The Scion Of Nyx

VII

Eulalia

⚭

The second I stepped into the grand hall of the palace, I was blinded by magic. It was so much magic that the air was thick and sweet with it, the humidity from it choking my once burned throat. From every direction, it blinded me.

The room was overwhelming. From the magic and from the audacity of it all. The palace interior was created to mimic an oasis. Thick, leafy palm trees with vibrant fruit that I did not recognize, growing so big and plump that surely the rotted fruit would have to be carried away by the barrel full. Waterfalls and trickling water streams, gathering in the middle of the room in a makeshift pool, glistening lily pads and vibrant hyacinth blossoms skimming its crystalline surface. There were no buzzing mosquitoes or flying insects in here, if not for colorful, exotic falcons and hummingbirds flitting about the trees. The entire ecosystem was maintained by magic.

In a freezing cold realm, where heat was a scarcity, Nyx managed to build a tropical oasis in her palace. It was a blatant, flamboyant display of her power and her wealth. She wasted so much of it. So much magic and so much money, so her court nobility could stroll about leisurely in wraps of silk, and flowing clothing that covered nearly nothing. Just outside the palace walls, peasants were freezing to death from the harsh, biting, never ending winter winds, and in here, transparent silk was the only form of clothing worn.

At the garish display of magic, I could no longer hold on to any semblance of my composure. Unable to restrain myself any longer, I inhaled deeply, and with it, a breath-full of magic flooded my system. I was overwhelmed with the life source. I felt euphoric. I felt undefeatable. I felt the pulp of the magic heavy against my teeth, coating my tongue with a sticky-sweet, saccharine tang. My bones buzzed with power.

After the initial blinding daze from the abundance magic, I was finally able to focus on the company of the room, besides the contents, and had realized that the room had been observing me all this time.

Drunk on power, I was not goaded.

Courtesans and nobility of every nature—fae and daema and immortal and beast alike— lined the grand hall, observing me, peering at me, whispering. Nyx had promised them a spectacle, and now I had appeared, draped in gems and pearls and glimmering silks, with milky, dazed eyes and a hungry, offset smile. I practically floated into the room, as though I were mere mist, ringing with my gems and tinkling pearls. The magic softened my smile, lowered my lids demurely, made me into a floating, ethereal creature that I was previously not.

Acheron seemed more unsettled by my sudden transformation of character, than if I had caused a violent scene.

Nyx was perched upon a throne of alabaster, placed at the head of the hall. The throne was pale and twined with vines of glimmering, delicate white flowers. The buds were closed and curled inwards. With the way they only grew on the throne, and rippled with pale power, I knew they were magical. I knew the magic was old, as though they had bloomed here long before this throne, before this kingdom, and even before this world. I felt the urge to pluck at them and steal them away, or even swallow them greedily, absorbing the magic into my body.

Despite the throne being the truest source of magic in the room though, I knew this was not a throne room. This was a hall intended for the entertainment and leisure of nobility—the chosen of the Gods. Tables and divans and seating areas spotted the hall, with abandoned game cards and tea trays decorating the tables. This was intended to be an entertainment hall, and I could not fathom why she had chosen to introduce me in here.

As I stood observing the crowd, their eyes suddenly drifted away from me. I could not understand what prompted them to look away, till I glanced back myself, and found myself at a loss of words.