“What sort of preparations?” I asked.
Kull glanced at Heidel, although neither of them answered my question.
“Marriage preparations,” Heidel finally answered.
What? When were they planning on telling me? No one had mentioned a marriage, not once. If I’d known about a wedding, I would’ve had an easier time getting over him. But I must have been reading too much into it. Maybe someone else was getting married.
“Oh,” I said. “Who’s getting married?”
“Ket and Kull, of course,” Heidel answered, though she gave no further explanation.
Electric blue light wrapped the screen’s mirror, startling me, glowing brighter as the sun began to rise.
“It’s time,” I said, doing my best to shake off the shock from our conversation.
It was good for him, anyway—a king needed a queen, and his kingdom needed stability. Ket was the most logical choice. I shouldn’t have been so shocked, but why hadn’t they told me sooner?
None of it mattered anyway. What Kull did with his life had no effect on mine. It didn’t matter.
I turned back to my mirror. With the revelation of Kull’s engagement, I wasn’t sure how I would balance my magic now. Please let this work, I muttered under my breath as I placed my mirror atop a large boulder, screen facing toward us, then turned to the two Wults.
“We’ll go as soon as the sun rises fully, and not a moment before then. My magic is already so unstable that I don’t want any negative energy interfering with it. You’ve both crossed several times, so you know what side effects to expect.”
The first sunbeams streaked across the sky, long lines of white against gray, until the sun crested the horizon. I placed my hand on the mirror’s screen, breathing deeply, removing any negative residual energy from my body.
It doesn’t matter.
Fearing my magic would only make this harder, I accepted my powers—flaws and all. This had to work. If not, I would kill us all.
Focus. Calm. Just trust it.
The sun rose completely, and I called my magic. “Whenever you’re ready,” I said to Kull and Heidel, “place your hands on the screen.”
They both did as I said.
I ignored my fluttering heart as Kull stood close to me. Did he have to stand so close? How did he expect me to balance my magic when I couldn’t even make sense of my own emotions? But I pushed the thoughts aside, inhaled, and closed my eyes, letting the sunlight warm my skin and fill me with energy.
Carefully, I released my magic into the mirror, and blue light surrounded us until the ground dissolved from beneath our feet. My stomach lurched, and I fought back panic, instead concentrating on letting my magic guide me instead of forcing it to obey me.
The free-fall slowed, and the screaming wind died away. Lights and sounds seemed to come from great distances as we hung suspended between two worlds. Everything slowed, transforming from one reality to another—bending, stretching, and morphing until time sped up once again.
The howling wind returned with full force as we entered Earth. I tried to control our entry but found the magic flowing like sand through my fingers.
With a painful thump, my body hit the ground. I groaned as I landed on my back. The pain from the wound in my leg had thankfully disappeared, only to be replaced with a sore back and aching rump.
I swear, one of these days I’ll become a crazy cat lady and never leave my house. I will love every minute of it, and I will never wish for this life again.
I opened my eyes to see that I was lying inside the fairies’ tent. Dizziness clouded my vision as I sat up.
“Olive?” A voice—Prince Terminus—said from behind me.
I turned to see him standing near the tent’s entrance. Taking several deep breaths, I tried to collect my thoughts. But where were Kull and Heidel?
Prince Terminus crossed the room and knelt beside me. “Are you quite all right?” he asked.
I tried to make a reply. “I… I’m—yes, I’m fine.”
“Where are your companions?”
I shook my head, praying they weren’t both falling from the sky at that very moment. “I don’t know. They were both standing beside me when we crossed. Hopefully, they’re not too far away. We have to find them.”
I tried to stand, but the prince put his hand on my shoulder.
“Wait,” he said. “Rest for a moment. You are in no condition to be walking around.”
“But we have to find them!”
“Yes, and so we will.” He smiled, and then a purple glow formed in his hand. The light disappeared, revealing a twig with small leaves and fragrant lavender-colored flowers. “Luc’faere grass. Its scent is known to help alleviate dizziness.”
“Thank you,” I said and took it from him. Its scent only seemed to distract me from my dizziness, but I didn’t tell him that. Instead, I waited for the room to stop spinning.
I shouldn’t have let Kull talk me into using my magic. It was a poor decision on my part, one that could have cost my friends their lives. Images of my companions lying dead on the ground came to mind, and I pushed them away, thinking instead of the reason we’d returned to Earth in the first place.
“Where is your sister?” I asked Terminus.
His face darkened. “She has been missing since early this morning.”
Alarm bells went off in my head. “Missing?”
“Yes. She went out for an early morning walk and never returned. The two Wult men are tracking her now as we speak.”
“Terminus, this isn’t good—we need to find her.”
“I agree.”
“That’s three people we need to find now.”
I swallowed my panic. If the bloodthorn had the princess, I wasn’t sure what to do. I couldn’t imagine what she’d be going through. She must be terrified. We needed Kull and Heidel. They’d know how to find her.
When I felt ready, I stood, and this time Terminus didn’t stop me. “Where are the Wult men now?” I
