge so Nigel can look at Ash and Cody,” Adele told him. “Leon, you can take Cody.”

~

“…and that’s why I came to Nighthollow in the first place.”

Luna sat back on the wooden kitchen chair thoughtfully, glancing up at a moth circling the simple light above her head. “So, you want us to help you overthrow a well-respected royal family because you’re consumed by jealousy.”

“They’re hardly respectable people. Stefan tried to kill me,” Oscar pointed out a little sharply, giving Bungalow a scratch behind his stormy grey ears. “I have allies inside the walls of the Kingdom. They’ll help too, but we’ll need a larger force if my uncle really is working with the Demons.”

“Putting everything into consideration, I do owe you for saving Cody, but I’m not sure if Atlas and Ash feel the same way,” Luna sighed softly. “I’ll talk it with them tonight or tomorrow, but for now you have me on your side. I’m sure Nigel will be willing to help too, and maybe even Celeste will offer her Pack to assist.”

A flash of relief came across the honey haired Prince as he sat up, shooing Bungalow away with a flick of his hand. “Thank you, Luna. This means a lot to me.”

Before Luna could reply, Cassie poked her head in, carrying Cody in her arms. “He’s tired, so you can put him to bed if you like. Leon’s loaned him some of his old pyjamas for the night rather than that hospital gown.” she said in her usual gentle voice.

Luna took her brother from the brown haired woman. “Thanks, Cassie.”  

The older woman nodded, her icy blue eyes blinking in the light. “It’s a pleasure - he’s a lovely little boy. I don’t see how Mia could just give up both her children: she had the makings of a wonderful mother.”

“Well, she’s not such a great one now, is she?” Luna replied a little coldly, leaving the kitchen and heading up the stairs, keeping a firm hold on little Cody who had his head rested on his sister’s shoulder.

Once she found a spare room, she settled Cody onto the bed and pulled the covers over him, ruffling his blonde curls. “Sleep for as long as you like. We won’t be doing anything too strenuous tomorrow with Ash still in a state.” she told him, feeling a little guilty for lying to her brother. Oscar needed immediate help, so she was intending to leave for Nighthollow tomorrow with the others and leave Cody temporarily at The Lodge under the care of Will and Cassie.  Mia was supposedly travelling the world, so Cody would be safe from her influence.

Cody blinked his large innocent blue eyes. “Will Ash be okay? I didn’t want him to get hurt.” he asked uneasily.

Luna pondered for an answer for a short while. “I’m sure he’ll be fine. He’s the strongest person I know; he has to pull through.”

“Don’t go all mushy on me. I’m not interested in your love life.” Cody whined, pulling a face.

“Watch it, you little monkey,” the blonde girl teased, giving him a quick hug before stepping back towards the door. “Get some sleep now. You’ll need it.”

Rubbing his eyes, Cody laid his head on the pillow and tightly shut his eyes, leaving Luna to just close the door and let out a deep sigh. She felt pretty sleep-deprived due the events of this evening, but she wanted to check in on Ash to see how he was. Nigel had done everything he could to help him, but the brown haired boy was still at risk and needed rest desperately.

Making her way as quietly as she could down the corridor, Luna slipped in through the already ajar door to see Ash was sleeping rather peacefully, his cheek resting on his hand like a young child. His pale face was blank and unreadable: Luna only wished that she could know what he was thinking behind his closed eyelids. He still wore the clothes he had worn during the attack, but the blood she had seen had been washed off as far as she could see – the white duvet was pulled up to just over his hips.

Not wanting to disturb him, Luna sat in the brown leather armchair and picked up Ash’s sketchbook which was balancing precariously on the arm. She opened it up on a random page and scanned the work. Surprisingly, the first thing she saw was a photograph of them both when they were about ten or so – Luna could remember the day quite well. Their previous tutor was retiring and had appointed Thorn in his place, so all the training Purebloods were celebrating. Ash had simply worn a dark green t-shirt with black jeans and trainers, while Luna had worn a white blouse with a black skirt brushing just above her knees and white flip flops because it had been a particularly warm summer. She was smiling and sitting on a bench with her head resting on her best friend’s shoulder, who was also smiling much to her amazement. Luna hadn’t seen this picture after it was taken.

On the page next to the photograph was a sketch of the same picture, but they were both a bit older and somehow a bit more happier-looking. There was also a quote on top of the page; “The truth is, everyone is going to hurt you. You just got to find the ones worth suffering for.”

Luna didn’t know where the quote was from, but she thought it was a nice one.

Placing the sketchbook back down on the arm, she rose to her feet and gave his dark brown hair an affectionate ruffle before quietly leaving, shutting the door behind her.

Text: Text and idea belongs strictly to me. Copying, stealing or borrowing is not permitted.
Images: The image on the cover is not mine - it is a painting by Keith Parkinson I found on the Internet.
Publication Date: 02-22-2014

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