Turning her head, her eyes landed on the bright indigo shimmer of the border at the end of the small spaces up ahead.
Marcel quickened his pace and led her to another locked door. Before she could take in all the details of the market, she found herself in an enclosed space, the portal a few steps ahead of her. A conveyor belt sat on one side of the concrete wall, stopping less than an inch before the portal. It wasn’t running but Lora guessed this was how Marcel avoided getting too close to the portal when making deliveries to Liraen. There was a big container on the other side of the wall filled with a few shiny onyx boxes—trading parcels.
Lora had never been this close to the border. There was no fence, nothing to separate them. She took a step forward without even realising. The portal was different than before. Lora had never felt how alive it was, buzzing with energy, making her skin shiver in anticipation. She was about to take another step but a gloved hand made her stop in her tracks.
“Not so fast. We need to go over a few things.” Marcel handed her a folded piece of paper. “As I said, a fae trader, Eyden, will be waiting for you on the other side. Give him this note.” As soon as she took the letter, Marcel turned to one of the many shelves on the wall.
Lora didn’t recognise most of the items displayed nor did she know the small, faintly glowing cube Marcel took off the shelf.
“This is one of our newest products. It’s a WiFi cube. It connects to the network we have running here at the black market. You’ll be able to go online in Liraen. Just connect it to your phone. But there’s limited data, we haven’t perfected it yet. We recently added a feature that automatically uploads a map of Liraen to your phone once connected. Fae don’t seem to care for it but I imagine you might need it.” He pulled out another, smaller item from his pocket. It looked like a normal phone battery. “This battery is spelled to last forever. You’ll need it—no electricity in Liraen.”
Lora already knew that much. Maja had one of these batteries. Spelled tech wasn’t something that she would imagine finding in Liraen often. The fae had no interest in human technology. And humans supposedly had no interest in fae magic, yet here she was at the black market, the one place where humans and fae traded items illegally despite their animosity towards each other.
She took both items and stored them in her bag, zipping it shut tightly as she turned to the portal again. “Anything else?” she asked.
Marcel glanced around the small space. “Be careful, okay? Eyden seems decent but I’ve never met him in person and he hasn’t been of any help so far with the virus. Don’t trust anyone. Your mother needs you to stay safe.” His voice had a new gravity to it. “Goodbye, Lora.”
The way he said those last words made it sound like she was on her deathbed. She supposed she could be. But she could feel the magic of the border calling her, her blood heating as her tan skin turned flush. Slowly, she walked up to the portal.
Her hand instinctively reached out. Before she could think twice about it, her fingertips traced the surface of the portal. It felt like charged air, electricity awakening all her senses. She could do this. The spell didn’t seem to affect her. Relief flooded through her as she craned her neck, locking eyes with Marcel.
He looked at her in plain astonishment and a shimmer of hope seemed to take over his face. “Good luck,” he said.
She could feel new fears taking over her mind. She might be able to touch the border, but there were still so many obstacles ahead of her. Before Lora could fall down another thought spiral, she quietly nodded and turned back to the border, to the unpredictable challenge awaiting her.
Without looking back, she took a final shaky, yet determined, breath and headed into the unknown.
Chapter5
Amira
“A dress fit for a princess from Allamyst,” her brother had said when he had picked her outfit. Amira looked at the garment laid out in front of her. The bodice was made of a silky, almost watery material. The tight waist spread out into a cascade of fabric, heavy and expensive. The bubbled sleeves were the most spectacular part; they looked like blown glass dyed with a bloodish colour. “Maybe you can fool Karwyn into thinking you are worth something when you wear it,” Wryen had added.
Nalani stared at the dress, utterly confused by its extravagant design. “How the hell are you supposed to wear that?” she muttered under her breath. Amira let out a stressed giggle. She was going to look ridiculous.
The maid panicked, realising that she had made her comment aloud. “It’s a wonderful dress, my lady,” she eagerly said.
Amira sighed. “Let’s try to put it on.”
Nalani nodded and unfastened the myriad of pearl buttons set in the back of the dress. She then raised the heavy fabric above Amira’s head. Very slowly, she lowered the fabric, letting it hug Amira’s curves. The extravagant dress quickly became smothering. Amira tugged at the dress, trying to stretch the heavy material to allow her freedom, something she had been denied all too often.
“Do you want to wear this tonight, my lady?” Nalani asked, forcing Amira to stop obsessing over her dress. Her eyes drifted to the silver bracelet she’d been given earlier today.
“I suppose I should.” She was sure Karwyn would appreciate Amira wearing the gift he had given her.
Nalani wrapped the cold, thin chain around her wrist. Even though the turquoise stones sparkled elegantly against Amira’s olive skin, she couldn’t help but think it was chaining her to a future she had not chosen herself.It doesn’t matter,she told herself. As long as her future didn’t involve Wryen, she would be fine. She would find happiness.
After fastening the clasp, Nalani patiently brushed and braided Amira’s hair with fresh flowers. The gentle motion of the brush reminded Amira of a time when her mother would slowly comb through her long, dark brown locks, whispering sweet words in her ear.
She closed her eyes, not wanting to cry in front of a stranger. The scent of the flowers infiltrated Amira’s nose and her head started to ache. She could feel copper bells ringing against her skull. Her mouth felt weirdly dry. Her hands twitched nervously. She held them close to her heart in an attempt to calm herself. Thousands of painful thoughts and memories ran through her head. She could feel all of them, every single time she had ever ached. She tried to breathe slowly but her tongue kept getting stuck on the roof of her mouth. A bright flash and a scream echoed through her mind before she forced herself to return to the present.
The pain subsided as she looked up and she managed to smile at her maid. Amira looked at herself in the mirror. She looked so perfect that the painters of Allamyst would have begged her to pose for them.
A knock on the door of the antechamber made Amira straighten her back. She had made a promise to herself and to her mother to do whatever it took to get away from her half-brother. And she intended to keep her promise.
She walked to the antechamber, almost tripping over her dress. Amira opened the door to face Wryen, who had chosen a rather plain outfit for himself compared to her eye-catching dress. But she wasn’t fooled. Knowing Wryen, the simple but well-cut prussian blue jacket and trousers he was wearing was probably more in fashion in Turosian than Amira’s outfit. He took her hand before she could dwell on it any longer and Amira let him take the lead.
The party would be her first in a couple of years, yet Amira didn’t feel the tiniest bit of excitement as they walked up to the heavy silver doors. Dread was her companion for the night, a feeling her half-brother had instilled on the way there.
