by N. M. Howell
He burst out laughing and snorted again, shaking his head as he turned to leave the room.
“What, now you’re leaving?” She crossed her arms, glowering at him.
Grayson shrugged. “I’m going to go bathe. If anyone will be looking for the princess, they won’t find her. You’re safe. If anyone found you, they’d just assume you’re some bar performer or circus clown. I think you’re fine.”
She watched him leave her alone in the room, shaking his head as he laughed the whole way down the hallway to his own room.
Rhea sat on her bed and crossed her arms, glowering miserably at the ridiculous turn of events. She let out a deep sigh, and looked down at herself once more.
There was absolutely no way she could face the people of the castle dressed like this. She felt ridiculous. Glancing around the room, she desperately tried to come up with a plan. She could wear her soaking wet dirty clothes, but that idea seemed nearly as off-putting as walking out in public dressed as she was.
She pushed herself up off the bed and inspected the bedding. She lifted the silky sheet and held in front of her eyes, the light silver threads in the gray fabric glistening in the sunlight that beamed in through the overhead window. She heaved a loud sigh and unbuttoned her dress, kicking the atrocious thing across the floor into a heap beneath the window.
Pulling the sheets off the bed, she folded it around herself into a makeshift dress. Walking back into the bathroom, looking in the mirror once more, she fastened the thin fabric around herself, tearing it away where it was in excess, and tied thin knots around her neck to hold it in place. Her makeshift gray dress was at least somewhat more presentable than the gaudy sequined number they had given her.
“Not exactly worthy of a Princess,” she said to herself, tilting her head to the side as she inspected herself in the mirror. “But it’ll have to do.”
21
A quiet knock at the door pulled Rhea’s attention from the mirror. The hinges creaked as the door opened and she made her way back into her room. Keaven stood there in the doorway, looking at her with pained eyes.
“Oh man, Rhea,” he said to her, exasperated. “How come your clothes aren’t green and ridiculous?”
Rhea snorted, immediately pressing her hand against her lips to suppress a laugh.
“You look…” She paused, considering. She looked him up and down, her head shaking as she took in the strange sight that stood before her. The vampire wore a long green robe with orange sashes wrapping around both shoulders and down across his waist. His outfit didn’t have any sequins, but it was flashy in its own right. “You look fabulous, Keaven.”
He scowled as she snorted again.
“Where did you get that?” he asked her, motioning toward her makeshift gray dress.
She nodded her head to the bed, and his eyes grew even wider.
“Oh, come on! That is not fair.”
Rhea shrugged and made her way toward him, wrapping her arm around his shoulder and leading him back out through the door into the hallway, chuckling.
“You guys ready?” Rhea called, thumping her fist against the door adjacent to hers. The rest of her guardians stepped out, all looking equally ridiculous. Well, apart from Grayson, who remained in his riding clothes, refusing to embarrass himself to the same level that the rest of them had.
“Looking a little ratty there, kid,” Rhea winked at him.
A curious expression formed on Grayson’s face as he eyed her outfit. “As do you.”
Rhea laughed and adjusted her dress, which, to be honest, wasn’t that bad considering the sparkly alternative. She looked up at him and shrugged. “We match. Gray, just like our souls.”
Grayson laughed and shook his head as he rubbed his neck, turning to lead the rest of them down the hallway. When they came to the end of the guest floor, a servant girl appeared, bowing deeply to them all.
“Please follow me. You are expected in the meeting hall.” She had her eyes on the floor, never looking up at them or making eye contact. She then quickly turned and left, expecting them all to follow.
Rhea’s eyebrow shot up as she watched the girl march away, and glanced back to her guardians, wondering if they knew what was going on.
“I still don’t understand how anyone was expecting us,” she mouthed to them so that the servant couldn’t hear.
The servant’s large elven ears perked up, and she glanced back to Rhea. “We’ve been expecting you for some time. We wondered why you were taking so long.”
Rhea’s thin eyebrows knitted together even more at the girl’s words. She wanted to ask a question, but the servant’s pace increased, and she led them down a narrow set of stairs through a part of the castle Rhea hadn’t even known existed. Rhea chose not to question her, allowing themselves to be led down the hall in silence to whoever awaited them. Her heart hammered in her chest as the possibilities flooded through her mind at who was waiting for them and how they could possibly have been expecting their arrival.
Realistically, it would likely be her uncle, considering he was the one who currently lay claim to the throne. But how he could have known she was coming, she had no idea. Everyone seemed friendly enough, though, and their arrival was warmly welcomed by the people of the castle, so she figured whoever they would be greeted by when he arrived in the meeting room should likely be welcoming toward them.
As they neared the bottom of the stairs, Rhea stopped abruptly, and Keaven thumped into her back, nearly pushing her over.
“What is it? What’s going on?” Keaven asked, catching her shoulders and holding her up, so she didn’t fall forward.
She bristled, turning back to him with wild eyes. “I left my daggers in the room,” she whispered to him.
Grayson heard her and his shoulders tensed. He looked back, his eyes calculating.
“I’ll go get them,” he said.
