“Unbelievable,” Calista said, when I finished my stumbling explanation. “Well, the entire castle is buzzing with news from the trial. The council are saying there’s never been an heir who connected to the mecca the way you did.”
I shuddered. “It was so weird, almost like it was projecting through me, sending messages and other information.”
Calista was swiping through her tablet like a speed demon. Talking just as quickly as she ran through the information. “Breanna is okay, but she’s been dismissed back to her borough. A failed heir. They are discussing whether she is strong enough to even remain as the alpha of her pack. Trial three is tomorrow. Since there are only two heirs left, the points are what is most important now. The higher your points, the more benefits in the final battle. Weapons. Magic. And all the rest. You have a reasonable lead at the moment, but you cannot let Selene take that from you. She’s a formidable fighter, and completely devoid of honor. She’ll do anything to kill you.”
I started pacing, trying my best to listen to her advice. I knew I should be paying closer attention – this was all important information and I could easily be killed in the final battle – but the rush of blood inside of me was taking all of my concentration.
“Oh, and Violet has returned to the Bronx. She’s examining the body of the female attacker who was killed at our vortex. She’ll be here by nightfall to give us her thoughts in person. She said it’s not safe to relay messages any other way.”
My heart fluttered with joy. I missed my best friend so much. We were never apart for long, and I couldn’t believe she’d been away when the queen fell and the Summit started. Beside the one allowance of the bear king’s advisor, Gerald, the royal residence was locked down to new people. Which wouldn’t matter much to Violet, no one stopped magic born from doing whatever they wanted. Only the queen had any hope, and right now we were missing one of those.
“We should go over fighting strategies, practice with multiple weapons,” Calista said, and I was just nodding as a crushing exhaustion hit me, like I hadn’t slept in a week.
As my head fell, I tried to grasp onto my energy and I realized I could still feel the mecca inside of me, filling my blood and somehow draining my energy. How was it doing this?
“Sure ...” My voice was dreamy. “After my nap.” I shuffled back to my room, passing a bewildered Calista. I wasn’t one to really take naps, but ever since entering the Summit I’d been so damn tired. Maybe this sort of magical drain had been going on for a lot longer than I thought.
I didn’t even have the energy to kick off my shoes, the second my head hit the pillow I was out. My sleep was peaceful at first, but then flashes of images started haunting me.
Fields of beautiful flowers as far as the eye could see … I was running through them like a carefree child but then I dreamt of my Red Queen’s white lynx covered in blood. So much blood. That’s when the flowers began to die and I felt like I couldn’t breathe. My heart was breaking. So much pain.
“Arianna!” I felt a light smack on my face.
I gasped, sitting up. Calista stood over me holding her knife, eyes wild.
“What?” I surveyed the room for a threat.
Calista didn’t speak for a moment and just stared at me. Finally she relaxed, putting her dagger back into her boot. “You were whimpering, moaning, then you screamed. I … your skin was glowing purple. I thought it was a magic spell dream. I called Violet. …”
I swallowed hard, throwing the sheets off. My limbs were trembling as I inspected my skin, which now looked fine.
“Not a magic dream, just … a dream.”
Calista didn’t seem convinced. And I wasn’t so sure either. It wouldn’t be the first time rival magic users had possessed queens in their sleep. And there had been slivers of eeriness to that dream, but I was still sure it had not been from any of the magic born.
I stood, meeting her eyes, my limbs solid again, the last vestiges of the dream dissipating from my mind. “I’m fine,” I said firmly, and let my alpha power leak out the tiniest bit. “I’m sure it’s just an overflow of all the mecca energy I absorbed today. It was bound to affect me in some way.”
She lowered her head, relaxing a tiny bit. “Still, I would feel better if you saw Violet.”
My heart perked up. “Is she here?”
Calista nodded. “You’ve been asleep for four hours. When I couldn’t wake you–”
A grin lit up my face. Seeing Violet was exactly what I needed. “Where is she?” Technically, she wasn’t allowed in the castle until the Summit was over. Not just because of the lockdown, but also because this was still Sabina’s magical territory.
“On the roof waiting for you,” Calista said.
I tore out of the room and opened my front door. Ten of my guards stood at attention in the hall. They straightened even more when they saw me.
“Ben, Victor, Derek, I need you to accompany me to the rooftop, please.” Those three of my dominants stepped out of line and nodded.
“Your Highness, three is not enough,” Monica said, her voice strong but respectful. She was the overprotective one and I appreciated it.
I leaned in to whisper, “I’m meeting Violet.”
That was all that needed to be said. She stood back against the wall and nodded. No one would get the drop on me with Violet around. She was the most powerful magic born we had ever seen. I didn’t want to take all of my guards and make a big scene with a large procession gallivanting through the halls. I was hoping for a stealth mission to the rooftop and back with no witnesses.