FantasyCon was everything I’d ever dreamed it would be, and my friends and I looked amazing for it. Vivian’s dads were so good, we didn’t look as if we’d stepped off the movie set—we looked as if we’d found a way to transcend worlds and come straight from the Realm itself.
None of my friends were actual fans of fantasy like me. They weren’t familiar with the references, authors, and concept artists we met, like I was, and they didn’t almost faint when they got to meet Richard and Kahlan from Legend of the Seeker the way I did, but that didn’t matter. They got a kick out of all the other people in costume and took no small amount of pleasure in laughing at my geekiness. That was okay. It was still one of the most amazing days of my life.
The Druid Prince panel discussion was an experience all its own. It made me so excited for the movie I didn’t think I’d be able to wait until its Christmas release. After it was over, the people with tickets for the meet-and-greet lined up to get their autographs from the panel members.
Vivian, Juliette, and Anastasia had scarcely breathed since we walked into the room and saw Brian Oliver sitting just a few feet from us, and poor Rob was reduced to a drooling mess at the sight of Kaylee Summers. My starstruck friends indulged me, though, and waited patiently for me to meet The Druid Prince author, L.P. Morgan, first.
He was paired at a table with the movie’s screenwriter, Academy Award winner Jason Cohen, and I almost died when I got caught up in a discussion with them and a few other diehard Cinder Chronicles fans about the adaptation process and how they were handling the sequels. I got to take my picture with them both, and they even let me record our discussion on my phone for my blog. It was seriously a dream come true! I was on cloud nine when I was finally pulled away from them and carted off to meet Brian Oliver and Kaylee Summers.
“I can’t believe you got all fangirly on those two skeezy old guys when Brian Oliver is standing right over there,” Anastasia said as we waited in line for our turn to meet the guests of honor.
Not even her attitude could kill my mood today. “Brian Oliver is hot, but L.P. Morgan is my hero. The man is a genius.” I hugged the hardback book I’d brought with me to have him sign. I wished it could have been my mother’s copy of the book from when she was a girl, but I would still treasure this new book. I squeezed it again, releasing a dreamy sigh. “I can’t believe I finally got to meet him.”
Anastasia shook her head. “You are so weird.”
Vivian threw her arm over my shoulder. “Yeah, but we like her anyway.”
“So, Ella, are you going to thank Brian Oliver for your birthday present?” Juliette asked.
“No.” I repeated myself when everyone looked at me as if I were crazy. “No. I don’t want him to know who I am.”
“Why not?”
Because he probably knows Cinder, and then he’d tell him he met me. “I just don’t want to, okay? Please don’t say anything.”
“He probably knows Cinder,” Vivian said, voicing my exact thoughts—except she made it sound like that was a good thing. “You could get him to tell you Cinder’s name, and then we could find him on Facebook and see if he’s as hot as he sounds.”
“I don’t need to confirm that. Cinder doesn’t want to meet me. Ever. I don’t want to know how good-looking he is.”
Vivian and Juliette both frowned at me, but Rob came to my rescue. “You guys, leave her alone. Cinder’s a jerk anyway for not wanting to meet her. We should be helping her get over him, not encouraging her.”
Anastasia scoffed, but I wasn’t sure if she was annoyed by what he said, or miffed that he’d slipped his arm around my waist. She continued to glare at me until we finally reached the front of the line and came face to face with Brian Oliver.
Brian Oliver was hot on TV. In person, he was downright mesmerizing. Those eyes that somehow smoldered while they twinkled… and that smile…
“You five look incredible!” Brian said, breaking the silence for us when his physical presence had rendered us all speechless. “By far the best costumes I’ve seen this year. I hope you entered the competition.” His eyes moved to Anastasia and Juliette and immediately traveled the lengths of their bodies. “Twins,” he purred when he was done ogling. “You fair maidens are the most beautiful Ratanas I’ve seen since this convention started.”
I couldn’t stop the snort that escaped me. If he really was friends with Cinder, it was no wonder why. They were two peas in a pod.
I blushed when Brian glanced at me curiously, but I was more concerned with the hurt look on Juliette’s face and the glare on Ana’s. I quickly swallowed my laughter. “Sorry.”
