Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
Alice walked in silence, her heart pounding like a drum caught in a storm.
Every step down the shadowed forest path brought her closer to something unknown—something that made her stomach twist with fear.
The enchanted cuffs hanging from Isha’s belt shimmered faintly with power.
She didn’t need to touch them to know they would drain her completely.
Geoff walked beside her, his jaw tight, eyes flicking between her and his older brother. He was barely holding it together. She could feel the tension radiating off him like heat from a forge.
Then Isha stopped.
Without warning, he turned and stepped toward her, lifting his hand. The magical restraints hovered in the air between them.
“Move, Geoff,” Isha ordered.
“No!” Geoff growled, moving faster than Alice could react. He stepped in front of her, blocking Isha’s path. “She said she’d come peacefully. You don’t need those.”
“I said move,” Isha snapped, his hand glowing with authority and magic.
Geoff didn’t budge. “I won’t let you chain her like she’s dangerous. She hasn’t done anything wrong.”
Isha’s eyes narrowed—and then, in a blur, his hand shot out. The powerful, magical blow landed hard, knocking Geoff to the ground.
“Geoff!” Alice cried, dropping beside him.
He groaned, blood trailing from the corner of his mouth.
“No!” she shouted, covering him with her body. “Please—please don’t hurt him. I’ll go. I’ll wear the cuffs if that’s what it takes.”
“Enough!” Marina’s voice cracked through the tension like lightning. “Isha, stop this. She’s a girl, not a weapon.”
“So was Magna, and look what she did,” Isha bit out.
Isha stared at them, chest heaving, his face carved from stone. The cuffs hovered in the air, pulsing with quiet threat.
“I’ll go,” Alice repeated, her voice softer now. She turned to Geoff, gently cupping his cheek, her thumb brushing the blood away from his lip. “It’s okay,” she whispered. “I understand. He’s afraid. You told me what happened before… with the other alien.”
Geoff shook his head, fury and helplessness flashing in his eyes. “This isn’t right.”
“But it’s happening,” she murmured. “Let me do this. Please.”
Marina stepped forward and pulled the cuffs toward her. “I’ll keep an eye on her,” she said firmly, glancing at Isha with a look that warned him not to push further.
Erin knelt beside Geoff, her fingers glowing softly as she healed the split in his lip. “Sorry,” she whispered. “He doesn’t mean to be cruel. He’s just… being Isha.”
Geoff muttered a quiet thanks and stood, his movements stiff with barely checked anger.
“If she threatens Queen Magika, I won’t show her any mercy,” Isha warned.
“Get a grip. She’s not going to hurt anyone. Even Elder liked her,” Geoff retorted.
Isha stood taut, his eyes glowing as he stared at Alice. “I swore an oath to protect the king and queen. I let them down once. I will not risk it happening again.”
“I understand. I do,” Alice murmured.
A nerve pulsed in Isha’s jaw before he gave a curt nod, twisted, and began walking again. The group was silent, the only sounds the soft crush of leaves underfoot and the occasional whisper of wind through the trees.
Alice kept her eyes on the path ahead, trying not to think about what would happen next.
“Have you heard anything… about my friends?” she finally asked, her voice fragile in the heavy silence.
Isha didn’t answer.
Marina’s eyes softened slightly. “Who else was with you?”
Before Alice could reply, Isha barked, “You should remain silent.”
Marina pursed her lips. “You’re being paranoid, Isha.”
“We all should be,” Isha said without looking at her. “Queen Magika will decide what to do with the girl once we reach the village. She’s arrived through an unsanctioned portal. That is a punishable offense.”
Alice winced and glanced at Geoff. His face was unreadable now—locked behind walls she hadn’t seen before. But when he looked at her, his eyes softened. She offered him a crooked smile, hoping he couldn’t see the fear trembling behind it.
And then she saw it—through the thinning trees ahead.
A clearing.
As they stepped into the open, her breath caught.
A valley opened before them, wide and rolling like a quilt of green and gold.
Nestled in its heart was a village that shimmered with magic.
Delicate spires twisted like tree branches into the sky, rooftops glowed with gentle hues, and lanterns hung in the air as if suspended by thought alone.
Vines of crystal light curled up the buildings, pulsing like heartbeat threads in a living tapestry.
But it wasn’t just the beauty of the place that stole her breath.
It was the energy.
Alive. Thrumming. Singing in waves that danced across her skin like fireflies on a summer night.
It made her ache—with longing, with hope, with the sudden sting of homesickness and wonder.
She paused, one hand lifting instinctively to her heart.
“Wow,” she whispered.
Whatever came next, whatever Queen Magika decided…
At least for this one moment, surrounded by energy unlike anything she had ever known—
She remembered what it felt like to believe in wonder.
The path curved gently down into the village, and as Alice stepped past the last of the trees, she felt it—the energy.
