Morgana walked to the slanted shelves on the stone wall, which were crammed with jars filled with strange substances, a globe, and other artifacts that often caught my curiosity. I was always more interested in her bookshelf, which packed a variety of wonders that were not available to read in the castle library: books on dark magic, the bloodier side of our history, and all sorts of banned spells and rituals that my mother would have a fit over if she knew I had learned them. I didn’t plan on using any of it unless necessary. Still, knowledge was power, and filling my days learning everything I could about magic was better than dancing them away.
“You should try making some friends.”
I flapped my hand backward. “I don’t need friends. I will have subjects.”
“You’re still a child, Winter.”
I scowled. “I’m sixteen.”
“Exactly, a child.” She shook her head and looked at me. “Friendship is important. You don’t want to end up lonely.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I stated.
She was tall, six foot four, and thin, unlike her sister, who was short and wispy and the castle alchemist. Both were extremely talented and the best part about being stuck on Inferis. I was fortunate my father had allowed them to come with us. My mother always had been persuasive. I assumed it was part of their agreement.
I tapped my finger against my chin.
Morgana tentatively poked into my thoughts. “Questions do best when not left to linger.”
I tensed at her probing. “The deaths.” I blew out a long breath.
She turned away. “Yes, well, I did not know—”
“I’m not blaming you,” I said, interrupting her. “I haven’t told a soul.” I let the truth swim in my mind for her to feel. “All I was wondering was... well, you said you saw a crown... the only crown that matters, which is of course my father’s. Who was wearing it in your vision?”
I wasn’t sure why I was looking for reassurance. It would surely be mine, but uncertainty tended to hover in my head until told absolutes.
“No one. It’s undecided.”
I arched an eyebrow. There was something she wasn’t telling me, but I had more chance of getting blood out of stone than a secret from Morgana.
“Undecided?” My eyes bulged.
“Yes.”
“That makes no sense. I am the princess.”
“Then why ask?”
I scoffed, jolting back. “Well it’s a good thing I did, seeing as it is undecided. What even does that mean?”
“I can only relay what destiny shows me. You know that better than anyone.”
I huffed. “I don’t have foresight,” I told her, for the hundredth time.
“I know what I see. You have the gift.”
I fumbled my fingers as I looked at the pile of books she let me read under my mother’s nose. “Is there a spell that could bring back someone from the dead?”
I meant the question innocently enough, but her horrified expression made me wish I hadn’t said anything.
“People are meant to stay dead!” she warned.
The corner of my lip twitched. “So there is one?”
“No.” She gasped. “There is not, and I suggest you don’t go looking into those types of magic.”
“What other types?”
She chewed the inside of her cheek. “Sacrificial and ritualistic. They are unnatural and dangerous, governed by a darkness that plagues this world. Would you betray your ancestors?”
I rolled my eyes upward. My beliefs were everything. My link with the spirit realm gave me my power. “No.”
“Then let us forget this conversation.”
I nodded, but the curiosity still burned brightly. She proceeded to do another reading, pulling me away from my dark thoughts.
She turned over one of the cards on the table between us. “The wanderer.”
“As always,” I groaned, impatience lacing my tone. “I know, I know.” I waved my hand dismissively, stopping her explanation. “It signifies an important journey. I hope it’s back to Magaelor. I hate it here.” I looked at the window. I missed Imperia, the beautiful city surrounding Ash Court. I yearned for the familiarity of the castle, the music at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and the library that spanned the length of four of the rooms in this small castle. If you could call it that.
She turned the second card. Glistening in gold was a woman with a mask, which appeared to be a fox. “The foe.”
“Pretty self-explanatory, except I don’t have any enemies.”
“You are heir to the throne. You will inherit all your father’s when it comes time. I suggest you execute caution.”
“Got it.” I stared at the back of the third card. “What’s this one?”
A woman’s body knotting up into a heart was revealed when Morgana flipped it over. I’d never gotten that one before. “The heart.”
“Ah, well this is interesting with the upcoming wedding.”
My smile fell into a frown. “I can assure you, I will never fall in love with Blaise Lazarus.”
She smirked. “It means love... or heartbreak, but I have faith it’s the first.”
“Ugh.” I scrunched up my nose. “Well, thanks for nothing.”
“Winter!” She scowled when I stood, screeching my chair backward.
“Sorry,” I mumbled. “Thank you.”
“That’s better.”
I gathered a few books before leaving. I was going to go sit by the cliff’s edge and read. We weren’t allowed out after dark, so wandering was frowned upon, but allowed. Watching the ships sail over the sea, and having that time alone, was one of the few things keeping me from the grip of depression. Besides, I always made it back before the sun set.
I glanced one last time at the cards, pausing slightly longer on the heart card. If it truly meant my future, then it did not mean Blaise. He was the boy who couldn’t fall in love. Everyone knew that.
FIVE
Enraptured by dreams of crowns and wedding gowns, I slowly peeled my eyelids back to reveal a bruised skyline. I must have fallen asleep. My eyes focused in time to watch the last of the orange rays kiss the horizon. It was so beautiful to look at, I had forgotten myself. I shouldn’t be out after dark; no one should.
I sat upright and looked at the tree line of the woods. Tall trees were pressed together like uniformed soldiers, quickly covering everything inside with blackness. It was a perfect home to the more dangerous creatures of the land. Gusts of wind danced through the smaller twigs, disturbing the feathery combs of moss. Leaves broke off delicately from the interlocking branches above and fluttered down onto the leaf-carpeted ground of ember red.
I shuddered as the temperature dropped. The early-winter chill arrived with frosted flakes and bitter gales. I longed for summer. The small island was set under semi-permanent dark skies.
A howl erupted into the night, jolting me. My heart pounded furiously against my chest. I jumped to my feet, poised to fight as I whipped my head from left to right, checking my surroundings. Tears hazed my vision. Regret seeped into the corners of my mind as I looked above the wood, desperately up at the looming, obsidian towers from the castle. The warm glow of orange light coming from inside the windows had always been what kept the gloom and shadows at bay.