Chapter 16

LUCIEN

Elric tapped his finger on the glass table. His head was tilted up and his eyes moved from left to right. “I swear I have seen that woman before.” He scanned the air as if the answers were there.

I grew irritated that he wouldn’t just drop it. “No, you haven’t.” I wasn’t sure that was the truth, which was why I needed to know more about Nicolette.

“Where did you find her?” He put his glass on the table between us.

~Nowhere you’ve been~, was what I wanted to say. Instead, I changed the topic. “Elric, where is your sister? I cannot wait all day.”

“~You~ came here unannounced.” He rolled his eyes. “Besides, you know how she is around you.”

He was right, I did know how she was.

Elric, his sister, and I had been allies for decades. Not only did our kingdoms have a military alliance, his sister was obsessed with me and my sister was absolutely infatuated with Elric.

She hoped to arrange a marriage with him one day. And she also made me swear to never hurt him. Which I deeply regretted agreeing to now.

“But while we wait for her,” Elric continued, leaning toward me with a raised brow. “Let’s get back to the woman. Can you at least tell me her name?”

I stared at him hard. “I find it tedious to repeat my words, Prince Elric. I said no.”

“You’re not usually this cranky when we talk about women. She must be special. Do you plan to marry her, King Lucien?” he responded with a wide grin.

“Enough.” I stood up and strode toward the balcony of the queen’s reception room.

“You’re no fun.” He snickered behind me and joined me on the balcony.

“I am in no mood for fun. I have a grave matter to discuss with you ~and~ your sister.” That was my excuse, but it was also the truth.

The mirror issue was a serious matter that I needed to address. They may know who would be capable of wielding such magic.

“Oh, do tell.” Elric leaned close to me against the balustrade, excited to hear about the hot gossip.

I looked out over the north side of the Crimean Kingdom, and a thought occurred to me.

“What do people know of my kingdom?” I looked at Elric.

He looked at me like I was speaking English. “Seriously?”

I frowned at him. “Humor me. Please.”

He let out a resigned sigh and looked up at the bluish-violet sky.

“Well, people know you breed and train an undefeated army, so most think yours is the most powerful kingdom of the five. Not to mention your near impenetrable fortifications and best-stocked armories.”

I nodded, urging him to continue.

“They know your kingdom is rich in trade and skilled craftsmen and that the people are prosperous and law abiding.” He gave me a knowing look.

“Because they have a strict ruler,” is what I saw on his face. I told him to continue.

“Tales of your Forbidden Forest are spread in every kingdom. As are those of the kirillian who dwell within it. They are the one thing everyone fears.”

The kirillian were wild beasts native to my kingdom, known for their ferociousness. Nicolette had called them monsters. Which they were.

“The variety of the flora in your land is second only to that in the kingdom of Foressa.”

I cringed. I hated that he was right.

“However, no kingdom can compare to Zaxonia when it comes to magic. Only you have access to Zaxonian silver, the only element with properties that are yet to be fully understood. Your water is rich with it, and therefore with magic.”

“And that,” I said, giving him a firm stare, “is what I need to talk with you both about.”

Elric looked surprised and a bit confused.

“You are an arryah,” I said. “You manipulate the elements of this world. So I need to ask. How difficult would it be to infuse an object with magic from Zaxonian silver?”

Arryah was our word for mage. But arryahs were actually real, where on Earth they only existed in fantasy. They were able to use magic and harness it from magical objects. The best could even create life from it.

“Infusing objects with basic magical properties would be easy enough to do for a skilled arryah. I could do it,” he said confidently.

“How about not basic magical properties?”

His brow arched. “What do you mean by that?”

“Could an arryah create a magical vessel that could travel to other worlds? Other realms?”

Elric seemed lost for a moment. His eyes darted left and right while processing the information. Then he shook his head.

“That would be impossible,” he said. “It would take an enormous amount of silver and at least a hundred well-trained arryahs to make one such vessel.”

This wasn’t the answer I wanted. It brought me no closer to discovering the mirror’s origins.

After a few moments of silence, Elric said, “Why do you ask about this? I mean, you are talking about bending reality, King Lucien. That’s some heavy shit. Where is this coming from?”

I looked down at my hands. I was still unsure how much I wanted to tell him.

“Is this the grave matter you mentioned earlier?” he asked.

I nodded. “That is why I want to talk to your sister as well. She knows everyone worth knowing, is revered by nearly all, and can persuade anyone to do her bidding.”

“Except you,” a woman’s voice sounded from behind me.

I turned around to see the queen of Crimea in her regal form, wearing a crystal crown atop her head that complemented her silver curls.

~Yrra~.