Scott left the table without answering and went through the bedroom curtain. He moved the bookshelf aside. The object he sought wasn't on it; it was in a secret nook underneath it. Even that wasn't the best spot for it now that he was exposing its existence.

With a hand sweep, he removed the added magical layer of defense and returned to the dining area. He set the blue hardcover book on the table. It had tattered edges and a loose binding that made the browning pages jut out on different planes. For its age and what it had been through, he still considered it in good condition.

They all glanced at the title and looked up, waiting for an explanation. The gold block letters on the cover, faded with time, said MAGICAL MECHANICS. 

Chris's face was the first to contort, and it wasn't favorably. "That's what this is all about? A book? Everyone is fighting for, dying for this dusty piece of—"

"This is not just any book," Scott interrupted before Chris's anger had a chance to escalate. "Consider it Polaris's magical bible." 

"It sounds like a physics book," Joe added, his intellectual curiosity rerouting things in a more promising direction. "Just like 'classical mechanics' or 'quantum mechanics.'"

"In a way, it is. It describes how to manipulate the motion of objects and magical energy. And what makes it special? You can defy the physics established by the human masters. As far as I know, it's the only way you can."

Cassiopeia's expression then flushed with what looked like full awareness. She was quick and astute, a little too much for his tastes, and probably knew better than anyone how deceitful and manipulative her family could be. "Am I safe to assume that tricking you into marrying my mother was the only way my grandfather could have gotten access to this book? And that once the book was in his possession, he would have held the secrets of your society's defenses and power that could have changed the course of the known world?"

"Yes. That pretty much sums it up. There were about a dozen other magical guidebooks in my trunk as well. But Pyxis's Royal Library held tens of thousands of books, so I didn't grasp the power or the rarity of this particular one."

"Why did they go through so much trouble, though? Why didn't they just take the trunk and the key? Or kill you?" Chris asked.

"I suspect they wanted to plan a secret attack on Polaris. The Aerial Palace is leakier than Swiss cheese, attributable, no doubt, to the staff they underpay. So, if word escaped that I was dead or mistreated, then Polaris may have found out beforehand, in which case all bets were off. Since there was no guarantee the Royals would ever be able to harness this magic, they needed time to understand it. Does that make sense? Do you have any better theories?"

Chris shrugged but didn't answer. Joe stayed silent as well, so Scott picked up the story where he had left off.

"Months went by, and Andromeda's visits became longer and more frequent. There were moments I thought she was genuinely fond of me. Or attracted to me at the very least, despite my imperfections. And one night she had a servant bring us a nice dinner and a bottle of wine. It was allegedly to celebrate some trivial milestone. I remember becoming tired all of a sudden, and then I don't remember anything else. I woke up the next day feeling weak and nauseous. I foolishly blamed it on the wine.

"Day after solitary day passed. Andromeda never returned. I was starting to go crazy, from boredom and hunger, too. They stopped feeding me regularly. I wasn't supposed to leave my room, let alone the castle, but I stopped obeying their rules. Strangely enough, no one seemed to care where I was or what I was doing. It was as if they considered me dead already.

"One day, I broke free thanks to help from the inside, and was wandering around The Mainway. Since my days were probably numbered, I decided to splurge on lunch at a decent tavern. Cassiopeia, you'll like this part. It was the day I met your father."

"Perseus Labelle, right?" Chris looked to the princess for confirmation.

She nodded and Scott said, "Yeah, that's right."

"How did you know that?" Joe asked.

"I'm not psychic." Chris and Cassie shared a companionable gaze that lingered long enough for him to blush. "They just mentioned it when you weren't around."

"Oh." Joe's eyes narrowed at the exchange, as if he were beginning to come to terms with disappointment beyond that of knowing something last. "So what about this Perseus Labelle?"

"Well, he was reading at a table across from me. When two servers collided, I used my abilities to stop the falling mugs midair, and I returned them back to their trays. While everyone else was staring at me, my bookish neighbor came over and introduced himself. He asked me where I studied 'mechanics.' I told him my father taught me in Polaris. From that, Perseus had figured out who I was and said he considered it an honor to meet me. I was shocked to hear that from a fairy with wings. They weren't all hateful bigots, I learned. And he was obviously brilliant. He rattled off various uses, pros and cons, theories and philosophies about Magical Mechanics. He had to leave soon after that, but he invited me to his family's estate on Royal Way for dinner that evening. It was a meal I didn't have to pay for. Or wait for. I was definitely in."

"Does that mean he was an aristocrat?'" Joe asked.

"Yes, the Labelles had family money and led everyone to believe they were of the 'royalist' school of thought. But they were among the small but growing minority of the successful who secretly chafed against the king's administration. His father and brothers were considered the pioneers of what they termed the 'cerebralist' movement, which is not to be confused with the 'radicalist' movement started by the poverty-stricken intellectuals of the South End."

