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Chapter Three: Bahira

Silence, thick like syrup, suffocates the room. My mother glances at my father quickly, a language all their own expressed in just one look.

“What do you mean?” I ask, staring at my brother’s profile as he wipes his palms on his thighs and shifts in his seat. “Is she mage?”

“She must be. She wasn’t even aware she had magic until she accidentally called on it.” Nox swallows roughly and adds, “Four years ago.”

Realization forces me back into the chair. Four years ago, when we first felt the wave of magic. I shake my head, trying to organize and work through the questions that are firing off in my mind. “I don’t understand. If she is mage, how did she come to be in the Mortal Kingdom?”

“She was born there—as the princess,” Nox answers, and if I think it isn’t possible to feel more shocked than I already was, I am wrong.

“I wasn’t aware that King Dolian was married, let alone had children,” my mother muses.

“She’s his niece.” And there is that fucking shock and silence again.

“So she is the daughter of the late king and queen. If memory serves me correctly, her parents died sometime after her birth, yes?” my father asks, looking to Nox.

He nods in confirmation, and my stomach twists at the thought. “She doesn’t know anything about them. She was held captive by her uncle.”

My mother’s mouth twists into a frown. “Held captive? How long?”

“Since she was born. She was forced to live secluded in a tower, and I do mean secluded . She had no one except for a guard who treated her like his own until…” He shakes his head, as if in disbelief. “Until the king killed him in front of her.”

“Gods,” I gasp, echoing my mother.

“How did you convince the king to let her leave the castle? Is he aware of what she can do?” my father queries, a line forming between his brows as he leans his elbows on the desk.

Nox tilts his head back and drags a hand down his face. “I didn’t. I helped her escape, and we ran. He didn’t know she had magic until he caught her using it to heal me.” My parents bristle in their chairs before Nox holds up a hand. “I’m fine, just took a sword to the side.”

My mother lets out a squeak of protest as my father’s eyes widen. I do the only reasonable thing and burst out into a fit of laughter. “Are you fucking serious? Gods above, Nox—”

“I’m fine, and we have other things we need to discuss,” he argues, cutting me off. “We need to keep her magic and identity a secret.”

My father scratches his jaw, looking at my mother and communicating again in a way that only they can understand. “I wish you guys wouldn’t do that,” I grumble, folding my arms over my chest.

“We can feel her magic, Nox,” my father confesses with a sympathetic smile. My eyebrows draw up in surprise.

“Her magic is strong , perhaps even as strong as yours is. At least, that is what it feels like,” my mother supplies gently.

“Then I will leave with her if she isn’t safe here,” Nox growls, his voice a sharp knife cutting into the air as his anger rises to the surface.

A knock at the door interrupts the moment, and my father beckons the mage in, halting our conversation.

“Highnesses, the princess’ bags are readied in the carriage as you commanded,” Leyah, one of the palace staff, says.

I blow out a breath, standing up and forcing myself to be steady despite how my nerves threaten to rattle me. I think if I had time to prepare for this endeavor—longer than an hour at least—I wouldn’t find myself so nauseous with the thought of leaving. “I guess it’s time.”

My father’s eyes are soft as he grabs my mother’s hand and walks around the desk. “We’ll ride with you.”

Nox stands as well, a hand running through his hair as he looks at me. “I’m going to stay here. I’m sorry, Bahira—”

“I understand,” I interrupt, stepping up to him and wrapping my arms around his torso. If we are truly harboring the stolen niece of the mortal king, then Nox is needed here.

He tightens the embrace, taking a deep breath before pulling away. “It feels a bit like fate is playing a joke on us to take you away as soon as I get back. Will you be able to use their Mirror to talk with us?”

“I’ll make sure of it. You focus on acclimating to being back home for good. And perhaps figuring out where your new girlfriend gets her magic from.”

He snorts, but the sound is forced. With one more squeeze, he quietly excuses himself from the room, his tall figure exiting the open door of the office and into the bustling hallway.

“He’ll be fine, Bahi,” my father says, gesturing for me to walk out. Luckily, the council members have all dispersed, leaving just the palace staff as they attend to their duties. I take in the white stone walls decorated with tapestries and paintings that depict important events and portraits of rulers from the past. Looking up to the large five-tiered golden chandelier lit with spelled flames in glass orbs three stories above me, I feel myself getting emotional over a damn light.

I wonder if that’s the thing about leaving the place you’ve called home your entire life—suddenly the colors of everything are sharper, the details more finely tuned. A slight panic that this may be the last time I’ll be here, in this room with these people, overtakes me, and there is nothing I can do to stop the tears that finally well in my eyes.

“Oh, my rose,” my mother says, drawing me in for a hug. “Remember who you are, who you’ve always been. Regardless of what happens over the next three months, you were always worthy of this. You, Bahira Rose Daxel, may be the princess of the Mage Kingdom by title, but you are, and always will be, so much more than that.”

I hug my mother fiercely, my hand cupping the back of her head and all that curly dark brown hair that is twin to my own. “I love you, Mother.”

