Halia: Daughter of Cinderella

by Armitage, J. A

  “Halia! Are you all right?” Lorenzo was immediately by my side. I rubbed my hip, staring at the ice sculptures. The sword-wielding demon’s blade had been reduced to a stump, the dragon’s scales were gone, and our queen’s crown was dripping down her face.

  “Mikka. We need to find her.”

  Lorenzo followed my line of sight, and his face went rigid. “If they hurt her—”

  He never got to finish his sentence as a weak voice rasped, “I’m over here.”

  I jumped up, ignoring the dull throbbing of my backside and hurried behind the bar. Lying on her stomach, her face pressed against the tiles was Mikka. She was panting hard, and beads of sweat shone on her upper lip. “The mating bond,” she rasped before her eyes rolled back, and her lids felt shut.

  2

  6th August

  Mikka mumbled something, tearing me out of my fitful, light doze. I pushed off the rocking chair I had fallen asleep in and kneeled by her bedside. “Mikka, are you awake?”

  Her eyes fluttered open, and I grasped her hand.

  She croaked, “water,” and I hurried to get her a glass. I tipped it slowly against her mouth, and she swallowed. She had been unconscious most of the night. Lorenzo had told me not to assume the worst, that Mikka’s weak state caused by the mating bond could mean a number of things, including Tia simply being stressed, but I found it impossible to stay positive. I couldn’t help but imagine my friend being tortured by the fae. Worse, what if Madam had snatched my friend and delivered her straight to the leader? After my altercation with the fae and my persistence in the competition, it would be easy for Madam to make the connection that I was planning something, and she certainly wasn’t above torturing information out of Tia.

  Mikka pushed the glass away, tearing me away from my destructive thoughts and back to the present. “I’ll be fine, and so will Tia.” She didn’t sound the least bit convinced. Probably seeing the pain written across my face, she added, “At least, we know that she’s alive. If she were dead, the mating bond would have disappeared. But I can feel her. I think she’s doing better now. Maybe she’s asleep.”

  Asleep, someplace the enemy had abducted her to. Knowing my dark thoughts wouldn’t help anyone, I kept them to myself as I helped Mikka into a sitting position. Perspiration shone on her face as I placed a second pillow behind her back. “Rest and don’t worry. Lorenzo and I will get Tia back.”

  She huffed. “I wish I could go with you, not be a useless vegetable.”

  I didn’t know how to respond to that. Everyone hated feeling helpless, and we were beyond empty reassurances. Relief fluttered through me when the door creaked open, and Lorenzo stepped inside. The grimness on his face faded once he realized Mikka was awake.

  “How are you?” He pressed the back of his hand against her forehead, eliciting a grimace from her.

  “Stop it. I’m not a child.”

  He chuckled, his violet-green eyes twinkling. “You must be feeling much better to have your sass back.”

  She rolled her eyes. “I’ll be much better once Tia is back.”

  I clasped Lorenzo’s hand. “Did you find out anything?” He hesitated, so I pressed. “Please, this is my friend. You can’t protect me from this. There’s a reason why I discovered that I could influence others with my voice when the queen went missing. This is my mission, and I must face the consequences of my actions.”

  Lorenzo didn’t look happy but relented. “Our suspicions were correct. The Fontaines are working for the leader. I overheard Madam saying that old and useless people won’t suffice anymore, that they need higher quality supply.”

  I balled my fists. “They’re providing the leader with humans to siphon off their life energy and power!” I gritted my teeth. The sisters had no scruples, using illegal magic to fix their voices and buy the competition host’s favor and to participate in human trafficking. “What do you think the leader promised them exactly?”

  Lorenzo shrugged. “A place in the court and castle accommodations. I can’t imagine he promised them real power.”

  I nodded. From everything I’d heard, this leader was a power-hungry man. He was already working with the fae, meaning there wasn’t much of the pie left to give to the Fontaines. And since they were his lowliest supplier and had no magic of their own, they were the weak link we needed to latch onto.

