Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
Joy
Were my father and brother evil like Keir? Or had Keir betrayed them as well?
My chest tightened with panic as the pieces fell into place.
While I sat here, helpless and trapped, Keir was weaving his web around everyone I loved—and feeding information straight back to the monster who’d tortured me.
Zoe, who I had done everything to protect from human traffickers.
Gunnar and Ebony had been captured because of me, their royal reign now in jeopardy.
Valentin, Ari’s son, was being manipulated into becoming something evil like his father.
Rose was risking everything to save him.
Brynn stopped brushing my hair. “Joy, are you all right?”
“No, far from it. Everyone back home is in danger. I have to get back there.”
Brynn gave me a sympathetic look. “You can’t escape, not unless you can find the portal. Others have tried—my brothers for one. The Cormacs’ power of illusion has hidden the door so well even they can’t locate it. And even if you found it, you couldn’t open it—it’s sealed on the other side.”
Darkness swallowed the tiny flame of hope I’d been nurturing. “So the queen has to reveal the portal, but she won’t do that unless she can cross over herself.”
“Exactly. And she can’t cross over until she has the Anchoring Obsidian stone. Without it, she’d be pulled back to the Elder Dimension the moment she stepped through.”
My mind raced. If that stone could open portals between dimensions, it was the key to everything—escape, getting back to Enzo, stopping Ari's plans.
And if it was hidden somewhere in this palace, my shadows could find it.
They could slip through cracks, search in darkness, reach places I couldn't physically access.
I just had to figure out where to look. “Where is the stone now?”
“King Cormac had it when he crossed into your world.” Brynn's voice carried bitter frustration. “I don’t know where it is now.”
The hope that had flickered to life moments ago guttered out completely. Of course the stone wasn't here. Of course the one tool that could save me was in the world I couldn't reach. I was well and truly trapped.
Unless...Keir. He'd been Cormac's chancellor—he would have had access to all of Cormac's treasures and artifacts.
When he fled to New Orleans, avoiding capture and return to the Elder Dimension, he'd have taken the most powerful items with him.
The Anchoring Obsidian would be at the top of that list. Keir had it. He had to.
“Do you think Keir has it?”
“I don’t know.” Her face darkened. “Since the stone is missing, I would assume Keir somehow stole it from the king before he perished. But that’s only a suspicion.”
Great. So the one tool that could save me was in the hands of a mafia king who'd forced a child to watch her parents die. Even if I escaped this dimension, I'd have to find Keir and somehow get the stone from him. The obstacles just kept piling up.
“What does the Anchoring Obsidian stone look like?”
Brynn looked over her shoulder at the door then lowered her voice.
“It’s heart-sized, made of the blackest obsidian you’ve ever seen.
The surface is smooth as glass, but it doesn’t shine—it absorbs light.
When moonlight hits it, these purple and silver veins appear inside, almost like it’s alive.
The whole thing rests in this ornate metal base that looks like twisted tree roots.
Have you seen anything like that in your world? ”
I shook my head, exhaustion bleeding into my voice. “No. I would remember seeing something so magical.”
Every scrap of hope I grasped at slipped through my fingers. The stone existed, but I'd never seen it. Keir might have it, but I couldn't reach Keir. I was no closer to escape than I'd been an hour ago.
Brynn's fingers worked quickly through my hair, weaving it into an intricate braid that fell down my back like a rope of dark silk. She stepped back to admire her work, then her expression grew serious again. “You might get more information from the queen when you talk with her. She’s been collecting magical artifacts ever since she became queen. But be careful.” She whispered.
“She’s incredibly skilled in magic and has a vault full of stolen magical objects. Each one makes her more dangerous.”
The warning sent a chill down my spine. As if facing the queen wasn’t terrifying enough already.
Brynn took the brown taffeta gown embroidered with delicate white flowers and tiny glass beads down from the shower rod.
The brown dress—the same one Ari had brought when he was wearing Brynn’s face, when he’d manipulated and deceived me.