“I love you too.” She pulls back, wiping my fallen tears with her fingers and cradling my face as she kisses my brow. Time suspends when I turn to look at my father. He stares at me with such adoration, such love, that it leaves me feeling as if I might not be able to do this. Maybe I’m not truly the person he thinks I am. I lay my cheek on his chest, the scent of leather and cinnamon strong with my deep inhales while we embrace.

“The first mage in two hundred years to be invited—more or less—to visit another kingdom,” he ponders, pulling back from me and tilting his head to the side. “And I can think of no one else more worthy of going, my Bahira. Your name means ‘brilliant beauty,’ and you are those things. But it’s your resilience and your pursuit of knowledge that will make this journey one that will be recorded in history books across all of the kingdoms one day. I know it.” His hold is firm, love and strength pouring out of him, and I greedily accept it for myself.

Agreeing to meet them back outside at the carriage in ten minutes, I dart up the stairs to the third floor, passing a few guards on my way.

“Safe travels, Your Highness,” Barron, a longtime guard, says from his post at the top of the stairs.

“Thank you, Barron. You keep this place from falling apart until I get back, alright?” His warm chuckle draws a slight smile from me while my heart pounds to the beat of my steps as I walk the long hallway to my room. Muffled voices sound farther down the hall, coming through the door of Nox’s room. Curiosity briefly has me taking a step towards them, but when the voices grow more tense, I enter my room instead. Rifling through my closet first, I change into a fitted black top with shortened sleeves tucked into tailored dark blue trousers and sandals that tie around my ankles.

On the nightstand next to my bed is a pile of mage journals that I hadn’t finished reading through yet. I grab those as well as my personal journal, bundling the collection into a leather pack I snagged from my closet. Giving my room one final scan, my eyes catch on something leaning against the wall.

“Why not,” I mutter to myself, walking over to my spear and sliding my hand down its shaft before grabbing it and heading out of the room. I don’t look back as I shut the door and make my way down to join my parents outside.

We stop at the library first so that I can grab another set of journals to bring, as I’m sure I will have ample reading time on the ship at the very least. Walking past Elisha with a wave of my hand, I quickly climb the stairs and make my way to the back shelves where the ancient journals of the king’s council are kept. Sliding a ladder that is attached to a track on the wall, I climb up to the top shelf and gather as many of those older journals as I can without tipping over.

When I have all I can carry, I carefully climb down and make my way to the exit. Elisha warns me that the magic that protects the journals may falter in the Shifter Kingdom, as it’s been a long while since they’ve tested such a thing. Promising to keep them in excellent condition, I say goodbye and head back out to the carriage, carefully laying them in my trunk and wrapping my clothing around them to ensure they stay safe. My parents cast me an amused look as I climb in before I shrug my shoulders and the carriage takes off.

My last stop before we go to the beach is my workshop. Opening the door to the place that has held so many failed attempts feels almost cathartic. Maybe because now, mixed in with all of those failures, there is a new discovery. With the intent of grabbing my magnifier, I walk to the back of the room. I am wrapping my hands gently around it when my attention is drawn to the counter that holds the glass bottles containing my experiments. I peer at the one that somehow had a delayed growing reaction. Perhaps I can still study it, and though I don’t exactly know what else I’m expecting to find, an intuitive feeling says to bring it with me. Grabbing a cork, I close off the top of the bottle and then race back to the carriage, packing both items carefully into my trunk.

I allow myself to really take in the landscape of our kingdom one more time, knowing it will only be three months until I return yet still feeling like things might change before then. My parents talk quietly, their voices working to settle some of my anxiousness as I watch the trees pass by quickly through the window.

The briny scent of the ocean fills the air as the carriage comes to a stop, one of the mages who sat out front opening the door for us. I move first, grabbing my spear and my backpack, and exit the carriage with a jittery step. Looking out to the water’s edge, I can practically feel King Kai’s eyes on me though he is too far away to make out his features. I do not cower to anyone, let alone an arrogant, egotistical ass of a king. I will be strong at this moment. For my kingdom and the people in it, and for myself. Standing up tall, I slide my spear into the loops at the top of my back, the leaf-shaped tip reaching over my head. My father carries my trunk as he and my mother lead the way, walking through the remaining crowd still gathered at the beach. I’m nearly to the Spell, marked by its iridescent shimmering magic, when Daje calls out my name. He pushes his way through the throng of people, his eyes wide when they collide with mine.

“Bahira,” he says again as he stops right in front of me, his hand reaching out to grab my wrist. The emotional toll of the past hour feels even heavier when he speaks. “I’ll wait for you. I’ll wait, and when you come back, we can talk about what it means for us.” The words come out on a ragged breath, his fingers flexing against my skin. The familiarity of his stare, of his unwavering dedication, momentarily snaps the mask I’ve donned in half. The tip of my finger caresses the inside of his own wrist, but where I imagine there should be heat or longing or desire of some sort, there is nothing.

“I’ll see you in three months,” I say, quickly turning around and walking through the Spell.