“She was special,” I said, my heart pounding in my chest.
“Not as special as you,” Esmeralda said.
“I doubt many people in the real world would agree with you about that. I’m just a girl and my mom…” I shook my head before wiping away the tears at the corners of my eyes. “She was amazing.”
“All the people out there would.” Esmeralda inclined her head toward the window. “Are they any less real because they’re here and not there?”
“I don’t know,” I answered. “That world is all I’ve ever known, and this? This was nothing but a fairy tale to me. And now I find out it’s not even that—it’s all just a lie.”
“It was meant to save people.”
“But it didn’t. It didn’t save anyone. There are harvestings and people dying and no one was saved.”
“No. I made a mistake, and I am so very sorry.”
“That’s not good enough.”
“I know. Now come with me.” Esmeralda hopped off the bed and started toward the door. “Please.”
My anger simmered at what she’d done, but the look of regret on the cat’s face was genuine. I followed her out into the hallway and felt the door swing closed behind me. She batted at my pants leg, and I leaned down to pick her up, cuddling her underneath my chin. I knew she would normally hate this much affection, but today she seemed like she needed it as much as I did.
“Where are we going?”
“The Fate Maker’s apartments,” Esmeralda said.
I felt us disappear, then, without a cloud of smoke this time. I don’t know how she did it, but we reappeared in the middle of the room we’d first landed in when sucked though the book. I looked around appraisingly. The flowers Mercedes had made back then were dead, withered on their vines, and the mantelpiece now sported a skull and several large, dark-green candles. On the wooden table was the crystal ball from the drawing inside the Chronicles.
“The Orb of Fate,” Esmeralda said when I peered into the ball. It was filled with blue smoke, and inside the mist I could see myself sitting on the Rose Throne, Winston beside me, crowds of happy people surrounding us. Instinctively I knew that, in the scene, we had defeated the Fate Maker and Nerissette was at peace.
“Does this show us what will come to pass?” I asked.
“No,” she said, her voice shaky. “It’s a ball of glass with smoke inside it.”
“It can’t be. I mean, I can see myself sitting on the throne.”
“Another bit of magic to make it seem like Fate was influencing the lives of the people here. The orb shows you what you most desire. Nothing more. It doesn’t show you what will happen in your life. It won’t give you the secrets to the future. It’s a trick. A spell.”
“So what I see means nothing?”
“Of course not,” she said. “It means you want the people of Nerissette to be free of the Fate Maker. It means you want to be a good queen. That’s not ‘nothing.’ It’s why I chose you.”
“You chose me because my mother was the lost Rose.”
I turned to look at the rest of the room. On one of the walls was a map of Nerissette, and I could see small flags, declaring what species lived in each area.
“I chose you because you’re kind and loyal. When I looked at you I saw a younger version of your mother staring back at me. A better version. One that still had all the possibilities that she’d lost.”
“Is being kind reason enough to give me a world to rule?”
“It’s the only reason. Now, come here.” Esmeralda stepped toward the mirror and brushed her paw over the glass.
“Open, my old friend,” she whispered.
The mirror went dark.
“Come now.” Esmeralda ran her paw over the glass again. “Open.”
The mirror began to lighten again, and I peered into it. At first, all I could see was the room around me reflected back by the glass, but soon that image began to grow dim, fading out while something more vibrant sprouted up behind it.
There was Gran Mosely, in her kitchen, making herself some toast and humming along to the radio. I watched as an older man, Mr. Wapperly from down the street, walked into the kitchen and wrapped his arms around Gran, kissing her on the cheek. I looked closer and saw a gold band on her finger.
Mr. Wapperly had been Gran Mosely’s boyfriend when she first took me in. We’d gotten along well, but it had strained their relationship. He hadn’t been happy about the idea of her being anything more permanent than a short-term home for me, and she thought I needed a more stable environment to grow up in. Since neither of them was willing to compromise, their relationship had ended quickly.
