Watch Kaley try on a glass slipper & end up in a dungeon! Guess who saves her? Prizes given.
“This is not right,” Aradella said. “This is—” Suddenly, she put her hand to her mouth and let out a sound of pure horror.
The Spacer halted in midair. In front of them were two giant, bright boards. The one on the left showed Bree and Aradella in the revealing costumes they’d worn on Abicis.
See PrincessesAradella& Bree fight it out in a play. Ian loses his leg!
“At least they got the most important fact right,” Ian muttered.
On the right, was a picture of... Aradella whimpered. It was her on the wolf.
Watch Mekos &Aradellakill Valona. See the princess ride a wolf! (Is thatallshe does with it?)
Mekos put his arms around her and buried her face in his shoulder. “Get us to Davronow!” he ordered the Spacer. Instantly, it did an abrupt turn and zoomed through the air so fast they couldn’t read more of the brightly lit boards.
For all the speed of the Spacer, inside they felt no difference. The gravity was perfectly controlled. Mekos kept Aradella’s face hidden so she didn’t see that they were speeding toward a solid wall painted purple. When the Spacer didn’t slow down, Mekos and Ian drew back, breaths held.
At the last second, a wide door slid up and the vehicle went in and halted. Doors on both sides opened.
“We’re here.” Mekos stroked Aradella’s hair, then pulled off her mask. “That’s better.” He kissed her forehead. “Come on. Let’s go see what we’re facing.”
Aradella was still unable to speak, but Mekos kept his arm firmly around her shoulders. The room where they’d landed was plain with a single door open in one wall.
Ian flew to Mekos’s shoulder. He was trying to look brave but he hid under Mekos’s hair.
They went through the door and entered a room with couches, chairs, and a few glass-topped steel tables. Unlike Qip’s place, the furnishings had straight edges, with seating covered ina bland beige fabric. There were no “collections” as Qip called them. The room was clean to the point of being barren.
They stood by the doorway in silence, not sure what to do.
From the opposite side came a person who resembled those they’d seen, but this one was different. For one thing, he gave off a feeling of masculinity. He was tall and slim and had a mass of gray hair. But it didn’t age him. He looked somewhere between Tanek and Mekos in age. He had on a long robe of a deep blue, with darker trousers beneath. He was carrying a round tray with three glasses of a green liquid. One of the glasses was tiny.
“Hello,” he said in a pleasant voice, then looked at Mekos. “I am Davro, your uncle. Please make yourselves comfortable.”
Mekos, still holding Aradella protectively, led her to a couch and they sat down together.
“I take it you were traumatized by seeing yourselves on the playboards.” It wasn’t a question. He held out the tray. “These will make you feel better.” He was staring at Mekos. “I see Vian in you. And Tanek.”
“And my half-fox mother?” Mekos took two glasses and handed one to Aradella. Ian was still hiding in his hair.
“I see her in the way you move,” he said. “Would your Never like this?”
“Ian?” Mekos asked.
Cautiously, Ian stepped forward.
Davro’s eyes widened. “You are...” He caught his breath. “Magnificent.”
Mekos grinned. “You know how to win his heart.” He downed his drink and it immediately relaxed him. As Aradella drank hers, her look of anger lessened. Mekos took the little glass and handed it to Ian.
“You can actually fly?” Davro asked.
Ian had been holding his wings close to his body in what Mekos called his “lock-breaking position.” As Ian spread hisglistening wings, Davro’s wide eyes showed his appreciation. Ian flew to land on the arm of the couch and downed his drink.
“We’d like to know...” Mekos said but he wasn’t sure where to begin.
“Why do you haveuson your screens?” Aradella sounded more perplexed than angry. “You spy on us. For what reason?”
Davro’s blue eyes grew serious. “For entertainment,” he said. “I admit that I’m ashamed of what goes on here. My sister and I are trying to change it, but we are hindered.” He withdrew a little round disk from his pocket and put a smaller one in his ear. “Before we get to that, I’d like to analyze your health, if I may. We must be careful that no diseases are brought to us, as we have weak immune systems. We use sound waves for detection and healing. They realign the body.”
