Page 19 of Inked in Emeralds (Inkbound #3)

B y the time we finally neared the gates of The Emerald City, my mood was still high, but my legs were like lead.

One foot in front of the other.

It was only when I’d gotten within fifty yards of it that I realized, the city wasn't just named after emeralds. It was carved from them. I knew my way around gemstones, and there was no jeweler in the world who could fake the lush green color, no matter how meticulously they cut and faceted. A massive emerald wall ringed the entire city, five or more stories high—nearly double the height of Alabaster’s walls. I shook my head.

“How could they afford this? Surely, no one would ever go hungry if you hacked even ten feet off that wall.”

Billy shrugged. “It looks fancy, which is part of why they like it. But the mines are bursting with them. You could get a copper a pound for emerald, maybe. Twice that for rubies. This place is worth far less than the road we took to get here.”

Molly would curl up in a ball and die with excitement if she could see this right now.

And she’s going to be on the edge of her seat when you see her again to tell her all about it.

I swallowed the tightness in my throat. No point in thinking about Molly when I needed to focus on the task in front of me.

We drew closer, and my steps faltered as we approached the gates to find our own faces staring back at us.

Wanted posters, plastered up and down the wall, cheapening the gleaming emerald, making it look like hard candy with bits of the wrapping still stuck to it.

My heart sank. The witch’s reach was long…

Duncan scanned the posters, his expression grim. “Not exactly a warm welcome, is it?”

“Not to mention, whoever sketched these needs an art class.” Billy leaned closer to one that had sharpened her features and added a madness to her eyes that made her look like a professional assassin. “Although, to be fair, I do look intimidating.”

I glanced at Hook, who was busy glaring at a dark and pretty sinister version of himself that was pretty spot on except with a?—

“A parrot?” he muttered. “Fucking ridiculous.”

I pulled one of his posters down and pretended to inspect it. “I don’t know what you’re complaining about. Yours is actually an improvement. Maybe it would be better if they put a vulture on your shoulder to match your charming personality instead?”

“And we all still think this is the right move?” Duncan asked, cutting in before Hook could reply. “After what happened back with Jack, I’m wondering if we aren’t walking right into another trap here...”

I lifted my chin and tried to look confident.

“This is where I’m meant to be. Gayelette said my mother left the prophecy here for me, and that I needed to get it.

She hasn’t misled me yet, and think about it.

Why would Almira blow all that magic trying to stop us from getting here if she could just come and snatch me once I was corralled behind these walls?

” I paused, flicking a glance between them.

“Look, I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again.

This is my destiny. If I’m wrong, I’m prepared to pay the price.

You guys got me here and I’m grateful for that, but you don’t have to stay.

I’ll understand if you want to turn back. ”

Billy flashed a grin that was all teeth. “And miss all the fun? Nope. I have a score to settle, and I’m not walking away until it’s done.”

I turned to Hook and his dark gaze softened, if only a fraction. “Not a chance, Princess.”

“Duncan?”

“Do you even have to ask?”

I released a breath I didn’t know I’d been holding and nodded. “Okay, let’s do this, then.”

Billy stepped forward and rapped her fist against the massive gate.

“State your business!” barked a voice from somewhere above. A green-helmeted guard popped into view, peering suspiciously down from the top of the wall. “We don’t allow foot travelers.”

Hook’s voice rumbled. “Do we look like we’re here to sightsee?”

“A wise guy, hmmm? Off with you! Go on.” The guard disappeared from view and Billy’s brows caved into a scowl.

She raised her fist again, pounding even louder. “As a former citizen, I have the right to be here, damn it. We’ve come too far and gone through too much to turn around now. Get down here and let us in, or we’re going to let ourselves in.”

Diplomacy at its finest. I bit my lip but stayed silent.

“Go away, dagnabbit! You aren’t welcome,” the guard shouted back.

Other heads peaked above the wall, voices chiming in.

“Wait..is that her? Look at her boots—it's her!” a young woman gasped.

“The good witch has come?”

“It can’t be!”