The servant girl stopped and turned back to him, her expression dark. “There’ll be no weapons allowed in the meeting room,” she said.
A deep frown formed on Rhea’s face as she crossed her arms. “And how exactly do you propose we protect ourselves in the event of an attack?”
The girl looked shocked, her eyes wide and her expression taken aback. “Protect yourselves from what?”
Rhea shrugged. “To be honest, I don’t really know. But it feels weird not having weapons after the journey that we’ve been through.”
The servant offered her a small smile. “I can promise you, Princess, that you will not encounter the same troubles in the castle that you have met on the road. You are welcome here.”
Rhea glanced over to Grayson, who offered a slight shrug. She turned back to the servant and smiled. “You’re right, I’m sorry. It just feels so weird to be home.”
The servant bowed her head deeply and turned to lead them the rest of the way down the hallway. “We are delighted to have you home, Princess.”
Her voice echoed around them as she led them further down the corridor, the walls were thick and the air musty, and it felt like they were buried underground. They walked in silence for a while before they proceeded up another set of stairs, and came into a large open chamber. When they all arrived, more servants came to join them, closing the door behind them and standing in a line against the wall.
“You may proceed into the meeting room,” the first servant said. She was small and had short, light-blue hair. Her eyes sparkled like sapphires, and her small, freckled nose pointed straight up.
Rhea smiled at her before looking on toward the large, heavy door that separated them from the meeting room. She squared her shoulders and sucked in a quick breath, letting it out slowly as she tried to calm her nerves.
Whatever waited for them on the other side of the door, they would be facing it together. Rhea braced herself and waited for Grayson to lead the way. The rest of her guardians surrounded her, and they walked in the same diamond formation that they had traveled in while on horseback.
Grayson came to
the door and reached out to grasp the thick handle, standing there frozen in place for a long minute. He then turned to face Rhea, his eyes dark and stormy.
“We don’t know what we’re walking into, Rhea,” he said, his voice low. “But please, you have to promise that you will trust us. If we tell you to run, you run. If we tell you to duck, you duck. Do you understand?”
Rhea offered him a reassuring smile, placing her hand against his chest. “I promise, Grayson. I’ll be smart about this.”
He nodded his head. “Good.”
“Are you ready?” Taelor asked her, moving to stand next to her, his hand hidden beneath his robes. Rhea guessed his fingers were firmly clasped around his concealed sword, ready to strike. He looked very much on edge, and she didn’t blame him. The energy around them was thick and tense. She wanted to shake out her limbs, to dissipate the strange magic that she could feel pressing against her.
“Let’s just keep this civil, okay?” Rhea suggested. “I’m not in the mood to die today.”
“Civil sound good to me,” Arry said with a laugh from behind her. He stretched his arms out before him, small bells jingling on the cuffs of his sleeve as he shook his hands musically, beaming at the music it caused. He was the only one who seemed genuinely content with what he was wearing. The bright greens of his clothing suited him, and the orange matched his hair, and he seemed to love the ludicrousness of it all.
“Whoever is behind there, we will just talk,” Rhea said. “We’ll find out what’s going on, and we will not under any circumstances stand against them. We are here as their guests for now, and we can regroup afterward and decide on a course of action.”
Grayson nodded. “That is wise.”
Taelor turned to her, his eyes narrowing. “Are you ready?”
Rhea nodded to him and braced herself, bending her knees into the stance he had taught her and preparing to follow him. Grayson turned back to the door and pressed it open.
A cold gust of air met them as they stepped through. The room was familiar to Rhea, though the colors and decorations seemed strange and foreign to her. Banners of green and orange flew above them, and the sea of nobles and servants alike standing about the room all bore the same colors on their own clothing. It appeared to be the theme of the castle, as even the wall hangings were the same burnt orange of the dress Rhea had refused to wear.
Rhea’s eyes fell to the massive platform at the far end of the grand room. On it sat the throne, and on the throne sat her uncle, Aelon.
Rhea glanced back to her guardians, who all looked back at her with concern.
She pressed her lips together as she nodded, stepping forward. “It’s okay, we expected this.” Her voice came out a whisper for her guardians alone to hear. The servant that had led them into the room hung back, her back pressed against the far wall as she hung her head in silence.
“My beautiful niece,” Aelon’s voice came from before them, the deep sound echoing around the room. It sent a cold shiver up her spine, and she stiffened her muscles against it. “You are all welcome here. We have been expecting you. You may approach.”
Rhea hesitated a moment, but then proceeded to step toward him, her footsteps echoing as she walked along the massively long room. The sea of people parted for them, their eyes lingering on Rhea as she passed.
“We thank you for your welcome, Uncle,” Rhea said slowly to him as she neared, her voice projected loudly so the room could hear.
He looked down at her from the throne, his eyes glinting with curiosity. A group of servants stood behind to him, their eyes wide as they stared down at her with mixed expressions of fear and reverence on their faces. Rhea glanced up at them, and one of them offered slight nod, bowing his head and looking back up at her quickly before Aelon could notice the reaction.
Rhea’s breath caught in her throat as she realized she had never had to greet another noble in this way before. Usually, she was standing on the other side of the throne, hosting visitors herself.
