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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The instant Astrida's magical flying carriage landed in the courtyard, I let out the breath I'd been holding.
Hurry, hurry.
I'd already sent word to Tilda to vacate her room and hasten to the meeting room, where I'd last detected Ossenna's energy. She'd retrieved Gwenore, and would keep her safe; and once I delivered Astrida and Tilda joined us, that'd be three out of four.
Luned...I'd spotted her from afar, but it had stopped me in my tracks as I was on my way outside to wait for Astrida. She'd never confirmed whether she was coming, so her presence was...ominous. I tried not to think too much of it, but when she zipped down a seldom used corridor, a trail of vibrant blue and splotchy black energy in her wake, my throat constricted.
Magic.
Luned didn't wield magic that I knew of. For her to suddenly exhibit powers—or perhaps it wasn't as sudden as we'd thought—meant that all her tales about her mother being a mermaid were real. Mermaids had magic; a watery blur of abilities that made no sense, like the possibility to shift between human and fish-tail form, or the rumor that they could trick the mind. I'd paid little heed to such stories, as mermaids had yet to prove themselves real. But after Luned's strange aura earlier...
Something akin to panic tickled inside my gut. Panic at what, I wasn't sure, but it was an ominous sensation I didn't often succumb to. I'd been close before, when attempting to talk to Gwenore. And it resurfaced now as I watched Princess Astrida alight from her carriage, garbed in her diamond fineries, her plunging decolleté drawing more saliva to my mouth than I'd have wanted.
She flurried up to me, a fake smile plastered on her face as she extended her hand for me to kiss it. She was old-fashioned, expecting everyone to prostrate at her feet and worship her very existence. Usually, I'd sneer at such behavior, especially considering she wasn't crowned yet; but I needed to placate her. She wouldn't follow me unless I bent to her will. Temporarily.
I kissed her knuckles while holding in a grimace of revulsion. Oh, she was decadent in every way, smelling like a sugar-frosted cake, her skin delicate and smooth like cream. But beneath that facade was a viperous, capricious girl who kicked and screamed when she didn't get what she wanted. Other men might have been fooled by her controlled temperament, but I knew better. I'd seen her in action, throwing tantrums, bossing people around, demanding so much of them that they crumbled.
"Majesty," I cooed, showing her towards the front-door. "Before you settle in, we do have some urgent matters to discuss in the meeting room."
"Do we, now?" She spoke through gritted teeth, smiling widely as if on display. Surely she'd expected a crowd of courtiers to welcome her and cheer; but as it happened, the castle was quite...empty. Another issue Ossenna and I would have to address once we reunited. "Where are my people?"
"Resting," I lied, unwilling to worry her yet. Not before I knew what was going on. And not before we were secure in the meeting room.
I glimpsed the sky before I ducked into the building; it was clogged with dark, bulky clouds, the sun concealed. A storm was on the horizon, and as I took a last whiff of fresh air, I detected the potential of rain.
