Inwardly, I shudder. This is to be my husband? Outwardly, I’m unfazed; a practiced smile plays tightly at the corners of my mouth, and my posture remains upright and strong.
“I don’t know what you are talking about,” I say. “JayMay could be a powerful protector of the kingdom, and I’d be a fool to lose her to the tide. We both know about Baron Absolobin’s designs on my kingdom.”
“Baron Absolobin! Baron Absolobin—how I tire of the man’s name! I swear he’s all you and your parents talk about; it’s like an obsession!”
“That obsession killed my friends and almost kidnapped me! If it hadn’t been for JayMay, we wouldn’t be having this conversation at all,” I say in a calm, unflappable voice.
The prince looks flustered for a moment. He treats politics like a parlor game, so after a brief show of false concern, he’s written the whole incident out of his mind. The reminder is chilling.
He wipes a little sweat off his brow with a lace handkerchief and flashes what I’m sure he thinks is a winning smile. “I’ll send you some of my best royal guards. They’ll be able to stop anything he sends your way. None of this ever would have happened if you hadn’t needed to have a party away from the safety of the archipelagic state!”
A party you weren’t invited to, I add silently. Is that the reason he’s become so unbearable lately?
And so the conversation goes. On and on and on, like the ceaseless lapping of waves against the shore. What I wouldn’t give for calm waters…
To outside eyes, it looks like we are seated in a small, unpretentious white room, furnished with a simple coral table and chairs. Our true setting and our words are unwitnessed by any but the two of us. As royals, we each are gifted with The Sight, which allows us to enter a parallel spiritual realm. Here, the simple space is overlaid with splendorous surroundings of gold and gems, but privacy also means I have to listen to the prince’s possessive pollution. Simplicity and silence would have been far more preferable.
Absolutely no resolution has been reached by the time we part. It’s taken a lifetime’s practice for me to keep my true feelings from my words or face. It is the freedom to do and be whatever she wants that I so treasure in JayMay. My father appears to be carefree and unattached, but I know all too well just how much of that is a well-designed ruse. With JayMay? She is just that open and honest. She is happy when she is happy, and sad when she is sad. She doesn’t have to retreat to an eddy supplied by The Sight to be who she is.
As I rejoin my guards and we sail back to the castle, I acknowledge that, though I’m loath to admit it, the prince is right about one thing. JayMay and I won’t work out. The same freedom that attracts me to her means that she won’t be tied down. Not to the deep currents of court politics, nor even to the stronger pull of desire. Not for long.
I’ve only just met her, so the amount of time I spend thinking about her is absurd. But I can’t help it… The girl is beautiful and unique, of course, but the dragon? Something from the deepest trenches of my soul, fearful and erotic, arises when I recall her tearing apart my attackers.
I press my shell earring, and the sound of whale songs, intricate and beautiful, fills my head. I spend the rest of the trip to the castle, immersed in the sound as I stare out into the endless horizon, my mind lost in the complexities of my heart’s longing.
Of course, upon returning to the castle, my fears over JayMay’s need for freedom were proven true almost immediately. Why had she left in such a rush?
“She seemed shocked about my engagement?” I ask Gloria for the third time as she styles my hair. Even as the rest of the castle is abuzz about the strange fleet that’s appeared, I keep probing about JayMay. Perhaps, if I ask enough times, a different reason will surface.
“Yes, m’lady. I don’t understand why she would be hurt. Surely she must understand the duties of a princess,” Gloria says, her voice clouded with genuine concern and confusion.
I’m less confused. I wanted it to be otherwise, but it seems princes and dragons both want to chain me down.
My bitter thoughts are lost as the air fills with a powerful and piercing hum that builds and builds.
Then, with an ear-splitting boom, an enormous shockwave throws me from my chair. I crash into Gloria, and we both sprawl to the floor.
“What’s going on, m’lady?” she cries out.
For a moment, I’m adrift—was it a quake? No, the blast had felt too focused, and that hum had preceded it…
“An aetheric cannon... The fleet—they’re attacking us! Quick, follow me to the safe room!” I jump to my feet, grab Gloria’s hand, and drag her with me.
Blasts continue to rock the castle, so we spend almost as much time falling as running, but each time we’re knocked down, we get up again.
The halls are chaos! Armed guards race towards the perimeters, and castle staff and guests flee from the danger. A chunk of masonry tears from the wall, and I watch in shock as one of the wait staff is crushed.
My mind flashes back to the recent loss of my friends at the yacht. If they hadn’t come with me that day, they’d still be alive. I wonder if the fault of every death in the castle also lies at my feet?
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“M’lady, please!” Gloria tugs me in the direction of the safe room and, in that action, pulls me also back to my senses.
“Yes, of course, you’re right, we’ve got to…”
But my words are cut off, as the sound of blasterfire fills the air. A nearby guard fires blindly down a hallway too filled with smoke for his opponent to be visible.
