Celine studied her reflection in the mirror and touched her new pointed, silver canine. It looked and felt unfamiliar in her mouth, and she considered removing it. But that would insult the Elves…
Her room’s door swung open, and Dagan strolled inside. The top buttons on his shirt were undone, and his gorgeous chest was revealed, drawing Celine’s gaze to his reflection in the mirror.
“Today is the big day,” Dagan told her.
He was right. Three days had passed, and it was time for Caynin and Rane to return to Moon World to retrieve the swords.
“It feels weird to not go along.” Celine felt oddly left out of all the excitement. Then again, when had she decided that this crazy, dangerous life was exciting?
“It’s better that you don’t go along.” Dagan stepped closer to her so that he stood behind her like her Prenumbra. She could feel his breath on her ear.
“Why don’t you go along?” Celine ignored the goosebumps on her neck.
“Because I’m not leaving you alone.”
She rolled her eyes. “No one is going to hurt me.”
“We’ve had multiple assassination attempts,” Dagan reminded her. “Do you really think Severin is just going to stop?”
She sighed heavily. “I’ll find a way to overthrow him.”
“And take his place,” Dagan added.
Celine turned around to look at Dagan’s face instead of his reflection. He was close enough to kiss. “I don’t want to be a princess.”
“You are a princess,” he said firmly.
“I’m serious, Dagan,” she said. “I don’t want to rule.”
“You’ll be a better ruler than Tarragon, Severin, or your father was.”
“I’m sorry I’m not doing everything according to your plan,” she snapped. The goosebumps were suddenly gone. “But you need to stop pressuring me into something I don’t want.”
“My plan?” Dagan asked.
“Yes, your plan to get me crowned, marry me, and thus rule my kingdom.”
Dagan’s face twisted, and she had a hard time figuring out what he was feeling. “I guess you are not naive anymore.”
“I guess not.” She stepped away from him. “I need to open the portal.”
“Can you do it from here?” he asked.
“I can, but I won’t be able to tell if they went through or not.”
“As your skills continue to develop, you will be able to feel that,” Dagan said.
It would have been handy to know if a Prenumbra had gone through the portal when Severin opened it from Erken to Moon World. Celine doubted that a Prenumbra had done so because if it had, the Elves would have mentioned it and blamed her for letting it in.
Celine opened a portal in her room and stepped through. Dagan followed her, and it closed behind him once he arrived in the Everwhite Kingdom. They were in the throne room, and Caynin and Rane were already waiting.
“Celine, welcome!” Rane sounded excited.
Caynin smiled at her warmly. “Welcome back.”
He and Rane nodded at Dagan, and Dagan did the same.
Celine clasped her hands together. “Are you ready?”
“As ready as we will ever be,” Caynin said.
“Don’t waste time. Get the swords, and I will open a new portal in the throne room in thirty minutes. That should be enough time to get everything you need.”
“We will,” Rane said keenly.
“See you soon.” Caynin’s eyes lingered on her.
Celine opened the portal from the Everwhite throne room to the throne room in Moon World. Using her magic had become so easy, natural, and she was not scared of it like she used to be. Although Dagan had placed a protective ward on her that prevented her from using her magic for three months, Celine was thankful. He had done a good job teaching her, and she wouldn’t trade him for any other teacher.
***
Caynin and Rane stepped through the portal, which closed behind them. The throne room was as beautiful as ever. Silver-white light shone in from the oculus above and illuminated the spot where the throne had once been. It had not been replaced yet, and Caynin couldn’t help but wonder why.
Prince Basil sat on the floor, crossed legged and his eyes closed, where the throne once was. He looked like a wise old human who was meditating. Caynin had seen them meditate when they wandered into the forest. It was stupid and a waste of time.
The throne room’s doors were closed, and Caynin assumed the guards were outside. They were alone with the prince, whose eyes now slowly opened.
“I have been waiting for you,” he said.
