Chapter Two: Bahira

“Bahira,” Daje rumbles again, his fingers stretching towards me on the other side of the iridescent wall of the Spell. Between his wide eyes boring into me and the shifter king’s domineering energy behind me, I’m pinned into place. Three months. Three months to try to fix another kingdom’s magic problems—to hope it helps more than hinders the solving of ours as well.

“Deal,” I say firmly, keeping my gaze on the man that’s held such an important part of my past but speaking my answer to the looming male who represents my now-immediate future. “Three months.” Daje sucks in a breath, his head jerking back as his hand falls to his side.

A rumbling, dark laughter makes my hair stand on edge. “This will be an interesting three months, Princess,” King Kai says, his deep voice laced with amusement.

Though the blue sky above is free of clouds, I swear a shadow passes over me as I turn to face the exasperating ruler of the island kingdom. “Can’t wait,” I say through a fake smile. “Being that you can’t pass through the Spell, I assume you will want to leave soon?”

Only one side of King Kai’s mouth lifts as he half smiles, half snarls at me. “How perceptive you are. I can see now why—”

“Say another word, Your Majesty, and I will kick your balls so far inside you, Tua here won’t be able to find them.”

Tua lets out a sigh while the shifter king leans forward, all pretense of an attempted grin gone from his expression. “That would be considered an act harsh enough for me to declare war,” he grits out, his advisor shifting closer until his shoulder bumps the king’s.

I smile—my own flashing of teeth—as I take a step towards him until our bodies are a mere hand’s width apart. “And yet you’ve just given a blood oath to protect our people. Your threats are as pathetic as you are.”

The shifter king growls low in his throat, and I laugh. A flicker of surprise passes through his earthy brown eyes, but then it’s gone and is replaced by animosity.

Good, the feeling is fucking mutual.

“Return here with whatever you need for your stay in my kingdom within the hour, or you’ll swim to the ship.” He turns around, and I’m about to retort with something entirely unladylike, when my father steps up to me and gently guides me away.

“Let it go, Bahi. Something tells me that the shifter king has never met a woman who could rival him in insults,” he says with a small chuckle as we step through the Spell. That silky bubble feeling washes over me for half a second, and then we’re back on the other side.

Daje is waiting for me, and based on his bitter expression, I know he wants to have a conversation right this very second about what just happened, but there is someone else who draws my gaze away. My parents and I trudge across the warm sandy beach to greet Nox, our first time seeing him in person in a year.

All I can see is his side profile as he speaks to the blonde woman I saw him with earlier, though their conversation looks mostly one-sided. When we’re only a few feet away, Nox meets my eyes with a pained—near panicked—expression before turning back to talk with the woman. She gives him a nod, facing us as we reach them.

“Son,” my father rasps, bringing Nox in for a hug. The tension melts from their shoulders as the crown prince and his king reunite. My mother patiently waits her turn, stepping into my brother’s embrace the moment my father has vacated it. Where the two men hugged with the intensity of too much time spent apart, the hug with our mother is softer. Like caressing a delicate rose, Nox rubs her back in soothing strokes as she cries tears of joy at having her only son back home.

My attention is drawn back to the woman beside Nox. Though she looks a little travel worn, it’s impossible to ignore how classically beautiful she is. Each of her features looks as though they were hand-picked and placed with the utmost care.

Nox angles himself in front of her, and though sadness pulls on the edges of his eyes, his smile is bright as he says my name and starts to reach out to hug me. Instead, my fist connects with the side of his jaw. The sound of the impact causes a reverberation of gasps amongst the crowd still gathered at the beach. My parents’ heads snap towards me, their gazes ranging from utter shock to confused amusement. Nox’s head jerks to the side where he stays for a moment, his lips pinching together before he turns back around to glare at me.

“What,” he growls, “was that for?”

My arms fold over my chest, the corner of my mouth lifting with delight. “ That is for writing such vague letters, you idiot.”

Nox lets out a strangled laugh before pulling me in for a hug that I don’t fight. “I missed you, nerd,” he says into my hair.

