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“But you clearly still have your magic, even if you did have a blackened lake.”
I cocked my head. “Clearly.” I wasn’t going to outright ask for water samples from this guard, but I wanted someone to understand that we were not just here for pleasantries. Or a lack of them.
He let out a long sigh. “I will see if Amory is free.”
I shook my head. “No thank you. I think you should take me and my confidant to her. That way if sheisavailable, we are already there.”
“It’s your own neck you’re risking, prince.”
I let my magic flare and crawl up to my neck. “My neck will be fine. If I had wanted a trip without risks, I wouldn’t exactly have chosen Dra Skor first on the list, now would I?”
“Fine,” he snapped, gesturing for another guard down the hallway.
“Splendid,” I offered while trying not to sound too sarcastic.
I gave Emric a nod where he was leaning up against the doorframe to my room.
Halikaara castle was enormous. I had no idea if you put Dra Skor’s and Wylan’s castles side by side which was bigger, I just knew they were both plenty large. The aspect about Halikaara I could not get past was the height of the ceilings. I was tall, yet I felt like a boy beneath them.
Two guards went ahead of us, much faster than we were being led by two other guards. I was sure they were giving everyone else a heads up that we were out of our rooms. I was annoyed by that, but I was so glad to not be sitting around in my room that I’d take it.
As we turned one hallway, I thought I caught a glimpse of fur. Emric’s eyes met mine, and I knew he felt it too. Yet neither of our magic had flared, mine not even slightly, so whatever creature that had been likely wasn’t a threat to us. Right now, anyway.
Even just that gave me a thrill of excitement. We had been in a foreign country for going on six days now. We knew Dra Skor’s Enchantment was wrapped in their creatures, we just hadn’t seen any yet. Granted we were likely only seeing what they wanted us to see, but it was time to really see Dra Skor, not just the inside of rooms.
It took the better part of a half an hour to get to wherever we needed to be.
The guard I had spoken to rapped three sharp knocks on one of two tall white double doors. The doors again ran the height of the ceiling, which towered over me at least fifteen feet.
“Yes?”
“The Wylan visitors have asked for an audience.”
I noted he forgot to add that I was a prince nor gave me any royal title. Though at this point, their slights and disrespect were more usual than not.
“I am busy,” was the response.
“That was wh?—”
I cut him off. “I understand, Miss, that you are likely very busy. Just please understand that we came here not only to mend a rift between our two countries, but also to help. We showed up unannounced to ensure our own safety and understand we did not allow you the proper time to prepare for a visit, however, we have been more than patient and willing to wait. I would have assumed that six days was a long enough time to arrange even the shortest of meetings with the queen, or in the very least, was long enough to show ample disrespect.”
“One moment,” the voice responded coolly. And then finally, “Show them in.”
As the doors opened slowly, I saw that we were being taken to a library. A very large library. It was so vast that John was going to be kicking himself all day for not being able to see it. But if we played our cards right, maybe it wouldn’t be the only time we were let out of our rooms during this foolish trip we found ourselves on.
“Your Highness,” the woman gave a slight bow. She had shoulder length pure white hair even though she looked roughly our ages, and I immediately noted the dark circles under her brown eyes. She was Enchanted.
Emric’s eyes hit mine. That had to be the first bow I’d received since arriving at the castle, and I had a feeling it only happened because I had already tossed out the word disrespect.
“You must be Amory?” I asked. “My apologies if you have a title or go by your surname or anything else.”
“Amory is acceptable.”
Which was fine, except that gave us zero indication of her status or role to the queen.
“This is Emric Whitman, a fellow dignitary and also a longtime friend.”
She gestured to a couch and sitting area next to the fireplace which was positioned into a wall filled floor to ceiling with books. And considering the height of the ceilings, it was a substantial number of books. There were also huge windows and two doors along one wall leading to a balcony, which gave the library plenty of light, and an airy feel. One of the doors out to the large balcony was open slightly, the smell of incoming rain on the air.