“They got married without me around,” I whispered. “She married Mr. Wapperly.”
“They’re very happy together in this version of reality,” Esmeralda said. “But she was very happy with you, too. You have to know that. ”
I sat cross-legged in front of the mirror and watched them sit together at the table reading the paper. He said something, and she answered before he picked up a pen and began scribbling on the paper. She must be telling him the answers to the crossword. She rocked at crossword puzzles.
“What about everyone else?”
“What about them?”
“Do they exist there? Is it just me that’s been wiped off the face of that version of reality?”
“All of you are gone,” Esmeralda said. “Not lost, not stolen, not dead. Just gone. Right now, in their world you have never existed.”
“What if one of us goes home? What about the rest of us? What happens then?”
“If anyone besides you goes through the mirror, it becomes locked to them once they reach the other side. They’ll forget about Nerissette—and you—just like everyone else has.”
“So, if Mercedes goes through she’ll forget we were ever friends? I mean, if I found all the relics and opened the mirror and all of that. Would she forget me?”
“That’s why I’m not going through without you,” Mercedes said from behind me.
I turned around, surprised to see her and Kitsuna standing in the doorway.
“Even if you do find some stupid relics, I’m not leaving you here alone. We got into this together we’re getting out of it together. Me, you, and Winston. The Three Musketeers. One for all and all for France, or however that saying went.”
“It’s going to be dangerous here,” I said.
“It’s dangerous there, too, if you haven’t noticed. The difference is that there I’d be alone, and here we’re all together. Besides, you’re my best friend and I wouldn’t go and leave you in the middle of a war zone just because I’m afraid.”
“Are you?” I asked.
“What? Afraid? Of course I’m afraid.” She sat down beside me. Kitsuna sat on the other side and leaned close.
“Who wouldn’t be?” she continued. “We’re getting ready to go to war with a guy who has giants under his command. So yeah, I’m scared, but I look at it this way—we made it through mono and algebra with Mr. Denilovsky together. What’s one wizard and a couple of giants?”
“Yeah.” I laughed and wrapped my arm around her waist. “What’s a few fairy-tale creatures intent on killing us and using our bones as toothpicks after dealing with Mr. Do Not Fold, Spindle, or Otherwise Mutilate These Papers?”
I let a smile creep onto my face. “What about you, Kitsuna?” I wrapped an arm around her waist, too, trying to draw strength from the fiery, clever girl who naturally fit in our little group. She let her head drop onto my shoulder.
“I am afraid, too, but the future I fear cannot be worse than the past I’m leaving behind. So I am not troubled by it. Whatever comes must be better than the harvesting and the tributes and the fear of what new, unknown evil might come.”
I brushed my fingers across the mirror again and let the image flicker away from Gran and Mr. Wapperly, instead settling on Mercedes’s family, all sitting around the table, laughing.
“They look happy,” she sa
id quietly. “They don’t even seem like they miss me.”
“According to Esmeralda, the people on that side of the mirror don’t know we ever existed.” I looked around the room and noticed for the first time that the cat was gone.
“That’s good,” Mercedes whispered, her voice catching. “It’ll make things easier now knowing they’re happy.”
“What things?”
“The things of war, Your Majesty,” Kitsuna answered. “We came to find you because the Nymphiad have arrived. And trolls have been spotted to the north, driving an army of slaves toward the castle.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Terror filled my heart.
“Herding an army of slaves in front of them, yes,” Kitsuna said.
I stood and looked at the other two young women. “Then I guess we need to prepare for war.”
“I guess we do,” Mercedes said with a nod. We both tried to ignore the way our hands were trembling.
“Hold on to me.” As soon as I said it, they both grabbed on to the sword belt I had slung around my waist. I ran my hand across the carving and felt it warm to my touch. “The main foyer.”
The world around us split apart, and everything began to shake. Then, an instant later, there was a puff of black smoke, and I lurched forward, still holding on to my friends, and tried to keep from falling to the floor in the main entryway.
