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Chapter 2

Aliya

BY THE TIME THE SUNhad risen high in the sky, I’d gone a little overboard with the tomatoes, gorging on them until my belly was full and my slip was covered in tomato juice stains.

I had gone from plant to plant, invoking the incantation so that each one was covered in large tomatoes. Then, for good measure, I went to all the other plants, and the garden was now so full of thriving vegetables that I could hardly walk between them.

I knew there was no way I’d be able to eat them all before rot set in, and that perhaps my use of magic was a bit wasteful, but I didn’t care. I was too excited that I could wield to stop at rational thoughts today.

But as I rose to my feet and tried to walk inside for a basket to collect my bounty, my limbs quaked and my head spun. I felt as if I’d gone without food for days despite having eaten so many tomatoes that my slim belly swelled.

This was obviously the consequence of expending too much magic too quickly. That’s what my intuition told me, at least. I couldn’t just go around wielding carelessly. There had to be a purpose to my magic.

That was a lesson I wouldn’t soon forget.

After taking a moment to compose myself, I slowly made my way inside and took a basket off the counter. For now, I would focus on tomatoes. They’d be the first target for bugs and birds. Tomorrow, I’d preserve them into jars of sauces and chunks. I didn’t have the strength tonight.

It took longer than I’d expected to pluck and collect them all, but finally I put the overflowing bucket on the counter and stumbled to the den, where Willow was already curled up in the corner of my favorite couch.

All I wanted to do was collapse onto the cushions and relax, but a chill was creeping into the castle that would soon have me quaking. I needed heat, first and foremost. I went to the large, beautiful carved fireplace and flicked the switch that operated the firing mechanism.

The hearth burst into glorious orange flames, and I lingered there for a moment, soaking up the heat before shuffling to the couch and plopping down beside Willow.

That electricity still worked in Varinya had been my salvation. It ran on its own, collected by fields of solar panels as well as windmills. I wouldn’t have survived these long, lonely months without heat in the winter and air conditioning in the summer, let alone a working refrigerator and stove. Starting a fire by hand was a skill I was never taught as a princess. But then again, I’d also picked up many skills uncommon for a princess.

Chopping wood, gardening, cooking, cleaning—though, I really didn’t do a whole lot of that. The extent of my cleaning was washing dishes and clothes, and even there I tended to let things pile up, or wear the same dirty dress for days, maybe even weeks.

Why wouldn’t I? I had no one to impress. Although Willow would avoid me if I wore something for too long.

As she prowled closer and curled up on my lap, I realized that must not currently be the case, even if my slip was soaked in tomato juice.

I petted her head, the purr that rumbled from her body comforting me.

“We’re going to be okay,” I said. “I can wield. Isn’t that amazing? Hopefully, we won’t be alone for much longer.”

She didn’t acknowledge me, just continued to purr as I scratched behind her ear.

Bang, bang, bang!

The unapologetic slamming made me jump and scream. Willow bolted off my lap with a disgruntled hiss.

With every hair on the back of my neck standing on end, I slowly turned around and looked across the expansive ballroom floor beyond the den to the large entrance doors.

I had to be hallucinating due to fatigue. There was no way someone had knocked on that door, right? I hadn’t seen or heard a single person in over a year. It was probably just the wind.