Laurent touched the ring on his finger. “Merrick is on his way to us. He’ll escort us to the Palace to get ready for tonight.”
Within moments, a winged figure appeared from the top towers, making a beeline towards the bridge. Lenna and Laurent tracked the movement through the sky, until the gargoyle landed in front of them.
Merrick had already washed up and changed. His shaggy brown hair was tied back into two tight braids that met at the nape of his neck and merged into one braid down to his shoulders. His horns looked polished, gleaming brilliantly in the sun.
His casual clothes from the last two days were gone, replaced with a loose, black, long-sleeved shirt, and black pants–a much nicer quality than the ones he had worn that morning. His now familiar weapons belt also looked oiled and shiny. His long sword with the blue gem pommel was strapped to his back between his wings with a leather harness that crossed over his shoulders, holding it in place.
To Lenna, Merrick looked deadly. Epitomizing the image of a warrior primed and in his element. Standing before them both, he flashed his bright white teeth–and immediately began rolling the sleeves of his shirt up to his elbows. “Like the new digs?” Merrick asked cheerfully, finishing one sleeve and moving to the other, the black bands of his tattoos now visible.
Lenna raised her eyebrows at him. “You clean up well, Merrick. Were you getting pampered up there in your bird’s nest while we trudged through this damn canyon all day?”
Laurent grinned as Merrick bristled. “Trust me, it was a lot less pampering and a lot more begging for an audience. After the first meeting I had with Lord Magnamus, he outright declined to host us.” Merrick rolled his eyes. “I had to resort to court charm–hence the handsomeness before you.” He bowed, a smugsmirk on his face.
Next to Lenna, Laurent growled low and deep, as if this sort of thing happened before–with varying results. “Define ‘court charm’ Merrick.”
Merrick waved off his friend. “Well, the Regent said without Queen Adara’s expressed permission, the Oracle wasn’t welcome in the Obsidian Palace. So, I went to every servant, royal, and court guest I could find and started a bit of gossip that I heard the new Oracle was activatedandshe was coming here to claim her birthright of the Prism. Needless to say, the entire court is in a tizzy–they haven’t had any action in a while. They’re all scrambling to dress their finest and pay respect to Lenna. Oh, Ialsomay have lied and said you could read their futures for them.” A wicked gleam flashed in Merrick’s eyes. “Once word got back to Lord Magnamus that his entire court was assembling to the throne room tonight to meet you, he made it sound like it washisidea to host you. I didn’t correct him.”
“Well, you have been busy,” Laurent gritted out, loosening a harsh breath. He gestured towards the bridge, wiping a trickle of perspiration from his face with his other hand. “Let’s not disappoint.”
Lenna sidled between the gargoyle and the fae as the three took the first steps onto the bridge leading them to the Obsidian Palace and the Prism of the Oracle.
Chapter twenty
Lenna
Itwasawhirlwindof motion once they stepped into the Obsidian Palace’s massive entryway. Lenna didn’t know where to look first.
Rough cut stone walls were lined with golden torches designed to resemble skeletal hands. Their flames lit an uncanny amount of space, throwing strange shadows against the interior of the Palace carved from the mountain. Even the air felt charged with magic and power, as if it emitted from deep within the rocks itself. Lenna craned her neck up to the cavernous ceiling high above, where sharp cliffs jutted out at all angles, connected by narrow, golden bridges.
Gargoyles, disregarding the crossings all together, flew through the open air, and more than one dove closer to glimpse her and the company she kept. There were a few fae standing along those bridges, and she knew they could see her–probably hear her–even from that distance.
“This meeting may not be as smooth as we hoped,” Merrick admitted quietly, “Lord Magnamus can be unpredictable. Keep your head on a swivel and don’t let your guard down.” Lenna knew that last part was meant for her to follow. “Don’t mention Esmeray to Lord Magnamus either. If he knows she’s stalking us, he may rescind his offerto allow us to stay here.” Lenna chewed her lip as a side door into another dark corridor opened with a flourish.
Three servants appeared, dressed in dark blue tunics with flowy matching pants that cuffed at their ankles. In sync, the servants bowed, ushering each of them to a separate room down the same hall. Lenna had only a single moment to shoot a panicked glance back at her companions before she was escorted into a large bathing room by a female gargoyle as short as herself. The gargoyle pointed to an array of soaps and lotions, directing Lenna to wash up quickly and meet back in the adjoining bedroom to dress.
The bathing room walls were similar to the entryway, though the ceiling tapered only about fifteen feet up. A large tub that seemed more like a jagged pond took up the entire middle of the room. Lenna gingerly stepped down the first of three stone steps into the water. The tub was carved out of a lighter grey stone, as if it had been moved into the room instead of carved from it. More of the skeletal hands held torches in here, and Lenna marveled at the small magical flames that threw the entire room in light.
She stripped her dirty clothing off, and they vanished with a softpoofthe second they hit the floor.
Gaping at the spot the clothes disappeared from, and acutely aware she was naked and alone in this strange, magical place, Lenna subconsciously covered herself.
Magichad taken her clothes.
That thought seemed so absurd to her that she snorted, shaking herself back to the task at hand. Edging closer to the lip of the tub, she took a deep breath and stepped into the waiting bath.
The water was much warmer than she anticipated, and she let out a tight breath as she focused her attention on scrubbing the dirt andcrud off her body. Her pale skin held a brighter, pinkish hue from the formidable sun, and was covered with a fine layer of dust from the day’s trek through the pass. Lenna winced as she felt the stringiness of her dry hair and dunked her head underwater to scrub at her scalp.
After she deemed herself clean, Lenna climbed gingerly out of the tub, careful not to scrape herself on any of the rock. Once both feet were firmly on the floor, a fluffy towel and robe appeared on the tub’s rim. She snatched them before the magic could make anything else disappear, and dried herself off as she waddled into the adjoining room, her aching muscles humming.
The bedroom was decorated sparsely. Only two skeletal hands adorned the walls, the light a bit dimmer yet oddly cozy. A four-poster bed in the center of the room, expertly draped with rich maroon curtains, tugged alluringly at Lenna. She desperately wanted to crawl under the covers after spending a night sleeping on the ground. A dark red dress with golden embroidery lay upon the mattress, and Lenna took a tentative step closer, sliding her hand down the fabric in awe. It was thick, well made, and looked like it cost a small fortune. Lenna’s hands trembled at the nasty thought that niggled through her brain.
What if it doesn’t fit?
She knew it was a harsh thought the second it crossed her mind, but after years of having seamstresses fret over her measurements–wide through the bust, wide through the hips, slightly narrower at the waist–trepidation crept in whenever others picked out clothing for her.
She nervously slid the dress over her head and felt the fabric almost…come alive. It slithered down her body, contorting itself, sizing up and down, adjusting its own measurements until it perfectly fit her body–better than any seamstress could ever match. The creamy material caressed her skin, causing a whimper of shock to escape Lenna’shanging jaw.
Lenna realized her face showed more surprise than she anticipated as she walked over to the full-length mirror next to the bed and gaped at her reflection. Before, she’d hidden her plump curves and soft stomach under loose flowing smocks and dresses–per the request of Leon, and societal expectations throughout Doortan that focused on the importance of extreme modesty.