She curtsied shallowly, not offering too much of a bow to him as she stood before him. She was the princess, after all. He was merely her uncle, with no real claim to the throne apart from the fact that he had been the one to kill her father. That knowledge flowed through her, tensing her muscles as she thought of the sheer power and evil her uncle must hold to have achieved such a feat.
“Do not be afraid, my niece,” his voice boomed. His face was severe, not a hint of a smile on his lips as he spoke. “You are family. You are welcome here. I will not harm my family.” The conviction in his voice offered his words verisimilitude.
“Thank you, Uncle.” She swallowed through the lump in her throat, a strange prickle of magical energy permeating her skin.
“Why, you look positively enchanting,” he said to her, eyeing her up and down.
She fidgeted as she stood, adjusting her gray dress as she looked around the room. Perhaps she wouldn’t have looked so out of place in the barbaric green and orange number they had laid out for her, after all. She bit her lower lip as she turned back up toward her uncle, offering him a small smile.
“We thank you for your hospitality,” she said to him, her voice steady. Her guardians were on edge, their muscles tense as they stood around her. She could feel the buzz of their energy, electric against her back. “Our journey has been long, and we are grateful for the warm welcome we have received.”
“My people are happy to see the former princess returned.” He narrowed his eyes at her, the dark amber of those eyes shining nearly red as he spoke.
Rhea flinched. These weren’t his people. Technically, she still was their princess. But now was not the time to argue. She felt her guardians’ tension increase around her at his words but did her best to smile up at him. The time for arguments could come later. At that moment, the task at hand involved merely surviving their first meeting.
“It has been too long, Uncle,” she finally said.
He leaned back in the throne, picking something out of his teeth. He suddenly looked disinterested, distant. “You can all leave,” he said to no one in particular.
The servants and noblemen and women around them suddenly bolted away, leaving them alone in the room. Only Rhea and her guardians, her uncle, and his ten guards who stood along the far wall, remained.
Rhea frowned and looked up at him, trying her best to hear through the deafening beat of her heart.
“It seems you have been expecting us.” Her voice came out more tentative than she had intended. “I admit, I do not fully understand how that can be, Uncle. How did you know we were coming?”
Her uncle leaned forward in the throne, his elbows resting on his knees as he gazed down at her, his eyes flaring. “You kept me waiting. I tried summoning you days ago while you still remained in the human world, but there was some strange magical block that prevented me from pulling you through.”
The energy in the room increased, the prickle against her skin beginning to burn slightly. She ran her hands up and down her arms, trying to rub away the strange sensation. “I’m afraid I don’t understand,” she finally said.
“I almost succeeded, too,” he spat. His eyes flared, and Rhea took a step back. “That strange, powerful energy was blocking me, and all I could do was tear through the portal momentarily, not quite succeeding in pulling you through. Though I did get a good look at you as you wandered around pathetically through the human streets. I’ll admit, you’re not quite as…regal as I’d expected from the daughter of my dear brother.”
Rhea gasped and took a step back. She thought back to the few days prior, the day before her guardians arrived at her home in Detroit. She had been walking the streets, and the strangest thing happened. Her gritty surroundings were suddenly replaced by a view of the Otherworld, with a pegasus flying overhead and the streetscape replaced by trees and wildlife. She had thought herself to be hallucinating.
“That was you?” she asked him, finally making sense of what had happened that day.
&
nbsp; “Yes, it was me,” he snapped. “Of course, it was me, who else would it be, stupid girl. It seems, though, that you lot decided to take the long way to get here, instead. How disappointing. I don’t like to be kept waiting.”
Rhea’s mind raced as she tried to remember back to that day. She had been so confused, scared at what had happened. But she had been nearly mugged not long after, and she had forgotten about the strange occurrence. She hadn’t realized magic could tear through the veil between the human world and the magical realm.
She tried to swallow through a lump that was forming in her throat at the realization that this encounter wasn’t going as planned. She hadn’t expected things to go smoothly, yet this was baffling. She didn’t understand where Aelon’s anger was coming from.
“Uncle, I apologize if I’ve offended you. We have no intention of arguing, we simply came of our own free will to visit my home.”
“Your home?” Her uncle’s incredulous voice boomed over them, echoing in the large chamber around them. “Why, my young niece. This has not been your home in years. Besides, your pathetic father no longer claims the crown. It is my home now, and you are my guest.”
Rhea bristled, a deep frown setting in on her face. “As I said,” she insisted, her voice now harsh. “We thank you for your hospitality.”
The words came out forced, pained. She wanted to go up to her uncle and smack him, to tear him from the throne, to tell him to stop all of the awful destruction he had been causing across the realm. But she knew if she made a move against him now, it would be the end of them.
“Besides, young niece,” he sneered. “We all know you didn’t come here to exchange simple pleasantries. Tell me why you came.”
Rhea opened her mouth but then closed it again. “I will, but first please tell me why you wanted to summon me here so badly. Why did you try to pull me from the human world?”
Rhea and her uncle stared at each other a long moment, a high-tension stand off in the deafening silence that filled the room with a buzz of electric energy.