The air stilled as everyone waited for the queen to speak.
“Fine.” My aunt’s green eyes leveled on me menacingly.
I repressed a shudder. How anyone hadevertrusted this woman, even if they were blood, was beyond me.
“Very good. The rules of the conjuring trial are simple. At the behest of the blue godsflame, each competitor will have two chances to conjure their most magnificent, impressive conjuring. The godsflame will decide the winner at tonight’s feast, which will be held in the castle at the expense of the crown as a sign of good will between the competitors. If they wish to attend, no subject of Wonderland will be turned away from the feast.”
The queen squawked, which Herald completely ignored.
“Now, if everyone is ready, the first trial shall begin at the godsflame’s ready. Please take up your places on the conjuring circle.” Herald pointed to a circle already drawn on the ground.
The Red Queen took up position at one pole, and I gravitated toward the other. Our supporters shuffled at our backs, outside the circle.
As soon as we were in position, the blue flame flared and swooped down to hover right at eye-level. I waited, wondering how a bit of fire was going to make clear what it wanted us to do, when all of a sudden, the flame shot a tendril in my direction.
I closed my eyes.Of course it’s my turn.
I’d been hoping to go second, to see the extent of my aunt’s abilities, and try to best her.
“The challenger, Alice White, goes first!” Herald cried, as if everyone hadn’t already figured that out.
I pressed my lips together and raised my hands. Ideally, I would like to close my eyes to block out all other stimuli as I conjured, but I wouldn’t do that here. In such a public arena, others could take it as a sign of weakness.
“Just do your best,” Henri whispered a few feet behind me. “And remind the queen who you are.”
Who I am . . .
An onslaught of my newly returned memories came rushing forth, quelling the adrenaline zinging through me, and pulling the corners of my lips up slightly.
I knew exactly what to do.
I called the aether to me, allowing my magic to spill out and mold it. Shimmering light flooded the air, filling it with electricity, and an astonished gasp flew from the crowd.
I gave them no notice. I remained focused, working, pushing, and sweating as my aether magic transformed the fifth element right before my eyes.
A glass bush appeared first. It grew out of the ground, like a real one would, but its teal coloring veined with gold made it clear that I wasn’t using earth magic to create it. Branches followed, and soon enough, buds formed. They were closed, but full and round, poised to shatter and reveal what was inside.
I made the buds wait until the rose bush was twice the size of the others I’d passed in the gardens. When I was sure my creation was as large as I could get it, I gave one final push.
The glass buds cracked. I pushed a little earth magic out to accompany the aether, and to my delight, real white roses bloomed on the glass structure.
The crowd leaned forward, many of them tilting their heads in wonder and confusion.
It was, admittedly, a strange choice, considering none of them remembered my family crest. But I didn’t care because my aunt recognized the symbolism. And judging by the clenching of her jaw, she took great offense to me slipping white roses into her sanctuary of red.
Good. Let her simmer.
I grinned and gave a bow. Behind me, Hatter chuckled, and my other team members shouted words of encouragement.
The moment I rose from my bow, the godsflame shot a tendril of blue toward the Red Queen, as if to saylet’s get a move on. And apparently, my aunt agreed, because she launched straight into conjuring.
As much as I didn’t want to be impressed, I had to admit that watching her was astounding. She didn’t tremble or shake or sweat like I did. The aether came to her effortlessly, and as a mass of glowing air swirled in front of her, I held my breath.
The Red Queen whipped the clouds above into a frenzy, drawing them down and filling them with shimmering aether. Collectively, the onlookers leaned forward, waiting, and when a bolt of lightning burst from the clouds, a few shrieked.
I stood my ground, dreading what would happen next. When the queen pulled the trigger, she didn’t disappoint.
The clouds released a deluge of red liquid, possibly blood, and the moment it touched my white roses, the flowers wilted and shriveled to nothing. The glasswork followed, melting and seeping into the earth, until nothing was left of my creation.
