Seeing that the courtyard was empty, save for a guard standing on the far side, Aldwyn, Skylar, and Gilbert emerged from the flowers and pushed their way through the cart full of offerings. They jumped down to the ground and made a beeline for the open doorway leading into the palace.
Once inside, they ran for a back staircase used primarily by the palace servants. While it didn’t lead directly to the queen’s chamber like the grand staircase would, they were less likely to get caught using this one.
“We’re still going to have to get past whoever’s outside Loranella’s bedroom,” Aldwyn said. “But at least we’ll make it that far.”
They ascended the narrow steps cautiously, peering around each corner to ensure that there were no guards hiding in wait. They reached the top and could see the entrance to the queen’s chamber across the hall. Skylar was starting to lift her wing to cast an illusion when Commander Warden stepped out in front of them.
“Don’t even bother,” he said to the bird. The familiars stopped dead in their tracks. “I expected to see you here. Instructor Weaver told me everything, about how you were going into the Dreamworld to contact Loranella in the hopes of discovering an antidote to her condition. Of course, I was skeptical. Why would the very ones who tried to kill the queen be attempting to save her? But I heard you took quite a few components from the Bubbling Vial not long ago. And left a fire burning in a nearby kitchen.” Warden eyed the vial in Gilbert’s webbed hand. “That’s it, isn’t it? The potion you believe will save the queen?”
“You have to trust us,” Aldwyn said. “We only want what you want. To bring her back, out of the Wander.”
A clatter of iron boots could be heard stomping up the back staircase. Warden ushered the familiars into a neighboring parlor and closed the door behind them. There were piles of unopened gifts on the floor, remnants of Loranella’s surprise party only days earlier.
“Give me the vial,” Warden ordered Gilbert. “I’ll have the healers test it appropriately, and if it’s safe, I’ll make sure they give it to her. In return, the three of you must turn yourselves in. Until this is settled, you’re still enemies of Vastia.”
Aldwyn, Skylar, and Gilbert exchanged a look.
“I think we should do it,” Skylar said. “Once the queen wakes, we’ll be freed.”
Gilbert seemed reluctant.
“You promise to keep your word?” the tree frog asked.
“I do,” Warden replied.
Aldwyn’s attention had wandered over to the presents, all stacked high. He thought back to what a joyous occasion the birthday celebration should have been. And how everything that followed never should have happened in the first place. He could make out the cards glued to the gifts. Even reading them upside down, names like Sorceress Edna and Urbaugh caught his eye. So did Commander Warden’s. That one took a moment longer to register, though, as it was signed with his first name, Thompson. Aldwyn stared at it. There was something about the upside-down letters that looked all too familiar: udpjbm uosdwoyt. They were two of the words drawn on the familiars’ dungeon cell floor. But they weren’t words from a different language. They were letters written upside down. And they spelled “Thompson Warden.”
Just like the remwalker had said about Elzzup, sometimes you have to look at things from a different perspective. But what about the other words from the message drawn on the floor? Spuowbip wjots sby. Aldwyn visualized the words in his head. The letters spun around one by one. “Has storm diamonds.”
All of it now. Spuowbip wjots sby udpjbm uosdwoyt. Left to right they spelled “Thompson Warden has storm diamonds.”
It was a message. Yajmada’s armor had gone missing from Turnbuckle Academy. Kalstaff, the Mountain Alchemist, Loranella, and the plaque in the Turn protected the storm diamonds that fit inside of it. And those storm diamonds all appeared to be gone. Now it was clear who was responsible. The man standing right before them now: Commander Warden.
Gilbert was about to hand the healing potion over to Warden. Aldwyn couldn’t get the words out fast enough.
“Gilbert, no!” he shouted.
But it was too late. Warden held the vial in his hand. He glared at Aldwyn.
“Why the sudden change of heart?” he asked.
“It’s you,” Aldwyn said. “You’re the one who set us up.” Gilbert and Skylar looked at their companion in disbelief. “You made sure Kalstaff’s belongings ended up at Turnbuckle Academy so you’d be able to take Yajmada’s armor and the storm diamond embedded inside it. You killed the Mountain Alchemist. I’m guessing he hid one of the other diamonds in the book that went missing. You probably got your hands on the plaque at the Turn, too.”
“You live up to your reputation, cat,” Warden said, impressed. “I’m not sure how you figured it out, though.”
Skylar and Gilbert’s disbelief quickly turned to shock.
“Not that I didn’t count on the three of you living up to your prophecy,” Warden continued. “Why do you think I framed you? You’re the only ones who can stop me.”
“There’s just one thing I don’t understand,” Aldwyn said. “If you’ve already collected all four storm diamonds, and have the armor, why haven’t you used it yet? Loranella says it would be destructive enough to wipe out entire lands.”
“The diamond in Queen Loranella’s crown,” Warden said. “It’s a fake. The real one is still out there somewhere.”
“Why?” Skylar asked. “Why would you betray the queendom?”
“Because I should be ruling this land,” Warden said. “My great-grandfather was wronged. If the original Prophesized Three hadn’t stopped him, I would be sitting on the throne of Vastia.”
“Great-grandfather?” Gilbert asked.
“His name was Uriel Wyvern,” Warden replied. “Of Wyvern and Skull. Perhaps you’ve heard of him.”
Aldwyn shuddered at the revelation.
“But I am not alone in this,” Warden said. “There are others, even more powerful, backing me. We will restore balance to this land and the Beyond. Even if it means eliminating all those who stand against us now.” He looked down at the healing potion. “Oh, I nearly forgot about this. It’s a shame, really. You were so close. But there is one silver lining. At least Loranella won’t be around to see the destruction of everything she loves.”
