Laughter and hugs – there is no healing wand or rock that can compete with that.
When I step back, Richard leads us down the hall. I glance at Fabia as she walks behind us. I lost Saragese already; I will not lose her too.
My heart hammering, I look at Jace. Nor him. Nor Marrabel or Irin or… My blood pounding, I look at my king.No.
I have to learn how to keep myself safe so they will never need to again.
As we round a bend in the winding corridor, two large doors face us. Together, they arch into a point beneath an ornately carved doorframe. A guard stands on either side of it, but as soon as they see us, they move to open the doors. A murmur of voices echo from inside. Bowing, they gesture us in.
“His Majesty, King Richard Asherton Morningstar, the Demon of Raza,” a man bellows as we step inside, “and his wife, Arienna Morningstar, our soon to be queen.”
“And Fabia, the bestest writer ever,” I say, just as loudly as the guy who introduced us. “And Jace –” I stop as I turn to him. “What is your full name?”
He grins. “Isabet Terfuck Tan Mehussand.”
“And Jace Isa –”
Richard loops an arm through mine and tugs me across the balcony. “That is not his name.”
“It’s not? Then why did he –” I suck in a breath as the room finally snags my attention. We’ve entered at the top of a grand staircase. The ceiling spreads high above us, double what it is in most of the other rooms. Instead of the rich brown wood I have come to expect though, the walls have been painted with a collage of scenes depicting fairy life. Large purple-rimmed cage-shaped terrariums hang from the ceiling. The glowing teal of firefox moss spreads out amongst their glass floors as other plants rise into the air. Beambugs flitter about inside them, their dark-blue wings opening up to show their glowing yellow butts beneath. But they cannot compete with the ceiling itself.
Seemingly having soaked up the power of the sun, the ceiling glows with the soft rays of dawn. It lights the room up, every nook and cranny, filling it with a warmth that leaves me breathless.
As we descend the stairs, with Jace in front, albeit off to the side, and our other guards behind us, my head swivels in every direction. I try to take it all in, but it’s impossible. We’re only a few steps from the bottom, and already people are waiting for us to reach them. They’ll want to talk to us when all I want to do is sit and stare in awe.
“Dinner will be in an hour,” Richard murmurs to me. “Do you want a snack?”
My eyes fastened on the six floor-to-ceiling purple-trimmed windows at the other end of the hall, I shake my head. The forest stretches out in front of us, the view unhindered by any branches. I’ve never noticed how pretty it looked from up here. Anytime Richard flies me anywhere, I always have my eyes closed.
“I didn’t ask if you could wait,” my king says.
There’s a pinch of hunger in my belly, but I ignore it. “I’m okay for now. I want to look at the walls.”
“Then the walls you shall see.”
When we reach the bottom step though, a woman moves in front of us. Her lips are such a deep purple, they’re close to black. Plum-coloured studs pierce her cheeks, as well as the top of both ears. Long thin black chains hang from her lobes and hook onto the circular piercing threaded through the middle of her upper lip. My eyes snag on it as she bows her head.How does she eat?
“Your Majesty.” She straightens. “It is a pleasure to meet you. I’m Iva Dumaus, the Warress of Delevia. I ownWands and More Wands, which I am sure you know is the largest premade wand manufacturer on Gaera.”
She holds out a hand to her side. A man wearing black gloves places a dark-maroon wand in her palm. Her fingers wrapped around the narrow end, she offers the handle to me. “For you, Your Majesty.”
I grin widely as I accept it. I’ve never played with a wand before. I’m looking forwards to trying it out after dinner. “Thank you so much, Ima Dumbass.” I go to swoosh the wand, but Richard plucks it out of my hand and passes it to Fabia. I frown, but I keep my attention on the woman in front of me. I might not want to be a good brownie, but I still don’t want to be rude. “How do you make the wands for the bigger people?”
We’re one of the smallest creatures in all the Seven Planes. Our wands would be toothpicks to most races and mere splinters to the orcs and giants.
“I employ larger species,” she says slowly, her voice much colder than before. “It is all run very smoothly.”
“Oh, maybe I can visit sometime then and see how it all works. I’d love to see how happy your workers are.”
Her lips tighten. “Perhaps.” Glancing quickly at my king, she bows her head, her black hair hanging down her shoulders. “If you’ll excuse me, Your Majesties.”
“Oh, okay.”
She’s gone in a moment.
But is immediately replaced by another.
A tall woman smiles at me, stretching the black and purple tattoos all over her face. Her two canines are sharpened. Introducing herself as the Warress of Prisin, she gifts me with a raven-hilted dagger. Once she’s gone, yet another warress greets us.
