by Anna LaVerne
I stare the basket down. It is like I expect one of the red apples to sprout appendages and attack me with a tiny knife. I stifle a laugh at my imagination. The only part I am certain is right, is that this fruit basket isn’t ordinary. I see faint waves of energy around it. There is no color within the energy. Instead it appears to hang around the basket, thick and masterfully concealed.
Leaning over the table I hold my hand inches above the basket feeling it. I have no clue how the magic works. I don’t know if it is mystic or if it is some kind of mage spell, or maybe it is alchemy. Science. This isn’t a mystic or mage spell, I would see both more clearly than this.
Alchemy is so foreign to me. I try to run what little I know of alchemy through my head. All I know is it is the ability to change everyday items into something else with little or no magic.
Do I touch it? I shouldn’t touch it, but it is hard for me not want to touch the basket of fruit. Using what little sense I have, I shake my head and pull my arm away. This is from Celeste. No one should touch it. It needs to be removed or destroyed. Celeste is a fan of poisons. She wanted me dead in Cargil, and she still wants me dead in Lorcan.
I spin around heading back into my room. Grabbing a pillow off the bed, I walk over to the drooling islander and slap him over the head with it. I am angry. Someone made it into my rooms and left a basket with who knows what in it.
Manu grunts and reacts by jumping to his feet with wild eyes and wrapping a massive hand around my neck. As soon as his eyes focus and he sees it is me, he lets go. I then smack him in the head again with a pillow.
“What in the world is wrong with you, woman?” he asks.
“Why are you sleeping in my room and not out there?” I point to the sitting room.
“They told me to watch you. I am watching you. If anyone came in here, I would have woken up,” he retorts.
“I showered, got dressed and walked into the sitting room without you ever noticing!” my voice quivers with frustration.
“Are you really mad because I took a nap? I am a human man, I have to sleep.”
“I'm mad because someone left a cursed or poisoned, or I don't know what, basket of fruit in the sitting room for me! If you had been out there, you would have heard them clearing the table!”
I rear back to hit him with the pillow one more time for good measure, but Manu catches my wrist in the air. His eyes darken with a mix of anger and lust. The stupid mark on his shoulder is making us both crazy. Once I gave in to Rhett, the tension stilled some, maybe I need to give in to Manu.
I take a step closer to him as he holds on to my wrist, and then I take another until his face is inches from mine. “I barely know you, but you are a weakness to me. I don’t like weakness,” Manu says, his lips almost brushing mine.
He is right, I don’t have time for this right now. I am fully charged and fully rested. I do not need to act on any urges with this tall bronze island warrior. Before pulling away, I breathe in his scent. He smells like salt and wind. I have never been on the oceans, but I imagine he smells like the wild sea.
Diverting my eyes to the ground, I pull away, “I don’t know what to do with the basket.”
“Put a sign on it that says ‘don’t touch’,” Manu deadpans.
I sling the pillow around and hit him square in the side of the head for good measure before striding back into the sitting room with Manu on my tail. I halt finding myself stuck in the same cycle of not knowing the best course of action.
“How long do you think we slept?” I ask.
“All night, sun is up,” Manu replies as he points toward the only window within the sitting room. I nod to him, he is right. No one woke me either, so they must either be still busy or had an uneventful night.
“Do you know your way around Lorcan?”
“You know it better than me, Princess. I have only been here a couple of days.”
“I have only been here twice in my entire life, and the first time I stayed in lower Lorcan. I don’t even know what tower I am in, and I recently learned that half of Lorcan is a giant mystic school. All I want to do is find someone like Trey, Vex, or Bee because I don’t know what to do with this.” I motion to the basket again.
Manu moves to the side of the room, picking up a piece of paper and quill. I stand in complete astonishment as he writes on it and then places the paper in front of the basket. The words etched in his horrendous writing say, “Do not touch.”
