Page 36 of Forbidden Obsession
We have no extra coin nor extra time to linger much longer. Today we’ll do what we’ve come to do, then turn around and head home.
Over the bustling streets, the marble behemoth called Ralossi Palace looms tall into the gray, cloudy sky. Falen and I are headed to its gilded public entrance, him to make his pledge and sign the registry, and me to sneak away and learn what else there is to learn.
The other mixlings I’ve seen seem to be eager for their fleeting time in the presence of royalty. Ready to embrace their fae side and leave the humans in the dust. Of course I’m only seeing the ones who made the journey. How many others are like me? Staying at home, hiding, or pretending to make this journey for the look of it. I won’t see them haunting the grounds of Lemossin, will I?
Falen is less eager and more suspicious than the others, and part of me feels bad for that. My own doubts have crept into his judgment when he’d have been happy to go on putting the royal family on a pedestal, as he’s done since his youth. That and what we’ve heard in our short time here has jaded him.
He leans in and points. “There’s a group headed up the stairs. Should we join them?” Then in a lower voice, “The bigger the group, the easier for you to slip away.”
“Good idea.” We’ve already discussed our plans. Falen will act the obedient mixling, waiting in line, signing his name, pledging, while I try to find someone within the palace—someone who might know what the queen is planning—to talk to.
Guilt sits heavily in my gut at the thought of what I must do. How I must use my magic. Aside from my mother, Jindal, and now Falen, no one knows the extent of my abilities.
I’m not comfortable with mind magic. It’s forbidden, and for good reason. What could be more wrong than to peer into someone’s innermost thoughts, to coax their secrets from them with just a little push of my power, to force them to do my bidding? I feel dirty even considering it, but I see no other way to get to the bottom of things.
I’ll be careful. So careful. I’ll stay on the subject and only gather the information I need. I won’t sink too deep. But someone must know what the royal family is up to.
Someone must warn the humans.
We join the group Falen indicated, smiles all around. Can they see that mine is fake? That inside, I’m trembling? My nerves run rampant through my body, but I tamp them down to find inner calm. I need my wits about me if I’m going to pull this off.
As we ascend the fancy staircase, our feet clap on the expensive stone. Cornflower blue striated lines wind through the pearlescent white of the marble, each step gleaming with well-polished shine. On either side, palace guards stand in a row, more casual than I’d have guessed, chatting with each other but still keeping an eye on things. They don’t look like they’re expecting a revolt anytime soon. How much of the royal plans do they know, and how much remains unspoken?
The other mixlings talk among themselves while I search for an easy spot to dart into the shadows, but nothing is dark here. The walls are white and gold, the pillars are white and gold, and even the ceilings are white and gold. Faerie lights glow crisply from overhead, lighting the interior brighter than the gloomy daylight outside.
No, sneaking will not be easy in this place.
We are herded through the enormous entryway into a grand hall bigger than any room I’ve ever been in. My whole house could fit into this hall four times over with room to spare. In this section, the ceiling is all but gone, as the space is enchanted to look open to the skies, but even those who couldn’t sense the spell would know it to be fake. Outside, the day promises rain. Maybe a storm. Inside, sunny skies and pink, fluffy clouds looking sweet enough to eat tower over us.
Nothing here is real.
Even the ground beneath our feet is enchanted. A rippling wave of greens, purples, and blues, enough to make a person dizzy if they look down too long. I doubt my nose as the piercing scent of witch hazel wafts to my nostrils. Its flowers bloom in late fall and winter, not early spring, so why does it smell this way?
Falen takes in the interior with wide eyes, the same as me. I’ve never seen anything like this, such opulence, such splendor. But what I need to do now is focus, not ogle.
I sweep the room, looking for an exit. There are several. If I get caught, I’ll pretend I overindulged and need the facilities, which isn’t a great plan but better than no plan at all.
Or I’ll use my mind magic, but only if I have to.
Catching Falen’s gaze, I nod in the direction I intend to go. Subtly he returns the gesture. Then he turns to the others and points in the opposite direction.
“Have you ever seen a faerie light so bright? I haven’t.”
They follow his finger, and I steal my shot, parting from the group and making a beeline between pillars to an open archway along the perimeter. In a few heartbeats, I’m through it and into a long hallway beyond, blessedly not lit so shockingly bright.
With a quick spell to deaden the sound of my footsteps and cloak myself in shadow, I mask my presence as best I can. I’m not invisible, exactly, nothing like that—even I’m not that powerful—just easy to overlook.
I turn in the same direction as our group was headed, traveling parallel to the vast hall. The ceilings here are gray stone, tall, and arched. Oil lamps glow a warm orange, the color of Jindal’s eyes in the twilight, and I’m the only one creeping around.
It’s an odd feeling to be alone in Ralossi Palace, somewhere I never thought I’d be. Falen has told me a large court of nobles mill around Queen Aurielle wherever she goes. I’ll seek out one of these folks. Someone close to the queen but not in the throne room with her. Someone on their way or perhaps just leaving. Someone I can enchant to follow me for a quick conversation. A few fast questions.
Even if I learn nothing, it’s worth a try.
Four guards pass by in sets of two, but my enchantment holds strong. I call no attention to myself, and they don’t notice me. Once they’re gone, I gasp for air. Holding my breath won’t make me any less obvious, but it’s instinct. I suck in a deep breath. Ah, that’s better.
Another group crosses my path, not ten feet in front of me. Nobles or merchants, I can’t tell. Their clothes are nice but notsonice I’d believe them to be close enough to the queen to have the information I seek. This time I practice breathing in and out, slow and steady, and they continue on their way without seeing me.
The hallway seems endless until it doesn’t. I arrive at an impasse, turn right, and hope. Inside, I’m trembling, but outside, I’m slick as oil, seeping unnoticed through the cracks of perception.
