Page 106 of Princess Redeemed

And then face the consequences.

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The moonlight spillsinto my room, tracing the outlines of my crumpled sheets with an iridescent glow.Here, surrounded by quiet and the gentle hum of the night outside, I make a promise to myself, one whispered into the darkness that wraps around me like a protective shroud.

“I will fulfill my destiny,” I say to the shadows.“I will no longer cower in fear, ashamed of my identity.”

Rogan has fallen back to sleep, and I lean to kiss him when?—

My hand unclasps, and a small object tumbles to the floor.

I swing my legs over the side of the bed and pick it up.It’s smooth as river glass, cool even in the heat of my palm.

It’s deep green, flecked with red, like it bled once and never quite stopped.

My grandmother pressed it into my hand in my dream…

My dream…

Was it a dream?It wasn’t the ether.She told me so.

It was a place where I could commune with my grandmother in a way I could understand.

I feel the weight of the bloodstone in my palm.

It’s here.It’s real.

I pulled it out of the dream.

And in my mind, I hear what I think for a moment is Alara’s voice.But it’s not.

It’s my grandmother’s.

This will keep you anchored when the world forgets what you are.

“Grandma?”I eke out.

I rise, cover myself with a robe, and walk out of the bedroom.

Alara stands there, her violet eyes shining.“I see you have your amulet.”

“Are you…”

Alara smiles.“Am I your grandmother?”She shakes her head.“I’m not, Hannah.”

“But how…?”

“You went to her in your dream so she could give you the strength you need.”

“I have my strength.I have Rogan and his blood, the child inside me, and I have your teachings.I was strong enough to defeat Eris, wasn’t I?”

“You were, and I’m proud of you, but your grandmother serves a much deeper purpose.”

“Which is…?”I rub the bloodstone in the palm of my hand.I feel tethered to it somehow.

“The strength of a mother’s love.”

“She’s not my mother.”