“I missed you too.” His arms tighten around me to the point of near suffocation before he lets go, stepping back. “Who is she?” I ask, gesturing with my chin to the woman behind him now standing with Cassius.

His entire body tenses, fists clenching, as his eyes dart to the council members standing off to the side before coming back to mine. “Not here,” he says quietly, turning towards our father. “Did you get my last letter?” There’s an odd insistence in his voice, his body poised as if he’s preparing for an attack.

My father nods in response to Nox’s question. “Bahira was chosen by the magic of the Continent to leave for the Shifter Kingdom,” he says, his gray eyes finding my own. “We only have an hour before she is to sail with him.”

“Why are you going there to begin with?” Nox questions.

“I’m going to help them with a magic problem,” I reply. They can hash out the details of the deal my father made with the shifter king later, once I’m gone. “I need to go pack my things and stop at my workshop. Shall we go home?”

Nox nods before giving our parents one last glance and then turning to face the woman. They speak quietly before walking towards the carriages, and I move to follow them when Daje calls my name.

“Bahira, wait!” he yells, running up to my side.

“Ride with me to the palace?” I offer, brandishing what I hope is a placating smile.

He nods his head and motions for me to lead, an awkward and rigid silence descending upon us as we walk. We get into the carriage behind the one carrying my parents, and once we’re in motion, Daje leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

“Can you please explain to me what the fuck that was?” I squash down the immediate quell to bite back and, instead, observe him. The last time we talked—at the Summer Solstice celebration—he had left with a hopeful glint in his eyes. Like maybe I would actually stop my pursuit of trying to fix the magic issues that plagued our kingdom and settle down with him as his agreeable wife. Now they are narrowed in accusation and his shoulders are hiked with tension.

“I was chosen , Daje.” I hold his stare, those intense blue eyes moving over me like he’s seeing me in a different light—like I’m someone new. I suppose that’s the issue: this is who I’ve been for my entire adult life, what I’ve been trying to get Daje to see and understand. He’s my best friend, but when was the last time he truly listened to me? We can joke and have fun together, but when was the last time we focused on learning something new about each other? I wasn’t stupid enough to think that I was the only one who had changed over the years. “What is it about me being chosen that you do not like?”

Daje sighs and looks down at where his hands hang between his legs. The carriage softly rocks side-to-side on the stone road as we near the palace. When his silence lingers, I tilt my head back and look up at the canopy-filtered sky. A hint of bright sunshine peeks through the dark green and blue leaves and entangled limbs. Summer’s warmth wraps around us, and I’m just now realizing how being in the sun uncovered at the beach for so long has left my skin feeling hot to the touch.

“I feel like you’re using it as an escape,” he finally says, drawing my attention. He sounds resigned, unprepared to live up to the terms of the ultimatum he put into place. Or at least most of him does—a small glimmer of defiance and resolve shows in the way he rolls his shoulders back and sits up taller.

“An escape from what?” I dare to ask.

“Everything. My proposal, and your answer. The issue with the magic and your failure to—” His eyes widen as he sucks in a breath.

Failure. Your failure. I’m unable to stop myself from wincing.

“I’m sorry, Bahira. I didn’t mean—”

“You did,” I interject as the carriage slows to a stop. He looks as if he’s teetering on the edge of a cliff and I have the ability to either pull him back or push him over. I lean forward and grab one of his hands in mine. One of the guards opens the door to the carriage, but neither of us makes a move to leave. “But you’re wrong. I’m not running away from you or from answering you. This is an incredible opportunity. A grand experiment to see if I can fix our kingdom’s magic—if the answers might have been found elsewhere all along.” Daje’s eyebrows furrow in confusion as he stares at me, his fingers growing lax in my own. “By working on theirs, I might find a solution to ours—”

“Bahira,” he groans, yanking his hand back.

“Please, Daje. Don’t make me answer you when we’ll be separated for the next three months. Let me focus on only this, and if you still care about me in this way when I return, we can talk more about it then.” It’s the best I can do, the only concession I can make. I don’t want to lose him as someone important in my life, but I also can’t promise myself to him until I know for sure that I’ve exhausted every avenue. That I’ve overturned every rock in my search for a solution. That I truly have failed .

