Legend has it, if you stand in front of a mirror, shuffling an enchanted deck of cards, you can open a doorway between dimensions.
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Prince Teodric of Springport remembers the promise he made his father: to *not* try to reenact the legend of dimen...
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Our dirt-riddled road became a wispy, sand-like surface the farther we rode. The trees turned from dense forest pines to palms. I sighted a lighter-colored bark and vivid, lime-green branches with pear-shaped fruit dangling from them. The sky's gloominess transformed to a bright, bubbly blue. A breeze I recognized ran through my hair and skirted up my nostrils.
The sea.
For the first time since my abrupt, magical arrival, I felt at home. At peace.
When the trees cleared, our path changed to a thicker, darker sand. I lost my breath at the view unraveling before us.
Water. Waves. Sand. Salt.
The vast, vibrant ocean's ripples crashed gently on a deserted shore, the waters clear and crystalline. A few yards away, a giant stone bridge awaited us, its wooden planks soaring out into the water, connecting it to distant islands. It towered a few feet over the water-level, with ramparts on either side that arrived at my waist.
"Wow," I mumbled as we approached, and our clubbers climbed with ease onto the bridge's steps. "So, Spade Island is an island in the sea, then?" I pointed towards where I guessed the bridge ended—I couldn't quite tell, as it seemed to lead all the way into the ocean's depths.
Ysac chuckled. "A series of islands. The city and region are named Spade Island, but there are other isles, including the largest one, where the castle sits. You'll see."
And saw I did. The breathtaking bridge held our weight, as if it could carry a stampede of elephants to the main island without issue. Along the way, and on either side of us, sharp, sparkling rocks protruded from the sea, coated in a slippery, grassy moss. Bigger cliffs followed, concealing secret coves with cascading ivy covering the entrances. Ysac wouldn't tell me what was inside, or if my assumption was even correct that there were caves behind the curtains of ivy.
We neared a fork in the bridge. To the right was a narrower passage that attached to a wide, unkempt island covered in bright trees and high shrubs. It looked impenetrable.
"The Triplets," said Ysac, gesturing at a tiny entrance in the trees, so cloaked in shadows that I shuddered. "Three private islands that no one has visited since our departed king did, forever ago. We're not clear exactly who they belong to, though rumor has it there's a baron or other who resides on one of them. Luned isn't," he winced, "forthcoming about much else."
As we continued past the mystery islands, I peered over the stone railings and caught something swimming below, traveling under the bridge. Something with a striking fish-tail and a long mane of ruby-red hair. But before I could nudge Ysac and ask him if I'd lost my mind and was seeing things, a different creature shot out of the water, on the other side.
A dolphin. I recognized the shiny, smooth gray skin and the lengthy nozzle of a mouth.
It flipped and plunged back in with a splash so tremendous it sent a spray of seawater onto my cheeks. The liquid was cool, but not glacial, and as it dribbled down my chin, I smiled.
