The instant Astrida's magical flying carriage landed in the courtyard, I let out the breath I'd been holding.

Hurry, hurry.

I'd already sent word to Tilda to vacate her room and hasten to the meeting room, where I'd last detected Ossenna's energy. She'd retrieved Gwenore, and would keep her safe; and once I delivered Astrida and Tilda joined us, that'd be three out of four.

Luned...I'd spotted her from afar, but it had stopped me in my tracks as I was on my way outside to wait for Astrida. She'd never confirmed whether she was coming, so her presence was...ominous. I tried not to think too much of it, but when she zipped down a seldom used corridor, a trail of vibrant blue and splotchy black energy in her wake, my throat constricted.

Magic.

Luned didn't wield magic that I knew of. For her to suddenly exhibit powers—or perhaps it wasn't as sudden as we'd thought—meant that all her tales about her mother being a mermaid were real. Mermaids had magic; a watery blur of abilities that made no sense, like the possibility to shift between human and fish-tail form, or the rumor that they could trick the mind. I'd paid little heed to such stories, as mermaids had yet to prove themselves real. But after Luned's strange aura earlier...

Something akin to panic tickled inside my gut. Panic at what, I wasn't sure, but it was an ominous sensation I didn't often succumb to. I'd been close before, when attempting to talk to Gwenore. And it resurfaced now as I watched Princess Astrida alight from her carriage, garbed in her diamond fineries, her plunging decolleté drawing more saliva to my mouth than I'd have wanted.

She flurried up to me, a fake smile plastered on her face as she extended her hand for me to kiss it. She was old-fashioned, expecting everyone to prostrate at her feet and worship her very existence. Usually, I'd sneer at such behavior, especially considering she wasn't crowned yet; but I needed to placate her. She wouldn't follow me unless I bent to her will. Temporarily.

I kissed her knuckles while holding in a grimace of revulsion. Oh, she was decadent in every way, smelling like a sugar-frosted cake, her skin delicate and smooth like cream. But beneath that facade was a viperous, capricious girl who kicked and screamed when she didn't get what she wanted. Other men might have been fooled by her controlled temperament, but I knew better. I'd seen her in action, throwing tantrums, bossing people around, demanding so much of them that they crumbled.

"Majesty," I cooed, showing her towards the front-door. "Before you settle in, we do have some urgent matters to discuss in the meeting room."

"Do we, now?" She spoke through gritted teeth, smiling widely as if on display. Surely she'd expected a crowd of courtiers to welcome her and cheer; but as it happened, the castle was quite...empty. Another issue Ossenna and I would have to address once we reunited. "Where are my people?"

"Resting," I lied, unwilling to worry her yet. Not before I knew what was going on. And not before we were secure in the meeting room.

I glimpsed the sky before I ducked into the building; it was clogged with dark, bulky clouds, the sun concealed. A storm was on the horizon, and as I took a last whiff of fresh air, I detected the potential of rain.

I scurried off once inside, barely checking to ensure Astrida was following.

"Must you be so fast, Sir Sym?" She was breathless as her heels clicked on the tiled floors, trying to keep up with me. "I'm not magical, like you, so I can't zip to and fro in the blink of an eye."

I held in my original retort—you zip in and out of courtier rooms, though—and clenched my fists, forcing myself to slow down. "Apologies, Majesty. But your sisters and Lady Ossenna await, and this truly is urgent."

She shucked her crimson curls out of her face and perked up, poking her breasts out. Again seeking to be seen, but not understanding that no one was there to see her. Aside from the mysterious glimpse at Luned—sneaking about in her the castle she'd grown up in? Odd—I'd bumped into no one in the past hour or so. Normally, our castle bustled with people; aristocrats, visitors, diplomats, servants, soldiers, scholars. None of them were around today.

"Sisters? So," she pursed her deep, scarlet-colored lips, "they all showed up, then?"

"All but one." I cleared my throat as I concentrated on the throne-room doors, willing them to open for us. "Luned never communicated whether she'd show up." I refrained from admitting to her that I'd seen Luned. If Luned hadn't meant to be discovered, if she was indeed creeping...this would be knowledge best told to Ossenna, first.

Damage control.

I sniffed the air, wondering where my fellow mages were. I'd lost the scent of Arden after they left to escort Teodric to his room, and Otho's fizzled out not long after that. Were they okay? Were they harmed? Or was one of them provoking this sinister sensation that floated through the castle, cloaking it in a faint obscurity, a film of noxious smoke?

If she caught anything amiss, Astrida didn't show it, too busy fussing with her voluminous skirts to care about much else. "Well, the more, the merrier, they say, no? If they're all here, that makes it all the more satisfying for me to win."

I rolled my eyes, turning my head so she wouldn't see. "Of course, Majesty."

We strolled past the thrones, and once ushered into the meeting room, I found both Ossenna and Gwenore huddled in the back, behind the throne-like chair.

"Ossenna?" I raced forward as Astrida sealed the door, studying the scene with equal curiosity and confusion as me.

"Oh, Sym, thank goodness." Ossenna slithered out from behind the chair and reached out as if to embrace me, but stopped herself short. No one knew how close we were, and we wouldn't break our ruse under distress. Ever.

Gwenore's eyes widened at the sight of me, then her sister. "Astrida," she said, hurrying to her younger sister and tugging her into an unwilling hug. I wasn't certain what shocked me more; that Gwenore knew what a hug was, or that her snotty sister allowed it.

"What in the world is going on?" Astrida pulled back and kept Gwenore at arm's length, analyzing the evident fear spread over Gwenore's face. "You are so pale, sister, more than usual." She glowered at Ossenna. "What did you do to her?"

