The Last Wish Of Bristol Keats by Mary E. Pearson

Here is a summary with spoilers for The Last Wish Of Bristol Keats by Mary E. Pearson

Just moments after book one ended, Bristol and Tyghan are at the end of their fight; they have both said things they regret but are glad they have gotten it out. But they don’t get too much time to think about their fight because Maeve has resurfaced again, and they only have a brief opportunity to get to her. The plan that Tyghan comes up with last minute is to use Bristol as a hostage, because surely her mother would not want her hurt. But even with a knife to her and blood trickling down, her mother doesn’t bat an eye. While continuing to talk to Maeve, they realize that she has no idea who Bristol even is. The attempt to get Maeve fails, and they are forced to retreat. Tyghan immediately feels bad that he put a knife to Bristol like that.

Meanwhile, Bristol’s sisters back in the mortal world are managing without her. They are patiently waiting for her arrival and are happy to get random letters from her just to keep them updated.

Bristol has a couple of days to recover, and during that time she and Tyghan still ignore each other. But one day they receive a severed head of a guard, attached to a note that says Maeve would like to meet with Bristol and no one else. Bristol agrees. Bristol goes in blind, not knowing what version of her mom she will be getting. During their conversation, Maeve reveals that she knows Bristol was never a hostage of the king. But she also has a little bit of mother instinct in her, and she wants Bristol to go back home, so much so that she makes a portal back to her sisters. Bristol has to reveal that she can’t leave because she made a bargain with the fae that she would help, and now she can’t leave. Maeve is furious and makes a bargain of her own with Bristol. When the time comes, Bristol will know it, but she will leave the fae world. Bristol agrees, and Maeve disappears, once again leaving Bristol at square one and not knowing what to do.

While Bristol is gone, Tyghan decides to go to the prison to visit his old friend and Bristol’s father. He tries to get information out of him about Maeve, but he won’t budge, believing that his wife is still somewhere in there. Tyghan leaves and tells the guard that he can be released after one month rather than the 100 years that most fae would get. Tyghan makes this decision purely based on his feelings towards Bristol, but she doesn’t even know that her father is in prison, and Tyghan worries for when she finds that out.

Back at the castle, Tyghan is also struggling with Kormick. Now that he is back and safe, no one knows who the real king is. As first son, Kormick should be, but Tyghan has been ruling for years now. Bristol also returns from her visit and tells Tyghan everything. He doesn’t really care; he is just happy that she is back and unhurt.

Bristol’s powers have been growing, and she now believes she is strong enough to get the tick taken out, the thing her parents put in her to suppress powers and keep her from the fae world. Right before she decides, Tyghan tells her that she has gained more marks, this time on her back, and they are growing. It scares Bristol, but she decides to go through with it anyway. The surgery is successful, though everyone has some questions about her powers and what to expect from her.

Bristol’s sisters receive a letter from her. They find out that both of their parents are alive and that Bristol is trying to get them back. It gives both of them a lot of hope.

Bristol is out and about when she sees a group of people surrounding a prisoner. It’s her father. She gets super angry and realizes that Tyghan is the one behind her father’s torture. He owns up to it and shows no remorse. It turns into another massive fight between the two, but it eventually leads to them airing everything out. It takes hours for them to talk about it, but they share their feelings and their differences, and they finally understand each other a lot better. They end their conversation with an intimate moment, happy to have finally figured some things out in their relationship.

As things get closer to a battle, everyone is preparing. Maeve shows up, and she and her husband are reunited after months apart. But the fighting continues, and Bristol gets closer to her parents to intervene. Kormick ends up pushing Bristol right into the Stone of Destiny, and it accepts her, meaning she is now Queen. Bristol doesn’t rebel against the fact that she is queen, because her father is struck down, and in a fury, Maeve snaps out of her haze and runs for her husband. Bristol, wanting to help fight, thinks about another form, with wings, and she transforms, shocking and scaring everyone. She manages to scare off the last of the fighters and gets down to her grieving mother.

But things get worse. When Bristol gets down to her parents, her mother was shot by an arrow from her own army. Tyghan is there, shocked and saddened, and promises to help find the man who shot her. Though the army doesn’t seem to care because they saw Maeve as the Darkling. Bristol and Tyghan have a fight about it, but Bristol ends up collapsing to the ground mid-argument.

In her grief, Bristol decides to honor her mother’s last wish, which was for her to go home to her sisters. She tells Tyghan, and he tries to dissuade her and wants to talk about it later that night. That afternoon, it changes for her because someone took her time piece, meaning when someone goes through the portal, no one knows how much time will have passed. Bristol sees it as a sign to never come back to the fae world. Even when Tyghan gets her a new piece, she refuses to take it, and Bristol leaves the fae world with anger being the last thing she felt towards Tyghan. Her last wish for everyone else there is that they forget about her and that they don’t write about her in their histories or stories.

When Bristol gets home, she finds that 30 years have passed. Her oldest sister has died, and her younger sister is married with a family. She decides to stay and start her life, until she realizes she is pregnant. Not having a way to get back to the fae world, and still angry at Tyghan, she starts her new life as a single mother.

Eight years later, Bristol has a beautiful son named Ryan, and she also realizes she no longer holds any anger towards Tyghan. Her sister finds out about this and tells her she had a time piece for her the moment she came through eight years ago. Bristol decides to send a letter to the fae world. Tyghan receives it and is shocked that he is even hearing from Bristol. He decides that he will go to see what she has to say and then return. But when the two are reunited, and he finds out he has a son, he tells Bristol he never stopped loving her and decides to stay with her and become part of their family.