  We still had no idea who this leader might be, and we couldn’t follow the fae since they would sense Lorenzo’s presence if he was nearby. Our last attempt to eavesdrop on their meeting using Lorenzo’s astral projection had disastrous results. The potent magic that had to be cast had almost torn his soul out of his body and delivered it straight to hell.

  I wasn’t willing to take such a risk again, and I wanted to stay far away from Acacia. Once I had considered her a friend, who hid the golden rings in my eyes with her fae magic. But now she was a foe. A foe I would bring down after I was done with the Fontaines.

  With my mind made up, I rose and brought Mikka a plate with bread and a jar of honey. “Will you be all right by yourself?”

  She punched me lightly on the shoulder. “Yes, but I might barf if you two continue treating me like a broken baby bird. Go and get Tia.”

  Lorenzo and I went to the door. “I’ll put out the closed sign and add a magic barrier outside the bar,” he said. “We’ll be back as soon as we can.”

  Mikka’s black eyes turned to hard obsidian stones. “Make them pay.”

  “We will,” I promised.

  Once we entered Lorenzo’s room, I said, “I didn’t know you could make barriers.”

  “I can’t.” Lorenzo headed toward his bed, and heat crept into my face as my stupid mind flashed to an image of us lying in his bed together, limbs tangled.

  Lorenzo opened his bedside drawer and showed me a blue powder in a vial, which was similar to the red dust I had used to draw the hexagon around him when he astral projected. “I bought this while I was away. Thought it might come in handy.” He ran his hand through his silver hair. “I wish I had gotten more.”

  “Do you still have the fairy dust?” He had used a sprinkle of it to temporarily transform the royal opera house stage into an enchanted forest.

  He held out a golden box to me. “There’s enough left for one more use.”

  I stowed the box and vial away in my crossbody purse, not arguing that he should hold on to it. For all I knew, the competition host might deny Lorenzo access into the castle for the next round, hoping to cower me into giving up without my manager.

  “I’m going to get a few weapons. I don’t plan to use them tonight, but it’s good to be prepared.” While Lorenzo rifled through his closet, I grabbed the box with the red dust from his bedside drawer. Even though our debt with Abigail had been settled after I had stolen the moonstone for her from Thomas’ office, I was still worried that she might return to make another bargain with Lorenzo. There was no way I would allow him to strike a bargain in which he owed her an astral projection. I didn’t trust her one bit and could easily imagine her splitting his soul from his body on purpose, and thus sending him to hell.

  Lorenzo put a towel on his night table that held a plethora of knives and daggers.

  I took one with a serrated edge and a ruby in its hilt, slashing through the air.

  “Have you ever used a dagger?” he asked.

  I shook my head, and he took my blade from me. “Your best chance of landing a blow is when you are at close range. Go for the vulnerable tissue.” He pressed his finger into my neck. I knew I should’ve been thinking of attacking others, but instead, my thoughts went to what it would feel like if he kissed my neck.

  “When do we need to leave?” I breathed.

  “Nightfall. I heard the sisters say that their mother would be back at eight.”

  “So we have some time before that.”

  He nodded, his eyes growing hooded, and I pressed my mouth against his. His teeth captured my bottom lip, and I moaned. My hands ran down his powerful should
ers and back while his lips explored my neck. It definitely was a deliciously vulnerable spot. I fell down onto the bed, pulling him on top of me. Our kisses grew frantic as our hands explored each other. My finger caressed his muscular, smooth stomach while he kneaded my curves just the way I wanted him to.

  We kissed until we were breathless. My heart was hammering wildly when Lorenzo pulled away. “When all of this is over, we can finally focus on us,” he promised in a husky voice.

  I nodded, knowing that going any further now would only make me more vulnerable to the enemy. Once the leader was defeated, and the queen was back on the throne, I would be able to do normal things with Lorenzo, not steal kisses here and there. I tried not to worry about what would happen to Arcadia if we failed or whether the king and queen would be all right with a demon dating their adopted daughter. I would cross that bridge when we got to it.