"Me?" Ossenna's upper lip curled and a veil of darkness swept over her habitually bright eyes. "I protected her, Majesty." She snorted, then lowered her voice so only I could hear it. "Good to see you, too, spoiled brat who stole my home."

I flashed her a warning glance. "I'm curious, too," I said to her, pulling out a chair to force her to sit. Her attire was more rumpled than I'd ever seen it, and while I saw no physical wounds or ailments, something inside her was throbbing with pain.

Anxiety.

"Something's up," said Ossenna, reluctantly sitting to appease me. She clutched the edge of the table, white veins pumping through the dark skin of her hands, her lower arms. "I can't sense Otho or Arden, or Ysac for that matter. I was trying to zone in on Teodric when you arrived, but it's not looking promising there either."

"Teodric?" Astrida's posture straightened and her eyes grew wide and interested. "Where is that delicious man, hm? He was part of the reason I came back."

Gwenore eyed her, her nostrils wrinkling. "Of course, you'd need the promise of a throw in the sheets to accept a summons."

I almost blurted out how difficult Gwenore had been to convince, but it wasn't my place. I focused on Ossenna. "Same for me," I said, grazing her shoulder, shooting my soothing energy into her. She shivered at the touch. "It's as if the whole area was wiped clean, except for us. And I think I saw Luned—"

Gwenore heard me and smacked a fist to the table. "See?" She scowled at Ossenna. "I told you I saw her! She's up to no good and I know it!" Her raven hair stood on edge, and with the reflection of the lights overhead some strands seemed streaked with a sizzling blue.

"The fact that you both saw her," Ossenna rubbed her chin, "definitely doesn't bode well. She never confirmed she was coming."

The doors blasted open, sending Gwenore into a defensive crouch, and Astrida cowering behind her. Ossenna and I planted on the soles of our feet, energy swirling out of our hands in preparation to hurl it at our intruder.

But it was only Tilda, her cheeks flushed as she dashed inside and closed the doors, resting her back against them. "Where the fuck is everyone?" She breathed in, then out, her arms stiff at her sides. "This castle is empty. Did they all move? And why is it so cold?"

As she said it, I realized wisps of vapor were coming out of my mouth. A tremor shuddered through me and my teeth clattered. "Why is it cold?" I glanced at Ossenna; temperature was in her realm of expertise, not mine.

"I have no idea." She lowered into her seat, one hand over her heart as she caught her breath. The fuchsia energy that had slithered from her fingertips sucked back in, as if it had never come out. "I was trying to figure that out when you got here."

I gestured at Tilda to approach, to take a seat near us. She settled on the other side of the table, with her sisters, after exchanging a hurried hug with both of them.

"Okay, what's going on?" She tucked a few strands of her cropped curls behind her ears and sat stiffly against the chair. She'd changed from her riding habit into something more boisterous, covered in heart motifs. It was almost as flamboyant as Astrida's outfit, and had me wondering if either of them would be able to run if asked to.

My instincts warned me we might have to.

"Something dark," I said, shoving my hands into the pockets of my golden garb. "Something tying into one or possibly several mages putting together plots to dismantle the monarchy."

"What?" Gwenore, who'd refused to sit back down, glared at me from between her sister's chairs. "Dismantle the monarchy? You didn't tell me that earlier."

"I didn't think it'd be wise to say that as you were hesitating to enter the castle," I said, sensing acidity foam up in my mouth. "And I still don't think it's wise to assume so now, but someone is playing with dark forces in this place, and I can't make heads or tails of what they're doing. Or why."

"Something's amiss, for sure." Ossenna drummed her obscure-coated nails to the table in a nervous rhythm. "The mirror, Jack disappearing, Teodric appearing, the queens coming, mages vanishing—it's all linked, isn't it?"

"Jack disappeared?" Tilda cocked her head.

"Teodric appeared?" Astrida's lips pinched in disgust. "He's...not from here, you're saying?"

"I actually think Teodric's appearance is coincidental. But that mirror...the magic that revolves around it, that Arden kept trying to warn us of...that might be involved in all this." I stroked my jaw, going over all the cryptic comments Arden had made over the past few years. "They were obsessed with it, analyzing it all the time, or so I was told. And now it spits out a foreigner, swallows one of ours. Then the castle empties and the air is chilled with...something, I just can't figure out what."

The overhead lights flickered.

Ossenna and I stared at one another.

"Those lights never flicker," she said into my mind.

I remained immobile, to not give off the idea that she and I were having a separate, mind-focused conversation. "Not unless nefarious forces are at play. Not unless black magic is being used."

I'd been the one to enchant all the lights, and I never failed. If they flickered, if they lost intensity...

I zoomed over to the door and pressed my palms to it, infusing it with power. Searching, seeing through it, sending my gaze through the throne-room, into the hallway, scanning every area. This was an ability I rarely employed, as it took up a lot of energy. But I needed to see, once and for all, who was here, who wasn't, and what in the world was happening under our noses.

Gwenore grumbled, Astrida gasped, and Tilda shifted in her seat as I turned to them, arms shaking at my sides. "We're not safe, none of us. With two mages gone, our mercenary in another realm, our wild-card vanished...we're outnumbered. Whatever this threat is, it's something I've never felt before, and I'm not positive Ossenna and I will be enough."

Gwenore stepped forward, evidently shivering, but doing her best to remain calm and confident. "I can fight. Not against magic, but I can try. My sword skills are a tad rusty, but I'll manage if necessary."

I acknowledged her. "Good, because we may not have a choice. I don't know what we're facing, how many of them there are, and what kind of magic they wield, but...it's nothing of this world."

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