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“It’s a unique obstacle,” I spin it positively. “A trick. We’ve been up against worse.”
Cheering draws our attention to the back of the room, and through some of the shifting guests, I catch a glimpse of Torius standing next to one of the thrones. His black hair, silver-green eyes, and tattooed face makes me homesick because he’s so familiar.
Grabbing Ro’s hand, I lead her in that direction. I stealthily weave around the people in the crowd, trying not to merge with anyone. It doesn’t matter if we do. We could walk straight through the bodies if we wanted to, but it just seems too unnatural.
Once we’re at the front, our view is unobstructed, and my eyes fall to the little girl sitting on the main throne.
Princess Danyetta and Torius have a daughter.
The proud parents are standing on either side of the princess, and she’s the spitting image of her mother with her long brown hair and sweet face. She’s excitedly swinging her dangling feet, making her green silk dress swish about her legs. On her head, she wears a sparkly paper crown with the number ‘5’ sticking up.
Music comes from a string quartet that’s playing a quiet, jaunty tune from the far-right corner.
When the song finishes up a few seconds later, King Kirian emerges from a small crowd with Queen Quinn at his side.
“Excuse me,” he calls, and all the talking stops. With his mate on his arm, he steps over to Princess Danyetta, Torius, and the little girl. “Thank you for coming here to celebrate Princess Greenlee’s birthday. It means a lot to us. Cake will be served first. After the presents are opened, there will be dancing. Please enjoy yourselves.”
Princess Greenlee scrambles from the throne to run to her place at the head of the table.
A second later, a cook comes out of the kitchen with a five-tier cake covered in white icing. It’s decorated with fondant dragonflies, bees, and other insects. Lit candles flicker on top.
As everyone else takes their seats, I recognize other faces.
Prince Cassidy and Prince Caspian. The twin brothers were teenage boys when I last saw them. Now, they’re grown men in their early twenties.
King Keryth and Queen Zella, King Kirian’s parents, are in attendance as well. They sit by the twins.
Next, King Damon, Queen Whitley, and their children come in from outside on the patio, along with Astrid, the Dream Realm’s royal witch.
Behind them, King Zander and Queen Maelyn are with their son Prince Maverick.
Ro whimpers at the sight of her loved ones. Squeezing my hand, she takes a step forward like she wants to go to them, but she stops because it would be futile.
“What a special kind of hell this is,” she laments, “to be in the same room with people you desperately want to talk to, but they can’t see or hear you.”
I lightly scratch her back to soothe her, but I refrain from saying anything to reassure her because it feels like I would be invalidating her pain. She’s still reeling from the previous challenge. Her emotional wounds are fresh, and I’m not going to tell her not to be sad.
“Zander looks so… so depressed.” Ro stares at her son with helplessness, and she’s right.
The Day king does seem downtrodden, more so than usual.
He often comes across as grumpy or dissatisfied because strong emotions can cause him to shift into his griffin form. Just like me, he’s careful with his smiles.
But the frown on his face is different than what I’m used to when it comes to him.
He’s tired. Tired of missing two very important members of his household. It must be difficult to attend merry events when he has no idea what has happened to his mother or daughter.
And King Zander isn’t the only one who’s been damaged by this. Prince Maverick, who I remember to be a cheerful kid, has become a serious young man. Queen Maelyn is between them with her arms looped through their elbows, like she’s literally holding the family together.
However, there is one wonderful silver lining that can’t be ignored—all the royals of the realms are here, and once every guest is seated, Ro sighs wistfully. “No wonder the young princess’s birthday is such a grand event. It’s not just about her turning another year older—this is a celebration of unity and peace.”
“You’ll see it for real,” I promise her. “Someday soon, you’ll get to be at parties such as this. We’re almost done, Sunny.”
She gives me a smile that doesn’t reach her eyes, but her trust in me is strong, and I can tell my encouragement has calmed her.
The musicians start to play the birthday song, and Princess Greenlee stands on her chair so she’s tall enough to blow out her candles.
Everyone sings.