Juliette shot me a “what the hell” look and I cringed. I was having a fairly progressive day with Anastasia so far, but insulting her in front of Brian Oliver was not going to put me in her good graces. “I’m sorry,” I said again, more repentant this time. “Of course he’s right. You know you’re both gorgeous. I was just laughing at the cheesy line.”
“Cheesy line?” Brian asked. His voice suggested he was offended, but his twitching lips and laughing eyes told a different story.
I hadn’t meant to insult him, but it was too late to take it back, so I had to defend myself. “Yes. It was cheesy. And I’m sure you’ve probably said that exact same thing to every girl you’ve met this week. I find it amazing that you can still deliver it with a straight face.”
Brian blinked at me in surprise. Next to him, Kaylee Summers laughed. “What do you know, baby?” Condescension dripped from her tone, thick as molasses. “Someone else who’s not impressed with your bullshit.”
I was afraid I’d offended him for real this time, but he smiled as if I presented a delicious challenge. “She wouldn’t be dressed as Ellamara if she were easily susceptible to charm,” he told Kaylee, while never taking his warm brown eyes off of me. “I meant the compliment, though. Your friends really are two of the most beautiful Princess Ratanas I’ve seen this weekend.” He sent a quick wink at Ana and Juliette, causing them both to blush. “Just as you are the loveliest Ellamara I’ve met so far.”
I snorted again. “I’m probably the only Ellamara you’ve met.”
Brian’s grin widened into a heart-stopping smile. “You’re still enchanting. Those eyes…” He paused a moment, staring rather intently at my eyes, and frowned. “Have we met?”
“Ha! No. We haven’t met.”
“Are you sure? You look familiar. I swear I’ve seen those eyes before.”
I gulped. It was possible he’d seen a picture of me on my blog. I hadn’t posted one since the last time I went on a book trip with my mom. That was months before my accident. I looked a lot different now—older with no more braces—but my blue eyes with my brown skin and dark hair were unmistakable.
I forced myself to smirk. “I’m pretty sure I’d remember meeting a famous movie star.” He still looked skeptical, so I added, “Especially one who uses such cheesy pick-up lines.”
Finally, Brian laughed. He poised a Sharpie over a glossy headshot, ready to sign an autograph for me. “All right, I give. What’s your name, beautiful?”
My cheeks flamed despite my best efforts. I pointed at his picture and shook my head. “That’s okay. I don’t need one of those. I just wanted to bring you this.”
I handed him a copy of The Druid Prince. Unlike the nice hardback I had L.P. Morgan sign, this one was one of the cheap mass-market paperback versions that had replaced the original cover with the cast of the movie. Brian happily accepted the book, then looked up at me. “And who am I making it out to?”
I suppressed an eye roll. “I don’t want you to sign it. I want you to read it.”
Brian squinted up at me. “Come again?”
I sighed. “You’re playing one of the most cherished characters of all time. I don’t care how many academy awards Jason Cohen has won for his writing; there’s no way the screenplay could do the book justice. I know it’s too late to help you with the first movie, but there are four more to go. I really, really want you to understand who Cinder is, so I’m begging. Please. Read the books. I swear, they’re worth it.”
Every stranger within earshot gaped at me like I was a total freak, except for the other diehard fans that clapped and cheered. Juliette and Anastasia wore matching horrified expressions. Even Rob and Vivian both looked a little taken aback.
Brian Oliver’s expression was hard to describe. He appeared to be having the time of his life. His smile had somehow, impossibly, gotten bigger—but he also looked baffled, and he stared at me with something resembling suspicion in his eyes. “You think I haven’t read the books?”
That’s exactly what I thought. “You mean you have?”
He laughed. “Why do you think I demanded to play the role? I agree wholeheartedly that Cinder is one of the most cherished characters of all time. I couldn’t let someone else play him. I can’t wait to film Reign of Glory. That was my favorite book in the series.”
I snapped my mouth shut, unsure when it had fallen open, and my lips quickly curved into a big smile. “Reign of Glory was good,” I agreed, “but The Druid Prince is still my favorite. I’m a sucker for a good origin story. Cinder’s is so tragic and moving, yet it brings such a sense of hope to a desperate kingdom. Not to mention the mystery of who he is was done masterfully in that book.”
