Blindly reaching out, I ran my hands along one of the walls of the bedroom. Then another. Then —
“Here. It’s here.”
Noting the urgency in my voice, Beyan dropped the cloaks by the door and stepped quickly to my side. I continued to run my hands over the wall, frustrated that I couldn’t just break through to find out what was hidden inside. Beyan joined me, searching the wall on the opposite end.
My fingers found a very small catch, so minute it seemed like a chink in the stone wall. Flipping the latch, I gasped when a small panel noiselessly slid open to reveal a hidden recessed area.
I hastily called up some light, bringing the magical sphere closer to the wall.
Before us was a myriad of glass vials with cork stoppers, holding various amounts of colored liquid. I drew the light closer to the vials. The liquid in the vials sparked in the glow of my magical light as they changed from blue to green to red to gold. Most vials were labeled, although some were unmarked. Darya. Petan. Sava.
Sava.
Horrified, I stepped back, trying not to retch.
“What is all of that?” Beyan asked, uncomprehending.
I forced myself to speak, although my breath was coming in fast pants as I fought my rising panic. “It’s... it’s magical essence. The people in the dungeons... he’s been experimenting on them, somehow stealing their magical power and taking it for his own.”
Beyan breathed a curse as he looked over all the vials. “There’s so many.”
“All those people... some didn’t survive the experiments... the others he locked away. Maybe to take more from them in the future.”
Beyan reached a hand out, intending to grab a vial for closer examination, but was stopped short by an invisible magical barrier. At the same time, a spark flew from the invisible wall and Beyan snatched his hand back, shaking it. “Ouch!”
I felt I had seen enough — too much, really — but Beyan pulled my attention back to the hidden cache. “Jennica, there’s something else in there.”
“There is?” I stepped up to the wall again, joining Beyan where he peered intently inside. He was right: there was something beyond the vials, tucked away in a dark corner. I could just see it if I angled my light correctly. A brightly glowing, blood red jewel, it was a twin to Hendon’s soulstone.
Chapter Forty-Three
NOW FESTOONED WITH garlands and flowers for the wedding, the courtyard was packed with the lords and ladies of the Gifted Lands, their voices buzzing in excitement. Part of the excitement was from the all-day party that they had attended; part of it was from being involved in one of the biggest events that was happening in the Gifted Lands in recent history. Not just a royal wedding, but an alliance between two of the Kingdoms! Such a thing had never occurred before.
The wedding was due to start soon. While the benches were all occupied by the visiting nobility, Rhyss and Farrah had managed to get a spot near the front, where they would be able to view both the ceremony and the guests. Prince Anders was at the dais with his parents, the king and queen of Rothschan, seated nearby. My mother was seated on the opposite side, looking apprehensive.
Beyan and I joined our group where they stood. Farrah jumped when we approached. “For a minute, I didn’t recognize you!”
Beyan and I both lowered our hoods. Although we had found some dressier items in the king’s antechamber, they didn’t fit right. And, if I was being honest, I didn’t want to leave my mother’s dress behind. We had found some lightweight, embroidered cloaks that covered up our outfits without making us look out of place.
“What’s with the cloaks?” Rhyss asked us.
“It’s a long story we can share later,” Beyan said. “More importantly, we have a few things to tell you now.”
“We found Taryn,” I said in a low voice. “She’s still enchanted, and she thinks she’s me. And she’s been spelled to look like me. I think the king intends to use her as the bride, since he couldn’t enchant me.”
“And we know how the king will steal everyone’s magic,” Beyan added. “It’s — ”
Trumpets sounded a fanfare. All heads turned to the doors of the castle. The court musicians began playing a lovely, lilting melody.
King Hendon appeared at the doors, Taryn as “Princess Jennica” on his arm. There was no spark in Taryn’s usually lively eyes; Hendon looked positively smug. He led her outside and down the aisle, toward Prince Anders.
Taryn was resplendent in a brilliant white gown delicately embroidered with small red flowers and trimmed with red ribbons. My heart ached just looking at her; part of me wished it really was her real wedding day.
But as gorgeous as her wedding dress was, it was her headpiece that stood out. A gauzy white veil flowed down her back from a golden circlet that was nestled in Taryn’s hair. The circlet was encrusted with a myriad of tiny sparkling rubies, with one huge, perfect ruby in the center. Just large enough to convey status without being overly ostentatious, the headpiece was the real eye catcher of Taryn’s ensemble.
Which was what King Hendon was counting on.
Beyan and I exchanged worried looks, and I looked down at my hands ruefully. Although we had found Taryn’s circlet while we were snooping in the king’s bedroom, we had been unable to do anything with it or to it. Neither Beyan nor I were able to get past the protective shield protecting the vials and the circlet. My hands were already sporting slight blisters from my attempt to reach into the alcove. I couldn’t throw any spells into the recess to try to call the circlet to me or destroy it, either. I was sure that there was some spell or
