Rolling down the street in the back of the carriage, she could feel the bones in her hand begin to move. Somewhere very far away, she knew she should be in pain, but she wasn’t, or more precisely, she didn’t seem to care.
Erato drove the carriage into the courtyard of a beautiful house and escorted her inside. A staff of ten met her in the foyer. They treated her like a queen, bowing and averting their eyes as if she might bite. She would have giggled except nothing seemed real.
One of the servants led her to a lavishly decorated room with a bed even bigger and softer than the one she’d left behind in Fellenden. The last thing she remembered was the servant helping her take off her boots. Then she woke to the light of dawn.
At first she didn’t even notice. Then it hit her; her hand was healed. It didn’t hurt anymore-not even a little bit. A weight lifted and sudden relief washed over her. She had tried to come to terms with her injury, but all she’d really done was deny the crippling nature of it, until now. Now that her hand was healed, the fear of lifelong suffering she might have endured faded away, leaving only gratitude.
She opened the door leading from her bedroom with a smile and found a young woman waiting for her there.
“Would you like a hot bath, My Lady?”
Lacy closed her eyes, trying not to cry. It had been so long since she’d felt safe, let alone clean. She nodded enthusiastically.
***
“My dear Princess, you are a vision of loveliness,” Phane said with a wide smile and a deep bow.
She had spent the day surrounded by dozens of servants as they fussed over her new dress. In her former life, Lacy would have thoroughly enjoyed the attention, but now, after all that had happened, it seemed so unnecessary, so frivolous.
People were dying and she was being pampered like a princess. She had tried to just accept the first dress offered, but the seamstress would have none of it. After several hours of trying on dozens of dresses, Lacy found herself caught up in the process like her old self, only to have reality return with a jolt of guilt.
She was a princess. And that had taken on a whole new meaning. In the past, her title had meant that everything she wanted was offered, that everything she needed was provided, that she needn’t lift a finger in her own service. Now she understood. Her station was not a privilege but a sacred burden, a duty to preserve and protect her people no matter the cost to herself.
While Captain Erato drove the carriage to Prince Phane’s banquet hall, Lacy reminded herself to be cautious. All evidence to the contrary, she couldn’t help feeling that events were out of her control, that there was some larger game being played and that she didn’t understand the rules.
The banquet hall was magnificent. Crystal chandeliers filled the long, high room with light, and minstrels filled the air with music over the murmur of the crowd. At a glance, most of the men in the room appeared to be Regency officers and the women, their wives.
The evening started with a receiving line, Phane leading her past each and every officer in attendance. By the time they were seated, Lacy’s head was swirling with new names and faces. The officers were mostly dour and serious men, many wearing battle scars like badges of honor. Their wives were another matter. Lacy was ashamed to realize that she saw much of her former self in them. None of them seemed the least bit interested in the historic events unfolding across the Seven Isles, focusing instead on clothes and jewelry, gossip, and their husband’s place in the pecking order.
The meal was elaborate and long, each course an attempt to showcase the wealth of her host, though she had to admit, some of the food was quite good. Mostly, Lacy endured the evening, biding her time until she could speak with Phane alone and make her case for transport to Ithilian.
Her time came late in the evening after all of the courses had been served and the guests were mingling. Phane drew her aside and offered her a glass of warm liqueur that smelled of cinnamon. They sat in a pair of comfortable chairs in an alcove off to the side of the banquet hall.
Phane smiled disarmingly. “I trust the cuisine was to your liking,” he said.
“Everything was delicious. I wanted to thank you for healing my hand. I’ve been in pain for so long that I forgot what if feels like to be whole.”
“You are most welcome,” Phane said. “If I may ask, what led you to leave Fellenden?”
Lacy’s mind raced. She realized once again that she was out of her depth and had made no plans for questions like this one. While Phane had been nothing but kind and hospitable, she couldn’t help remembering all of the old stories about the Reishi Prince, how he had brought down whole kingdoms with a well-placed lie. She wasn’t ready to trust him with her greatest secret, even though she suspected that he already knew all about it.
“I was fleeing Zuhl’s soldiers,” she said. “When they came, my father sent me to Ithilian, hoping I would be safe there, but I never made it. Zuhl captured me and Drogan at sea. I’d all but given up when your warships rescued us.”
“That must have been such an awful ordeal,” Phane said. “I’m just grateful that my people were in a position to help you.”
“Me too. Thank you,” Lacy said, pausing to gather her courage before making her request. “I need to get to Ithilian. Will you help me?”
“Of course, of course. It’s just that the oceans are very dangerous right now. Between Zuhl’s fleet and the Reishi Protectorate Navy, not to mention the pirates of Tyr, I wouldn’t be able to guarantee your safety. At least, not yet anyway.”
“What do you mean?”
“Oh, I’ve been building warships all winter, but my fleet isn’t quite ready yet. Once it is, I’ll be able to send you to Ithilian aboard an armada capable of fending off any of our enemies.”
Lacy frowned, staring into her rapidly cooling drink. It sounded so plausible.
“You spoke of something dark chasing you,” Phane prodded gently.
Lacy nodded, her mind focusing on the next lie she was going to tell. “When the soldiers came, they offered us peace if my father would give me over to them. He refused, and I think that made Zuhl mad. He’s sent soldiers, dragons, and demons after me ever since. One in particular is especially terrifying. It took control of the wizard I was traveling with and eventually killed him. It said its name is Rankosi.”
Phane sat forward urgently, slightly wild-eyed. “Hush. Don’t ever speak that name aloud … it can hear you,” he whispered, scanning the room.
“What do you mean?” Lacy asked, fear flooding into her belly.
“The creature you speak of is terribly dangerous,” Phane said, shaking his head in dismay. “If Zuhl can summon a shade, then things are much worse than I feared.”
“What’s a shade?”
“There are three of them, brothers, agents of the netherworld, lieutenants of the Master himself,” Phane whispered. “Sadly, my father used them to terrible effect in the war. Of all the things he ever summoned from the depths of darkness, the shades were the worst. If Zuhl has discovered the means of summoning such a creature, then he’s become far more powerful than I thought.”
“Can you defeat him?” Lacy asked.
“I don’t know,” Phane said after a long pause, shaking his head sadly. “I’m doing all that I can to stand against his unprovoked aggression, but his army is vast and his power … well, I just don’t know.”
“But there must be a way,” Lacy said. “So many people are suffering. There has to be a way.”
“I know how you feel,” Phane said, swallowing his sadness with visible effort. “I’d like to show you something.” He stood, pausing to collect his emotions before opening his Wizard’s Den, taking her by the hand and leading her into the little room.
“This is a very special mirror, made for me as a gift a long time ago. With it, I can see across great distances.” He touched the frame and the surface of the mirror shimmered. He concentrated and the image came into focus over Fellenden, rapidly narrowing in on the capital city. Lacy gasped when she saw the scope of destruction that had befallen her home, but then the image came into focus again and she put her hand over her mouth, tears falling from her eyes when she saw her brother.