“I don’t know, Bahira. I just—I don’t fucking know.” He exits the carriage and walks away from the palace. Away from me. I squeeze my hands into fists while walking up the white dragon stone steps to the palace entrance. Guards clad in the traditional mage leather armor open the large double doors for me, bowing as I pass. Inside the foyer are my parents and a few of the council men and women, including Daje’s father—who looks past me and then narrows his eyes when he sees his son isn’t here. I fight the urge to scowl at him.

“We must speak with him at once and see what he has learned!” Councilman Osiris bellows, raising his voice with each word spoken. Apparently, he still does not understand that being the loudest person in the room doesn’t equate to having the king’s ear.

My father, who has now removed his ceremonial robe and placed his hands casually in his pants pockets, simply shrugs his shoulders. “Nox will speak with us when he’s ready to share the information he has. For now, we will let the crown prince enjoy his first moments being back home with some rest.” Our eyes connect, and with a small jerk of his head, he signals for me to head to his private office, leaving the chaos of the chattering council members behind. “Your brother said he’ll be down to say goodbye to you shortly.”

My father closes the door and takes a seat next to my mother behind a wide desk that is centered in the room. This office is a newer edition to the palace, comparatively speaking. When our family took over as rulers after The War Of Five Kingdoms, my ancestor added an office to this wing. Three of the four walls are lined with white and gray stacked stone, while the last wall is primarily made of three large windows. They curve halfway up, forming an arched point, and are lined with the dark wood of the banya tree. Carved into the stone on the back wall—behind where my parents sit—is the celestial sigil of the queen of Void Magic.

My father taps his fingers on the desk idly as he studies me. “How are you feeling about all of this?”

I take a seat across the desk from my parents, my back stiff as I grip onto the armrests. “I’m fine. I’m ready to do this.” It’s not completely a lie though, if I were being truthful, I’d admit that I’m apprehensive to go to another kingdom and attempt to solve their magic issues, and part of the feeling stems from not having solved our own.

“My rose, you know that you can be honest—” My mother is interrupted when the door opens and Nox walks in.

He takes a seat in the chair next to mine, an ankle resting on top of his knee casually, as though we can’t feel the tension rippling off of him. My mother looks back to me, and I can practically hear the words she wants to say—that I can tell them that I’m fearful, that perhaps I’m even feeling like Daje is correct, that I am the wrong choice. But I know she also has questions for Nox, and I’d rather not dwell on my feelings of inadequacy when there is nothing I can do with them anyway. I nod at her, and she smiles in response before looking at my brother.

“So,” she begins, cocking her head to the side as her lips pull into a smile, “who is that beautiful woman that was with you?” I snort and roll my eyes though it is odd that he’s brought someone home. As far as I knew, his dating life was practically non-existent due to the fact that he was in a foreign kingdom. Which is where I’m about to be as well.

Nox takes a breath and blows it out slowly, one of his fingers nervously tapping on his knee. He looks reluctant to speak about her. My eyes dart to my father, who watches Nox with concern. “Her name is Rhea,” he finally says.

My father interlaces his fingers together on the desk, his chin dipping in contemplation. “Where is she from?” His question lingers, the insinuation behind it causing Nox’s shoulders to tighten.

A prickling of agitation travels down my spine. It has nothing to do with Nox and who he’s speaking of but everything to do with my own anxieties about leaving my home. My grip on the armrest of the chair tightens. “Look, I don’t have a lot of time before I’m climbing aboard a ship for the first time and sailing away for three months to a different kingdom. Can we please get to the point before I have to go pack?” Nox and our father share an incredulous look while our mother stares at me like I’ve just thrown tea in her face. Shrugging, I gesture towards Nox to get him talking again.

“She is from the Mortal Kingdom,” he supplies.

Surprise floods my system as I frown. How did she cross through the Spell if she is mortal?

“And does she have information regarding the magic we felt?” my father asks. Long and quiet seconds pass, and I’m about to yell at Nox again to hurry the fuck up, but his next words choke off my own.

“Dad, she—she is the magic we felt.”