Didn’t he have anything better do to with his time than wait? What did Elves do, other than walk around with their noses in the air, sneering down at other Fata?
“Are we late?” Caynin asked.
“We didn’t agree on a time of arrival,” Rane reminded them.
Basil asked, “Where is the human?”
Leaving Celine behind had been a prudent move. Caynin’s gut twisted when he imagined her fighting the prince. His imagination went wild as he considered the things Basil had done to her during their duel. Had Basil set a trap and waited for her to return, or had he made peace with his defeat?
“She decided not to come,” Caynin said.
Basil grinned. “Very well.” He rose swiftly from the ground. “You must be eager to see the Shatterproof swords.”
“Very eager,” Rane said.
Prince Basil headed toward the doors, and Caynin and Rane followed him. The heavy doors opened – without him touching them. As expected, guards waited outside. They didn’t pay much attention to Caynin and Rane.
They followed Prince Basil through the castle, which was way too big for the world’s few inhabitants. It was also exceptionally beautiful. The walls were built out of stones that looked like they were made from the moon. The air seemed lighter, almost silver. The archways were elegant and featured carvings of Elves.
They didn’t walk far before they reached the blacksmith, in the armory. There were fires and Caynin knew he would have been able to feel their heat, had he been drinking human blood. Instead, he felt nothing. Swords were piled together and other weapons like bows and spears had their own piles. Armor, finished and unfinished, was displayed on the walls and lay on the tables.
“These aren’t easy swords to make.” Prince Basil picked up a sword, with a beautiful silver hilt and shiny blade, and admired it before he handed it to Caynin, who turned it over and studied it.
“Will the names of its victims also appear on the blade?” Caynin pictured Harmonia’s and Calico’s names embedded in the No-Name sword.
“No,” the Elf Prince confessed. “That is a feature only the No-Name sword has, but it will kill the Prenumbras – that I can assure you.”
Rane also picked up one of the swords and studied it, as if searching for fault. But, as Caynin eyed the long, strong blade reflecting his Waerie’s face, he reminded himself that the Elves were perfectionists and prided themselves them on creating better weapons than the rest of the Fata. There was no reason to doubt them.
“Thank you,” Rane said.
Basil reached for silver chain mail bags, and handed one to Rane and one to Caynin, then he told them to fill them with swords. Caynin and Rane each put seven swords into their bags, yet they were feather-light.
“We need more time to forge more swords,” Prince Basil said.
“For now, this will do.” Caynin swung his bag over his shoulder.
“Are you planning on hunting the Prenumbras down?” Prince Basil asked.
“Yes, we plan to kill them all,” Caynin said.
Basil looked at Rane. “The last time you were here, you said you were a victim. What did you mean by that?”
“A Prenumbra drained most of my magic. I thought I would die,” Rane said.
“Why didn’t you?” Prince Basil asked.
“Because the Prenumbra gave my magic back,” Rane said. “I didn’t know they could do that, but they can.”
“Why did it give your magic back? Did you make a deal with it?”
“Sort of,” Caynin said. “I told it I would kill it if it didn’t reverse what it had done.”
Prince Basil nodded and looked as if he were in deep thought.
“Prenumbras aren’t very intelligent,” Rane said. “Most of them are zombies – they just hang around places where the veil between worlds is thin.”
“But some are more intelligent than others,” Caynin said. “Apparently, there are ones with purple eyes, and they are the leaders.”
“Are you going to Erken to reclaim your homeland?” Prince Basil asked.
“No,” Caynin said. “We are happy on Earth.”
Together, they returned to the throne room, side by side, like allies. The Elves and Enerly had never been friendly, but maybe that would change now.
“Where is your king? We would like to thank him.” Caynin wanted to have as good a relationship as possible with the Elves. They were arrogant and had a god complex, and he didn’t want to insult them by not thanking them for the swords.
“He does not wish to see you,” Prince Basil responded.