  Now, it was time to pay back the sisters for everything they’ve done.

  Lorenzo put two daggers into his boots, and four into his belt. He gave me a skinny belt that had two holsters, and I added my weapons, not ready to put blades anywhere on my body where they could injure me.

  Under the cover of darkness, we strew the blue dust around Daydream’s perimeter before hiding in a side street opposite from Madam’s Boarding House to stake out her and her spawns.

  We waited and waited, but nothing happened.

  “Are you sure Madam was supposed to return here at eight?” I finally asked. “What if the sisters went to meet her somewhere else?”

  Before Lorenzo could reply, one of the curtains in a window on the second floor moved, and Bernadette peeked outside, a shadow hovering behind her.

  “They’re still here and getting antsy,” Lorenzo whispered.

  I bit my lip, wondering what had postponed Madam. She wasn’t the type of person who would allow anything to stand in her way.

  After our brief glimpse of Bernadette, nothing happened for a long time. My legs ached from standing, so I crouched down, leaning against the wall. That was when the unmistakable click-clacking of horseshoes neared us. I chuckled inwardly. If I had known that all it would take to summon Madam was for me to get comfortable, I would’ve done so a long time ago.

  The wooden carriage pulled close enough that I could make out the fuchsia, velvet curtains, leaving no doubt that Madam had arrived. Her lifestyle sure had improved. I didn’t remember her having such an expensive and tasteless coach when I had been working for her.

  I expected her to step out, but instead, the coachman nodded several times as she gave him instructions through the window. Then he rushed off into the boarding house. A few minutes later, the sisters appeared in their voluminous ball gowns.

  Barely able to get into the carriage, the coachman had to almost stuff them inside. I would’ve laughed at the comical display if I weren’t worried about how we could overhear them without them spotting us. If we stayed here, we wouldn’t hear anything. But if we crept any closer, they would see us. “What do we do now?” I asked.

  Lorenzo shifted. “We wait, then we’ll follow the carriage.” His arms tightened around me, and I mentally prepared myself for him teleporting after the carriage. I wasn’t scared of teleportation, but doing it several times in quick succession, left me dizzy and queasy. Thankfully, it had been a while since I had last eaten, making it less likely that I would spill the contents of my stomach all over Lorenzo’s shoes.

  Lorenzo’s hands brushed my back, and I pressed my head against his chest, forgetting all thoughts of motion sickness. His strong arms felt so good wrapped around me, I never wanted him to let me go. In that moment, I realized that I was ready. There had always been a powerful attraction between Lorenzo and me, but I hadn’t been completely willing to pursue it, given how my last relationship had ended. Now, however, I was ready to put myself out there, to let Lorenzo into my heart. I didn’t care that he was a demon and that there was the whole immortality issue between us. I didn’t care that my newfound royal family might not approve of this arrangement. I was Halia Bright, the queen of song, and I made my own decisions and dared to live fully, no matter how much it scared me.

  The carriage door flung open so hard the hinge creaked. Everything inside of me tensed as Georgette stalked outside. “She doesn’t understand,” she hissed to Bernadette. “That stupid bitch is still in the competition. We need to get rid of her before she ruins everything. I won’t have my glory taken from me a second time.”

  Bernadette gripped her sister’s elbow. “Shut up. Mother said she’ll take care of it. She’ll get us more magic, and then it won’t matter if the maid is still in the competition. We’ll bring her to her knees just as we did with Cinder.”

  Georgette shoved away Bernadette’s hand. “That’s not good enough. Cinder got the prince in the end.”

  A wicked grin curled Bernadette’s lips. “But she didn’t keep him. Besides, that was then. Things have changed. We have magic now. We’re unstoppable. We’ll make them all pay.” The door into the boarding house thumped closed, underlining their statement.

  I had no time to ponder my irritation or the meaning of the sisters’ statement as Madam’s carriage charged into motion, and Lorenzo’s arms tightened around me. My surroundings disintegrated into a chaos of colors only to rearrange themselves a bit later, and I found myself two streets over following the carriage that was barreling down the streets.