He looks up from where he stands and crosses his arms, “You don’t know what this basket is. You think it is not good or at the very least not normal. You want me to take you into Lorcan to find one of your people to walk you through it, but what if one of them came in here and decided they wanted to eat an apple?” He places his pointer finger down on the paper and reiterates what he wrote, "Do Not Touch.”
A cheesy grin spreads across his face showing his pearly white teeth. He then takes his finger and taps the side of his head, “See, I am not so dumb after all. Eh?” Manu turns and opens the door to the hall. “Are you coming or not? I know where Vex stays, which is with the Queen. So, I can take you there.”
Manu is holding the door open, and I have no option but to comply and go with him. He made me look like a fool because he was right. I can’t leave the basket for someone else to fall victim to it, but I also need to get my mother. I am not sure if I can scry her from within Lorcan because I vaguely remember being told that they put up barriers to prevent scrying. Shaking off what happened, I brush past Manu into the hall like I am aware of where I am going in typical Dina fashion.
“Slow down there, Princess, you don’t even know where you are going,” he shouts after me.
He is right, so I stop in the middle of the hall with my hands resting on my hips waiting for him to catch up. As soon as he does, I match him stride for stride. I would have run all the way there if I knew the way. Instead, I am stuck walking with a big overgrown islander with a long silky black braid and big muscles.
I keep trying to convince myself he is a muscle head without a brain, but I am learning fast that he is smart. He is a prince after all, and all princes are well educated even on the islands. I am dreading the day he talks with me about his home because it will become painfully obvious how little I know about Luhl or the sea. I roll my eyes and chide myself for how I was so willfully ignorant growing up.
Even though I knew I could one day be in a position of power, I believed it would never happen. I lived a life of fanciful ideas and did not focus on the things that matter. Now here I am, heir to Aster, and I don’t even know the basics about our enemies or allies.
“Which tower does the Queen reside in?” I ask trying to bring conversation to what now appears to be a long walk.
“The West,” comes his short reply.
“What tower am I staying in?”
Manu stops in the hall and looks at me like I am a child. I can see the flicker of amusement pass across his face. “You are in the East Tower, the seaside one. It is a good omen for me.”
“Not for me, I can barely swim.”
He laughs like I am joking.
“No, seriously, I wasn’t taught to swim as a child, and I only had a basic lesson with Tig in Cargil before Luhl, Cavet, and Celeste attacked.”
We begin walking again, “First, Luhl wasn’t involved in that particular attack. I was there to witness Cargil fall and then to report back to the islands as a witness, so Luhl can be confident in their choice to side with Celeste. If the attack failed, Luhl would never join with Celeste. Second, I will teach you to swim, and fish. No woman of mine will be at risk at sea.”
“I’m not your woman,” I reply.
“Yet.” He picks up his stride to move forward. Ugh, why do I have such stubborn men in my life?
“So, since you didn’t report back to Luhl, does that mean they are helping Celeste or not?” I shout after him.
“I don’t know. I am not sure they would give their full support when one of their pr
ize princes is missing. It would be different if they had my body. As of right now I am missing in action. It will be assumed I was taken captive by the princess who escaped.” Manu pauses in the hallway again. “I expect a fleet of Luhl’s best fighters to arrive sea-side any day now.”
“When they do, are you going to leave?”
Manu reaches for my hand with the spiral on the palm. I allow him to pick it up. He places it on his shoulder over the spiral of his own. Waves of energy crash into me, and my heart feels like it could jump from my chest.
“Does that answer your question?” he asks.
I nod, and then he releases my hand and points towards the door. “That door takes you into the Royal hallways. There are guards on the other side. I have never been in there.”
“Well, you’re about to.” I go to open the door, but it is locked.
“You will have to knock, Princess, didn’t I just tell you it is all guarded?”
I shoot him a glare that could kill and roll my eyes as I raise my fist to do as Manu says and knock. Knock . . . . Knock . . . . Knock . . . .On the third knock a small window in the door opens.
