Oz Has Spoken: A Reverse Harem Academy Romance (Emerald City Academy Book 3)

by JB Trepagnier

  Ozma came bustling in. “I swear, I sent for the sweets two hours ago. Oprix just went down to check. It’s out now that I’m queen, and I technically asked for enough sweets to feed an army. The kitchen staff is flipping their shit making sure they are perfect. I’m sorry. I used to eat slop and stale bread when I lived with Mombi. Oprix said they are making some ornate seven-tiered cake for me.”

  Idris groaned. “Please tell me it’s one of those Winkie-Quadling combo cakes where some layers have lemon, and some layers have raspberry. I nearly came in my pants the first time they brought one of those up.”

  I swatted at Idris. I wasn’t sure how much Ozma, Dorothy, and Esiro liked that kind of talk. I should have known. Ozma thought she was a boy for over twenty years. She would have experimented with her body. She could act like a princess when she wanted to, and she seemed to move with unnatural grace, but sometimes, she said things like a simple Gillikin boy.

  “They had one of those when we were recovering from the first knowledge transference spell. I ate so much, I thought my trousers would split open, and everyone would see my arse,” Ozma said.

  Esiro looked far away. “Locasta is kind of racist. She won’t eat anything but Gillikin food. She would talk about how everything in the North was superior to the rest of Oz. The first time I’ve eaten anything that wasn’t purple was here. I’m excited to try this cake, no matter how long it takes to get here.”

  I didn’t know a lot about Northern food. My mother didn’t cook it often. The only time she ever made Northern food was this eggplant dish she made that I adored. Esiro looked sad. I needed to fix it.

  “What is your favorite Northern food? When this is over, I’ll get Daxar to let me back into the kitchens and cook you a Winkie feast. I did the same for Galen and Dorothy.”

  “Oh, let her!” Dorothy squealed. “The food was so good, and I had so much fun that night.”

  Esiro gave us this shy smile. “I’d like that. I want a night to just forget about all this and get to know everyone. But we don’t have time. How long did they say it would take on this cake?”

  Just then, there was a knock on the door. Servants came in carrying a cake, and they must have been really worried about impressing Ozma because that cake was gorgeous. It was seven layers of icing and fondant with flowers. The flowers were made of icing, edible candied flowers, and real flowers to decorate. I couldn’t decorate a cake that pretty if I practiced my entire life.

  Ozma and I caught the servants before they scurried out to tell them how beautiful it was and that we were sure it was delicious. We asked for our message to be passed to the chefs who made the cake. The nervous servants were beaming by the time they left.

  I had sent for Glinda while we waited on the cake. Ozma had a lot to learn before we went to the East and I didn’t think she would be happy sitting out a second time. She’d had her private lessons, but she hadn’t had them long.

  I got angry again. I looked back on my Sentinel training fondly. My mother made my lessons fun. They were usually a game, and I had riddles and songs to remember everything. Esiro, Dorothy, and Ozma would not have that. They would look back on their training as painful headaches they had forced in their heads because it was learn it or die.

  I looked at all three of them. “I’m sorry. Your training shouldn’t be like this.”

  Saffron came to stand next to me. “No. Mine was fun. It’s not supposed to be like this.”

  Esiro just shrugged. “It can be fun when this is over. Let’s get this started.”

  Glinda took Ozma, Galen took Esiro, and I grabbed Dorothy. I didn’t know if Glinda was sending Ozma fighting knowledge or offensive or defensive magic. I was giving Dorothy magical knowledge to start. I was teaching her battle magic. She would need it if we were going up against Galen’s mother.

  I had my hand pressed to Dorothy’s forehead and could feel the pressure building behind my eyes. I knew we couldn’t use it, but I felt like we needed to know. They had to have kept it a secret for a reason.

  “Glinda? What is the name of the Fisher King’s wife? They wouldn’t allow Galen to know, and we know the Fisher King isn’t his real name. Galen, Esiro, and Dorothy deserve to know their mother’s real name.”