Warden raised his arm and threw the vial down. An inch before shattering against the stone floor, Aldwyn telekinetically caught it and pulled it back to his side.
“Guards!” Warden yelled for all to hear. “I’ve found the traitors!” He kicked open the parlor door and shouted again. “Come quickly!”
Skylar took the vial from Aldwyn and tried to fly for the queen’s chamber with it, but Warden flicked his wrist in her direction.
“Astula yajmada!” he incanted.
A crimson spear materialized and shot across the room. Luckily, it only grazed a few of Skylar’s feathers, but it was enough to ground her.
Aldwyn focused on the pile of gifts and began mentally chucking them at Warden. The evil commander swatted them away with tiny bursts of wind. Warden whipped his hand around and raised a stone spike from the floor that pierced Aldwyn’s fur. Pain shot through his body, but the fact that he was still breathing meant it missed any vital organs.
Gilbert spotted some dirt worms crawling out from the shattered stone. He hopped over and scooped a bunch of them into his hand, then started flinging them at Warden as if he were playing a high-stakes game of sluggots. And he proved quite accurate, even without Aldwyn’s help, smacking Warden in the mouth and eyes.
A pair of soldiers raced in from down the hall, swords already drawn and pointed at the familiars. Warden brushed the worms from his face.
“They’ve brought some kind of poison,” he said. “They had plans to kill the queen for good this time.”
“He’s lying!” Gilbert cried. “He’s the one who’s responsible for this.”
“Arrest them,” Warden commanded.
Without wasting a second, Aldwyn used his mind to pull a strand of ribbon from the presents and tied one of the guard’s wrists together. The other lunged at him with his blade, but Aldwyn telekinetically parried the attack with the first soldier’s sword. They dueled, exchanging blow and counterblow. And though Aldwyn was only fencing with his mind, he overpowered the guard and disarmed him.
Warden had seized the moment to run, exiting the parlor for the upstairs hallway. Aldwyn and Gilbert joined the injured Skylar outside the door, and they could see that more guards were charging in their direction. More concerning was that Navid, Marati, and some of the elite members of the Nightfall Battalion were accompanying them.
“I can’t restrain them on my own,” Warden called.
“Don’t let him get away!” Aldwyn shouted.
Despite Aldwyn’s cries, Warden’s retreat was successful. He disappeared into the mass of troops heading their way, and none of them had any reason to believe he was anything but an ally.
The queen’s chamber was so close. If they could make it through this throng—not defeat them, just pass by them—they could get to Loranella’s bedside and slip the vial between her lips.
With their path to the door blocked by the wall of guards and soldiers, Aldwyn, Skylar, and Gilbert had no choice but to come to a stop. Navid and Marati did the same.
“It’s over. It ends here,” Navid said.
“You’re letting Warden escape,” Aldwyn said.
“What does he have to do with any of this?” Marati asked.
“Everything,” Aldwyn replied. “He set us up. He’s not who you think he is.”
“His great-grandfather was Uriel Wyvern!” Gilbert croaked.
“Wyvern and Skull had no heirs,” Navid said.
“Well, Commander Warden seems to think otherwise,” Skylar said.
Marati turned to two of the queens’ guards.
“Stop the commander before he leaves,” she said. “Tell him we want to ask him a few questions.”
The men did not budge.
“We have explicit orders from Commander Warden to stand our ground,” one of the guards said.
“You don’t take your orders from Commander Warden,” Navid said. “You take them from us.”
“Not anymore,” the guard replied.
Navid and Marati suddenly found themselves alongside Aldwyn, Skylar, and Gilbert, staring at a wall of armored, wand-wielding soldiers.
“I suppose we owe you an apology,” Marati said.
“Save it for later,” Aldwyn said. “We’ve brought a potion that will save the queen’s life.”
“It will be a challenge for even the five of us to get to that door,” Navid said. “But we’ll certainly give it our best.”
“Maybe we don’t need to get to the door,” Skylar said.
“It’s the only way in,” Marati replied.
“Not necessarily,” Skylar said.
The blue jay reached into her component satchel and gripped a talonful of moist moss. She threw it up against the outside wall of the queen’s chamber and chanted, “Aquatitus, aquatitus!”
Suddenly the entire wall turned to water. A tidal wave flooded the hallway, soaking everyone in the standoff up to their ankles and leaving a clear path to the queen’s bedroom.
“We’ll cover you,” Navid shouted.
Aldwyn, Skylar, and Gilbert ran for the queen’s bed. Navid and Marati did what they could to fend off Warden’s soldiers. A barrage of venom blasts and astral claws took out the first wave of guardsmen.
The familiars came to Loranella’s side. She looked peaceful, even though she was slipping ever closer to death. Skylar uncorked the vial and Gilbert brought it to her lips.
A second rush of traitorous soldiers managed to slip past Navid and Marati’s attacks. They were coming at the three animals with wands and axes outstretched. Aldwyn looked up and telekinetically tugged the cover folded at the foot of Loranella’s bed and draped it over the guards.
“Now, Gilbert!” Aldwyn shouted.
The tree frog poured the healing potion into the queen’s mouth. As the last drop went down her throat, the soldiers emerged from beneath the cover. They surrounded the familiars and summoned magical shackles to ensnare them.
“Take them back to the dungeon,” one of the guards ordered.
Aldwyn, Skylar, and Gilbert stared at Loranella hopefully. But she wasn’t moving.
“Maybe I brewed it wrong,” Skylar said.
Navid and Marati were no longer fighting. They, too, were being taken prisoner.
“I’m sorry,” Aldwyn said to them.
The soldiers began to lead the animals from the room. It really was over.
“Let them go,” a regal voice said, bringing everyone in the room to a standstill.
Aldwyn spun around to see that Queen Loranella had awoken. She was sitting up in her bed, very much alive.