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WHEN THEY ENTERED THE ballroom, all eyes were on Cydney. Aurora couldn’t help but notice that no eyes were on her, and if anyone ever bothered to glance in her direction, it was to shake their head in disapproval of her scandalous attire.
“I wish I had another genie wish,” Aurora whispered to Lyric. “If I did, I’d ask for a more modest dress.”
Lyric rolled his eyes. “You women and your wishes. Wishing for a dress seems like a terrible waste to me.”
“Yeah, but you haven’t known Helmer as long as I have. He might say he can grant any wish, but he’s not really capable of much.”
“Helmer?”
“The blue guy.”
“Ahhh... I see. So where’s this fiancé of yours?”
Aurora caught a couple of old ladies sneering at them. She might have assumed it was her dress that garnered their disgust if not for the fact that their eyes were fastened on Lyric. “Lyric, can you try to sound a bit more feminine? Those ladies are staring at you.”
He raised his voice a few octaves. “Oh. Silly me. I’m so famished. I broke a nail. Do I look fat in this dress?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m trying to sound like a lady.” He tilted his head toward Aurora and batted his eyelashes.
“We don’t all sound like that, do we?”
“I don’t know, but I’ll tell you one thing. If any man asks me to dance, I’m going to permanently wring your neck.”
Aurora was hardly paying attention to Lyric anymore, because she spotted Charmaine in the center of the room. Everyone was staring at him—but he was staring at Cydney. Aurora barely knew him, and she certainly didn’t want to marry him; even so, she couldn’t help but be a bit jealous when she saw Charmaine fawning over Cydney. He was her fiancé, after all.
“Lyric, c’mere,” Aurora grabbed him by the elbow and proceeded to drag him with her.
“What? Where are we going?”
“I want to get closer to Charmaine and Cydney. I want to hear what he’s saying to her.”
“You’re eavesdropping on them? Tsk tsk.”
“Aren’t you curious?”
“No, actually, I‘m not. He’s your fiancé, not mine.” Under his breath, he added, “Thank God.”
When they were a few feet away from Charmaine and Cydney, Aurora stopped. The prince came with an entourage, so it was impossible to get any closer to him. “What’s that supposed to mean? You don’t think Charmaine is handsome?”
“No. I suppose he’s handsome... if you like feminine men.”
Aurora pointed at the lace on Lyric’s sleeve. “As if you’re one to talk!”
“Dressing like this wasn’t my idea! I’m only here because of you. I could leave at any time. I could go back home whenever I wanted to!”
“What? How?”
Lyric patted the front of his dress. There was a small bulge among the billowing skirts. “The urn. I took it. As soon as I’ve reunited you with Prince Charmaine, I’m going to use it to get back home!”
“But Helmer can’t take you to anywhere he hasn’t—”
“Been before,” Lyric finished. “I know. But you found the urn in Ohmaromabahbala, didn’t you? He has been there, and that’s where I want to go!”
“Oh.” For the first time, the reality of the situation was sinking into Aurora’s head, and she forgot that she was trying to eavesdrop on Charmaine. Soon she would be on her way back home, and Lyric would be on his way back to his. She should have been happy, but for some reason, that fact left her with a heavy heart. “I guess we’ll never see each other again, huh?”
“Well, never say never. It’s possible, right? You’re a princess, I’m an emperor. We might move in the same social circles.”
“But you never even heard of the kingdom of Avalon until you met me. You probably live on the other side of the world!”
“Perhaps... perhaps.” Lyric nodded as he spoke. “It sounds like you’re going to miss me. Aww. Are you going to miss me, Aurora?”
Aurora wasn’t about to own up to anything like that. “Like the plague. Now, be quiet. I’m trying to listen to Cydney and Charmaine.” She inched closer and strained to hear what he was saying to her.
“I’m sorry I was late.” It was Cyndey’s voice.
“Don’t apologize. Your arrival was well worth the wait. You look beautiful. Stunning. As soon as you stepped into the room, it was as if the breath was sucked from my lungs!”
“You flatter me, Your Highness.”
“What did I tell you about calling me that? I want you to call me by my name. I’m supposed to be your boyfriend, aren’t I?”