  “Galen doesn’t know his mother’s name? According to the history passed down, her name was Illyna, and her twin that took the North was Izohra. They were identical in every way except their strength. Illyna was born seven minutes before Izohra and was the stronger fighter. She thought she had the fortitude to stay behind and guard the prison. She was a vital part of the negotiations when the Sentinels were being formed. She agreed with everything put forth. She never said anyone should relieve her, and she never said she wanted recognition for staying behind.”

  My head was pounding, and I was gritting my teeth. It was Saffron who said what I was thinking.

  “I know I missed a lot of my Sentinel training, but being one isn’t about recognition. A lot of times, it’s a totally thankless job. In fact, it would just be weird if someone started bringing gifts and tributes to a Sentinel. She knows the rest of us aren’t getting our asses kissed either, right? My mother and Frankie’s mother raised us alone with no husbands. They didn’t have some big, great love. They just had us.”

  I just finished transferring as much knowledge as I could to Dorothy without hurting her too much. I dropped my hand and shuffled over to the table. I cut a slice of cake. Idris and Oprix had already demolished the smaller top layer. The next layer was Winkie. It was the golden apples in the West.

  I collapsed on the sofa between them and started shoving cake in my face. Oh, they had really gone out with this cake. It was light and fluffy, and they had used just the right amount of cinnamon in the apples. I groaned. My trousers would have trouble buttoning by the time we were done tonight, but this cake would make my ass getting bigger and the headache worth it.

  “What was the first layer?” I asked.

  “Munchkin. It was blueberry.”

  I nudged Idris with my elbow. “And you didn’t save me any?”

  “I’m a growing monkey who needs the calories.”

  “No, you eat like a Winkie hog,” Oprix said.

  “I didn’t notice you saving Francesca a piece,” Idris grumped.

  “Hey, there are five more layers and plenty of cake,” I pointed out. “I was just giving you a hard time.”

  Everyone started slicing the cake and joining us except Glinda. She had whipped out a parchment.

  “Saffron, we need not leave you out of this either. You missed five years of training. I’m sending for Daxar and Frabess. I’m sure Daxar wants to be close to Francesca this close to a battle, anyway.”

  Yes, I needed Daxar with me. I hadn’t sent for him because I thought it would bore him with a bunch of young people transferring knowledge and gorging on cake. That was just me being stupid. Daxar would want to be there for me no matter what. He helped me the last time I did this spell.

  Frabess and Daxar appeared shortly after the other in a cloud of purple smoke. Daxar took one look at my wan face and shook his head. He sat in one of the overstuffed chairs and crooked his finger at me like he wanted me to join him. Idris squeezed my knee like I should go.

  “Do you want some of those truffles they brought in?” he asked. “I could fix you a plate of other food too.”

  “Thanks, Idris. I do. We’ve got a lot of work to do tonight.”

  I sat in Daxar’s lap. He took my plate from me and I nestled into his chest. Daxar started feeding me cake. Oh, this was nice. I remembered recovering a lot faster with his back rub. Being held while eating cake seemed to help me recover faster.

  “Ozma and Dorothy, snuggle while you eat your cake. I think touch helps. Esiro, is there anyone you’d feel comfortable snuggling into?”

  “I never have before. Locasta wasn’t big on hugs. I’d feel weird.”

  Galen patted the seat next to him. “How about you let me try putting my arm around you and if
it’s too weird, I’ll stop? It was strange the first time Frankie hugged me too.”

  “I guess,” Esiro said.

  Esiro rested back into the sofa cushions while Galen slung his arm around her shoulder. She finally sighed, and I noticed her moving closer to Galen.

  “This is nice. Do you think I’ll ever find a love like all of you have?” Esiro asked.

  Galen squeezed her shoulder. “I’m sure of it. How are you feeling?”

  “Frankie is right. Skin contact helps.”

  “Wait,” Dorothy said. “Ozma?”

  Dorothy got up and sat on the other side of her sister and slung her arm around her shoulder. Ozma nestled into Dorothy’s other side. They were a family unit. They might have only just met each other, but they were learning to love each other and would be there for each other.

  I noticed Esiro sniffle. I knew she needed to get it out. Galen and Dorothy both moved in closer.