My stomach turned. The memory of his hands bringing this very gown sent bile rising up my throat.
But looking down at my red sundress discarded onto the floor, I could see it had been practically disintegrating, torn and stained beyond repair. I had no choice.
“Is there anything else I can wear besides that?”
She shook her head. “No. I’m sorry. I think the guards will be here to take you to have an audience with the queen soon. There isn’t time for me to find anything else for you.”
“I understand,” I said quietly, though every fiber of my being rebelled against putting on anything that monster had touched.
Brynn unzipped the gown and pulled it over my head. It fit me perfectly, as if Ari knew my exact measurements, which added a whole new level of horror. The shoes even fit.
She stepped back and admired her handiwork. “You look beautiful.”
“Thank you, but I’d be more comfortable in a T-shirt and a pair of jeans.” The silk felt wrong against my skin—too beautiful, too deliberate. Ari had chosen this. Every inch of fabric was part of his plan, his control. Wearing it felt like letting him dress me up like a doll.
“What are jeans?”
I laughed. Of course she wouldn’t know. “Blue denim trousers.”
“You’re able to wear trousers?” Brynn stared at me like I'd just described flying. Envy and something like longing flickered in her expression. “It’s against the rules in this kingdom.”
“You have a dress code here?”
She lowered her head. “Yes, especially for servants. I’m not allowed to wear anything but what I have on.”
I gasped. They were practically rags. "This is all you have to wear?" The words escaped before I could stop them.
"I have two others just like this. I must keep them clean too."
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean—" Shame heated my cheeks. "If I find a way out of here, I'll take you with me."
She gave me a small smile. "One person escaping is hard, but two people escaping is impossible."
"Your seven brothers did it. Nothing is impossible."
There was a knock at the door. I froze as a creeping doom cut off my breath.
Brynn hurried through the bathroom to the bedroom door.
I peeked through the bathroom door to where a burly guard waited.
Thank god—not Ari. I couldn't have handled his gloating right now, seeing me dressed exactly as he'd planned.
But my relief was short-lived. A guard meant the queen.
I'd have to face her again, stand before her scrutiny wearing this dress like some trophy.
I forced my shoulders back, trying to find courage I didn't feel.
“The queen is ready to talk with the prisoner.”
Prisoner? I knew all too well what happened to prisoners—torture and pain.
She stood back and allowed the guard to view me as I entered the bedroom.
I studied him carefully. What if this was Ari?
What if he was testing me? Watching to see if I'd try to run?
The guard's features were rough, weathered, nothing like Ari's sharp elegance.
But that meant nothing. I studied his eyes, looking for that calculating gleam, that cruel amusement. They were dull, disinterested.
Brynn lowered her gaze. “She’s ready to see the queen.”
“Good. The queen wants you to report to the kitchen immediately. The grease traps and rotting food scraps from the drains need to be cleaned.”
Brynn bowed her head. “Yes, at once.”
My only ally in this terrible place was being taken away, leaving me with a guard who could possibly be taking me to my doom.
I wanted to beg Brynn to stay with me, but that would only put her at risk of punishment.
I’d already hurt people in my world because of my situation—I didn’t want to do the same thing in this world.
“This way,” he said, gesturing toward the hallway.
I could fight. My shadows were unbound now.
I could wrap this guard in darkness, try to run.
But where would I go? The palace was a maze, the portal was sealed, and causing chaos would only make things worse.
No. I needed to face the queen, learn what she wanted, play along until I found a real way out. I followed the guard.
We walked down the hallway, my footsteps echoing, matching the blood thumping between my temples. But then we walked past the grand hall and went down another guarded hallway that ran parallel to it.
Wait—we'd just passed the throne room. My stomach clenched.
Where were we going? This hallway felt different, stripped of decoration.
No pictures, no tapestries. Just bare walls and guards posted at intervals.
It felt wrong. Like a corridor leading to cells, not chambers.
Were they taking me to a dungeon instead?