My heart lurched as more faces appeared above us, each more excited than the last. Within moments, the sounds of an argument broke out from behind the gates.

“They’re wanted by the witch. We can’t risk her wrath.”

“But the prophecy! The Wizard should decide whether?—”

“The Wizard isn’t king here!” a bitter voice growled.

I held my breath, listening to the muffled argument, fingers flexed around my whip handle.

“He said if she ever came that we were to let her in.”

“That was before the witch sent those posters…”

Finally, the first guard we’d spoken to popped his head over the gate to glare down at us again.

“You’re causing a ruckus! I’ll allow you inside the city walls while we go ask the Great Oz if he will see you. If he declines, you must agree to go without a fight. Do I have your word?”

It was only a problem if The Wizard said no, and I’d worry about that later.

“You do.”

He disappeared again and the enormous doors swung open.

Emerald towers were connected by sidewalks at ground level and hanging brass footbridges were two levels up.

Mechanical birds whirred overhead, powered by tiny propellers, darting between buildings as they delivered letters and brown paper wrapped packages.

Bonnie let out a chortle and moved restlessly on Duncan’s shoulder.

“And we thought our falcon chutes were impressive...” he murmured.

The citizens who rushed to greet us looked nothing like the brightly-clad Munsch Kin folk we’d met when we first got to Oz.

These people wore bold, jewel-toned gowns, velvet waistcoats, shiny riding boots, and the wildest hats I’d ever seen.

Most were human, but a handful were some sort of human-animal hybrids.

A man walking on two legs with the face of a tortoise and a shell to boot.

A woman who I’d never pick out of a crowd from the back had the face and ears of a rabbit when she turned around.

Billy didn’t bat an eye, so I had to assume this was the norm in Emerald City.

“Keep it moving,” one of the guards commanded as the others, also dressed in green from head to toe like him, formed a tight circle around us. “Straight to the palace.”

The crowd only thickened as we headed deeper into the city, and they got braver with every step. Hands reached out, touching my hair, my shoulders, grasping at my sleeves, like they were trying to check if I was real or not.

More than one touched my boots which was…weird.

“It’s her!”

“Thank the fates you’ve come!”

I forced a smile, praying that we’d made the right choice stepping through that gate, despite the posters.

We rounded a corner, and I froze mid-step.

A mural in the distance featured a lean woman with dark, billowing hair, tall red boots, and lightning crackling from her fingertips, standing over the body of a dark-haired witch in striped stockings.

One enterprising citizen had taken it upon themselves to draw a handlebar mustache on the woman’s face, but there was no question.

She was me.

“That’s flattering…ish?” Billy said.

“I look ridiculous,” I muttered.

“Enough!”

The guard who’d been hesitant to allow us inside herded us toward a building that was even more incredible than the others. Massive columns framed doors of brass, each etched with a cheery scene. Hot air balloons skimming through puffy clouds, and people dancing in a town square.

The stairs seemed almost endless as we climbed, and by the time we reached the top, my legs shook with exhaustion. I could only imagine how Hook was feeling after doing everything I’d done today, except on zero sleep.

“Weapons,” the guard stationed there demanded by way of greeting.

We reluctantly handed them over, though when he approached Hook, gesturing to the gleaming hardware at the end of his wrist, the pirate shook his head.

“Don’t even think about it.”

The guard opened his mouth, hesitated, then made the right decision, accepting Hook’s offered sword with a frown. “Fine…but don’t try anything. There are hundreds of us within shouting distance, so you won’t get far.”

Debatable, but I wasn’t about to point that out.

Stepping into the palace was like tripping into a dream…Or a nightmare, depending.

"Good gods," Duncan muttered beside me. "Is it a carnival, then?"

It sure looked that way. A dozen multi-colored horses trotted in dizzying circles around a ring, their coats shifting from crimson to cobalt to lemony yellow right before our eyes.

“Weird,” I murmured, shaking my head.

"I’ve seen way weirder stuff. Though it usually involves more alcohol, and fewer horses." Hook eyed the mechanical birds gliding through the hall, their brass wings clicking as they moved.

