18. Chapter 18
Regent is standing in the doorway with a giant beam spread across his face, so wide it almost looks fake.
“I have wonderful news!” he exclaims. Upon closer inspection though, I notice his eyes are all puffy and red, as if he’s been crying.
“I’m taking you all to explore the Golden Bazaar, per order of Her Majesty, the queen.
Please do bid your farewells to Priestess Seraphina and follow me at once.
” A little hiccup escapes him, followed by a sniffle as he blows his nose into his handkerchief.
The priestess inflicts Regent with a scalding glare. “We’re not done here.”
“There’s been a change of plans,” Regent counters, stuffing the handkerchief into his pocket and giving it a good pat.
The priestess eyes him suspiciously, her gaze drifting down to his hand. “I thought I was to distract them while you were being punished? Or has she finished chopping off your appendages already?”
Regent holds up his hand. Everyone gasps… even me.
Because three of his fingers are missing.
“She is quite done,” Regent confirms with another sniffle. “For the time being,” he adds with a squeak.
“I see…” the priestess replies, not a hint of empathy in her voice. “Well then, when I am finished with them, you may have them.”
Regent tucks his hand back into his pocket. “The queen has requested your audience immediately, Priestess Seraphina. It is a matter of dire urgency. I have been directed to take these fine ladies to the market while you handle… other business.”
The priestess’s eyes narrow in distrust. “And did she specify why?”
“There’s been another bombing,” Regent says quickly, lowering his voice. “It was the Malgrave Repository. Your assistance is required at once.”
Another bombing?
The priestess seems to consider this, and then her face starts to soften.
She looks years younger once she releases the permanent frown she’d been holding.
“You heard the butler. To the market you go,” she says, tutting under her breath and motioning for us all to leave the room.
“Remember what I taught you.” She grabs Lily by the arm. “Especially you.”
Lily swallows.
Priestess Seraphina releases her, and Lily bolts toward the door.
The rest of us pour out of our seats and follow after her, leaving the priestess behind to sulk in her chair.
It’s not that I particularly want to go anywhere with Regent.
But then again, considering how the Golden Bazaar is in Riverhall, which is far away from this castle, it would be remiss of me not to follow him.
“You all look terribly disheveled,” Regent tuts as we follow him through the arched doorway and down the corridor.
“We wouldn’t look so disheveled had Shadow not gotten us wet,” Lily says, throwing a scowl my way. “She used her secret Stormwielder powers to ruin our lunch.”
“That is tragic Lily,” Regent replies, as he leads us down another winding corridor.
This one is decorated in hand-crafted sailboats, homespun flags, stitched-together fishing nets, and glittering windows shaped like half-moons.
We follow him in weary silence until we reach a dead end, where he spins around and declares, “But not to fret. I think I know just the thing to cheer you up!”
“A high five?” Maxine comments, holding up her hand for Regent to smack. “Or wait…”
“Maxine!” Lily gasps, her cheeks flushing red.
“It’s fine,” Regent says, his shoulders drooping in shame.
“It was wrong of me to allow Master Flint to do what he did. I understand that, and I deserve the punishment I was given.” He looks down at his hand and winces.
“If you must know, I thought I was protecting you all, but I was sorely mistaken.”
“Protecting us by allowing us to be drugged?” I ask.
Regent bobs on his heels nervously. “Master Flint made it seem as if your exposure to those fumes would make you immune to the toxins, which I’ve since learned is false.
The queen… she…” he trails off, squinting his eyes shut.
“She was very angry with me for believing him.” Silence ensues.
Regent exhales, then continues without missing a beat, “Anyway, let’s get to the good news, shall we?
Once we reach the Golden Bazaar, you’ll each be allowed to purchase a single gown of your choosing, which you’ll then wear on your upcoming date with your deity tomorrow night! ”
Lily’s beam spreads across her face.
“Date?” I whisper, my voice falling flat.
“That’s right!” Regent declares. He withdraws a vial of bloodmagic from his pocket and inspects it closely, tapping its glass side, which causes its contents to shimmer like bottled-up stardust. “Now, who's ready to go shopping?”
Lily nods vehemently enough for the four of us combined.
