Anytime she messed up with her people, she offered a bush, flower or tree of some kind. The fruit trees earned the best reactions—reverence and awe. For the trees, only the trees, but progress was progress.
Cookie soared past the invisible veil that separated the maze of treasures from the rest of the castle. She’d expected Kaysar to be over the moon when she’d given him a gold star tour, but he’d been too distracted to care, patting her head, kissing her lips and moving on.
As she bypassed the portal and navigated the winding hallway of mystical options, the skirt of her ball gown brushed the walls. On both sides. Today she’d selected the Glenda the Good-ish Witch dress. The pale pink fabric boasted embroidered roses across the bodice, with an accompaniment of razor-sharp leaves. Anyone dumb enough to grab her would receive quite the surprise.
She’d almost chosen to be the Sugar Plum Fairy. A magnificent creation and an attempt to lure Kaysar to her side, ready to grant his every wish. To gain his attention and his touch. To reaffirm their undeniable connection. Once she’d talked herself out of that, she’d reached for the white dress. Its mysterious meaning had stayed her hand. Instead, she’d gone for the eternal optimist. Hoping...
There’s no place like home.
At last, she entered the room with the telescope. Her favorite! The massive piece of equipment stared at a crumbling wall, yet she could use it to peer anywhere in the Dusklands, the Forest of Many Names, and even the borders of the five courts. Once, she’d thought she caught sight of Kaysar’s palace in the Midnight Court. The Nightlands. Though she’d searched and searched, she’d failed to locate Micah and Hador here in the Dusklands.
Maybe she’d luck out today.
Let the search continue. In position at the spyglass, she searched the wooded areas in the mountain, where tree roots slithered like snakes, on the hunt for Micah or the Frostline king. Flowers had begun to bloom here and there. Pink. Blue. Yellow. Red. Purple. The petals shimmered in sunlight. Beyond the woods was a swampland that cut into a butterfly garden, which cut into a desert-like clearing.
“Cookie! Guess what? I did it. I figured out how I’ve been seeing hundreds of random images of no importance, preventing me from seeing anything else.”
Invader! With a yelp, Cookie whirled around and flung a handful of thorns. The intruder’s identity didn’t register until too late. Thankfully, Amber ducked and continued forward without a pause in her step. Or dying.
“Well, don’t leave the rest of the class in suspense,” Cookie said, heart not yet ready to calm. “Tell me. How’s it happening? And how’d you get past your shadow?” Kaysar should be all over her, demanding information about this.
“Oh, Kaysar was easy. I accessed a vision sure to keep him busy for hours.” The oracle stunned in a white Grecian gown, as graceful as a ballerina. “Micah and Hador are working with a seer of their own. One of the most powerful I’ve ever encountered. She’s sending me mental collages, preventing me from focusing on where the royals are hiding.”
“Now that you know, can you block her?”
“Mostly.”
That was great. It really was. But, the return of her abilities put Kaysar’s preoccupation on steroids. Cookie’s shoulders drooped as she returned her attention to the spyglass. “I’ll find our opposition, don’t you worry. No one can hide from me for long.” Hopefully.
She aimed the end in different directions. A fluffy bush that resembled cotton candy hurled itself onto a rodent, blood spraying from the leaves. In a pond, a fish zoomed past the water’s surface and got snagged by a bird midflight. Another fish crawled from the water with a million feet to creep along the shore.
With a huff of irritation, Cookie readjusted the angle of the spyglass and scrutinized the border of the Winter Court, home to King Hador and Prince Jareth. Snow and frost stretched forever, creating a sea of white broken only by a massive rock wall, where an army camped.
Kaysar’s army. Or a part of it. How long had the men been in place? Tents and firepits abounded, smoke curling through frigid air. Some soldiers trained. Others crafted weapons or performed chores. A majority worked to breach the wall.
He enjoyed being a constant thorn in Hador’s paw. And honestly, she couldn’t blame him. But since finding the doll, his obsession had amplified tenfold. It was hurting him and killing her.
He skulked around and muttered under his breath constantly. When his sanity slipped, he cut his arms to make his maps. He’d made a lot of maps. Sometimes he stared at the crimson lines, as if he plotted a path to Viori, wherever she happened to be. If she happened to be. Had she survived?
“You can absolutely find specific individuals with the spyglass,” Amber said. “If you have their blood.”
Seriously? “How much?”
“A single drop here.” She tapped the mysterious cylinder beneath the eyepiece. “There’s nowhere the person can hide. No power strong enough to shield them.”
No wonder Cookie had fallen hardcore for the spyglass. It rocked. “Since I can’t thieve blood until I find the people, you’re up to bat. Have you seen Micah and Hador yet? One or the other? Hundreds of angry soldiers, perhaps?”
“I’ve seen a future event. Which is one of the reasons I sought you out.” Amber hesitated a moment. “There’s something I feel you should see.”
Oh, crap. “No, thank you.” No need to ponder. She got being prepared. But when did a psychic vision become a self-fulfilling prophecy? “If I know what’s coming, I might change my behavior, might make wrong decisions, based on a supposition.”
“Kaysar would disagree.” Amber flattened a palm on the rounded body of the spyglass, pushing it from Cookie’s range. “But I don’t want to show you what’s coming. I want to reveal something from his past.”
“That would be a big no thanks, too. I’m not peeping into his business. Not without permission.” But she wanted to. Temptation had her number. What she wouldn’t give to see a slice of Kaysar’s life.
No. She shouldn’t. Their relationship was strained enough already. Why add a potential bomb to the mix?
“Do you wish for Pearl Jean and Sugars to live here?” Amber asked.
The oracle planned to talk her around, didn’t she? “You know I do,” Cookie grumbled.
“Do you want a future with Kaysar? Do you want to win him?”
She flashed a scowl. “I do. But he doesn’t desire to be won.” When would he fight for her? Everything was so one-sided. He either showed her the world’s most seductive, attentive Prince Charming or the world’s coldest assassin, but never anything in between. “I’m a pretty amazing person,” she said, hating her whininess. “I protect those under my care, I’m world-changing in bed, and I’m sure I have other winning attributes, too.”