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Duran and I took our seats as I looked around.

The quiet hush was soothing, and I thought I could hear the air conditioning system, though when I closed my eyes and tried to pinpoint it, it sounded more like waves rushing back and forth, crashing lightly against the shore.

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, wishing for a wall to lean back against. I was tired, worn out by emotion.

“Are you all right?” Duran asked.

I nodded, keeping my eyes closed. “I’m tired. Worry leeches energy.”

“That it does,” he said. “She’ll be all right. I’m sure of it.” But, once again, he didn’t sound all too sure.

The next moment, the double doors opened, and two guards stepped out, a man and a woman. The motioned for us.

“We’re up,” Duran said. “Let’s go.” He paused, then said, “You’ll be meeting the queen.”

“What? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t want you to be nervous,” he said.

“Well, I’m nervous now . Do I bow? Kneel? Curtsey?”

“A bow will be sufficient,” he said. “Don’t contradict her unless she’s asking for direct information.”

I nodded, trying to mentally prepare myself for meeting a member of the royalty, especially under these circumstances. We might need the Crystal Court’s assistance at another time, as well, and I didn’t want to incur any diplomatic faux pas.

I took a deep breath, then—as the guard led us through the massive metal doors—I willed myself into a calm, collected state.

* * *

The throne room itself took up almost the rest of the top floor, with four doors on the opposite wall.

I imagined they led to the offices, conference rooms, or whatever else might be needed, as well as what probably had to be a portal room.

I couldn’t imagine Queen Elsabetha taking a taxi to work every day.

The entire floor shimmered—blue tile, the color of the night sky, with sparkling silver flecks. There were pews on either side, five rows of them, each probably capable of seating ten people, so the room had the capacity for at least a hundred spectators.

Right now, there were a handful of people sitting in the pews, looking like they were waiting for appointments.

One woman looked so dejected that she was practically crying.

Another looked bored out of her mind. There were eight altogether, and I wondered if they had appointments, or were hoping that something would open up.

We followed the guard down the center walkway, between the rows. He neither looked right nor left, but kept his head straight forward.

At the back of the room, facing the pews, was an elevated throne, with four steps leading up to the chair.

It looked to be made of silver, with blue crystals thrusting out of the sides and a blue velvet seat.

And on the throne was a stately woman. She had pale silver hair.

Lighter than mine, it was caught up in a mass of curls atop her head, feminine and yet stately.

Her eyes were icy blue, and her lips—petal pink.

A few wrinkles lined the corners of her eyes, but I couldn’t tell how old she was.

Elsabetha could have been forty or a hundred.

She was wearing a long pale blue gown, form fitting until the waist when it spread out, draping to the floor, and a silver pendant with a massive sapphire in the center, encircled by diamonds.

A matching tiara sat atop her head, again with a sapphire the size of a silver dollar in the center, surrounded by diamonds.

Duran knelt at the bottom step, and—not wanting to appear aloof—I awkwardly lowered myself into a curtsy and bowed my head.

“You may rise,” Elsabetha said, her voice smooth and commanding. I had the feeling that, whatever she had to face, she’d remain as calm and centered as she felt now.

We stood and waited.

“Take them to the conference room,” she said to the guard.

He nodded, then motioned for us to follow him. We passed by the throne, around the side and out one of the back doors without another word. I wanted to ask if she would be joining us, but decided to play it cool and wait to see what was going on.

The conference room was much more spartan, in terms of décor, though the chair at the head of the long, rectangular table, was padded with blue cushions, and it had arms. Obviously the Queen’s chair, it was made of ebony, like the other chairs and the table itself.

The other chairs had padded seats, but no arms. The guard led us into the room and pointed toward the first two chairs on either side of the table. There were two other women in the room, seated at the table. Both had notepads, recording devices, and tablets.

I murmured a ‘hello’ as I took the seat to the right of the Queen’s chair. The woman next to me gave me a grave smile and nodded, but didn’t speak. Duran took the chair opposite mine and we sat there, waiting.

A few minutes later, two guards entered, followed by the Queen, then another two guards. The first two pulled out her chair for her and she took her seat, then all four spread out, fanning out behind her.

