Page 14 of Heir of the Beast

Zora takes a moment as she eyes Laura. It’s hard to tell what the woman is thinking, but I’d bet my poker chips that she is irritated with her.

“You will get detailed information later.” She turns to the next in line. “Next!”

Cherie glances back at me with her fingers crossed. I pray she gets something decent because three months is a long time to be a slave or a toilet cleaner.

The screen reads: Royalty of a Foreign Country.

Laura whips around to Charming and the Fairy Godmother, marching up to them, her heels clicking. “That’s the same thing mine said. Is it broke?”

Charming smiles at her, but it’s far from reaching his azure eyes. “I assure you they’re very different. These are inexplicit titles. You will get the details later, as the Fairy Godmother already explained.”

She glances at me with cheeks flushed the color of a cherry ICEE. Laura plasters a smile on her face that I am sure goes against the laws of gravity.

I am the last one.

No. No. NO.

“Come along, Viola,” Zora commands. “Is that your natural eye color? Or contacts?” Everyone stares at me like they are wondering the same thing.

“They’re real.” My fingers tingle, and my vision begins to tunnel. I take a shaky breath and walk up to the Bowl of Destiny. Please don’t make me a crap emptier; I dislike bodily waste.

I look up at her and say, “I’m ready.”

She nods but doesn’t say anything, and her calm blue gaze is eerily mysterious. I sniff, feeling like I am some rare creature on display at a zoo. I go to stare down into the pool of metallic wonder.

So, this Fate Bowl reads palms? Maybe it reads deeper than that? A shiver slithers down my spine. ~Just do it.~

My hands slip into the cool substance, and instantly I feel sensations coursing up and down my arms. I pray, ~Please give me something I can work with, Magic Bowl. Tell Karma to back off.~

It seems like it takes forever before it says: Castle of Garthorn Slave: With a Hidden Secret.

My eyes scan over the words, and dread sinks in. I hear whispers around me, probably expressing their sympathy. A slave?!

“Are there do-overs?” My voice breaks. This is not fair. I want the Horse Master one. I feel like sitting on the ground with my arm crossed and pitching a fit.

Next to me, Charming says, “Things are not always what they seem. The part you need to focus on is the hidden secret.” He starts to clap to gain attention.

“Everyone, please quiet down. I will now introduce to you your partners for the next three months—our highly trained Fairy Godmother Agents. The FGAs.”

Agents?

“You will not be thrown into an unknown world without guidance. We will set you up for success, not failure.

“These worlds can be very dangerous, and I should hate for any of you to end it quickly by unknowingly eating poisonous fruits.”

Zora walks over to the edge of the classroom to where outer space starts.

Where it looked before like it dropped off into space, there is now thirty feet of more room behind the white desk.

And not only is there extended square footage, but standing there are six people decked out in black army outfits with FGA on the front.

They are all petite looking women, some with odd colored eyes and abnormal hued hair. Who were these strange people? One of them looks like a small version of Sailor Moon. Are these aliens?

My eyes widen in wonder—seeing a different life-form is trippy.

Zora nods at them, then turns to us, her midnight dress sparkling brilliantly. “These agents will follow you around, disguised as whatever they need to be to fit in. They are brilliant shapeshifters.

“They will be your walking computer, advising you on the world and its inhabitants. They communicate telepathically and verbally.

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