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And we were all dispensable to the horrid Queen I was hurrying to see.
I’d stopped briefly at my home on Premier Street to bathe and dress properly, and I’d indulged in a short nap.
The journey from Aralia had been long, and I’d barely stopped for food, much less rest. Kana would need me - or at least my information. I had to tell her what I knew before she uncovered my role in this gobbelin mess.
Once she understood what I’d kept from her, she might never accept my help again. And she would need it.
Dressed in a smart, beautifully tailored suit, I made my way to the palace with as much haste as I could manage while still appearing to be the dignified and unhurried character I’d played for so long.
“Monsieur Saint Laurent, it’s a pleasure to have you back in court,” some puffy-faced noble said to me. I bowed my head politely, not bothering to greet him. I needed the princess, not Merden’s court.
But when I had bypassed the many halls and formal areas, entering the long corridor where the competitors were housed, I noticed an odd absence of guards. The hallway was quiet, and when I grew a tiny vine from my fingertips and picked the lock, I found Kana’s rooms were empty and stale.
Where had they gone? Surely the next Trial hadn’t already begun.
I hurried to the window, only just now looking up at the triple moons of Haret. Seeing them closer to half full than round, I cursed and smacked my fist on the glass.
Was I too late? I had to learn the specifics of this new Trial.
Glamoring myself to be invisible, I sprinted on silent, practiced feet back toward the main banquet halls, checking each room until I found Merden and her merry band of drunken nobles.
They seemed to be celebrating something, but then, they always looked like this.
Kana’s father sat alone on his throne, bleary-eyed and dazed, while Merden danced and flirted with any noble who dared enter her circle. There were no competitors in the crowd.
I stepped back into the hallway, crossing behind a door before letting go of my invisibility glamor and striding back inside as Monsieur Saint Laurent, wealthy and mysterious vampire noble.
Several of the attending nobles greeted me loudly, and Merden caught my attention from across the room. She sneered a greeting, obviously still not impressed with the fact that I’d chosen to sponsor the princess. It was only offset by the generous donation I’d made, through the machinations of the second Trial.
Merden didn’t know where I got my coin, and that made it all the more satisfying to fill her coffers with it.
“You’ve been absent from my court,” she accused, and I bowed low, hiding my impatience.
“My apologies, my Queen. Business called me away, though I will always prefer the comforts of home.”
“Well, you’ve missed the beginning of the Trial of the Flower Moon, but perhaps you’d enjoy a tour of the competitors’ misery?” She cackled, and everyone in earshot laughed obligingly.
“What glorious tests have you created for them this time?” I asked, playing the role I’d agreed to long before Kana ever stepped foot back in Saori Sang.
“The poor, lost souls. Well, they’re lost! Their will, their way, their might, and their fright - all rattling around in the largest labyrinth Saori Sang has ever built!” Merden crowed the obviously practiced words, though all her noble friends hung on every word as though this was the first time she’d mentioned it to them.
“A labyrinth?” I repeated, wondering where in Haret she’d had time and space to build that without me noticing. Perhaps I’d been a little more involved with the princess than I’d realized.
“Four teams of three - one poor girl was murdered before it even started, most likely by my niece - and each of them dropped into a quarter of the maze. One team will battle the poisonous plants of Haret, and another has every creature and animal we could find. Even some of your Aralian fairies! They’re quite spectacular. The third and fourth section are the beautiful brainchildren of my favorite fae and mage - they’re right over there - who used their magic to create all the great myths and historic events of our great city, come to life for the contestants to enjoy.”
The crowd laughed cruelly, and my stomach lurched as I thought of all the possible ways to die in such a place.
Not to mention...
Beneath the stench of drink and sweaty bodies, I caught something ancient and evil, and I felt all the blood drain from my face. I muttered something that might have been appropriate to Merden and turned away, caught in the sudden terror that a gobbelin had beat me to the palace.
It wouldn’t blend in, of course.
They didn’t have glamor like fae, and they weren’t beautiful, either. They were hideous and large.
It would be impossible for one to hide in here, yet that smell...
Slipping to the edge of the crowd, I blended into the shadows before dissolving my form into invisibility glamor again. Rushing through the room, I checked behind every curtain and beneath each table, weaving carefully between the guests.
