As my eyes shifted downward to the people in the ballroom, I saw at least a hundred of them twirling around the marble floor in long, elegant gowns and prim suits. I was suddenly glad for Mira’s dress that I wore because, while it was probably the plainest in the room, it was far better than sticking out like a sore thumb in my best cotton dress at the Spring Festival.
The queen herself sat by her despicable husband up on the thrones along the northern wall. Only the two gold thrones remained, the extra silver ones I’d seen at the Spring Festival had been removed. Queen Gloria’s face shone radiantly upon her people, her golden curls tumbling down onto a dress of ermine fur and sapphire accents. The king beside her was no more dressed up than his normal, an embroidered vest with Lunaka’s seal of twin moons shining over a sea of wheat. King Adam’s piercing eyes analyzed the room yet seemed to see nothing. His mind was definitely elsewhere.
In front of them, their young daughter, Cornflower, danced with the son of a nobleman. She was only eleven, the very picture of the queen, yet I wondered how long it would be before King Adam auctioned her off to the highest bidder.
“Hey, look it’s Fre-… I mean, the prince!” Sam caught himself, since we were still in a string of nobles, and then nodded with his head toward the other side of the ballroom.
I followed his gaze to see the twenty-year-old Frederick dressed in his princely best, actually looking his age for once, rather than ten years older. The shadows under his eyes and the lines that usually creased his forehead vanished as he danced with a shapely, midnight-haired young woman with a red rayna flower in her hair.
I stared at her for a moment until I recognized her as one of my old friends from school, Cassandra Gale. She was a nobleman’s daughter, yet her mother had sent her to school with the common people to keep her from becoming a brat. Needless to say, it worked. She was very nice, but I hadn’t seen her in years. She and I used to be best of friends in our school going days. I actually had been returning from her house when Rhydin apparently tried to kidnap me. Now, she and Frederick wore that certain expression of absolute happiness on their faces. The same kind of happiness bloomed in my chest. Frederick deserved this after everything he had been through.
“They’re betrothed,” I said, the edges of my mouth drawing upward into a smile as I remembered Frederick mentioning that he had chosen her as his wife.
“I thought King Adam was planning to betroth him to Princess Ren?” Sam looked at me quizzically, quoting one of the recent newspaper headlines.
“Ugh.” I wrinkled my nose, remembering that fowl, pink-obsessed Mineraltin princess who happened to be one of Rhydin’s Followers. “I hope he gets out of that one. He looks so happy with Cassandra.”
“Yeah.” Sam muttered, his eyes trained on something other than Frederick. Then, he cleared his throat rather unsuccessfully as he led me over to one of the navy blue laden columns, not too far away from the crowd, but enough that we could speak freely. He paused, as he looked me in the eyes, a nervous smile on his face. “May I have your locket?”
I felt my face fall. It was ingrained into my very bones to protect this little hunk of metal now. It was the only thing standing between Rhydin and total power over Nerahdis. Evan and I were the only ones who could stop him, but I trusted Sam and his intentions.
I took a deep breath as I turned away from Sam and to fish the locket out of my corset. It sure was annoying to carry around ever since Birdie destroyed my shoelace. Its silver gleamed in the light; the intricate etching swirled around the tiny amber jewels. I cautiously handed it over to Sam, slightly embarrassed at how warm the metal was after being so near my body.
Almost instantly after my fingertips left the locket, it was like someone laid a heavy coat on my shoulders. My body felt heavy, tired, but not quite as exhausted as the mountains had left me. Frederick once told me that the reason Rhydin wanted my locket was because it was an amplifier. It strengthened the magic of the person who wore it, although most powerfully for the Allyen. My entire life, I had kept the locket on my body to keep it safe, even when I slept. Letting go of it completely for the first time was far more draining than I’d ever imagined.
Sam scooped my locket up into his palm, his cufflinks flashing in the light, and he smiled that lopsided grin of his before he pointed his finger to the floor and made a circular motion.
