Page 51 of Iris of the Crowned Flame

He offered a small smile. “I wouldn’t say I’m used to them, but they aren’t phasing me as easily.”

“Pardon, but why did you send for me?” Zoya asked.

“Truthfully, we don’t know who she is, but having you to help with defenses will make it much safer to meet her. I need you.” I didn’t mean to sound so desperate, but with a magic wielding cult following the God of Death trying to kill me, it sometimes reached that level. Zoya nodded in understanding.

“What’s the plan?”

I ran down what I hope would happen and asked Zoya and Spencer to enter the room with me. We came up with what we hoped was a plan to cover any likely reason for this person to be coming to me.

After Amyra fastened a tiara to my hair, we hurried down to the meeting room where they were holding this person. I noted the locations of the extra guards and paused at the door to double check my appearance while Spencer reached out to Emberly inside the room.

I watched as his eyes widened and his skin paled three shades, then whispered, “She says it’s Mina.”

“Mina? I don’t know anyone by that name.” I said, my nose wrinkling in confusion.

Zoya elbowed me. “Goddess of Peace of Order? Surely you know the names of the gods and goddesses?”

I felt my stomach twist as my jaw dropped. “Are you sure, Spencer? How does she know?”

He shook his head. “She didn’t say, and now she’s not replying. Her guard is up. We should do the same before we enter. Who knows what this could be?”

Nodding, I took three breaths to compose myself and then signaled to the guards to open the doors. I walked in with all the authority I could muster as the queen of this land. This person might have claimed to be a goddess, but until we knew it to be true, I would not offer deference.

As planned, Spencer and Zoya followed behind me, and the guards closed the door. The stranger and Emberly were sitting at a round table in the center of the room. Emberly was facing the door as we entered, and the stranger had taken a seat that had her turned away from us.

Emberly rose, offering a bow to me, as offered to a king or queen when they enter the room. This caused the stranger to push away from the table and turn her body to face us. She notably didn’t stand. I stared at her and offered a look of disapproval.

“Ah, yes, finally, you are as you have appeared in my dreams, Queen Lyla.” The stranger offered.

I shifted my gaze to Emberly, wondering if she would share anything before I spoke. She offered a subtle shake of her head. I returned my gaze to the stranger. “And you are?”

With that prompt, the stranger’s lips turned up in a smile,and she finally stood, slowly walking around the table towards me. “I had assumed your delegate had already informed you just a moment ago. I have been known by many names, but your people know me as Mina.”

Mina wore a strange outfit including a skin-tight blue pants and a close-fitting gray shirt. She had on what looked like it could have been a light blue overcoat, but it stopped at her hips and held a hood. The coat lacked buttons. Her black hair was held back from her face, gathered into what looked like a pony’s tail by a string with no tie or end.

“Ah yes, my dress. It is a bit out of fashion for your current era. Curious that your kind regressed this far in fashion since I was last here.” Mina smoothed her coat down, then shoved her hands in the tiny pockets of her pants. “I suppose you have some spare dresses and the like around here that you could provide, so that I can fit in more easily. We have a lot of work to do to prepare you.”

“Mina, is it? I’d like to invite you to sit and chat with me here. We don’t understand the nature of your visit.” I chose the seat closest to me, and Spencer helped to pull it out for me. Zoya sat between me and Mina, who also sat, while Spencer took the seat between Emberly and me.

Mina sighed, “Fine, we can sit here for now. Surely you know what I’m here for. These two look like priestesses. They must surely know the prophecy we shared to help you prepare for our arrival.”

I reached for Spencer’s hand under the table to help calm my nerves. I didn’t know what to expect, but if this stranger spoke the truth and a goddess stood before me, then I was astonished.

“Yes, yes, I am the Goddess of Peace and Order. Calm your britches. It’s not that shocking.” Mina sighed again, rolling her silver eyes, seemingly agitated.

“I’m sorry, four months ago, I didn’t know that magic actually existed outside of fairy tales, or this prophecy existed, much less was about–wait, I don’t need to explain myself toyou. You are just a stranger and have offered no evidence that you are who you claim to be.”

Mina studied me intently for a bit. “Hm, fairly ok mind shielding for someone who’s just started. I’ll have to help you get stronger. I noticed you’ve already had the displeasure of meeting Death, and he’s a pain in the ass to keep out. Oh shit, you went out of order. You were supposed to be crowned before you were strong enough to trigger that volcano. Oh, we’ve got to fix this asap.”

I stood up from the seat indignantly. “Did you just dig through my mind? See my memories?”

My voice was barely a whisper, betraying me. I wanted to shout at her.

“Oh, you’re one of those. Yeah, sorry, I’ll ask next time.” Mina’s flippant attitude was just so infuriating.

"We will not be working together; I don't care who you are. You need to show some respect to the Queen. You think you’re serving before I will entertain seeing you again.” Anger felt good, but fear was bubbling at the surface, too. A part of me realized she was telling the truth, and I needed her to help me stay alive. Fear stopped me from allowing that vulnerability to show.

Spencer reached up to me, touching my arm as he stood. “Wait a second, Lyla. I know what she just did felt violating, but I think we need her.”

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