Celine paced the wall of the castle that overlooked the ocean. Her Shatterproof sword was fastened at her hip. She couldn’t sit still and relax, and she waited in anticipation for time to pass so that she could return to the Everwhite Kingdom and hear all about the battle.
If only she was there, fighting with them. It took every bit of self-control to not open a portal. Dagan had also made her promise she would not aid in the fight. He had watched her pacing, and she hated how calm he was. He had left moments ago, to get them something to drink. Celine could have easily opened a portal to the kitchen, but this way he took longer, and she had some time alone. She enjoyed Dagan’s company, but she felt suffocated when he kept watching her. He was waiting for her to make an impulsive, reckless decision.
Celine turned on the wall, and two Fata caught her eye in the distance. They were approaching from the direction of the Globetrot-tree. Could it be? Celine immediately opened a portal to them and stepped through it.
“Caynin! Rane!” she exclaimed.
Caynin and Rane stopped the moment the portal opened in front of them. Celine’s eyes widened as she saw that Caynin was hurt. Behind them was Chet and Fang, and something about Chet was off. Was he limping?
“What happened?” she demanded.
“We lost,” Rane said bitterly.
“The swords are duds,” Caynin said.
Celine realized with a shock that the Elves had deceived her. They had lied to her, and she had believed them. She had placed her friends’ lives in danger by sending them to fight the Prenumbras. They could have died, and it would have been her fault.
She took in Caynin’s crippled figure with a pang of guilt. Then the rage that followed overwhelmed her. Why would the Elves deceive her? Did they not grasp that the Prenumbras could kill them, too?
Caynin was speaking, but Celine was not listening. All she could think about was how incredibly angry she was, and how she wanted her revenge. She would make every Elf pay.
Her power had grown so much, and she could use it to open a portal anywhere – even to places she hadn’t been before. She opened a portal to the Elf King’s bedroom and stepped through it despite Rane’s and Caynin’s objections.
She couldn’t bring anyone along because it would be harder to get them all out instead of just herself. Besides, this was between her and King Aego.
His room was dark, and the curtains were closed. The bed was big, and she could see he was lying in it, with the covers pulled up to his chin. Celine stepped closer to the bed and drew her Shatterproof sword. She slowly reached for the duvet and yanked it off. What she saw made her drop her sword.
“King Aego!” she cried.
The king lay in his bed, frail and weak. His body was thin, his eyes sunken, and his pointy ears and teeth were gone. He was human and dying.
His bedroom door opened, and Prince Basil entered. He was as surprised to see Celine as she was to see him. A guard stood behind him.
“Bring her here,” Prince Basil told the guard. For a moment, Celine thought he was referring to her, but then the guard left.
Prince Basil approached but left the door open, observing Celine cautiously. King Aego was breathing weakly, and Celine wondered if he was too ill to speak.
“What happened?” Celine asked in horror.
“A Prenumbra came to Moon World,” he said.
Severin had opened a portal from Erken to Moon World; he had used her to do it.
“For a long time, I had no idea she was here,” he said. “It’s a big world, and it took her some time to explore. She found us right after you demanded the swords. She drained the magic from my father and asked about you. She knows you can open portals because you’ve been to Erken. She said you opened a portal for her to come here.”
Celine swallowed. She hadn’t opened the portal; Severin had used her to open it, but there was no point in correcting or interrupting Basil, so she kept quiet.
“She made us tell her everything we know. Then she told us to make the swords duds – and we did.”
I, King Aego of Moon World, promise to forge the swords Celine LeVane needs to kill the Prenumbras and give them to her. That was what the king had promised – but he’d been weakened and, as of yet, been unable to keep his word. Prince Basil, however, had made no binding promise. He could easily have made duds and given them to Celine.
“She waited for you to return, but you did not – only Caynin and Rane did,” Prince Basil continued.
Rane had said the king hadn’t wanted to see them, but the truth was the king had been too weak then.
“Why are you helping the Prenumbra?”
“Because she said if I help her, she will give my father’s magic back.”
Now Celine knew why Prince Basil had been so curious when Rane had returned the second time. He had asked Rane about being a victim so that he could confirm that Prenumbras could give back the magic they had taken. He had wanted to know if the Prenumbra was bluffing.
“Who is this Prenumbra?” Celine asked.
“She has purple eyes and goes by the name Ravana.” Prince Basil stepped closer to Celine.
“She is going to betray you, like you betrayed me,” Celine hissed.
“I am willing to take that chance.”
Before Celine could respond, Basil grabbed her hand and pulled a dagger from his pocket. He instantly cut off her left ring finger. She cried out. The pain was blinding and the world seemed to go out of focus. In the blur, she saw red. A lot of red.
Basil let her pull free. In his hand was her finger and the ring that allowed her to use her magic.
Nice ring.
That’s what he had said when they had dueled. She had underestimated his knowledge. He knew that without the ring she could not use her magic, and she could not escape.
Blood spurted from her finger and Celine tried to put pressure onto it. Tears formed in her eyes, against her will. She tried to think straight, but it was hard to focus on something other than the pain.
Then Ravana appeared at the door. She was tall and slender with a narrow waist and long legs. Her hair was misty, and her eyes swirled purple. She was almost as intimidating as the Prenumbra King.
Celine’s eyes went to the key Ravana held, and Celine knew she wanted to transfer her magic to it. Celine could not push past Prince Basil and Ravana to run out by the door. She immediately rushed toward the window – with the intention of escaping. But Ravana was fast, faster than the Fata princes, and beat Celine to it.
“No…” Celine mumbled meekly. “Leave me alone.”
Ravana did no such thing. She reached out, and Celine shied away – backing herself into a wall. Then Ravana pushed her hand against Celine’s chest, and she cried out in agony. It was the worst pain Celine had ever felt. It shot through her whole body, making her shake and cry. It felt as if Ravana was slowly pulling her soul out of her body. She pulled the magic from within Celine’s core, and instead of absorbing it, she restored it into the Key she held. Now, it became the Egress Key. Where had she found a key strong enough to hold all that magic?
When every drop of magic was sucked out of Celine, Ravana pulled her black hand away, and Celine fell to the ground. Dizzy and disorientated, she was hurting so much. Her whole world spun, and she did not know if it was because of the loss of blood or magic. Celine drew a shaky breath and knew something was wrong. Her body wasn’t working as it should.
She was dying.