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“Theyarethere,” Lavinia insisted. “And there’s also a big, sparkly purple duck standing next to the punch bowl. And some bizarre armored beast that I’ve never seen before is rolling across the dance floor.”

Quiet laughter rippled through the crowd.

“I want what Princess Lavinia is drinking!” someone shouted. “I want to see sparkly creatures!”

More laughter followed that proclamation.

Lavinia looked at the glass in her hand. She quickly put it down on a standing table, then stumbled back. Her eyes swept the ballroom, narrowing to angry slits when she saw me.

“It was the outsider! Leda Pandora!” she shouted. “She put something in my drink to make me see things! Arrest her!”

“Hey, there, everyone. I’m Leda.” I gave the crowd a big wave. “I’m the one your lovely princess just accused without any evidence whatsoever.”

“It was you,” Lavinia hissed. “I know it was you.”

I folded my arms over my chest. “Just exactly what do you think I did?”

“You worked me over with your vile magic,” she hissed.

Whispers simmered from the crowd.

“I assume thevile magicyou’re referring to is my god and demon magic?” I asked.

“Yes!” Lavinia turned to address the crowd. “The gods and demons have attacked me. They’ve attackedus.” Her gaze snapped back to me. “This will mean war,” she said to me through tight lips.

I walked toward her, nice and easy and relaxed. “You certainly have an interesting imagination.”

Lavinia glowered at me. “This attack will not go unanswered. When I become Queen?—”

“I think you meantifyou become Queen,” I cut her off.

Lavinia looked like she wanted to slowly drop me into a vat of acid and then dance circles around it. “Yes, of course,” she said with a dainty flutter of her hand toward the other guests. “IfI become Queen.” She smiled sweetly. “Though I am confident any other reasonable choice for monarch would not hesitate to strike out against the fiends who dared to attack me.”

“And byfiends, you mean me?”

“You and your brethren.”

“Gods and demons?” I asked.

“Yes. You cannot stand that our kingdom does not fall under your domain. And it never will.”

There were murmurs of agreement from the crowd gathered around us.

I waited for them to die down, then asked Lavinia, “How?”

“How?” She shook her head in confusion.

So I clarified. “How is it that your kingdom has never fallen to the gods’ or demons’ armies? All the neighboring worlds have.”

“Because we are strong,” Lavinia said proudly, standing tall, tapping her hand to her chest.

“You are indeed strong,” I agreed. “I’ve heard that neither the magic of gods nor of demons works on you.”

“That is true,” Lavinia said with an upward lift of her nose.

I continued, “In fact, I’ve heard that not even the magic of the Immortals, the most powerful magical beings to ever live, works on you.”

“Indeed,” she snapped. “So you must realize now how foolish it was of you to attack me.”