“Oooh. That’s got to hurt,” Lyric whispered into Aurora’s ear.
“Let me take you away from all of this. I can’t stand this crowd.” Charmaine held out an arm to Cydney, and she coiled her own arm around his. “I’m selfish. I want you all to myself.”
“I’d follow you anywhere, Charmaine.”
Aurora turned to Lyric, her face puckered in disgust.
“Yes. They are a bit nauseating, aren’t they?” Lyric quietly agreed. When Charmaine and Cydney started off, Lyric took Aurora by the hand and followed.
“Where are we going?!”
“Following them, of course. We can’t let loverboy get away.”
“Loverboy,” Aurora repeated with a snort.
At a safe distance, Aurora and Lyric followed them out of the ballroom and down a long candlelit corridor. They half-expected to be stopped by a guard along the way, but they weren’t. Apparently, the security at Prince Charmaine’s castle was inexcusably lax—not that Aurora was complaining. They tracked Charmaine and Cydney all the way to a large, glass-encased balcony on the second floor of the castle.
Hiding behind a tall plant, they watched Charmaine take Cydney into his arms. Cydney laid a hand on Charmaine’s shoulder, and they danced.
“I’ve never seen her look happier,” Aurora whispered to Lyric.
“Okaaay... but you’ve known her for two days.”
“Good point.” As she watched them dance, Aurora’s thoughts wandered. She wasn’t sure what she was trying to accomplish by spying on them, but she couldn’t summon the courage to approach Charmaine. She didn’t want to be confrontational.
But there wasn’t any way around it, was there? If she was going to ask Charmaine to escort her home, it was probably her best opportunity. As Charmaine descended on Cydney for a kiss, Aurora popped out from behind the plant. Lyric followed suit.
Having sensed that he was no longer alone, Charmaine stopped short of Cydney’s lips. When he turned his eyes to Aurora, his pale face went even paler. “What?! Aurora?!”
She waved to him. “Yeah. Hi.”
“What are you... how long have you... why are you...?!”
“If you’re just going to stand there asking incomplete questions, I can’t answer them!”
Cydney’s eyes swiveled from Charmaine to Aurora. “Do you two know each other?”
“Yeah,” Aurora admitted. She had no intention of mentioning their betrothal, but Lyric had other ideas.
“They’re betrothed,” he blurted. “Aurora’s his fiancé.”
“She’s what?!” Cydney’s head spun dizzily on her shoulders. She had to grab onto Charmaine’s arm to stop herself from fainting.
“And who is SHE?” Charmaine asked, bowing his head in the direction of Lyric. “And why can’t she keep her mouth shut while we sort this out ourselves?!”
Aurora reached up and lifted the wig off of Lyric’s head. “She is a he, actually.”
“A man in a dress?!” Charmaine raised an amused eyebrow.
“Aurora!” It was Cydney who spoke. It seemed that everyone was shouting all at once. “Why didn’t you tell me? I went on and on about Charmaine, but you didn’t tell me!”
“Yeah. Sorry about that. I guess I should’ve told you. But it’s not like Charmaine and I are that close. We barely even like each other.”
Charmaine pouted. “You don’t like me?”
“No, not really. And do you honestly care? You’re supposed to be with Cydney, aren’t you?”
“Oh... right.” Charmaine’s gaze drifted back to Lyric. “So who is HE, anyway?”
Lyric wrapped an arm around Aurora’s shoulders. “I’m her lover. And we have a very hot relationship, might I add.”
“Lyric!” She grabbed his arm and tossed it off of her.
“What? I thought I’d help! Loverboy is cheating on you. I thought you might like to turn the tables on him!”
Aurora thrust her thumb in Lyric’s direction. “We’re not lovers. We’re just friends.”
“With benefits.” Lyric winked.
“Lyric! Stop talking crap!”
Charmaine looked mortified and horrified. His relationship with Cydney was unraveling, and a man in a dress was claiming to be his fiancé’s lover. He was having a hard time digesting all the bits of information being thrown at him.
“Anyway, Charmaine, I was wondering if I could ask you for a favor.”
“You’re not... mad at me?”
“No, I’m not mad at you. Cydney’s a really great girl, and I wish you all the happiness in the world.”
