Cinderella Dreams of Fire (Fairy Tales Forever #1) (16 page)

C
inderella rode home
in a carriage across from Falstone. She was silent for most of it as she let the events of the last few hours sink in. Armenia had been defeated, but not without her stepmother giving Cinderella one last gift. Given how her father acted over the course of the past ten years, she wasn't sure if there was any chance of getting back the Braedon she knew.

The thief wasn't sure how she did it, but in that short time outside the throne room, Malina had secured a marriage proposal from the heartbroken soon-to-be king. The demon happily accepted. It was like her father’s second marriage all over again.

From what she knew of the large knight across from her, he was quieter than normal as well. Much in the way she had been shunned, the bonds of friendship between him and the erstwhile prince had likewise been severed.

"He said he didn't know me. It was like the last few years never happened for him. I know they say that drinking causes memory loss, but this is something–"

"It's not your fault, Falstone. It's terrible and it's magical, but it's not your fault."

Falstone's eyes seemed to appreciate her compassion, but they betrayed his lack of belief. His guilt was deafening.

The carriage stopped when it reached Cinderella's home. With her dad barely able to speak a word, and her stepmother turned into smoke, she supposed she'd been upgraded from servant status.

She nodded toward Falstone. “Think of him more when you get some sleep. If you'd like to talk things over more, I'm happy to do so."

As she reached for the door, the sweaty knight stopped her. “Wait. Before… whatever it was... happened to him, Braedon gave me something for you."

Cinderella squinted, until she remembered that final dance with the prince. “The note."

He pulled the parchment from his jacket pocket. “I didn't read it. I wanted to, of course, but I actually never got the chance.” He placed it in her palm. “Tell me what it says, after you've been able to… after you've gotten some rest."

She smiled. “You're a good friend. If he were in his right mind, he'd be very happy you did this for him."

Falstone jumped up from his seat and wrapped his arms around the thief. She squeezed him back.

"If you ever need someone to drown your sorrows with, you know exactly where I'll be."

Though she was in pain, the gesture of affection helped her feel warm. “I promise I'll take you up on it."

Cinderella stepped down from the carriage, her feet still bare from the battle. When she reached the ground, she turned to see Falstone blowing her a kiss. Then the carriage pulled off and left her there, alone. She looked down at the note and took a deep breath as she opened the parchment. She focused her eyes and squinted at the words that were highlighted by moonlight.

Cinderella let herself read the words one more time before she allowed the parchment to slip from her fingers. A light midnight breeze carried the paper away from her, scuttling it across the cobblestone and out of her view. She walked inside the house and shut the door.

C
inderella lay
there in her dress for an entire day. There were several moments when the pain, both mentally and physically, nearly abated enough to let her stand and change. That's when the thoughts of her sister or the engaged Braedon came to mind and forced her back down. According to her mother's former servants, news had spread quickly of the impending marriage. Not only that, but Braedon would be formally crowned king in his mother's absence. This would come shortly before Malina, the new love of his life, would become the Queen of Loren. It seemed as though Armenia's final wish would be fulfilled.

A part of the thief considered one last mission to rescue the prince from his fate. She knew that security around the castle would likely be tripled and that her efforts to get into the castle would be a suicide mission. But what exactly would she be rescuing him from? If her father was any indication, he'd be just as morose at the altar as he would on the run.

If he chose to leave the castle with her in the first place.

A
full day
after the battle with Armenia, Cinderella was still in her dress. She might have stayed in this condition for another few hours if she hadn't heard a noise from downstairs. They were footsteps. Someone was walking around the house, but who? At long last, the noises were enough to get Cinderella out of bed and into something more comfortable. She took one of her daggers with her, just in case.

As she stalked down the staircase, she realized there were two sets of voices downstairs.

One of them was her father's.

And he was laughing.

"By the gods."

As she turned at the corner, the sight before her was absolutely astounding. Her father stood in the middle of the kitchen with a look of pure joy upon his face. His hands were placed around the lower back of a woman who stood beside him. He was dancing. Cinderella didn't know whether to laugh or cry; then she saw her father twist, revealing his partner. Cinderella could nearly see through the ghostly version of the Godmother before her. She was laughing and smiling, too. But she was also beginning to fade away.

Cinderella felt frozen in place. Watching her father and mother share one last moment together was something she never believed possible.

"Magic really does exist."

The Godmother had almost faded out of existence when she placed her lips upon her husband's cheek. He closed his eyes, enraptured. With her final moment in hand, the Godmother looked toward Cinderella and smiled. The thief smiled back before the apparition of her mentor, her mother, and her friend disappeared from reality.

Cinderella's chest had never felt so open in her entire life. Revenge and pain that had bottled itself up for so long seemed to finally fade away. She was so lost in the moment that she almost didn't notice when her father sat down beside the kitchen table and gestured for his daughter to join.

"Come here, honey. We have to talk."

All her expectations had gone out the window. She didn't know what to expect anymore. She didn't know what to believe.

Cautiously, the thief stepped forward and took a seat next to her father. She nearly jumped out of her chair when he placed his hand on hers.

For the first time in a decade, the previously cold man looked at her with warmth. “I'm sorry."

"It wasn't your fault, Father."