  My stomach roiled as my surroundings blurred again. I closed my eyes, trying to stop myself from being sick and asked, “Do you think Madam’s about to meet the leader?”

  “Yes,” Lorenzo replied simply, sending my heart thudding with excitement and fear. Finally, we would find out who was behind Arcadia’s destruction. Finally, we would find out who we were up against.

  When Lorenzo’s arms released me, relief swept through me, despite losing the closeness. Good thing, the teleportation had stopped now. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could’ve gone without being violently sick.

  As I gulped down the fresh air, I slowly opened my eyes to find the reason why it was a few degrees cooler here. We were at the river. Madam’s coach pulled to stop at the gondolas. But instead of getting into one of the tiny boats, she went toward the nearby bridge.

  Since she moved slow enough, Lorenzo and I followed her on foot, and I was grateful we were done with the teleporting. As if my thoughts had jinxed the situation, Madam disappeared. One moment she was there, the next she was gone.

  “What kind of magic was that?” I asked, struggling to keep my voice quiet.

  Lorenzo’s chuckle ran down my spine. “No magic. Just a door.” He stepped closer to the wall, and that’s when I saw it, an entrance made from the same stone the bridge was. No door handle, but a tiny knob that was barely visible in the darkness.

  I swallowed hard as Lorenzo drew a dagger. “Are you up for this?” he asked.

  I pulled out my own dagger in response. I might’ve been terrified out of my wits, but I needed to confront the monster behind the decimation of my city.

  Lorenzo went first, and I didn’t mind, aware that if I got myself stabbed, it would be the end of us spying on Madam.

  My lungs constricted, and my legs trembled as I stepped across the threshold and froze. Not out of fear, but out of confusion. No one was attacking us. In fact, no one was paying us any heed.

  Because people, well, magic wielders to be exact, were busy shopping. Negotiations were forcefully being conducted in colorful stalls just like at the market above ground, except that this underground market served a clientele with sharp horns, spiky tails, and elongated ears. A month ago, I would’ve been terrified to be surrounded by so many magic wielders. Now, however, I was mostly curious.

  A snake lurched from a basket at one of the stands, and a seller exchanged a glass jar of teeth for golden coins, confirming my suspicion that this was an illegal market.

  “You’re new. Where are your access codes?” A green demon sidled up to us.

  “Rel
ax, we’ve been here before. You know us. We’re fine,” I sang, the words coming to me effortlessly, the magic streaming through my veins as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

  The green demon blinked several times, glanced between Lorenzo and me, and waved us through.

  “Your powers are getting stronger. You were able to manipulate him with only a few sentences and while he was on high alert.” The pride in Lorenzo’s voice warmed me.

  “Good, I get the feeling I’ll get to use my voice a lot in the next few days.” I smiled on the inside as I surveyed the market for Madam’s voluptuous, tall figure.

  I couldn’t see her, so I made my way slowly through the rows of stalls, pretending to be interested in the dried tongues hanging by clothespins, the potions that sizzled when they bubbled out of their glasses, and the combs that had hidden blades and acted as weapons.

  “Perhaps we should stock up on supplies,” I whispered.

  “No.” Lorenzo’s hard voice made me look up to find his jaw was clenched tightly. “You do not want to get involved with those who lurk around here, have them know your face, or call in any favors. They wouldn’t think anything of chopping off your finger if they thought you betrayed them.”

  “But—”

  “You being in the competition makes you a persona non grata.”

  I nodded, understanding sinking in. Seeing me on stage, near the king’s guards, would make them believe I was a spy. Was that why Madam tended to stay on the sidelines when her daughters competed and why she hadn’t brought them here? It had to be.

  We reached the last stall in the final row, and panic rattled me. We had missed her! Somehow Madam had slipped out of here. I turned to Lorenzo to voice my concerns, but he took my hand and slipped us through a set of curtains. I had believed them to be an entrance to a changing room since they were located next to a vendor who sold furs, but clearly, I had been wrong, because the curtains led into a tavern.