"Sounds messy," Chris chimed in.

"It was and still is, but I won't bore you with political philosophy. That's a conversation for another time. In any event, I visited Perseus when I could sneak away, and we practiced magic together. He was extraordinarily talented with traditional sorcery and was on the verge of cutting-edge discoveries in alchemy that could have rivaled modern medicine. He attempted to teach me what he knew. I tried my hardest, but I didn't have his gift, his memory, his patience. Most fairy magic was beyond me. I ended up showing him a few things I knew about mechanics, though. He was the only Royal I ever met who could get something out of it. It's usually restricted to those of us with the diamond mark. We never got very far, regardless of his proficiency. We had to be so careful. The administration would have considered it treason. So, we were forever bound by our secret.

"One day, Perseus asked me how to do something beyond my abilities. I told him I would take a look at MAGICAL MECHANICS back at the castle. Surprised I had it with me, he conveyed to me how dangerous it would be if the book fell into the wrong hands. I assured him that we were the only ones in Pyxis who knew anything about it. I mentioned the enchanted trunk and showed him the key around my neck. Then it hit me. I recalled the night with the goblets, the seduction, the deep sleep, and Andromeda's disappearance. I returned to the castle immediately and checked my trunk. The book was gone!

"I paced. I panicked. I needed that book back before it was too late. But I decided not to do anything rash. My plan was to familiarize myself with the territory. I soon realized that Andromeda and her father often convened in the Strategy Room with their highest-ranking officials.

"One night, I tried to get into the room after it had cleared out. The door, of course, was locked. Late the following night, I brought some tools with me and a potion Perseus had made me that would soften the metal. A few of the longest minutes of my life passed while I was trying to open that door.

"At last, I made it inside. I found plenty of incriminating evidence—maps of Herring Cove with their notations, their agenda and timeline, and a paper trail for the financing. Unfortunately, the book wasn't there. I was about to give up for the night when the door flew open behind me. To my horror, Andromeda was standing on the threshold with the book under her arm. Her nose and eyes flared with a degree of animosity I've never seen anyone else possess. I quickly realized she would kill me before she surrendered the book. She pulled out her wand, and I got ready to protect myself from anything she conjured up—"

"Sorry to interrupt, but how could you defend yourself without a magic wand?" Joe asked.

"With traditional sorcery, you need a magical implement such as a wand or a scepter, a pendant or a ring, or something along those lines. Magical Mechanics requires only your mind. As long as you are healthy, alert, and mentally focused, you can't leave home without it."

"That's convenient," Joe said. "Okay, feel free to continue."

"I'm almost done. I promise," Scott assured his listeners, since they appeared to be getting tired. "She casted every spell, summoned every curse she was capable of—lightning, frost, fire—things I couldn't see but could certainly feel. Pain worse than death.

"I deflected everything as best I could. But the fire at that point was beyond either of our control. It was consuming the table full of documents. The table itself. It was all a raging inferno. We seemed to be at an impasse, but the fire was sweeping toward me first, and she was blocking the only exit. So, I charged forward and she launched a fiery red liquid at me. I flung it back into her face. She screeched, loud enough to wake the dead, and slumped to the ground. The poison sizzled into her skin and gown. I should have killed her while I had the advantage. It crossed my mind, but . . . I merely grabbed the book and ran. Mid-sprint, I saw the king rounding a corner. Before he had the chance to pull out his scepter—the Imperial Scepter no less—I knocked over a display case of weapons on top of him. I heard he died a few hours later."

"With the book under my arm and only a few coins in my pocket, I fled to the South End. After much trial and error, I escaped through the caves but nearly froze to death there in the far north. It was mid-autumn. At any rate, I made it back to Herring Cove about a week later. Polaris had been burned to ashes, every member slaughtered."

Scott paused.

"I cobbled together a new name for myself, Scott MacRae, and disappeared into the human world. However, I never intended to leave the fairy world forever. There was, and still is, unfinished business."

Scott stared at Chris until their eyes met. There was just a brief moment before Chris looked away, but Scott could see his determination to make things right. Chris would fight to end the Sauvageau Dynasty or would die trying.

Scott's eyes then wandered to Joe. His younger son was curious and paying attention, but he clearly didn't have the same degree of commitment.

"Andromeda survived her wounds, of course, and became queen of Pyxis at nineteen years of age. Her first act upon taking the throne was to have our marriage annulled. Or so I've heard."

"On that note. . ." Joe said, getting up from the table.

"I can tell you three are worn out. Why don't we stop there for the night? We can discuss Andromeda's administration with clear heads some other time."

Chris stood and yawned, and then helped the princess from her chair. After their long day and the revelations of the evening, they were all ready for a night of solace, if only they could keep thoughts of Andromeda at bay.