“No doubt,” Brian agreed. “The Druid Prince is my second favorite. But I love it when Cinder finally gets to go back home, not as a useless farm boy, but as a kick-ass druid warrior. The dude lays the smack down like a master. The action in Reign of Glory is epic.”
Now I did roll my eyes. “Battle scenes. You are such a guy. I bet you love what the movie producers have done with Princess Ratana’s outfit, too.”
Something changed in Brian then. Fire filled his eyes, a truly heated passion that I didn’t quite know how to explain. His suspicion melted into a knowing smirk and he flicked his gaze back over Ana and Juliette before giving me a rakish grin. “I definitely didn’t complain.”
As I groaned, Brian sat back and folded his arms over his chest, appraising me with amusement. “Tell me something. Why did you dress as Ellamara? Was it because she’s covered from head to toe? Are you some kind of prude?”
I scoffed and Juliette slapped her palm to her forehead. “Oh, great! Now you’ve done it. She’ll be griping about this for weeks.”
As Brian considered Juliette’s words, I clenched my staff and resisted the urge to smack him upside the head with it. “I am not a prude. I just don’t appreciate Hollywood sacrificing the integrity of something just to get perverted guys like you to buy tickets. In the books the Princess Ratana was a warrior, but she was still a princess. Your dad turned her character into some useless, slutty bimbo. It’s so demeaning to women! We can be beautiful while fully clothed, you know.”
“As I see,” Brian teased, blatantly checking me out.
I swear I felt his eyes travel the length of me, like a caress. I fought back a shiver.
“So why Ellamara?” he asked again.
“Because she’s the greatest character in the books.”
Juliette recognized one of my rants coming on and tried to push me aside before I got started. “Okay, Ella, there are still other people waiting. We don’t want to take up all of Brian’s time.”
“She’s right, Brian,” Kaylee said, not bothering to hide her annoyance. “Just sign the girl an autograph and send her on her way.”
Brian ignored his girlfriend. “You think Ellamara is the greatest character in the books? What about Cinder? He’s the hero. He saves the entire kingdom.”
The question was clearly a taunt. He was riling me up on purpose. As much as I tried not to let him bait me, I couldn’t resist arguing. “Sure he does—because he had Ellamara to guide him. Without her, he would have been nothing.”
“Nothing?” Brian scoffed. “He had his magic. He still would have rocked it.”
“Yeah, but he would have come into his power and become just another self-entitled, snobbish, idiot prince, drunk on his own power.” Not too unlike the guy sitting in front of me.
From the look on his face, Brian knew what I was thinking. “As it was,” I pressed on before he could call me on it, “he still chose to marry the hot chick when he was truly in love with Ellamara.”
“But Ellamara became a priestess. She took a vow of celibacy.”
I groaned. I’d had this very same argument with Cinder like a million times. In fact, it was the very first argument we’d ever had. The first time he left a comment on my blog, it had been to defend Cinder’s decision to marry Ratana even when it was Ellamara he truly loved.
“She became a priestess because Cinder rejected her. He broke her heart!”
“He didn’t have a choice!” Brian yelled back, getting as passionate about our argument as I was—clearly a true fan. “He may have loved Ellamara, but she was a commoner. Ratana was Crown Princess of the Flatlands. Their union created peace between the two kingdoms. Cinder did the noble thing, putting his own feelings aside for the good of the kingdom.”
“Noble?” I groaned again. “What he did wasn’t noble at all. It was an act of cowardice. He did what was expected of him because it was easier. A real man would have fought to be with the woman he loved—social class be damned.”
Brian reared back in his chair, stunned by what I said, but I wasn’t going to take it back. His shock disappeared quickly, though, and that satisfied, knowing smirk settled back on his face. I didn’t get the joke, but whatever it was, Brian Oliver was clearly enjoying it. He arched a brow at me and folded his arms stiffly over his chest. “I thought you just said Cinder was one of the greatest characters of all time.”