Fortunately, the safe room is in the opposite direction, so we take off towards it. The barrage of cannonfire has paused, so our way is unimpeded. But the halls? They’re so smoky and filled with rubble that they’re all but unrecognizable. I’ll need to switch to The Sight to find my way, but the transition takes a moment. Do I have the time?
“Princess, this way!” A guard shouts, motioning us towards him and the safe room. As we run to him, a sulphurous stench clogs the air, and I can’t help but choke. Worse than the smell, the sound—a blood-chilling low growl!
“Run!” the guard screams. It’s his last word, as something pitch black and malign knocks him from his feet and tears into his throat.
Our route to escape is blocked.
“A h-hellhound?” I ask, terrified by what I see. Only a demonic pact could have brought such a monstrosity to this plane. Its orange eyes burn brighter as it spots me—I’m the prey!
I shove Gloria as hard as I can in the opposite direction from me.
“Get out of here—as fast as you can!” I order. Her eyes stained with tears, she takes off running, too scared to resist the command.
The hound pounces! If not for the thousands of hours of defense training, I’d be dead. I somersault past the monster, back towards the fallen guard.
The beast skids to a halt and turns towards me, fangs gleaming in the smoky air.
I grab the guard’s laser rifle. The weapon takes a second to check my biometrics, and then whirs to life.
I shoot off a trio of shots at the ground near the hound’s feet, and it acts as I expect—it jumps over the blaster fire and towards me. I grip the gun tightly, teeth clenched in fearful anticipation.
The hellhound’s full weight hits me hard and knocks me to the floor. I resist the urge to shoot, knowing that the blast will just bounce off its skin.
It opens its mouth wide—flames flicker, and the odor is overpowering! One bite will kill me, but I can’t let fear be my captain. Instead, I push the gun’s muzzle into the monster’s mouth and pull the trigger—once, twice, I fire. After the second shot, the gun’s barrel melts to slag in the fiery inferno of the monster’s mouth.
Was it enough? My muscles tense. If it wasn’t, I’d be dead in a second.
The bite never comes. Instead, the hellhound’s dead weight collapses onto me. It takes every ounce of strength for me to heave the corpse off me.
I get to my feet. My shoulder screams in pain where the monster’s paw struck. I look down and am relieved to see no blood. Bruises I can take.
I drop my melted gun to the floor and scan my immediate surroundings, first for other enemies, second for available weapons—but find none of either.
This gives me the time I need. I turn both of my eyes upwards towards the center of my brow and feel The Sight stir to life.
I still see the smoke and ruins; however, a deep latticework of thin energetic lines overlays it all. From here, I can mold the imagery to whatever form I like, but that’s not what I need. Not now. Instead, I focus on the grids themselves as they shine through the smoke. I’m inside familiar architecture again.
I sigh in relief. The safe room is nearby. I pray to Bhutaimael that my parents are there.
The Sight gives me a glimpse of what’s ahead and allows me to look around corners. I see another figure coming—radiating greed. It’s humanoid—nothing I can’t handle. After the yacht attack, I doubled down on my fight preparedness—I’m ready for this.
I squeeze into a door frame and wait for him to draw closer. I’ve no weapon, but use The Sight to build up a small rod made of void water. The effort takes my breath away, but I don’t let my concentration slip.
Once he’s a few feet away, I dive towards his feet and tackle him. He crashes to the ground and tries to turn his gun on me. But before he gets a shot off, I slam the rod against his black metal helmet so hard that it cracks. The rod shatters into mists upon impact
I wrench the rifle out of his hands, aim it at him, and fire.
It’s the first time I’ve ever taken a life, but I can’t dwell on those implications. Not when the safe room is so close at hand.
It’s just ahead.
I rush towards the enormous painting of Grandfather, hanging dead center in the hall. It’s scorched, but otherwise undamaged.
Using every last ounce of energy I have, I build up more void water in the form of a fibrous membrane that covers me. I press the right eye of my ancestor, and a bright glow emanates from the painting.
I walk through the radiant portal and am hit from every direction by a powerful vortex of water. If it weren’t for the membrane, I’d be drowned.
I let my body go limp and submit myself to the water’s abuse. That moment’s all I need to decipher the conflicting currents. I dodge right as I kick left, pull myself from the undertow, and, with practiced efficiency, I swim straight up.
I don’t have the energy to maintain the void water for longer than a few more seconds. I hope that’s enough! The water here is both toxic and acidic—only those of us with the power of The Sight can navigate it. Had Gloria been along, I’d have covered her too… Gloria, the thought of her tugs at my heart—I pray she’s still alive.
I heave up through the water and crawl into a large chamber, made entirely of amethyst. My breath is ragged as the void water oozes off of me and melts into a puddle on the floor.
I look around for my parents, but I’m alone in the room. All alone.