“Welcome to the Crystal Court,” she said. “We’re waiting on one more person, and he’s on the way. He’ll be here in a few moments.”

She snapped her fingers and one of the guards opened the door, motioned to someone, and in seconds we were joined by a serving girl.

She looked about sixteen, but in a timid way—no flashy haircut or ruby lips or cheerleader figure.

Just an average, somewhat mousey looking girl whom I suspected longed for a better job.

“Please, order drinks or food if you like. We can make whatever you like.” The Queen motioned for the girl to walk over to me.

I smiled at her and, not wanting to get her in trouble by refusing outright, I said, “I’d like a cup of tea and some toast with butter, please.” I had no clue what made me ask for that—I didn’t even like tea, and toast ? Well, toast was good but it seemed an odd thing to ask for.

But the girl smiled and nodded. “White, wheat, or sourdough?”

It was too late to change my mind. “White bread’s fine, thank you.”

She turned to Duran, who asked for a cup of tea and a scone.

When the girl vanished, the queen motioned to one of her guards.

She whispered something to him and he ducked out of the room.

A moment later he returned, with a tall man behind him.

The man looked pale, terribly pale and had black hair that hung to his shoulders and steely gray eyes.

There was an aura of magic to him, one that made me think of a whirlpool.

I had no idea what to think of this, so I filed away the sensation.

“We’ll get started, now that Lynwel is here. Lynwel is the representative from PortalWatch, he’s authorized to discuss the portal system on a need-to-know basis. All right, give us your name?” Queen Elsabetha motioned to me.

I felt anxious, like they were moving at a turtle’s pace. Did bureaucratic propriety take precedence over the lives of their members? I checked my impatience, took a deep breath and faced the queen.

“I’m Kyann Sarasan. Penelope Fircrest was kidnapped today.

She’s my best friend, my roommate, and one of your portal keepers.

We think that Brim Fire is trying to gain access to the portal in order to reach the UnderRealm.

I know I’m probably not supposed to know about this but right now, the thing that matters to me is rescuing Penn. ”

“One step at a time,” the Queen said. “Tell us everything.”

They stayed silent while I outlined everything that had happened, from the camera footage—which I showed them—to the info we knew about Brim Fire, and why we were involved.

“What do you want from us?” Queen Elsabeth asked.

I blinked, not sure that I heard right. “I want your help, please. In getting Penn back.”

“What happens if you don’t get it?” Lynwel asked.

I stared at him, wondering if he was joking. “If you won’t help, I plan on going after her but I thought to ask for your help because she’s part of the Crystal Court, and your portal is in danger.” I paused, waiting.

Queen Elsabetha didn’t ask any questions. She merely stared at me, then motioned to the guards. After whispering to them, she said, “Please wait outside of this room. We’ll call you back in a few moments.”

I glanced at Duran, but he rose without a word and followed me out of the room. As the door closed behind us I turned to him.

“How can they be so calm?” I asked. “Penn is in danger! Don’t they care?”

“Queen Elsabetha acts almost Elven in her nature. She rarely shows emotion. She’s born to it—the monarchy is trained from birth for the throne.

You could tell her that her husband was dead and she wouldn’t blink an eye.

It’s their way—they must remain calm and collected at all times, because reactions can spell death, depending on your enemy. ”

I stared at him. “ What? Good gods, that’s as bad as the Vulcans on Star Trek.”

“Well, there are a lot of similarities,” he said, giving me a wan smile. “I like the show, to be honest.”

“So do I,” I said. I shifted, tired of the bench. I just wanted to get on with it. “How long have you been working with PortalWatch?”

“Not long enough and too long,” he said, rolling his eyes. “Penelope’s great to work with, but the job can be daunting. It’s not what I expected when I took it.”

“How so?” I got the feeling that Duran wasn’t happy. It was clear in the look of disappointment in his eyes.

“I don’t know. I shouldn’t complain but…” He paused as the door opened and the guards called us in again.

We followed them back into the room. I tried to read the Queen’s expression, but everybody there looked as stoic as a rock. As we sat down, I felt the Queen staring at me, and I met her gaze, but she didn’t waver and, after a few seconds, I blinked and looked away.