“What is your business?” the bored woman on the other side asks. For once, I actually know one of the warriors.
“Thalia! It’s me Dina.”
I see half of her scarred face peek through the door. “Hey, little Dina! I guess you’re not so little anymore. And who is that tall dark bundle of muscles with you?” Thalia has been my mother’s most trusted guard for years. I lucked out that she is working the door. It is below her station.
“Oh that is Manu.”
“Manu who?” she presses me for more information.
“Manu, Prince from one island in Luhl,” I reply.
“Ooh, I will let you in, but I am not sure I should trust a prince of Luhl right now. I heard a rumor they sided with Celeste.”
“Well, technically that is still up in the air. So, are you going to let us in or not? I am looking for my mother and Vex.”
“Your mother is in a meeting with two council members. You are welcome to wait in her waiting room.” I hear a latch unlock as Talia opens the door to let us into a richly decorated hallway.
“Vex was here recently looking behind all the paintings and mirrors in the royal halls. I am not sure what he is up to, but he said it is important and to tell the Queen he will be back in an hour.” Talia points to a clock near the door, “I guess that means he will be back any time. You are lucky I am on door duty while Maria takes a quick break. I am not sure she would have let you in.”
“You’re right, no one in Lorcan seems to know who I am. I may have been announced as the heir, but it doesn’t matter if no one even knows what I look like.”
“They will learn. This entire situation is new to everyone, and if I may be frank, Princess, the Queen didn’t parade you around like she did her other children.”
“That is true enough,” I state. Thalia swipes a short lock of hair out of her eye revealing more of the scar that runs up her face. Half of Thalia’s head is shaved. The other half has hair disguising what happened to her when she was taken prisoner in Cavet years ago. No one knows her story except for her. She knows people talk, though; she has to. Who wouldn’t talk about a warrior who looks like Thalia?
“This way, Princess.” She gestures to the door at the end of the hall. This area of Lorcan is like a maze to keep my mother safe. There are hallways off of hallways, and only one of them leads to my mothers tower.
Manu’s hand is on my back as he guides me down the hall. A gesture I am sure Thalia will not miss from standing behind us. Once at the door, he opens it, and we enter an opulent room of all shades of purples.
A large window is the center point of the room looking out over the Lorcan Mountains. On either side of the window, are large floor to ceiling bookcases filled to the brim with books. The room also features a small table and comfortable furniture displayed throughout. I realize that we are in the base of the tower. That means my mom’s rooms are somewhere above where we are now.
“You mystics sure do everything over the top, don’t you?” Manu asks as he runs his hand along the edge of a gilded mirror.
“I've never thought much about it. I can care less what things look like.”
“Really? I remember you were dressed to the hilt the first night I saw you in Cargil.” I cringe at Manu’s mention of Cargil. It is the worst night of my life.
“I don’t want to talk about that night,” I answer and pull a geography book from the shelf. It will be a healthy distraction from Cargil.
I open the book and flip through the pages landing on the Islands of Luhl. I walk over to Manu, “Which one is yours?”
“This one right here.” He points to the largest island, Fetu, in the center of the smaller islands. I raise my eyebrow in disbelief.
“Are you going to be the chieftain?”
“I was going to be the chieftain,” Manu corrects me. I flush red and change the subject again. I flip through the book until I find the Mountains of Lorcan. The book has basic information about the area, native plants, and weather patterns.
I turn the pages until I see a map with a small dot on it that reads, Lumbai. I keep putting Lumbai out of my thoughts, but I trust my visions are accurate. Celeste is going there before Lorcan. The fruit basket in my room is her vain attempt at killing us off without having to besiege Lorcan. I doubt she wants to destroy it, because there is no other place that can be considered Celeste’s home.
I slam the book shut and lay it on the table. My fingers tap on the cover as I try to think of the next course of action. “I need to go to Lumbai,” I say.