  “It’s okay, Esiro.”

  She quickly dried her eyes. “No, it’s not. I can’t cry until after we’ve beaten Locasta. How soon can you do the spells again?”

  Glinda just sighed. She knew Esiro needed to talk about it too. Saffron had called Emarus in and the two of them were snuggled on the sofa. We were all snuggled into someone. Once I said holding someone helped, we all called someone. Zusim was in the room with Elore and Khuzin. Glinda was snuggled with Zusim and Khuzin and Idris was playing with Elore. Frabess had sent for her granddaughter.

  “Soon. We all need to recover.”

  Esiro smiled and changed the subject. I could tell she wanted to talk about anything else.

  “Your children are adorable.”

  “Aren’t they?” I sighed, looking at Khuzin in Glinda’s lap. She was playing with his braids and rubbing his back.

  Idris and Oprix were teaching Elore how to do a puzzle. She was sitting in Idris’ lap while they showed her how to do an easy puzzle Oprix made. Elore liked to suck her thumb.

  She looked up from the puzzle. “Mama, can I please have some cake?”

  “Me too!” Khuzin begged.

  Zusim just chuckled. “Oh, let them. I’ll put them to bed tonight.”

  Glinda laughed. “And give them a bath?”

  Idris tucked one of Elore’s braids behind her ear. “I’ll make sure the little princess doesn’t get dirty.”

  “Very well,” Glinda said with a little smile.

  While the rest of us were recovering, Idris scooped Elore up and carried her over to the table of sweets. Glinda took Khuzin over for his piece.

  “What flavor did you want, princess?” Idris asked.

  Elore was balanced on his shoulders, tugging on his braids. “I want the pink one.”

  “Raspberry?”

  “I love raspberry!” Elore yelled.

  She had to be the cutest thing I’d ever seen. She had a bit of a volume control issue. Thankfully, most of us had recovered from our headaches and we would have to start our transference spells again. I wanted to just sit there for a minute, cuddled in Daxar’s lap, and watching my boyfriends play with an adorable child.

  I knew we couldn’t stay like this. I broke the spell.

  “If everyone has recovered, we should continue.”

  Chapter 15

  Oprix

  I

  wasn’t left out of all the knowledge transference spells, but it was a lot pleasanter recovering from it this time. After it was my turn, Frankie cuddled in my lap and we fed each other cake. It was weird. Now I knew how to fly and battle magic. I hadn’t had time to practice anything, but the knowledge was there.

  I snuck over and crouched down by Shibelle.

  “Can I do it? Fly with you and not fall off?” I whispered.

  Shibelle whispered back to me. “The muscle memory has been magically imparted to you. I can tell your Frankie added a few of her tricks too. You will be fine, young Winkie.”

  “Thanks.”

  My head was still aching a little, but not nearly as bad as last time we did this spell. We were all still crowded into our rooms. We planned on leaving in the morning. I didn’t know how I felt about it. I knew why we needed to do this. I just didn’t trust Locasta hadn’t already found out about it. Her mole had to have been at that speech. She would have known we would be waiting for her.

  Ozma didn’t look worried at all and that worried me. I had more training than she did before all these spells. I watched her whip out a piece of parchment and this evil grin spread across her impish face.

  “Perfect. Expect a knock on the door in about ten minutes. My men caught the mole.”

  I stood up straighter and Daxar bolted to a sitting position.

  “Before or after he warned Locasta?”

  “Before. The Oz army was watching us, my men were watching the Munchkins in the army. It was two of them. Dixius pointed them out to Ethar and Aldor. As soon as the speech was over, they followed them to a shack just outside the gates. They listened for a little while. Just enough to know it was them. They’ve been questioning them while we did our thing. They will bring them to us to ask a few questions.”

  “So that’s why you didn’t send for them while you recovered, you cheeky little minx,” Frankie laughed. “I thought you just preferred Dorothy. They were off working.”

  Ozma blushed. “I love all of them equally and would have preferred them here, but I didn’t want Locasta and the Fisher King warned about what we were doing. If those Munchkins laid a finger on my men, I’ll have their heads.”

