A voice spoke from the shadows behind the throne. “That’s because there have been none, Sire.”
The king gestured. “This is my advisor, Premier.”
The man stepped out of the shadows and nodded. Premier wore robes similar to mine, though his were deep black. Not just black like mine were, or like someone’s hair or eyes. It was the darkest black I had ever seen—like it was made from the night and shadows. Our eyes met, and he feigned a smile. I did the same. There was something about him that made my hackles rise.
Even though his skin was aged and hung from his body, Premier somehow didn’t look old. His body was as frail as the king’s, but there was an air of power about him. He looked as though he could remain alive and vital simply because he wished it.
I extended my magical senses to see if Premier was a wizard. I closed my eyes, focusing on my power and trying to make it subtle, lest he deflect it and put his guards up. My mana brushed up against his skin, trying to detect some hint of power or see if he would block my attempt. I picked up nothing. That disturbed me. Unlike the elves, there wasn’t a wisp of mana there. Cynder carried red mana and Master Stradus blue. Even ordinary people carried a tiny hint of mana—their life force. Premier was like a void. If I didn’t know better, I would say he wasn’t even there. Or he was dead.
I wished Master Stradus was here. Premier had too great an aura of power to be an ordinary human, but if he was a wizard, he hid his mana. I would need to see him perform some kind of spell to be sure.
But wizard or no, advisor or no, vision or no, I didn’t trust him.
I opened my eyes, and Premier smirked at me.
“If he’s an advisor, he hasn’t been doing a very good job,” Behast said in a tone low enough for only us to hear. I had to strain my ears, though the elves had an easy time hearing him with their long ears.
“Premier, is there any truth to what our forest friends say?” King Furlong asked, turning an eye to his advisor.
Premier leaned in and whispered in King Furlong’s ear. The elves’ ears twitched, but from the look of frustration on Demay’s face, they heard nothing. The king started coughing again, but I still sensed no magic. I needed to know more about Premier.
Then, from the corner of my eye, I caught movement that distracted me from Premier and King Furlong. I turned, and saw her. She took my magic and my breath away.
Her sun-streaked hair had grown, flowing down her back from the small jeweled tiara she wore. She had grown up, as I had, as her snug blue satin dress made clear. She held herself upright, with an aura of strength as her shield. I stared at her, drinking in her face and body. She seemed physically all right, thank the gods. But that didn’t mean there wasn’t anything wrong.
Behast elbowed me, bringing me back to the present. I remembered where I was and what we were in the middle of. My face heated up. Not only had I gotten distracted from our mission, but I’d been staring at the princess like a loutish farm boy.
The king's intense gaze fastened on me. “This young man seems to have forgotten that we were speaking. It seems the princess is much more interesting than our conversation.”
Now my face burned like fire. I’d insulted the king and the princess both, with one look. Had everyone noticed me gawking? My first impulse was to glance at the princess. I stopped myself. I wasn't going to find any help from her or my friends for my mistake. She might not even remember me. We had only met once, and it was years ago. I was a nobody from a village no one had even heard of. I knelt on one knee, staring at the seams in the stone floor.
“Forgive me, Your Majesty,” I said.
Prastian rescued me. “The princess’s beauty is legendary, but it cannot compare to the reality,” he said smoothly. “It seems that Hellsfire was temporarily overcome.”
The king still did not look pleased. The princess stepped forward.
“Prastian,” she said, “how good it is to see you again.”
“Princess,” Prastian said. “It's good to see you too.” He bowed to her, and the other elves followed suit.
“I was just telling my father the other day how we've not seen any of our friends from Sharald in ages.” Krystal touched me lightly on the shoulder. “You may rise, Hellsfire. It’s good to see you again as well. I didn't know you were a friend of Sharald's.” I smiled up at her, pleased and surprised she recognized me.
I got to my feet and bowed, much more clumsily than the elves. “Your Highness.”
The king's angry expression melted into one of confusion. “Krystal? You know this man?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. He once saved my life.”