“We”—Mercedes said and then gagged on the smoke—“are never doing that again.”
“I must agree with the dryad.” Kitsuna leaned over so that her head was close to her knees. “That is quite unnerving.”
“I think I’m going to be sick,” Mercedes said.
“It’s fine. I promise you’ll get used to it.” Timbago smiled from his place next to the door, and I couldn’t help smiling back. The goblin stood with his shoulders thrown back and his head held high, a nasty bruise around his right eye. I could see that his knuckles were scraped up and bruised, too.
“Your Majesty.” He bowed low to me, and I felt my heart start to thump. “Usually it’s better to warn someone before you transport them for the first time.”
Instinctively I knelt down to wrap my arms around him. “Oh, forget about that. I’m just glad you’re safe.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” he said, his own gruff voice choking, and then I heard him sniffle. “You do me great honor, Your Majesty.”
“Timbago? It’s still just Allie, and for the record, if anyone honored anybody it was you and the rest of the staff who honored me by keeping the palace safe.”
“We were all happy to do our part, Queen Allie.” Timbago shifted slightly, and I let go of him, standing back up.
“Now.” He gave me a stern glare. “It’s time to go meet with the nobles. Head held high, shoulders back. Remember, you are the queen. They will do as you say, or I shall know the reason why.”
I gave him my most confident look, then nodded to let him know I was ready. He gave me a slight smile and then waved his fingers, letting the doors open with a slow groan.
I stepped forward and stared at the people standing in the ballroom. Everyone turned to look at me and then pressed together tightly, leaving a narrow walkway to get me to my throne.
I passed through the crowd of nobles, smiling at the ones I recognized and nodding to others. I walked up the steps to my throne and turned to sit.
“Her Majesty, the Golden Rose of Nerissette, Queen Alicia the First,” Rhys said loudly from his place beside my throne.
“Long live the queen,” some of the nobles muttered, but for the most part the hall was silent.
“Your Majesty,” Rhys said, trying to act unconcerned about the chilly reception I’d just received. “The Grand Council of the Nymphiad: Darinda, Aquella, and Boreas.”
“Your Majesty, I am Boreas, Most Mighty of the Aurae. It is my pleasure to serve however you may see fit. My army is now your army,” said a tall, pale silver man who stood next to a dark-blue woman.
He stepped forward and bowed his head before me, pressing his fingers to his lips and kissing them before extending his hands toward me. “May your reign last as long as the winds blow.”
“I am Aquella, Great Wave of the Naiads,” the blue nymph said, her voice tinkling like water over a stream.
“It is a pleasure to meet you both.” I swallowed and tried to keep my voice steady. “I’m honored that you’ve come to join us.”
“We will fight as your allies until the Pleiades shine no more,” Aquella agreed.
“Thank you.” I nodded. “And our armies will fight with you whenever you need them.”
“Now, hold on,” someone in the back shouted. “Did you just make an alliance with the nymphs?”
“That is the queen you’re talking to,” Rhys said, stepping in front of the throne and drawing his sword. “Who are you, Gunter of the Veldt, to question her rule?”
“I swore no allegiance to that girl,” Gunter said. “My mother and I gave our allegiance and that of the Veldt to the throne because the Fate Maker said it was the will of the Pleiades.”
“You gave your allegiance to the crown because otherwise I will cut off your head,” Rhys said darkly.
“The Fate Maker declared that girl queen and placed her upon the throne, then she declared war on him. How is that the will of Fate?”
Winston looked at me and raised an eyebrow. What are you going to do? his face clearly asked.
It was like when we played Risk and he purposely went after Russia, daring me to fight him for it. I’d never stood up to him, and even though everyone knew you couldn’t defend Russia in that game he always managed to do it anyway, because I just let him keep it. Well, I wasn’t about to lose over Russia again.