I matched his stubbornness. “Every great character makes mistakes. Cinder was wise by the end and able to rule over his people only because Ellamara taught him how to think beyond himself. He was a great character, but—”
“I know, I know,” Brian interrupted with an over-the-top sigh. “Ellamara was the real hero.”
I froze. As I looked into Brian’s eyes, he stared back at me with a knowing smile, waiting for me to catch up. Punch line delivered. The message came through loud and clear, and my heart stopped beating. There was no way! It couldn’t be possible!
“What made you say that?” I was hardly able to speak loud enough to be heard.
Brian’s face smoothed out and he shrugged his shoulders. “It was what you were going to say.”
“Yes, but how did you know? Why did you say those particular words?”
We both knew I already knew the answer. Brian leaned forward in his chair, watching me with a new intensity. His grin turned positively wicked and he whispered, “Say car for me.”
Next to me, someone gasped. I thought maybe it was Juliette, but I couldn’t be sure. I was still in too much shock to think clearly.
Cinder! I was talking to Cinder! Cinder didn’t know Brian Oliver. Cinder was Brian Oliver!
I felt as if lightning had struck me. The shock was so great that it knocked me back a few steps. I stumbled into Rob, who grabbed me when my knees tried to give out. He held me around the waist to steady me—which was good because I wasn’t sure I could stand on my own.
Then, I stared, incredulously, as famous Hollywood heartthrob Brian Oliver jealously watched Rob’s arms slip around my waist. The hint of malice in his expression was so subtle that I doubt anyone besides me noticed it. Well, and maybe Rob, because his grip on me tightened a tiny bit, and he practically growled as he said, “Are you okay, Ella?”
“I’m fine.” Things were so very, very not fine. Brian was Cinder! I’d been talking to Cinder! I was looking at Cinder!
Cinder’s eyes snapped back to mine. “Ella?”
To anyone else, I’m sure it sounded as if he were simply asking so that he could sign an autograph, but I heard his surprise. We’d never asked each other what our real names were. He probably assumed Ella was only a screen name, like Cinder was.
I nodded, dazed. “Ellamara,” I whispered. My mouth had gone dry. “My mom really loved the books, too.”
Brian’s entire face sparkled with delight at learning my real name.
“Brian!” a shrill voice hissed in an angry whisper. “Baby, you’re starting to cause a scene. Stop flirting with her and sign a damn autograph already.”
I broke away from Brian’s stare to find Kaylee Summers giving me a glare so nasty it could have brought Anastasia to tears. So many things clicked into place. Cinder complained so many times about his life being crazy, complicated, and out of his control because he was a famous movie star. And the girl he was being pressured to date—the shrew—was his co-star, Kaylee Summers. His fiancée.
The realization stunned me all over again. “Congratulations on your engagement,” I muttered to her, choking back bile. “I’m sure you’ll make a beautiful bride.”
I didn’t realize I was shaking until Rob crushed me to his chest. “You okay?”
I buried my face in his shoulder and shook my head. I was definitely not okay. My heart was breaking. It had broken before—when my dad left, and again when I learned my mother was dead. It had even broken a third time when Cinder had refused to meet me. But it had never broken like this. “I need to get out of here.”
Rob didn’t ask questions.
As we turned to walk away, Cinder called out to me in a panic. I looked back and wished I hadn’t. His eyes bore into me, begging for understanding. His pain and frustration were so plainly on display that I felt it all the way to my soul. Or maybe that was my own agony.
After a noticeable moment of the two of us staring at one another, Cinder pulled his eyes away from me to scribble his name on a photo. When he gave it to me, he didn’t let go right away. He cast his eyes down to the picture we were both holding, as if he wanted me to look. My eyes dropped and I almost gasped again. Instead of an autograph, he’d written:
I can explain.
Meet me at the Dragon’s Roost. Six P.M.
-Cinder
“It was truly a pleasure to meet you, Ella.”
I jumped at the sound of his voice. When I looked back up, he mouthed the word please and let go of the photo.
“Thanks,” I muttered, and then let Rob drag me out of the way so that everyone else could have the chance to get Brian’s and Kaylee’s autographs.
Somehow, I felt as if I’d been run over by a train.