The Kingdom of “Bane”
Waking Up in the Wrong Place
I sat up in bed, panting like I’d been running for my life.Why do I feel like I’ve given that exposition before?At least it didn’t feel like I’d been stabbed this time.
This time … what was this time? Why did I think there were other times?
Next there’s going to be a knock on the door.
Before I’d even finished the thought, the casual thump of Dad’s fist followed and he called out, “Trey? Time for breakfast.”
I scrambled off the bed and ripped the door open.
Dad had already turned to walk away, and he jumped in surprise as the door slammed against the wall. He spun on his heel, hands outstretched to either help me or defend against an attack. When all he saw was me leaning out the doorframe, still wearing my pajamas, he relaxed.
“Where are we right now?” I demanded.
He blinked several times in confusion, then looked at the guard standing outside my bedroom.
A familiar guard. In a familiar hall. Because I’d woken up inmyfamiliar bedroom.
Why did that seem wrong?
“We’re home,” Dad said slowly, then added more details, “The main castle of Bane. It’s about eight o’clock in the morning.”
“What day is it?”
Dad stared at me blankly, then waved his hand in the air. “You know, I can’t remember, but it feels midweek. It’s midweek, right?”
The guard shrugged.
“When did we return from Misfortune?”
“Misfortune,” Dad repeated slowly. “I haven’t been to Misfortune in almost twenty-two years. Gods, why’d you make me admit that? Now I feel old.”
“But we were just—” I stopped myself. Were we just there? The knowledge seemed so clear in my mind, but no memories accompanied it. Logically, it would take a week to travel there and another to travel back. If I’d somehow been unconscious that whole time, I should have a wound to show for it, and Dad would be much happier to see me awake.
Dad watched me quietly for a while, giving me time to pick up the sentence I’d abandoned. After a full minute passed, he asked, “Bad dream?”
“Not bad, just … odd.”
“Do you want to talk about it? Perhaps over breakfast? Because I’m starving and your father is waiting.”
I nodded absentmindedly and started to follow Dad down the hall, but he held up a hand to stop me, lips quirked in amusement as he scanned my pajamas and bare feet. “You should probably change first.”
Properly dressed now, I poked at my scrambled eggs, shifting them around on my plate without taking a bite. Had everything been a dream? Traveling in a carriage with Kit and Delilah. A cozy sitting room crowded with books and faceless strangers. The memories had the same liquid quality of dreams. Solid until I tried to pour them out and examine them, then the details slipped through my fingers, lost forever.
“We were meeting in Misfortune … to discuss the Kingdom Defense Spell.”
The loud scrape of a fork against a plate drew my attention to the front of the table. Father stared at me with wide, concerned eyes. “What did you say?”
Dad paused with a glass tipped toward his lips. Juice dripped slowly over the edge of the glass, staining his front. When he finally realized, he swore and slammed the glass down, sloshing juice all over the table.
Father gave Dad a fond look of exasperation and handed him a napkin to clean up his mess.
“My dream.” That still didn’t feel right, but I didn’t have a better explanation. “It was about the meeting in Misfortune between the five kingdoms to discuss the Kingdom Defense Spell.”
“How did you know about the meeting?” Father asked.