“Where?” Manu asks. I forget that he hasn’t been privy to everything that has happened the last few days.
“Lumbai, it’s a city deep within the mountains where there is a secret society of mages. If you haven’t been told, I am a half mystic, half mage hybrid type thing. I am not even sure what all it means, but I had a vision that Celeste is gathering troops at the entrance to the mountain close to Lumbai. She will hit there first. The basket is just another attempt to rid Lorcan of me and my mother. She doesn’t want to besiege us here. It is our home. Going to Lumbai will give her access to more knowledge and give her time to take Lorcan without a fight.”
“It makes sense.”
“You don’t sound surprised by any of this.” I look Manu up and down.
“Rhett told me about the mage thing. Even said there may be a fourth man who is a mage. I am okay with it because I follow my stars, and this is where the stars have led me. I trust my fate.”
“You handle change with a grace I never had. Gabal is the fourth man, but arguably the most important. Your spiral is on your shoulder, his is on his heart. I am not ready to come into contact with Gabal, but I know he is on his way. If we close all portal entrances, he won’t be able to get in. I am not sure what we are doing or how I will handle it.”
Manu places his hand on my shoulder, “You will handle it as the Queen you are. There is more at work here than bad luck. Trust in the stars the way we do on the sea. It will work out as long as you keep faith in your choices. If you are drawn to this Gabal, then we must get you to him or him to you.”
“He said he is coming, but I don’t know how or when. Will it be before Celeste gets to Lumbai, so we can warn them?”
Before Manu and I can delve deeper into our conversation about Lumbai and the fates, Vex opens the door and behind him follows everyone. Rhett, Trey, Bee, Tig, and Tim all look like they have seen a ghost or are the ghosts themselves. There are bags beneath their eyes, and their skin is pale with fatigue.
“Did you find anything?” I ask. Trey and Rhett both make their way towards me, taking turns pulling me into a hug.
“Yes, we found three portal markers on the ramparts and a portal marker in each of the mess halls. There was also one in the ballroom, all areas big enough to bring in an army,” Vex answers.
“Do you thi
nk we got them all?” I ask.
“Who knows? We can only hope. We didn’t have any luck finding the mirrors.” Vex puts his hand on my shoulder, looking defeated.
“We know she has helpers in Lorcan, because there is a suspicious basket in my rooms. It is disguised with alchemy. I am not sure if the fruit is cursed or poisoned because of the disguise. All I know is that while I slept, someone entered my living area and left me the basket.”
Trey pushes his way to the center of everyone, “Where was Manu?” he demands.
“Sleeping in the big chair within my bedchamber.”
“Hey, I was doing what you asked of me. I didn’t know I should stay awake the entire time or that someone would be able to just walk into her living quarters,” Manu defends himself.
I wave both of the men off, “It doesn’t matter now, it has already happened. We will have to be more careful next time. Has anyone told my mother?”
“Yes, I met with her briefly before coming here. She is still recovering from yesterday. Unfortunately, she has not had the amount of rest she needs.” Vex is worried about her. I can sense the anxiety twitching around him.
“I don’t want to bother her with more, but I need to get to Lumbai now that Lorcan is more secure. Celeste is going there first and will continue to try to end both of us here through subterfuge.”
“You are only worried about this Gabal guy,” Rhett quips.
“You should know me better than that, Rhett, and Gabal said he is coming here, but I don’t know when or how. All I know is that there is a chance Celeste may get to Lumbai before Gabal can get to Lorcan. They deserve to be warned,” I answer him sharply.
“Is there a way for you to do your dream walk thing and give Gabal a heads up?” Trey asks.
“No, I don’t know how to control it, and the last time it happened I was tapped into the node beneath Lorcan.” It only takes me mentioning the node before the familiar thrum of it pulsates through me. My eyes close as I relax into the comforting energy all around me.