“It doesn’t work like that, though. We’re betrothed. You HAVE to marry me!”
“Well, whatever. We’ll worry about that when it happens. Anyway, about that favor.” Aurora cleared her throat. “I was wondering if you could let me borrow a carriage. I need to get back home.”
“Oh.”
“Can you do that for me?”
Before Charmaine had a chance to reply, a thundering female’s voice bellowed, “STOP!”
They all turned their heads to the sky, where a woman was soaring down on them, riding a shabby-looking broomstick. She skillfully steered the broomstick through the opening in the glass.
“Meg!” Aurora shouted.
“Don’t listen to another word he says!” When she landed, Meg leapt off the broomstick, picked it up, and held it upright. “It’s his fault that Molly’s dead! As far as I’m concerned, he’s the one who killed her!”
“He’s the one who... what?” Aurora took a few steps backward, nearly falling on the plant that she and Lyric hid behind. Before she could fall, Lyric grabbed her arm and held her steady. “Molly... killed? What are you saying?”
Meg ran to Aurora’s side and wrapped an arm around her back. “Charmaine’s working for Medea! He’s a spy. Molly’s dead because HE was spying on us!” Meg plucked a wand from her belt and pointed it in Charmaine’s direction.
“Molly... dead?” Aurora repeated. It couldn’t true, could it? And yet, Meg would never lie to her. Not about something as serious as this.
“I didn’t kill anyone!” Charmaine made an effort to defend himself. “I didn’t!”
“Oh, you shut up, you ignorant dolt! You puffed-up, pompous, lily-livered idiot!” Meg shook her wand, as if threatening to do some bodily harm with her magic.
“Meg!” Aurora grabbed onto Meg’s thick arm. “Molly’s dead?!”
“I’m sorry, honey.” While she kept her wand trained on Charmaine, she seized Aurora in a half-hug. “I’m so sorry, but it’s true. And Mary, for all I know... Mary might have joined her in the afterlife.”
“Mary too?!” Aurora could feel unshed tears burning her eyes. She could also feel Lyric’s gaze on her, watching with concern.
“She was kidnapped. I’ve been looking for her ever since you left, but I haven’t had any luck. That Medea’s good at hiding. Now... Charmaine.” Meg wriggled her wand again. She made a few sparks shoot out the end of it, threatening him. “Why don’t you come clean? If you don’t, I’ll be tempted to sear your lips off your face. Or something much worse.”
“Oh, please! Oh, please don’t!” Charmaine covered his face, preemptively hiding from any incoming magic spells. At the same time, Cydney slumped to the ground in a dead faint. She’d heard too much for one day. Aurora ran to her side to see if she was alright, while everyone else remained rooted to the spots where they stood.
“I WILL DO IT!” Meg shouted. “Tell Aurora what you’ve been up to!”
“Oh, dear... oh dear...” Charmaine coiled his hands together, fidgeting nonstop. “Oh, what should I do, what should I do?”
“Maybe the end of my wand should tell you what to do!”
Lyric crept over to Aurora, who was still kneeling behind Cydney. “Should I excuse myself ?” he whispered, but no one answered his question. He was starting to feel like an unwelcome bystander.
“Okay...” Charmaine raked his hands through his hair. “OKAY, I admit it! But I only agreed to spy on you before I met Aurora! After I met her, she seemed like a nice girl, and... and I had second thoughts!”
“You were spying on me?”
“WHO CARES ABOUT YOUR SECOND THOUGHTS!” Meg hollered. “Medea found us because of you, and Molly is dead because of you! And if I hadn’t taken precautionary measures with the wayspinner, Aurora would’ve died because of you!”
“B-b-b-b-b-b-b...” Charmaine sputtered. “But Aurora went off into the woods. If I hadn’t followed her and... and... detained her long enough, she would’ve been in the cottage when Medea’s goons arrived. The fact that they found you had nothing to do with me! Medea was already keeping watch. I was just reporting what you told me!”
“RUBBISH!” Meg hollered. “When Aurora fled into the woods, that was purely serendipitous! You had nothing to do with that. Oooooo!!!” Meg bobbed up and down, practically bursting with anger. “I should kill you now!”