It brushed her fingertips like warm silk.
A thread of light touched her skin—and didn’t vanish.
It lingered.
Her breath caught. She yearned to lift her hands, to weave the thread between her fingers like a ribbon of starlight, but a sharp glance from Isha froze her in place.
Not yet.
Houses rose like living sculptures from the valley floor, their walls glowing faintly with enchantment, rooftops adorned in drifting vines of light.
Suspended lanterns floated lazily through the air, ready to cast golden ripples along the cobbled paths after dark.
Everywhere she looked, she saw life infused with magic—beautiful, breathtaking… and wary.
Shadows shifted. Doors opened. One by one, the villagers stepped out.
Dozens of eyes turned toward her.
Alice could feel their fear before she saw it in their faces—curious, cautious, and edged with the bitter scent of old pain.
“We’ve rebuilt everything after the alien was defeated,” Geoff murmured beside her, his voice low. “The village… even with magic, it took years. We lost so many to the darkness. Everyone… they remember.”
Alice’s gaze dropped to the path, her heart heavy with sudden sorrow. She thought of the old stories—the war between the Valdier, Curizan, and Sarafin. A time when even her father had been young and full of fury. A time when trust had shattered and whole worlds had nearly been lost.
Peace had come—but barely. Even now, she knew there were still whispers, threats hiding in the shadows.
Her dad didn’t speak of it often, but she had learned to listen between the silences. To understand the weight of his caution. The secret meetings with her uncles.
The idea of having to hate someone she cared about—someone like Bálint—made her heart twist in a way that felt almost too painful to bear.
Her vision blurred. Tears burned behind her eyes.
She blinked them back.
These people were afraid of her. She couldn’t blame them. She tried to imagine what it must have been like when the first Valdier or Sarafin visited Ceran-Pax. She would have been suspicious and terrified.
But she could choose who she wanted to be. She could show them that she wasn’t a threat.
Lifting her chin, she pulled her shoulders back and took a steadying breath.
I am Alice Ha’darra, Curizan princess. A daughter of peace. A bridge between worlds. A representative of my people.
The energy swirled around her again—gentle, insistent. She opened her senses and listened.
Colors burst like fireworks around her. Gold and sapphire, deep green and violet—a mixture of the soft pastels of magic and the vibrant colors of pure energy.
Vibrations thrummed through her, resonating in her bones.
The cadence of the energy moved through her like a song she had always known but had forgotten until now.
And suddenly… she understood.
Not how to command it—but how to invite it. How to speak to it in a language that was both her own and unique to this world.
The veil between them—between her and the energy—lifted.
It flooded her senses.
The hum of the village rose around her as people gasped. Threads of magic coiled up her arms and shimmered across her skin. Her body heated at the villagers’ stares, but she ignored them. Their awed whispers danced around her like the glow bugs from back home.
“Isha…” Marina’s hushed voice snapped through the stillness.
Isha spun.
His eyes locked on Alice—and widened in alarm.
Alice’s hair stirred in the invisible current. Her skin glowed with an inner light. Power crackled along her arms, luminous and breathtaking.
“Isha, no!” Geoff choked out, his voice raw as he stepped toward her.
Isha’s low hiss, barely audible above the humming of his sword, was lost in the air.
A blinding arc of energy crackled along the blade, a hum of power vibrating in the air.
Marina’s shout cut through the cacophony of alarms blaring around Alice, who remained completely unaware.
A wave of warmth washed over her as she basked in the beautiful, vibrant energy, feeling it flow through every inch of her body.
Alice’s heart pounded. Her instincts took over.
Geoff reached her at the same instant Isha raised his weapon.
“No!” he shouted, wrapping his arms around her waist and twisting to shield her with his body as magic flared out of his back. At the same time, Alice raised her hand.
Their energies merged.
A glowing shield snapped into place, doming around them in a cocoon of light. The burst from Isha’s blade slammed into the barrier—and shattered into harmless sparks.
Geoff turned to her, stunned.
She smiled, breathless. “I think I’m starting to get the hang of it.”
Geoff choked out a laugh. “Yeah, I think you might be.”
Alice’s eyes were drawn to the regal figure of a woman as she stepped from the open doorway of a grand white stone hall.
Queen Magika.
Her lavender robes fluttered in the wind. Her dark curls lifted in the swirling magic. Her eyes—brilliant and ancient—locked onto Alice with a flash of startled curiosity.
Alice barely had time to register the Queen’s presence before Geoff’s arms tightened around her.
“I wish I could take you away,” he whispered.
Alice turned her head, her eyes shimmering with power. “Where?”
“Anywhere that would keep you safe.”
Her eyelashes fluttered and Alice swore her heart thumped out an uneven rat-ta-ta when Geoff lowered his head.
Her mind flashed to Bálint, wondering if his kisses would be any different. As their lips met, pure energy surged around them—and they vanished.