Page 14 of Princess Takes Academy
I was afraid to try and see because of the pain.
“Well, well, well, what do we have here?” The man said in that horribly jovial grandfather voice so at odds with his actions. “Is this the friend you mentioned?”
Keras. He was my only hope of escape. If he’d been taken…
I made myself blink and open my eyes. Everything was blurred by tears and blood, but I could see my best friend.
Dangling from the mouth of a dinosaur.
Its scales shone in the sun like brilliant gold. Ruby eyes glittered with malice. The creature stood on four legs like a normal crocodile, but it was impossibly tall. Almost as tall as the man who’d hurt me. I couldn’t begin to guess how long it was. Thirty, forty feet maybe?
Blood dribbled down the crocodile’s snout, drawing my gaze up to its eye. Keras’ knife was buried in its head—but evidently not enough to kill the thing.
Grim finality washed over me. This was it. This was the end. The princess of unicorns and her beloved rhinoceros king were going to be eaten by this horrible beast and no one would even find a trace of us to burn in offering to our goddesses.
My head was so empty. I’d never felt anything like this. I’d practically been born with bonds. From as far back as I could remember, I’d been able to feel Mama and Papa. I could have closed my eyes and pointed to them, no matter how far away they were. But now…
They were gone. Everyone was gone. And I was alone.
Tears flooded my eyes and a pitiful sound escaped my lips. I didn’t want to die like this. Alone, lost, disappeared like a forgotten memory.
Something whispered inside me. So softly that I could barely sense it. I reached for that small wisp, straining to hear. To feel that connection. Anything was better than this emptiness.
A delicate thread brushed me like the thinnest, invisible cobweb.
:Xochitl!:
Auntie Shara. I recognized her voice, but she was so far away. Even when she’d gone to Rome years ago, I hadn’t felt our bond strained like this. It had nothing to do with distance—and everything to do with whatever the man had done to my eyes. If even the Triskeles Triune queen could barely reach me with all her great power…
Then I was doomed. Unless I could strengthen our connection somehow so she could find me.
I bit my lip, deliberately drawing my blood. Not as a result of pain and agony this time—but an offering.Great Mother, please hear me. Help me. Please.
The thread thickened slightly, still thin and delicate, but when I touched it again, it didn’t disintegrate like smoke.:Help us! How can he hurt me like this?:
Her voice floated through my head like a ghostly spirit.:He was Ra’s vizier. When Ra was judged, we looked for both the vizier and the sunfires but couldn’t find any of them. The medallion is his power. He burns out your bonds first so no one can help you, even your own Blood. Tell me where you are so I can send your mother directions.:
:By the river in Keras’ homeland. By the giant tree bridge.:
:Got it. They’re nearing the tree exit now. Hold on, sweetheart.:
The man, the vizier, moved toward Keras, who glared up at him defiantly. “Don’t hurt my queen!”
The man’s eyes flared and he glanced back at me. “Queen, eh? Blood bonds in a witch so young is unusual, though I sensed your coven hovering inside you. They’re coming now, aren’t they, child?”
I gritted my teeth, refusing to answer him.
He smiled and nodded. “It’s alright. You don’t have to answer. I already know at least one of them is close. A witch always makes my skin itch. Two in one day! What a great offering for Sobek. I hope you’re pleased, my lord.”
The crocodile dropped Keras on the ground and turned a baleful glare on me.
I gulped but didn’t move. I didn’t cower. The princess of unicorns wasn’t afraid of anything. Even this creepy dinosaur.
“Yes, my lord. An excellent idea. We’ll keep the young one for later, but her pain serves a purpose.” The vizier gripped my chin in his hand in a surprisingly fierce grip for an old dude. I tried to keep a wary eye on the crocodile, surprised to see him crawling back into the dark hole without eating either of us.
But then I realized the truth. He was going after Mama first—and I was the bait.:He’s coming!:I screamed as loudly as I could in my head, hoping either she or Shara would hear despite our damaged bonds.:The crocodile is Sobek!:
I didn’t know who Sobek was, but I suspected he must be some kind of god. Hopefully Queen Shara or Mama recognized the name.