I puffed tiredly. Really? He wanted me to hand my strength to him and then turn around to where I couldn’t see what he was doing? I turned and drummed my fingers impatiently against my arm, feeling much like an anxious child.
At the very moment when I felt as if I couldn’t wait a second longer, I saw my locket appear over my head, along a strong, glittering chain. Sam’s work-hardened and scarred hands followed the chain as he strained to get his big fingers around the clasp. He got it after a couple seconds, which I thought was impressive.
After taking a second to appreciate my restored energy, my fingertips rose to brush the chain, which kept my locket securely on my breastbone. I turned in shock to him, my voice clamored uncertainly, “Sam, I… I love it. But what is it for?”
“Happy extremely late birthday. Now you can wear your locket like a real Allyen.” Sam chuckled, looking right pleased with himself.
My forehead crinkled as my eyebrows rose. My birthday was Middle Autumn 27th, nearly a full season ago. It had passed without much ado, as it did every year due to harvest time, so I hadn’t thought much of it. I turned twenty. A whole two decades old. I began to stutter, “But I didn’t get you anything for your birthday.”
“Easy. It feels like I’ve been waiting decades for a single dance with you, Miss Harvey!” Sam laughed, raising his arms to the stance of a dance. I grinned mischievously and fit myself into his frame, one of my hands on his shoulder and the other in his right hand as his left came around my waist.
The music began to fill my ears, a light, airy Lunakan number. So, I would like to put in here that we did this beautiful, awesome dance that only nobility ever dances and that we got every step right because we’re just that great, but I can’t. We stepped on each other’s feet all the way around the room, tripped over my dress a couple times, and never were quite in time with the rhythm. Thankfully, even though we did get some judgmental stares, nobody could place who we were.
When the epic failure of a noble dance came to an end, a new, faster tune began to play. We did much better with that one once we transposed it in our heads to the jig-like melodies that we were accustomed to in town. The world became only a blur of navy and silver. Sam was the only thing I saw though my mask, and I was okay with that.
The musicians stopped far too soon for my liking, and, as the audience began to clap for them, Sam leaned down and planted a kiss on my forehead, looking happier than I’d ever seen him before. But as I gazed back up at him, something caught the corner of my eye.
King Adam stepped down from his gilded throne, worked his way through the masses of beautifully clothed people, and tapped the shoulder of his one and only son. I watched as he tried to persuade Frederick to follow him. After a few more words, which we were too far away to hear, the prince reluctantly gave a couple quick words to Cassandra and trailed after his father out of the ballroom.
“Did you see that?” I asked Sam, still looking at the door to see if Frederick came back.
Sam wore a skeptical look on his face, though he looked slightly disappointed that our moment was over. “I did. And I don’t like it.”
Rather than beginning another dance, Sam took my hand securely and led me through the globs of people weaving around the marble floor to Cassandra, who now stood by herself next to a silvery column. Her sparkling blue eyes lit up at the sight of the two of us, the masks no use against her. Her voice was sweet. “Lina! Sam! It’s so good to see you! Why are you here at the castle?” She looked genuinely confused.
“It’s really good to see you too, Cassandra. It’s been too long.” I said, clasping her outreached hands. “But where did Pri
nce Frederick go?”
“Oh, yes.” Cassandra wilted slightly in disappointment, “His father came and demanded his presence so they could discuss something. He said he would return in a few minutes.”
Sam glanced at me, and I knew he was feeling it too. The desire to think it was nothing, yet not being able to. What could King Adam possibly want to talk to Frederick about in the middle of the Winter Ball? Sam turned to Cassandra and put on his best fake, reassuring smile. “It’s great to see you again, Cassandra, but we actually should probably be going.”
“Okay! Have a wonderful Winter Ball!” Cassandra beamed as she waved, her red rayna flower nearly falling out of her hair.
Sam and I walked as briskly as possible without looking conspicuous toward the same door that we had seen King Adam disappear with Frederick. It opened to a dark hallway. When Sam closed the big, stone door to the lights, laughter, and music behind us, we were enclosed in a cold, muffled silence.