“GUARDS!” Charmaine squealed. Meg flicked her wand, and he flew at least three feet into the air. When he landed on his rear end, he tried to scoot backward, away from Meg. “Guards!”
“Who does that remind you of?” Lyric asked with a chuckle. When he looked down and saw the tears in Aurora’s eyes, he regretted his untimely joke. He laid a hand on her shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze.
A few seconds later, Charmaine’s guards arrived—but not the sort of guards that anyone was expecting. Three robed wraiths appeared in the sky, shattering the balcony’s ornamental glass as they descended. Everyone took cover as the hail of broken glass rained down around them.
Medea’s minions had found them. Two of them descended on Meg, and even then, they could hardly restrain her. Her grip on the wand was so tight, they had to work together to wrestle it from her hand. The third wraith moved toward Aurora, but Lyric stood in front of her, refusing to let them have her. Aurora was impressed by his bravery. She never would’ve imagined he liked her well enough to shield her from danger.
“I’m sorry!” Charmaine squealed, raking his hands across his face in exaggerated anguish. “I’m so sorry!”
“You have no reason to apologize, Charmaine,” a silky voice responded. “You’ve done well.”
She appeared out of nowhere, descending from the sky on a chariot pulled by two winged horses. The chariot stopped a few feet above the shattered glass balcony, and Medea stepped out. She floated down from the chariot and landed soundly on her feet.
“Hello, niece. We finally meet.” Medea assessed Aurora with cold, steel-colored eyes. “But it’s hard to see you when you’re hiding behind—”
Before Medea could finish, Aurora stepped out from behind Lyric. She didn’t want it to seem like she was cowering in a corner. If her aunt was going to kill her, she wanted to face death as boldly as she could.
“Ah. There you are. How nice to see you. And Charmaine, please... stop looking so piteous. You have no reason to feel ashamed of what you’ve done. No one can fault you for having common sense, can they? You picked the winning side. You did what anyone would have done.”
Charmaine immediately stopped his whining. Whether out of fear or reassurance, Aurora did not know.
“YOU WITCH!” Meg hollered. “YOU STINKING, EVIL WITCH!”
“Oh, hush.” Medea pointed her wand at Meg. A needle and thread appeared from out of nowhere and proceeded to sew her mouth shut. Meg squealed and writhed in agony as the needle plunged through her lips. “I came here to talk to Aurora. I don’t need anyone interfering with that. Now, where were we?”
Aurora watched in horror as Meg’s lips were sewn together. “Why are you doing this!?”
“Doing what, my dear?”
“Why are you doing ANY of this?” Aurora shouted. “I’ve never done anything to you!”
Medea pressed her lips together and chuckled. “Maybe I’m just an implausibly evil person? Do I need a reason? I’m the sort of person who would cut off your friend’s hand for the fun of it, simply because it amuses me.” She pointed her wand in Lyric’s direction.
Aurora gasped. “No, don’t!”
“Oh? Would you rather I just concentrate on you? Yes, that’s probably what I should do. I came here to rip you apart, and I might as well get on with it.”
Aurora looked over her shoulder at Lyric, who was being restrained by one of the wraiths. Then she turned back to Medea. “If you’re going to kill me, just do it. I just don’t want you to hurt my friends anymore.”
“My dear, you are in no position to negotiate. If I kill you, why should I stop there? I can do whatever I want.”
“Aurora...” Lyric whispered to her. “Just go. You know what I’m talking about. Just go.”
“Go?” Medea repeated with a chuckle. “What in the world does he mean?”
Aurora reached into her pocket and found the wayspinner. That had to be what Lyric was referring to. She started to inch toward him, hoping she could take him with her when the time came. Turning to Meg, she whispered, “I’m so sorry...”
Meg nodded, giving Aurora the encouragement she needed. Meg was, after all, the one who gave her the wayspinner. If ever there was a good time to use it, that time was now.
Sensing Aurora’s attempt to flee, Medea raised her hand again. Flames sputtered from the end of her wand, cascading toward Aurora with incredible speed. With only seconds to spare, Aurora found the dial and tried to reach for Lyric. She could have sworn she touched him just as the light engulfed her.
But she was wrong.