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“You think you can jump on the top of my store? Who do you think you are?”

“Please, let me go—I need to save my dog!”

“No one cares about your stupid dog,” the man snapped in her face.

Magda’s heart was pounding as if it was about to explode. She had already lost her father, and Aleksy, she couldn’t lose Odie now. He was the only thing she had left, and without her dog, she would be lost completely.

“Let me go!” Magda screamed. She broke her hand away from the man’s grasp, and in one swift movement, the vines attached to the side of the inn leapt from the wall, bursting forward and crashing into the man’s tent. The awning tilted forward, about to crush them.

Magda and the man leapt in opposite directions, and the street was left in a disordered mess of vines and dust. Magda stepped over the fallen tent, as well as stands of fabrics and jewelry, running away from the scene. She hoped that no one had noticed the apparent display of Soul magic. Maybe, they would think the vines had moved by a gust of wind.

Quickly, she rounded the corner, and then the next one, heading to the front of the Mystic Sonata. Outside, she saw Vex closing a wagon door before yelling at the driver, “Get a move on, then!”

Magda tore as fast as she could, making her way toward Vex, but there were too many people in the crowd. He disappeared as fast as he had appeared, blending in with the plethora of citizens in the bustling town circle.

“Odie!” Magda screamed.

Magda reached the front door, putting her hands on her knees to catch her breath. Vex was gone, and so was Odie.

What was she going to do now?

That night, Magda attended the show at the Mystic Sonata. She had to talk to Ravi and tell him what had happened. He was the only person who possibly could help her rescue Odie. Just the thought of Odie being taken by Vex and his henchmen was gut-wrenching. What’s worse, quite a few citizens had witnessed an unusual display of Soul magic. She was running out of time to get to the palace.

She stood in the back of the music hall, listening to Ravi play set after set. He often looked up at her, giving her a soft smile as she watched him, a smile she didn’t return. The more she listened to his music, the more she realized how talented he was. In all of the festivities she had attended at the Azuremi fortress, she had never heard music quite like Ravi’s.

When the night was over, Ravi approached her. “There you are,” he said, “I have ideas about where you can get another invitation. There’s Rachel, the head of the…”

Magda cut him off. “Vex was here today. He broke into my room and stole Odie.”

Ravi’s expression immediately changed. He reached out to Magda, “Are you alright?”

“I jumped out the window, but Odie didn’t. I should have found another way…I don’t know what I was thinking—”

“You jumped out the window?!” Ravi echoed, his voice rising.

Magda continued, the words coming out as quickly as they could in Flaustran, “Thank you for looking into other invitations, but I really can’t think of anything else right now without knowing what is going to happen to my dog. I don’t care about the palace or the ball if I don’t have Odie. Tell me everything you know about what Vex does with the dogs he takes.”

Ravi let out a sigh as his eyes traced the floor. “It’s not good. All of the animals are slated for fighting matches at Vex’s gambling house—it’s a fight to the death. It’s a way for them to increase funding.”

Magda gasped and fought against the stinging sensation in her eyes and throat. “No—Odie won’t fight another dog! We have to rescue him.”

“I don’t know how that will be possible. The match will be heavily guarded. The only way to get in would be to place a bet on one of the animals.”

“Money won’t be an issue,” Magda said.

Ravi gave her a curious expression, but continued, “If you have some money, I can get you into the gambling house where they are holding Odie. A bet will buy you an entry fee, as well as the exact time and day of the fight.”

Magda nodded before slipping a few tiger-stamped coins from her purse and handing them over to Ravi. She couldn’t lose Odie as well. He was a gift from her parents, and she and Aleksy had so many memories playing with him around the castle grounds. It would be too much to bear.

“Is that enough?” she asked.

“By the guardians!” he exclaimed with a laugh. “Of course it’s enough. What did you do in Azurem again?”

Magda shook her head. “You have your secrets, I have mine.”

“Alright. I’ll do what I can.”

“Please try, Ravi. You’re my only hope to save Odie.”