I reach for the doorknob, but Valen suddenly steps between me and the door.
“I don’t think so, Princess,” he growls. “You’re not going in there—at least, not alone.”
My heart jumps into my throat and I look up at him.
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m saying I’m going with you. And nobody is going to fucking stop me,” he adds and glares meaningfully at the Sorceress.
To my surprise, she takes no offense.
“Very well, Master Drake—you may enter the doorway with your Lady,” she says gravely. “However, do not suppose that the two of you will stay together. And you must be wary—you may see some things you do not wish to see.”
“I’ll take my chances and we will stay together because I’m not letting Irena out of my sight,” he says. Taking my hand, he laces our fingers together and gives me a firm squeeze.
“Thank you,” I whisper gratefully.
I admit, I was dreading going through the ominous door and now I can almost feel his courage pouring into me. It makes me feel so much better to know I won’t be alone in the strange other-land beyond the Door of Uncertainty.
“Very well then, I will await your return,” the Sorceress tells us. “But though you go together, you, my dear, must open the door.” And she nods at me.
“I will,” I say. Taking a deep breath, I step forward and Valen steps with me. I reach for the knob—it feels ice-cold in my hand—and turn it.
The door opens and radiant, pale purple light spills out. I feel a cold chill rush down my spine as I squint into the brilliance. What am I going to see in there? And how will I know if it’s the truth or a lie or something that happened in the past or something that hasn’t happened yet and might or might not happen in the future?
I have no answers—only more questions. But Valen’s hand is warm and strong in mine—it gives me courage.
Together, we step through the doorway.
60
IRENA
The purple light blinds me for a second. I blink my eyes, trying to adjust to the radiance. When my vision finally adjusts, I see that I’m standing in the middle of a familiar spot—the dining hall of my own castle.
Also, I’m alone. I look all around me, but Valen is gone.
I feel a stab of panic. Has the Door of Uncertainty simply transported me home? And if so, how am I ever going to get back? When will I ever see Valen again? Somehow that upsets me the most.
I take a step, but my slippers make no sound on the flagstones. The familiar arched ceiling overhead is hung with the banners of all the Noble houses. The hall is filling with people—Courtiers and Nobles come to dine with the King.
Wait—the King? Yes! For sitting at the Royal table on the dais above the rest of the tables is my Father—Good King Ferrand. He is alive again—his beard black and bushy and his face pink with health.
I can’t help remembering how he looked the last time I saw him. So shrunken and wasted, all his hair turned gray. But here he is in the flower of health, looking hale and hearty.
“Father!” I cry and run to him…but he doesn’t lift his head. And though the people around me step out of my way, they don’t seem to see me.
I try again.
“Father!” I shout, at the top of my lungs. I want him to look up—to see me. I want to hug him and tell him that I’ve missed him dreadfully.
But he is busy talking to an advisor who is seated to one side of him and again, no one so much as glances in my direction. I try pinching one of the Noble women—Atribella is her name and she’s always been nasty to me—on the arm. To my astonishment, my fingers pass right through her flesh, as though it wasn’t even there.
I look around again…am I a ghost here? Is the Door of Uncertainty showing me something that happened in the past? If so, then this is not my father—not truly. It is only a shade of him—one I cannot touch or talk to.
I feel a stab of bitter disappointment, but then a voice whispers in my ear,
“Look and see, child. You have been brought here for a purpose.”