He shook his head. “It doesn't matter. I'm not sure how your mother brought me back, but I'm not going to let it go to waste. I'm going to make up for it, and now we're going to be a father and a daughter. Is that okay? I would understand it if it was–"

Cinderella interrupted her father with a massive hug. She couldn't help but laugh and cry as she embraced him.

T
he next few
days were a flurry of energy and activity in the village. Preparations for the prince's coronation and wedding were all that was on everybody's mind, including Cinderella's. At first, she tried to ignore it all. A deed had arrived two days after the ball that proved Cinderella's ownership of the Godmother's house. She hoped she would get one last glance at the woman who protected her for so long, but her mentor had vanished.

This was much to the chagrin of Falstone, who confessed his love for her mentor during Cinderella's one attempt to fulfill her promise that she'd get a drink with the old, crazy knight. Falstone had seemed over it by the time he had his sixth ale of the night, though. She conceded to having two drinks as she tried to put the prince and his fate out of her mind.

I
t was
the day before the joint wedding and coronation, and Cinderella was listening to her father chattering away while he made dinner. Ever since he'd come back, the man was a nonstop source of stories about Cinderella as a little girl and her mother. For the most part, the joy of hearing his voice once again was almost enough to cover up the pain. As they were about to serve themselves, Cinderella heard a knock on the front door.

Her father raised an eyebrow. “Expecting company?"

She shook her head and pulled out her dagger. “No. I'm not."

Her father placed his hands on her hips. “Do you really have to take a dagger to the door with you every time you check to see who it is?"

She gave a little wink. “Yes. Yes, I do."

The thief walked softly toward the door and looked through the small hole to see who was there. Her pulse quickened when she spied a man she thought she'd never see again. Cinderella opened the door, and the prince brushed past her and into the house.

"Braedon?"

After he'd stepped into the house, the dead-eyed prince quickly turned on his heels and faced her. “Good evening.” His voice remained an eerie monotone.

Cinderella's heart opened upon seeing him, but why on Earth would he be here?

"Don't you–don't you have something to be getting ready for?"

He cleared his throat. “I've been confused these last two days. My… heart is telling me something different from my head."

Cinderella noticed that Braedon had a small satchel thrown over one shoulder. He began to fish around inside it.

Until her father came back, Cinderella had never heard any of the men who'd been changed by Armenia say anything close to what Braedon had already spoken. The hope grew within her.

The prince pulled out something Cinderella recognized immediately. One of her shiny golden glass slippers from the ball.

She held her breath. “Why did you bring–"

"Can you try this on? I think it belongs to the woman I love."

Strange as it was to hear the word “love” without any feeling behind it, the thief stepped forward and took the shoe from Braedon's hand.

Everything seemed to slow down around her as she placed the slipper on the ground and let her foot slide into it. Just as it had been on the night of the ball, the glass slipper was a perfect fit.

When the prince looked down at Cinderella's foot, a red glow shined through his shirt. Cinderella looked at the light, and then up at Braedon's eyes. Within moments, the soulless stare that had accompanied his entire visit was gone. He blinked a few times, and like that, he was back. The prince gave his head a little shake and smiled.

Cinderella almost collapsed, barely keeping herself up by steadying her hand on the wall.

They both remained silent for a moment until Braedon lifted a necklace from under his shirt, a small piece of red jewel dangling at the end of it.

He took a step toward her. “Cinderella. I felt trapped in there, like I was trying to get out."

The thief let her hand run through her hair. “That's part of the Heartstone. How did you even get that? How did you know that it could protect you from her?”

Braedon took another step forward. “A little bird told me."

Cinderella's heart fluttered. “You think you're so funny."

His eyebrows danced. “I think my funniest act was ordering the guards in the castle to imprison my bride-to-be. Malina won't be a problem anymore."

Cinderella took a deep breath and stepped forward. They were now only inches apart.

She swallowed. “But there are already so many people in town waiting to celebrate. What are you going to tell them?"

Prince Braedon took Cinderella's hand and rubbed his fingers into her palm. The feeling was electric.

"I'll just have to say that we're celebrating something different."

The prince closed his eyes and leaned forward. Cinderella did the same and pressed her lips into his.

Every thought that she'd never be happy again retreated in an instant. The thief let herself lean into Braedon’s body, as their mouths continued to show the way they felt.

It would be the first kiss of many.

C
asey Lane loves fairy tales
, superheroes, and magic of all kinds. As the author of the Fairy Tales Forever series, Casey is grateful for the opportunity to spice up classic tales with some kickass heroines. Casey Lane is the pen name of a fiction and nonfiction author whose books have been downloaded nearly half a million times.

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T
hank
you so much for reading the first novel in my Fairy Tales Forever series. It would mean a lot to me if you could post a review on Amazon. Your reviews help me to get over my self-esteem issues (as well as sell a few more books).

I absolutely need to thank some folks who made this book possible. I couldn’t have done this without the help of Sheridan Stancliff, Ashley Lankford, Lee Dignam, Paula Pettit Skender, Laura Martone, Cameron Scott Wright, Penelope Campbell-Myhill, Cameron Jace, K.M. Shea, and many others who assisted along the way.

After receiving so much help, I hope that I can give back a little. Check out the offer below if you’d like to get a hold of my free novella. Thanks again!