  Just then, I heard a commotion outside the door. Daxar jumped up and flung the door open just in time for Ethar and Aldor to throw two Munchkins in the room with their hands bound and their mouths gagged. I was so proud of Saffron when she went to stand over them and nudged them with her foot. Their eyes bugged out of their heads when they realized it was her.

  We all backed off and let Saffron run the show. She crouched down next to the Munchkins, and she was so strong right now. I was so proud of her. She leaned right in.

  “If you scream, I’ll kill you,” she said, pulling the gags out of their mouth. She collapsed on the floor and crossed her legs in front of them. “Why don’t you tell me a story? Tell me how Locasta got you to betray your own people?”

  One of the Munchkins shot a look to the other. “Don’t you dare, Tosior. She’s a Wicked Witch!”

  “You heard Pridius, Orhan. What if Locasta has been the Wicked Witch all along? We’ve killed for her. They said she’s working with a powerful sorcerer. She never told us about that. She told us Glinda was the Wicked one.”

  “You beat women and murdered an entire family because Locasta lied to you and told you Glinda was Wicked?” Saffron growled.

  “Most of those women had families. Some of them had young children,” Ozma snapped.

  “We didn’t touch the kids!” Tosior whimpered. “We were told they were plotting with Glinda to takeover Oz.”

  I was so proud of Saffron. She laughed in their faces and she sounded every bit the Wicked Witch they accused her of.

  “You know they were midwives, right? Why do women normally see midwives? It’s not to take over Oz. What could a midwife contribute to a hostile takeover?”

  Tosior and Orhan didn’t have an answer to that. They just sat there on their knees stammering. Of course, there was no right answer to that. How stupid were these Munchkins? Most of the Munchkins in the East were highly educated, but every region in Oz had their idiots and Locasta struck gold with these two. It shocked me we never caught them.

  “I told you, Orhan!” Tosior said. “I told you we should have asked more questions before we killed anyone for her. She just wanted information before. We’re murderers now!”

  “And you will have to live with that in the Emerald City prison,” Ozma said. “What can you tell us that would actually help us? Are there other spies?”

  “Locasta had ears in every region to monitor the Wicked Witches. That’s what she told us.”

  �
�Tell us everything you know,” Saffron demanded.

  Tosior moaned. “I didn’t ask about the fucking Winkies and Quadlings. I didn’t ask about the West because the Wicked Witch was taken care of and we’ve always been in Emerald City. First, we spied on the Wizard, then we spied on Glinda. It was just information before, honest. We only killed that family because Locasta said Glinda was making her move and they were involved.”

  I think we were all eye rolling so hard, they were about to pop out our heads. Had these idiots had really hoodwinked us? I wasn’t in the Emerald City army and I wasn’t around these men daily, but how had someone not seen they weren’t the brightest tools in the shed? We caught Locasta’s spies before they could send word of our speech, but she had them in the South and West too.

  She’d find out all of Oz was rallying for a big showdown in the East. Locasta and the Fisher King wouldn’t know we had all three of his children powered up with the knowledge to stop his army of the dead.

  Locasta and the Fisher King were always this daunting evil looming in the background that we had to defeat before we could all settle down and have peace. Maybe they weren’t all that cunning. Maybe they were. They had magic I couldn’t dream of and all of their plans had worked so far.

  The cracks in their armor were showing now that we had Galen. I couldn’t decide if it was a huge chink they recruited these two idiots as spies. It could either be really smart or really stupid.

  Ozma gave a nod to Dixius, Ethar, and Aldor. They dragged our two spies off to the Emerald City jail. Glinda looked around the room.

  “Well, we have two fewer things to worry about in Emerald City and more to worry about in the West and South.”

  Daxar sprang into action. “My father came for the speech. I’ll let him know there are spies in the South. Nick Chopper is here too. He can launch an investigation in the West. Locasta will probably be tipped off all of Oz will be waiting for her in the East, but from what Galen has told us about his father, his ego will make him come anyway because he thinks he’s got an unstoppable army.”