Regent tucks the vial of bloodmagic back into his pocket and says, “The gods send their utmost regards for not treating you to a date sooner, but some things came up. Thankfully, they have vowed that everything should be smoothed out by tomorrow night, which gives you each plenty of time to find a beautiful gown to wear for the occasion.”
As he spins back toward the door, Maxine throws her arm over my shoulder and whispers into my ear, “Any chance you wanna trade dates?”
“Not particularly,” I grunt, shrugging her off.
Although now that I consider it, the idea of being forced into close proximity with any god, let alone that hideous monster named Augustine, makes me want to break something, shatter something, even.
It’s much easier to imagine ripping his heart straight out of his chest and squeezing it until his golden blood is spilling all over my hands than to imagine going on a date with him.
But going on a date with the God of War would be far worse.
“I knew that you fancied him!” Maxine whispers, poking me in the ribcage.
“That’s not true,” I contend with a scowl. “I just dislike your god even more.”
Her smirk instantly dissolves.
“Will the two of you please stop bickering?” Bella hisses, drawing our attention back to the present moment—where Regent seems to be arguing with Lily about her spending limit, and boy, she is giving him an earful.
Now’s our chance to escape, Bella’s eyes seem to say.
I stand at attention, my heartbeat pitter-pattering away.
“—I just don’t understand why there’s even a limit in the first place, all things considered,” Lily complains.
“The limit is to prevent you from bringing the entire market back with you,” Regent says, grabbing the doorknob and giving it a little twist. “Now, the portal to Riverhall is just through this doorway. Follow me, everyone!”
Portal? I didn’t know the castle had portals.
Mid-pull, Maxine blurts out, “Are you sure there won’t be any wolves on the other side?”
“Only lagoons and waterfalls, I’m afraid,” Regent responds with a pause, looking pained.
I’ve always imagined that portals were things of fairytales.
I’ve seen them illustrated in dozens of books seated on the top shelf of the orphanage’s library, always depicted as glittering silver doorways that allow fast travel between far-away lands.
But to witness one first-hand in real life?
Not only that, but to step right through it?
Chills. Literally. I squeeze my eyes shut as the cool mist sweeps over my skin and slips down my throat, filling up my lungs with an icy sensation—akin to the feeling of stepping through Solara.
Portals and astral projections must share the same type of magic, both of them utilizing star dust to carry its user across realms.
I open my eyes, only to find myself standing in an abandoned alleyway on the outskirts of Riverhall, which is seedy and dark, and full of skittering rats and trash cans.
“No, no, no! I did not like that!” Maxine shrieks as she spills into the alleyway behind me. “Nope. No thanks. Never doing that again.”
Bella steps out after her. “That was… incredible.”
“I beg to differ!” Maxine snaps. “No one warned me that portaling would feel like being trapped in a spider’s web.
And I hate spiders. So there really should’ve been some kind of forewarning, Regent.
” She plucks something off her tongue, then gets to work on combing her fingers through her hair, glaring at Regent as if it’s his fault she’s stuck with untangling the invisible webs.
“How long does it take for the creepy crawly sensation to go away?” she asks, her eyes wide with terror. Meanwhile, the door spits Lily out.
“The after-effects of portaling last only a few minutes,” Regent reassures her.
“—DON’T WANT TO DIE!” Lily screeches as she tumbles to the ground. Her hands hit the cobblestone, and she looks up at us, a bead of sweat forming on her brow. “I, erm…” she trails off, cheeks flushing red. “I think I might’ve overreacted a smidge.”
“A smidge?” Bella deadpans.
I reach out a hand to help her to her feet. She takes it.
“Well yeah. It felt like I was free-falling through time and space,” she goes on, brushing off her clothes.
“I saw this big, gaping black hole, and I thought that was the end for me. You know? But then it swallowed me up and spit me back out here… with you guys. Quite the strange turn of events.” She leans against the doorway with her hand, only for her palm to collide with brick.
“Wait. What happened to the magical door?” she asks, spinning around in a full circle to find it.
“It was just here.” She pats the wall again like she’s trying to compel the door to reappear.
“This isn’t funny. How are we supposed to get back to the castle if the door is missing?
Why is no one else panicking about this? ”
I peer down the dark alleyway and shrug.
Because we’re free, Dummy.