All the paperwork was going to have to wait because it was time for this entity to meet the Gold and Garnet King.
And die.
CHAPTERTWO
NYX
I tuggedon my ruined dress, my lips curling down at the sides.
One minute, I’d been scouting the magical bar for my medallion, and the next, I’d woken up covered in dust and buried beneath a bunch of stones.
It’d taken a little finagling, but I’d managed to pull enough energy into my being to shadow myself out of the rubble. Then I’d realized there were others who had been caught up in the explosion. Rather than leave them, I’d helped unearth them.
Unfortunately, there’d been two who’d been too close to the blast. I’d tried to revive them, but I’d failed.
The others would survive, though.
Once they woke up.
My lips twisted to the side as I tried to find the source of the enchanted blast. I’d followed a strand of power to this place, hoping it would lead me to my lost medallion, but I no longer felt any trace of it or the energy source I’d been tracking.
Stars, I thought, blowing out a breath. As much as I liked this colorfully charmed realm, I really wanted my ticket out. Just in case I decided to leave.
While I enjoyed the magical sensations warming the air, I wasn’t keen on the underlying tension from some of the regions. Especially the area known as Fire and Fluorite—a name I’d picked up through my travels.
It seemed the usual country names had been replaced in this realm with affiliations to certain “Houses.” A unique way to govern the world, but of course, everything about this reality was unique.
There were portals in various areas that led to specific lands, too. I’d considered passing through one, just to see where it went, but the magical doorways were heavily guarded. And I wasn’t quite ready to make my presence fully known.
Not after the warm welcome I’d received, anyway. I’d kept to myself since, trying to learn the rules and laws of the land. But some of these inhabitants were downright rude.
I’d been called several vulgar names, all of them linked to me being “Houseless.” Which was how I’d learned about their various regions and the hierarchy within them. Apparently, it was considered unsavory not to join a House. They offered protection to those within their territory.
But I didn’t need protection, something I’d tried to explain on countless occasions. Yet the beings who’d approached me had taken my words as a challenge more than a rule, and I’d been forced to defend myself.
Maybe if I found a House I liked, I would consider joining.
Alas, I hadn’t been all that impressed yet.
Spirit and Sapphire was the House that had attacked me upon arrival, so no, thank you. I would not be staying with them.
Besides, they had an imposter calling himself Odin. As I knew therealOdin, I didn’t have much of a desire to meet the fake version.
Fire and Fluorite was filled with deceitful leadership who continued to usurp one another. Not interested.
Air and Amethyst had just undergone some sort of political upheaval that I wanted no part of, despite their king being a Moonlight Wraith.
Sea and Serpentine primarily existed in bodies of water, and I preferred land.
Blood and Beryl had intrigued me with its vampire king and hybrid wolf-vampire queen, but its close proximity to Fire and Fluorite left me uneasy.
But the vampire prospect had made me skip Earth and Emerald and come straight here to investigate Gold and Garnet.
Except this area had apparently just been claimed by a new House, Death and Diamond. And from what I understood, it’d been an amicable agreement.
A vampire king with a penchant for diplomacy?I’d thought.Hmm.
Except then I’d sensed a familiar surge of magic, and I’d come rushing here.
