11. Princess Davina
Chapter 11
Princess Davina
“The future has a way of arriving unannounced.”
— George Will
“ W hat—what are you saying?” I ask, my confusion evident. “You must be joking.”
Cole takes in my surprise and shakes his head slightly. “I told you this palace is being protected by a spell, right?”
“Yes. I thought someone put a spell on it to be protected from Lorelda, but as far as I know, she’s the only one with magical powers.”
“You’ve spent your whole life in a castle, so I’m not surprised by how little you know about people’s abilities. It’s ironic that Lorelda was the one who cast the spell,” he adds. “She did it to protect herself from her sister. This palace was Lorelda’s for a long time.”
“Her sister?” I ask, my confusion growing. “Is she dangerous too?”
“Davina, do you really have no idea who Lorelda is?”
“She’s known as the devil.”
“Yes, she is the devil. But she’s also your mother’s sister.”
An invisible hand wraps itself around my throat and squeezes as the weight of his words sinks in.
“You’re lying,” I say, though my voice falters. I want it to sound like an accusation, a rejection of everything he just said, but it comes out more like a plea—a wish for him to take it all back.
But he doesn’t. He holds my gaze, his expression unyielding as if daring me to challenge the truth.
“The woman whose very name makes my blood run cold is my aunt? How can that be possible? And my mother…” I swallow hard, forcing myself to focus on the only truth I’ve ever known. “My father always said she was the kindest woman he had ever met. He spoke of her with so much love, so much reverence. She couldn’t have been anything like Lorelda.”
His eyes soften just slightly. “From what I’ve heard, she wasn’t cruel at all. Your mother and Lorelda were like night and day—two sides of the same coin, perhaps, but nothing alike in their hearts.”
I can’t bring myself to believe him. “Then why would Lorelda make this palace immune to my mother’s powers?”
“Lorelda was paranoid and afraid your mother might try to kill her, especially since your father had tried to convince your mother to do so. And given that your mother loved him so much, she might have been willing to do anything for him.”
“But I thought Lorelda is invincible? Why would she need protection? My mother couldn’t have killed her.” I’m so confused. “Wait. My mother had powers too?”
“Yes.”
“Do you know what happened to her?”
“Lorelda imprisoned your mother in her dungeon, depriving her of water and food. She claimed she didn’t want to kill her; she only wanted your father to suffer by making him believe she had. Lorelda was consumed by jealousy because your mother was far more powerful than she was, and she was hopelessly in love with your father, who never returned her feelings. It was a twisted obsession. When she finally decided to return your mother to your father, she wasn’t alive anymore. She should’ve been able to survive years without water or food, but something had changed. Even worse, Lorelda didn’t even bury her. She’s still keeping her in her dungeon.”
Why had my father never told me any of this?
“So, invincible and immortal are two different things,” he continues. “Lorelda isn’t entirely invincible. Rumors always had it that there are two ways to kill her.”
“Tell me about them.”
“There’s a prophecy, but it’s unlikely to be fulfilled. Our only way is to cut off her head during a full moon.”
Nausea slams into me. “How do you even know all that?”
“My father told me.”
I have so many questions, I don’t even know where to begin. “Most importantly, what am I supposed to do? I can’t help you, even if I wanted to. I don’t have powers.”
“Yes, you do, and I’m relying on them. You don’t have to cut off her head, so there’s no need to panic. What I really need is for you to harness your power to…cripple her, at the very least. Perhaps you can paralyze her so I can finish the job.”
Is he out of his mind?
“And how exactly do you expect my powers to work in a place where Lorelda’s magic is ineffective?” I ask. “I don’t understand how that’s possible.”
“I’ve made a deal with her. She can’t enter this palace or use her magic here. That’s why the nature around the palace remains unaffected.”
“And she just agreed to this?”
“She agreed in exchange for my loyalty.”
“I need some fresh air,” I say, feeling the weight of the conversation pressing down on me. “Can you?—”
“Risk you running off? I don’t think so.”
I sigh, struggling to grasp everything he’s saying. “How do you know I have powers? How can I trust what you’re saying?”
“Everyone in your family has powers. You do too, without a doubt.”
“If I had them, shouldn’t I feel it in some kind of way?”
“That’s the tricky part.”
My stomach clenches, and I brace myself for what else he plans to reveal.
“On your twenty-first birthday, you received two powers, just like your mother did. They’re within you, waiting to be discovered.” He pauses, letting the gravity of his message sink in. “They’ll manifest through instinct, but I can’t tell you when that will happen. As far as I know, it depends on a person’s willpower. You have to want to discover them in order to use them.”
“What kind of powers are we talking about?” I press, my curiosity battling with disbelief.
“It’s different depending on the person, so I can’t tell you what yours will be. You have to find out. Once you have them, you must use them. Only then you’ll receive the ultimate power, like Lorelda. Your curse will be broken, and you can go outside.”
“Wait, so you’re telling me that I’m trapped in this... this cage of uncertainty until I magically discover these powers and use them?”
The idea that I have powers, hidden away inside me, waiting to be discovered—it’s absurd. I would’ve known, wouldn’t I? But he speaks with such certainty.
If he’s right, if these powers really exist, then what does that make me?
“Listen to me very, very carefully now,” he says, stepping closer, his expression more serious than ever. “Once you discover a power and refuse to use it at least once, you will be cursed into a deep slumber. The pain will be so unbearable that it will destroy you. So let me repeat myself: you need to use them.”