Chapter 3
1482 Words
3
Luca’s brow darkened. “He’s early.”
Sfetnic nodded. “Yes, Your Highness, a month early, but he informed us business had brought him near and thought arriving at this time would be no burden on you.”
Luca crossed his arms over his chest and frowned. “He’s mistaken, but that isn’t something we can tell him.”
My blinking eyes swept over the group of tense men. “Could someone tell me what’s going on? Who’s this King Landry guy?”
Luca sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “A ruler of a nearby kingdom with whom Amnisis has had a. . .storied relationship.”
I snorted. “So you’ve tried to invade his kingdom and vice versa?”
“In a word, yes.” Luca returned his attention to Sfentic and used one arm to gesture to the mirror. “Unfortunately, we have other troubles to deal with. This mirror was used by Mia during her mind imprisonment, but there’s several spells over it that make it impossible for us to figure out how to use it.”
Sfetnic furrowed his brow as he swept past us and studied the wood carving and glass. He brushed his fingers against the frame and the border lit up. Our vampire friend studied the runes for a moment with squinted eyes before he pursed his lips. “The protection spell means I am unable to decipher the magic runes.” He grasped the frame and pulled, but the mirror didn’t budge an inch. “I see. The runes are a placement spell.”
“Can you recognize any of the runes?” Luca asked him.
Sfetnic turned to him and shook his head. “No, Your Highness. Though my knowledge of the spell languages is large, I do not know this particular one.”
A thought struck me and I raised my hand. “What about Marcus? He’s pretty old, he might know more than you guys.”
A smile touched the corners of Sfetnic’s lips. “He has studied them extensively, and perhaps has forgotten more about runes than either of us has ever learned. I will see if he will help us.”
Tybalt stepped forward. “Your Highness, King Landry awaits you this very moment.”
Luca nodded. “Of course. Keep several of your men guarding the mirror.” He turned to Cotio. “You will have to come with us.”
Cotio frowned. “I have a business to run-”
“Which will be impossible for you to do if one of my men accidentally triggers your controlling spell,” Luca pointed out with a bit of bemusement in his voice. “Would you rather remain here or come with us where we might be able to lift the curse?”
Cotio’s shoulders sagged and he gave a huff. “Oh, very well, but be quick about this. I haven’t closed the shop in twenty-four years, and I’ll be damned if it’s closed for more than twenty-four hours.”
Luca led the way out of the shop, and in a moment Sfetnic had vanished to find his master. Tybalt followed, leaving behind two of his men, and Cotio was the last to exit. He glumly turned around and locked the door from the outside, though I could see the men inside could still get out if an emergency demanded it.
Cotio shot Tybalt a sharp glare. “Your men better not touch anything while they’re in there.”
Tybalt shook his head. “You have nothing they would desire.”
Cotio dropped his key into his pocket and turned up his nose. “I’ll have you know that much of my merchandise is priceless. There are artifacts so ancient they make Amnisis look young in comparison.”
A mischievous smile slipped onto Luca’s lips. “And no doubt a good inventory of the items would find many of them are stolen, so I wouldn’t be bragging too much about your wares.”
Cotio clapped his mouth shut as Luca led us along the winding roads. I sidled up close beside him and leaned in. “So what’s this King Landry doing here, anyway? I mean, besides being early.”
“I invited him here some months ago to resign our peace agreement,” Luca revealed as he stared ahead with a tense expression on his face. “The treaty was signed a century ago, and many of the terms and borders are outdated.”
I lifted an eyebrow. “Borders? That sounds complicated.”
“It is.”
I opened my mouth to ask another question, but all that came out was a sharp gasp. A strange tension sprang from my stomach that left me out of breath. I wrapped my arm around my midsection and stumbled to one side against a nearby wall.
Luca was at my side in an instant with his arms holding me up, as my legs shook like jello. “What is it?”
I shook my head. “I. . .I don’t know. I-” I looked down at my stomach.
Luca took the hint and drew my shirt up. My eyes widened as I watched my stomach ripple as though cartoonishly hungry. There wasn’t pain so much as a strange pressure that left me a little short on breath. The whole affair didn’t last more than ten seconds, but left me pale and shaking.
I looked up at Luca with my big eyes. “W-what was that?”
His eyes showed more than a hint of worry as he pursed his lips. “The child.”
I lifted an eyebrow. “What about the child?”
“The child-our child is growing at a faster rate than is normal, even for dragon offspring.”
I blinked at him. “You mean. . .that is, I’m going to have a baby. . .soon?”
He drew me close against his side and nodded at the way ahead of us. “Maybe, but let’s get you to the castle.”
“King Landry will be waiting for you at the balcony, and will see you coming if you take flight,” Tybalt warned us.
“Then we’ll take the side path up to the rear of the gates.”
We meandered our way to the castle and soon found ourselves on the narrow path that wound its way up to the side of the castle gates. Tybalt tapped his spear against the door that blocked our path, and the guards opened the way for us.
Luca stopped us just before we entered the courtyard and he scanned the open area before his attention fell on one of the guards. “Where is King Landry?”
The guard frowned and pointed at the higher levels of the castle. “Up there, Your Highness, though his own guards are stationed along the entire floor.”
Luca tightened his grip on my hand and drew me close against his side. “Then we’ll be sure to avoid going up there, at least for the present.”
I frowned up at my royal mate as he hurried us across the courtyard and into the foyer. “I think one of us is going to have to go see this king some time.”
A dark cloud settled on his brow as he stared ahead of us. “Yes, but that time is not now.”
“Is my dear cousin avoiding his duties?”
I jumped at the sudden voice, but Luca merely looked to our right where Cassius had emerged from the grand parlor with a sly smile on his face and a twinkle in his eyes. He clasped a book in one hand as he joined our company. “You were always one who despised the more formal-” He paused and frowned down at me. “You do not appear to be well, cousin. What has happened?”
Luca sighed. “A great many things, but Tybalt will explain to you about the mirror. You may be able to help us decipher its meaning and how to use it.”
Cassius arched an eyebrow as Tybalt pursed his lips, but the soldier turned to the curious Cassius to do his duties. We hurried into the dining room so quickly that they soon disappeared from sight.
I didn’t mind inhaling the smells of the kitchen, but the direction wasn’t quite to our room. “Where exactly are we going?”
Luca steered us toward the door to the culinary room. “Maira may know what’s wrong with you, and how to normalize the effects.”
A little bit of color left my face at the touch of fear in his voice. “And if she can’t?”
“Then our adventuring is put on hold until you give birth.”
- Writer