Immediately, something felt off. The air itself turned strange, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as my magic kicked into gear trying to sense any sort of presence. Absentmindedly, I began to unwrap my sash and ball it into my hand as I sensed what I’d been dreading. A flash of purple magic down the hall confirmed my thinking. Rhydin’s Followers.
I drew my sword from my sash and noticed that Sam too was now armed with his own sword. Without a word, we both began to run toward the opposite end of the hallway where the magic had come from, where the dark presences were.
Before we could make it, the very castle itself began to shake, rumbling the two of us to the floor. Sets of armor crashed down into pieces and tapestries fell off their hooks. I hung tight to Sam for a split second until I realized the tremors weren’t going to stop. Then, we helped each other stumble upright to continue our rush to the end of the hallway.
A man’s scream of pain edged me on faster, and I wondered if we were too late.
Chapter Twenty-One
T he quaking stopped by the time Sam and I peered through the doors at the end of the hallway. The sight we beheld made my stomach churn. The doors opened up into a rather large, curved balcony with waist-high railings made of marble. There were several people in black, instantly sending my adrenaline levels through the roof.
I recognized Eli, the one who had held me at dagger point at the Spring Festival. There was also a woman with a long ponytail as well as Terran, the red-haired Mineraltin man, and several masked bodyguards. These I could sense were absolutely drenched in magic, meaning they were likely Einanhis, created beings. King Adam was with them, but in the middle of it all was Frederick, lying on the ground, looking like the tar had been beaten out of him. Rhydin’s Followers were trying to push his motionless body over the balcony railing.
“This will be the end of you, Frederick. You have stood in the master’s way for far too long!” Eli yelled as he kicked the barely conscious prince in the ribs, resulting in a grunt and another few inches toward the edge. “Nobody will ever know that you didn’t throw yourself off willingly after the death of your sister! Kino, help me!”
The woman joined his tirade as she helped, covering up some sort of weak rebuttal Frederick was trying to give. “The Allyens will be alone when they face Duunzer!”
“Stop!” I found my voice as Sam and I burst through the door. Rhydin’s Followers appeared confused until I ripped my mask off to free up my vision. Their eyes went wide at the sight of me, and then back down into deadly glares. By now, I was far too angry to mince words with these people. I could feel my magic boiling up inside of me, and I chose to unleash it on the person I hated the most at the moment other than Rhydin – King Adam.
I knew from the start that I wouldn’t be able to fight in this cumbersome dress, so I reached down and tore the length of it off jaggedly, before charging at the evil king. I was so completely fed up with everything he was doing to my homeland. He seemed surprised when he discovered he was my target, his golden crown even fell off his black, curly head, but he recovered quickly.
Our swords clashed, and I fired magic at him mercilessly, as well as against any Einanhis who moved forward to try and stop me. I didn’t feel too bad about smacking them off the balcony since they weren’t real people. King Adam tried to defend himself with his wind magic, being an aeromage just like Frederick, but it was no use. I had the upper hand. After all, I had the element of surprise, was half his age, and was twice as powerful.
“So, she’s got a piece of dirt helping her, huh?” I heard Terran laugh behind me. “This should be easy. You should know, Rounan, that we have destroyed hundreds of your people after we got ahold of your records!”
In the midst of my duel, I didn’t get a very good look, but I saw an expression come over Sam’s face that I had never seen before. He was a quiet man, a kind man. He was always so tender with his crops and his livestock. But now, words could not even describe the kind of grief, hatred, and ferocity that overcame him. His hands lifted in front of him, and, as they did, Terran and one of the last couple Einanhis began to float.
The two struggled in midair like bugs about to be swatted as Sam swung them over to the very edge of the balcony where they had been aiming to toss Frederick. The Mineraltin hurled more insults at Rounans along with a couple wimpy, magical fireballs, but Sam’s invisible grip did not budge. As he released, Terran vanished in a puff of violet smoke, Rhydin’s magic, but the Einanhi plunged to the depths below.
