Page 50 of Between Realms

“Thank you for your advice, Honorable Mage.” I curtsey and step outside the meeting chamber.

What should I do now?

* * *

After a few minutes Jaden and Oakes exit and without acknowledging of my presence, hurry us along the corridors, their faces devoid of expression.

What terrible things did the mage tell them? I know better than to ask for specifics. If they excused me, then I’m not meant to know.

My curiosity gets the better of me though. What if it has to do with me? I move closer to Jaden and keep my voice low. “Is there something wrong?”

“What?” Jaden looks at me for the first time since their meeting. “No. As you now know, the mage’s advice and counsel are like a riddle, and we are trying to figure out what it means.”

Oakes rests his hand on my lower back. “It’s going to be all right. Mage Neven promised to stay vigilant in monitoring the ghoul’s behaviors.”

Their reassurances are meant to calm me, but I’m still worried about whoever is behind the powerful enchantment to kill my kind.

Should I convince Eldrin to let me leave the castle immediately? Am I putting every one of us in danger with my presence?

19

TRAPS

WYNSTELLE

Iwant to request books on enchantments to understand more about the ghoul attacks. However, I worry the servants will think I am trying to put a spell on the prince. They are probably already suspicious about my continued presence. I am baffled by it myself.

When a servant brings my midday meal, I wonder if I imagine the irritation in the elf’s eyes. Probably not. The enchantment on the ghouls has made it brutally clear mortals aren’t welcome in this realm, and Oakes already told me the castle’s inhabitants aren’t pleased about me being here.

Perhaps Jaden will understand my interest and help me discover more about these enchantments.

“Wynstelle?” Eldrin calls coyly as he enters my room this evening.

“Hmm?” I look up from my book. I spent the rest of the day by myself in my room, reading the books Eldrin’s guard delivered about the mortal realm.

As the prince enters, he holds something hidden behind his back.

Instantly, I grow nervous. I step backward, alarm on my face, looking for my escape.

Eldrin’s smile falls when he sees my anxiousness.

“What’s wrong?” he asks.

“What are you hiding from me?” I ask with unease.

“A gift.” His brow furrows in confusion. By his bewildered tone, I know he expected excitement instead of my nervous reaction.

“I have never received a gift before, so I didn’t know what you did was a cue for a surprise gift.”

“What did you think I was holding?”

My face flushes with embarrassment, and I mumble my answer, “A weapon?”

“Stars and stones. How rough has your life been?” Then Eldrin blanches. “Do you really think I would use a weapon on you? That I would hurt you?”

“Uh, no.” I shake my head. Now I am insulting the prince. He might never forgive me. I hurry to explain. “I have been reading books about bloodthirsty mortals and violent conflicts for the last few days. I suppose it spilled over into my imagination.” I don’t know if Jaden or Oakes have told him of the mage’s discovery yet, so I keep that worry to myself.

Eldrin nods his understanding and walks over to where I sit down on the window bench. “I’ve been taken away by tales before. It makes sense you would be skittish, having been attacked by ghouls recently.”

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