The Damned Princess

Chapter Fourteen

"This is all your fucking fault!" Casteel gestured to the sheer drop in front of them. 

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?" Val snapped back over the sound of waves crashing against the rocks below. Lyria's hair was a spiderweb across her cheek, plastered to her face by the heavy rain that was drenching them. 

"This is so weird. It was sunny a second ago." Tari murmured and Lyria nodded. Val and Casteel kept arguing in the background.

"And where did this cliff even come from?" They both turned to Hunt who has been silent. He blushed slightly under their gaze. 

"I-I'm a merchant and I go to Orynth once a month for trade. This is the exact route."

"And the cliff has never been here before?" Val asked sceptically, seeming to have finished shouting at Cas. 

"Impossible, cliffs are formed over thousands of years. They don't just appear."

"Tell that to this one that's formed over night." Hunt seemed as surprised as the rest of them at the sass. He blushed even redder than before. 

"Hunt's been on this track a million times, if he says the cliff wasn't here before, it wasn't."

"Thank yo-"

"But Tari's right," Lyria crossed her arms, "Cliffs don't just appear over night."

"Maybe we took a wrong turn a while back?" Tari offered and Hunt's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. 

"I know this route like the back of my hand." 

"It is hard to see in the rain." Lyria agreed with Tari. 

"Guys trust me!" 

"Let's double back and see if there are any sign posts." 

"What if magic was involved?" 

"Who would want to create a cliff?" Casteel dismissed the idea and they all turned to go. Lyria turned to Hunt just in time to see his eyes flash red before the rock under Val's feet gave way and she was gone. Lyria rushed to the side screaming her name but was shocked to see nothing. No splash. No falling figure. The wind seemed to taunt them, howling and whistling. 

"What the-"

"What just happened?" 

"Maybe there's a crevice half way down?" Tari looked pale and worried. It was obvious that she had grown to care for the annoying pirate. In other circumstances Lyria would have found it cute. 

And then it hit her. 

"The fucking riddle!" 

"The what now?"

"The riddle! 'Brave the dangers, jump the gap! What if this is the gap? Maybe it's one of the trials!" 

"What?" Casteel and Tari said at the same time. Hunt was looking weirdly smug. 

"What if it IS magic? What if it's an illusion? As in, there's actually no cliff."

"It would explain why we can't see Val." 

"So theoretically..." Lyria peered over the side.

"We could jump." Tari finished.

"I don't know about you though, because there is no way I'm...LYRIA!" Lyria cursed as she free fell. This was messing up her hair even more. Ew, it was in her mouth. It tasted salty...

Suddenly, she hit something hard. 

"Fuck me sideways that hurt." She swore as she rubbed her ass. She frantically pulled the hair out of her mouth, gagging. Then froze. She was in a grand throne room. Ten times the one she had at home. Another dissimilarity was the sole throne at one end. And the dark haired woman on top of it. Her mind flashed to the tomb, she was identical to the woman on the sarcophagus.

"Lyria, how nice of you to join us." Us? The woman's voice was wrong, it felt unnatural, like chalk on a blackboard. Lyria felt the hair on the back of her neck rise. 

"Us?" Her saccharine smile was a slash of white. Figures appeared on the floor in front of her. Her mum, her dad, Fen-

"They're not actually here, of course." She waved a hand and they disappeared again. Lyria rose from where she had sunk to to floor. 

"Who are you?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"Well I just asked so no."

"Ugh you're no fun. I am Lamia." There was a pause as if she was waiting for something. Lyria shrugged. 

"I still don't know who you are."

"Oh for love of Seroas."

"Seoras." Lyria repeated, raising an eyebrow. Probably not the time for attitude the more she thought about it. Luckily, Lamia seemed not to care. 

"It is the name of my home dimension." 

"Wait, you're from a different dimension?" Lamia's grin widened. 

"Oh yes. You may know my husband, or rather my idiotic sister." Lyria remained silent as the dots connected in her head. Sister, husband, different dimension. 

"You're valg.."

"Actually I'm a valg queen. Used to be married to Erawen," She smirked, "Perhaps you know of him." 

"Or maybe you know about my sister, Maeve. I heard your father was her bitch for a while, until your useless mother killed her."