“Then leave,” I called out, deciding to test Gunter’s bluff. “If you don’t want me to be your queen, if you want the Fate Maker to come back, that’s fine, you can leave.”
“What?” someone cried out.
I stood, pointing at the door. “Go join his army. From what the scouts have told us, they are marching here now. You’ll be able to recognize them by the group of slaves that the trolls are using as a shield. Go on, join the Fate Maker. See how he treats you.”
Everyone fell silent, looking first at me and then at the man in the back of the room. Rhys stayed stock-still, his sword out, his shoulders tense, and I knew without looking at him that he was silently daring one of the nobles to challenge him.
“Go on,” I persisted. “Leave. Become a slave to the Fate Maker again. No one here will stop you. It’s your choice. ”
“Your Majesty.” Rhys narrowed his eyes at me questioningly.
“But trust me, if there’s one thing I know, it’s bullies,” I said. “If you leave us now you’ll leave yourself exposed. Once he’s done with us, he’ll come after the next weakest link. Look around. Which of you will he attack next?”
“My clan fights with you,” a grizzled man near the side of the room yelled.
“The woodsmen of Leavenwald are here to fight as well,” Sir John said loudly. “We’ll live or die beside you.”
Soon, all the nobles who had shown up for the council were calling out their support. Together we might have a fighting chance against the Fate Maker, but alone we were all dead.
“The warriors of the Veldt will stay and fight,” Gunter said once everyone else had spoken. “I warn you, though, girl, if we lose it’s the executioner for us all, and I won’t hold your hand while we wait for death.”
“Then I won’t hold yours, either.” I tried to sound brave even though all I wanted to do was squirm at the mention of someone cutting off my head.
“Now, if we’re all done posturing like peacocks…” Rhys slid his sword back into his scabbard. “The Fate Maker has been spotted on the Tannery Road. That’s not far from here, even if you are marching a large army in front of you.”
“How long do we have?” I asked.
“Unless some betrayal happens on the road, he will be here before the sun sets
. It is the time to prepare for war, Your Majesty.”
“The red and the black dragon clans will harass the army from the air,” Winston said. Ardere and Tevin had stepped forward to stand beside him. “Maybe if they are faced with dragons before they even reach the palace some of the men will scatter.”
“The naiads will fly with you,” Aquella said. “We are not normally ones for the air, my queen, but this time we will make an exception. Between dragon attacks and storms, the army should weaken considerably before they arrive.”
“Good,” Rhys said, his voice grim. “Any woodsmen present should join forces with the dryads. Together you can build as much fortification as you can for the palace. We want to meet the Fate Maker’s forces outside the palace walls so we can protect the queen.”
“I’m going into battle with you,” I announced. “We need the fortifications to protect the palace but not me. I’m fighting with you. I’m not staying here while the rest of you risk your lives again.”
Rhys gaped at me, his eyes wide and his jaw hanging open. “You’re not serious?”
“I’m fighting with you,” I said again.
“Fine, but if you get skewered and die I am going to personally take a wizard prisoner so that they bring you back to life. Just so that I can say I told you so and kill you all over again.”
“And I’ll help him,” Winston said.
“Whatever.” I rolled my eyes at them. “Can we get back to preparing for war please? The dragons are going to attack their army from the air. What should the rest of us be doing?”
“We arm ourselves,” Rhys said. “And then we wait.”
“Wait?” I asked.
“For the war,” Winston added. “We wait for the Fate Maker to bring the war to us.”
I turned my attention to everyone else and clapped my hands. “You heard the lord general. Let’s move.”
“To war!” one of the men near the door yelled.
“To war,” everyone else shouted in reply. Instead of joining in, I swallowed, trying to keep my composure.
“Your Majesty?” Rhys turned toward me when the hall fell silent.
“To war,” I said, my voice trembling, and I tried not to think about exactly what I’d gotten myself into.
Everlast (The Chronicles of Nerissette) (Entangled Teen) Page 24