Caynin and Rane exchanged wary glances. Why wouldn’t the king want to see them? Was he angry that their human friend had bested his son in battle? Was he angry that she had bullied and threatened him into helping them? Elves’ pride was fragile.
“Very well,” Caynin said. “We will return for more swords.”
“Why don’t you bring the human along, then?” Basil asked.
“We’ll think about it.” Caynin didn’t like that Basil wanted Celine to return here. He also didn’t like that Basil was suddenly asking many questions about the Prenumbras when he hadn’t had any interest in them before. What had changed?
Then the portal opened, they greeted the Elf Prince, and stepped through. Celine and Dagan were waiting for them in the Everwhite throne room.
“You got the swords!” Celine exclaimed after she closed the portal.
Caynin opened his bag, and Celine didn’t hesitate to pull out a sword and study it. Dagan did the same.
“Was it easy?” Dagan asked.
“It was easy but weird,” Caynin said.
“Prince Basil asked a lot of questions about the Prenumbras, and the king didn’t want to see us,” Rane elaborated.
“The king’s pride must be hurt,” Dagan decided.
“Prince Basil also wants you to come back, Celine,” Caynin told her.
“Maybe he wants a re-match.” Celine winked.
“All the more reason that you shouldn’t go back, ever,” Dagan said.
“I agree,” Rane said. “We can’t risk that anyone will capture or kill you. You are far too valuable.”
“Without your magic, this whole thing falls apart,” Caynin said. “Thus, you can’t go with us to kill the Prenumbras, either.”
“You’ve got to be kidding,” Celine snapped. “You can’t leave me behind!”
“We don’t want to,” Rane said.
“But we have to,” Caynin agreed.
“I’ll stay behind with you,” Dagan said. “Besides, the most difficult part is behind us – you persuaded the Elves to supply the swords. From here on, killing the Prenumbras will be quick and easy.”
“Fine.” Celine didn’t bother to hide the bitterness in her voice.
“Then it is decided,” Caynin said. “You and Dagan should each take a sword – just in case there are Prenumbras in the Evergreen Kingdom. That leaves twelve swords. One for me, one for Rane and ten for the warriors we will take with us to the portal.”
“Are you sure the Prenumbras are still there? I did close the portal…”
“But the veil is thin, and the otherworldly energy, which they are drawn to, is still there,” Caynin said.
“They don’t seem to make plans or strategize,” Rane said. “I believe they still linger there.”
“Then go kill them,” Dagan said. “Kill them, and then there is no need to return to Moon World ever again.”
The plan was straightforward, and Celine knew it would work. “We should get going,” she told Dagan.
“Good luck,” she told Caynin and Rane before opening a portal.
***
Celine and Dagan stepped through the portal and arrived on the wall at the Evergreen Kingdom. Her heart danced with joy as she gripped the Shatterproof sword.
“Celine.” Dagan’s tone suggested that his heart wasn’t dancing but was walking on eggshells. “There is something I have to tell you.”
Celine touched the big, heavy ring on her finger and wondered if it was going to be something romantic.
“I freed Tarragon.”
“What?”
“I didn’t mean to,” Dagan confessed. “I went to kill him, but he escaped.”
“And you are only telling me this now?”
“I figured there were more important matters to worry about,” Dagan said.
She glared at him and wondered if he had been scared to tell her because he hadn’t known how she would react. She drew a deep breath and tried to think rationally. Dagan hated Tarragon, and he probably felt horrible for failing to kill him.
She did not want to fight with him, and her gaze went to the ring on her finger. “Is this Tarragon’s?”
“Yes,” Dagan said.
A moment of silence stretched out between them, and Celine had the sudden urge to throw the ring away. She didn’t want anything of Tarragon’s, but the big, ugly ring was the only thing that let her use her power, so throwing it away was pointless.
“Are you okay?” Dagan asked.
She nodded. “I just wish I knew what plans Tarragon has.”