King Adam gasped for breath as I never let up on him, blow on blow, sword on sword, magic on magic. This was what the Owenses and Frederick had been training me for all year long, and I felt like I was making them proud. At last, I cornered the Lunakan king against the castle’s stone wall. A trail of blood ran down his cheek into his peppered goatee, as I had nicked him with my sword. I held my blade up against his throat, my voice a twist of scream and snarl. “You’re destroying your kingdom and your family! How could you do such despicable things?”
The king smirked, his wrinkled face only a few inches away from mine. I realized, in that moment, that a year ago I would have been scared to death to even imagine this. I had changed a lot after becoming an Allyen.
His voice was raspy and out of breath as he grinned menacingly at me. “My country is corrupt. My family is broken. Master Rhydin is the only one who can heal it all.” – His body abruptly disappeared in purple smoke as his last words were thrown over my shoulder to Eli and Kino – “Kill the Rounan and get that locket!”
After King Adam dissipated in front of me, leaving nothing but a spot of blood on my silver sword, I turned to regroup with Sam, who was actively holding back the only two people left. As I leapt to join him, Eli revealed that he was an aguamage, like many of the Auklian nobility were. Torrents of water soaked us, pounding us backward and burning our skin every time. I had never fought an aguamage before, and I found myself faltering. Kino kept firing shots of wind at us, which meant she was Lunakan, too. With that and the water, Sam and I were having a difficult time. Where were the Owenses? We were getting annihilated!
As we were both blasted off of our feet by more of Eli’s water, Kino let out a rippling laugh as if this was child’s play. “Master Rhydin doesn’t believe we should kill you, but if we were to bring him your locket, he could hardly scold us!” She swirled her hands together and aimed a gusty gale right at me. Combined with the water spilled all over the marble floor, I found myself sliding away faster than any river.
There was nothing to reach out and grab on to in the middle of the balcony. My fingers clawed at tiny edges in the stone as I sailed, unable to grasp anything. Suddenly, I felt my back crash into something solid, which immediately gave way to the point where there was nothing underneath me at all! As I fell, by some happenstance, my hand finally found a hold on a tiny piece of iron from within the shattered marble floor. When I looked down, I found myself hanging off the balcony with only grassland some hundred feet down below me.
“Lina!” I heard
Sam bellow as my hand became numb. I tried to pull myself up, but I couldn’t get my other hand to the iron. My shoulder felt like it was coming apart, sinew by sinew, because my weight was too much for one arm to bear. My head started reeling with every possible spell I knew, but none of them could save me. As I was about to let go, my hand screaming with pain and Sam’s shouts becoming muffled as he fought for his life, I suddenly felt arms come up and around me. The tension in my arm was alleviated as we rose up together.
I looked behind me to see my best friend in the entire world. Rachel. She returned the smile, especially as my wide eyes took in the things on her back. They were the same colorful objects that I had seen the day we saved Camerron. Now, I got a real look at them as Rachel floated gently upwards and landed on the balcony. They were wings. I was right! They were shining shades of glittering purple, green, and brilliant orange, the same colors as Sam and I’s feathers! They were like shards of glass, not fluffy or feathery like a real bird’s wings, just like my little feather charm.
Luke and James promptly flew up on either side of Rachel with wings that mirrored hers, and made lightning fast work with Eli and Kino. They moved faster than any human, and while I always figured they were in good shape in the past, I knew now that they could move that fast because they weren’t human. Sam and I had struggled hard against those two Followers, and in less than thirty seconds, Luke and James sent them packing in purple smoke.
Rachel set me down, and I stared at them slightly agape. She looked down at the dress that she had so carefully sewn and altered for me, the bottom of it torn unevenly so I could fight. She giggled, “You know, I kind of like it better that way!”
Sam ran forward, limping slightly from the fight, and grabbed me with both arms, holding me tight. No words were said, but I clung to him. That was definitely too close for comfort. After a couple of minutes, when Sam finally released me, I turned to Rachel and her brothers, whose wings had disappeared by now. “Alright, you three need to ‘fess up. You’ve been keeping me in the dark on something else, haven’t you?”
The Allyen (The Story of the First Archimage Book 1) Page 25