Bonnie dipped and bobbed on Duncan’s shoulder, eyes pinned on the birds as he stroked her feathers with a reassuring murmur. "Easy girl, they’re just clockwork."

In another ring, acrobats and trapeze artists flew through the air, flipping like there was a featherbed waiting to catch them if they fell, which there most surely was not.

I looked away, my throat aching.

All it would take is one slip…

Hook nudged my elbow. “All right?”

I glanced at him, forcing a smile. “Don’t love heights and just thinking I’m glad I’m down here.”

A handsome woman dressed in gold from head to toe walked toward us. Of all the hats I’d seen, hers was the most spectacular. Perched atop her white-blond hair, it was covered in flowers made of turning gears, and a fat, mechanical bumblebee buzzed around them.

The guard whispered a few words into her ear, then strode away.

If she was worried about being left to defend herself against strangers, she didn’t show it as she flashed a set of pearly whites.

"Welcome, weary travelers. I’m Olga, valet to The Great Oz himself.

You stand within the halls of our own Emerald City Palace. A place of dreams and imagination."

"Whose imagination? Because I have suggestions…"

The woman gave Billy a patient smile. "All of Emerald City contributes to society here, one way or another. For some, it’s coin; for others, it’s ingenuity; and for others still, it’s something more…spiritual."

Billy stiffened beside me at the cryptic words, but Olga was already turning away.

"Please, follow me.”

We fell into step behind her, and I couldn’t help but be a little on edge. I was going to feel really fucking stupid if I walked in to find Almira herself standing there waiting for us.

When we stopped in front of an ornate, carved door a minute later, Olga faced us again. "The Great Oz will see each of you. One at a time.”

There was a heavy pause as we all looked at each other.

Hook stepped forward at the same time as Duncan. "Not a chance.”

For the first time, Olga’s pearly smile slipped.

"The Great Oz insists?—"

"And we insist otherwise," Hook interrupted. "But you’re welcome to try and separate us."

Billy cracked her knuckles. "We came together; we'll see him together.”

The other woman seemed to weigh her options for a long moment before shrugging an elegant shoulder.

“He doesn’t like having his authority questioned, so don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

As she stepped back, the heavy door swung inward to reveal a pitch-black room. I hesitated, the chaos behind us suddenly far more appealing than the thought of going inside.

"After you, Princess," Billy urged.

I squared my shoulders and stepped into the gloom with the guys flanking me on either side and Billy bringing up the rear. The door swung closed behind us, the sudden silence heavy as a sodden cloak.

"This doesn’t feel ominous at all." Duncan’s low voice was thick with sarcasm.

A shiver rolled over me and I reached out, my fingers brushing Hook’s arm. I couldn't see him, but I felt him flex beneath my fingertips, coiled and ready.

It was going to be fine, everything was going to be?—

White light burst through the chamber, revealing the room to be a massive dome. Stars glittered overhead, and a massive, silvery moon glowed brightly.

The sight helped settle the roiling in my stomach. A reminder that we were all part of a universe and connected by something that could only be considered magic.

Gayelette had said it before, and I’d known it in my gut. As tough as this was, I was right where I was supposed to be, right when I was supposed to be here. This wasn’t a mistake. Too many stars had to align to make it all happen for it to be anything short of destiny.

The comforting thought shattered as quickly as it had come as a roar of flames erupted around the chamber, exploding from a dozen torches set into the polished marble floor.

I scrambled back as another light appeared, filling a quarter of the space.

An enormous face surrounded by green smoke and fire glared down at us, lips drawn back in a fearsome scowl.

"I AM OZ, THE GREAT AND POWERFUL!" The voice boomed through the room as the face's eyes locked onto me. "YOU HAVE COME ALL THIS WAY TO MEET ME, YET YOU DEFY ME BEFORE WE EVEN MEET?"

Hook tensed beside me and my knees threatened to buckle, but I stiffened my spine, forcing myself to meet that gaze.

"TELL ME, WHY SHOULD I NOT STRIKE YOU DEAD WHERE YOU STAND?"