Velora noticed the gold thread and curiously began to pull.
Like a child with a toy, Velora yanked until the spindle slipped out of my bag and onto the floor. She picked up the gold wrapped firethorn spindle, grinning.
“What is this?” King Goddrick reached for the spindle and fingered the thread. “Did you do this?” He turned to Velora whose eyes narrowed at being cornered.
“Yes,” Velora raised her chin high, rising to the challenge.
“How?” he asked.
Velora’s eyes strayed to mine for a split second and I shook my head, trying to convince her to back down. In a panic, she gazed at the table full of fruit and desserts and saw plump red strawberries.
“I made it out of straw—”
I could see her still-new human mind trying to process the words for things that she had seen in our world. Butter became butt, strawberries were straw. How was she going to lie about creating golden thread if she didn’t even know the word for strawberries?
“Can you do it again?” The king was almost drooling with pleasure at the thought of gaining more gold.
“Of course, if I feel like it.” Velora flipped her hair over her shoulder and sat down in the king’s presence, turning her attention back to her food.
Audible gasps followed. The rest of the occupants stood in silence and awaited the king’s famous retaliation for the dishonor he was shown.
Instead of calling down the blades that stood behind him, the king kneeled next to Velora, his voice becoming sweet as honey. “And what can I do to help assist you in creating this miraculous feat?”
Velora’s eyes glittered, and she pursed her lips, reveling in the power she had attained. A woman’s trick. One that she knew how to use, for even mermaids understood the power of a woman’s charm.
King Goddrick placed the spindle in her hands and closed her fingers over it. “I’d even offer you a marriage contract.”
She cringed and shook her head. “Lots of raw fish and I will make your gold.”
“Excellent. I will see to your wishes, but I too have demands, and I want it by morning.”
Velora’s eyes fluttered the slightest as he called her bluff. “Your wish, I command.”
The king left and the tension in the air dissipated. Annette and Shannon jumped up from their chairs and rushed to Velora’s side.
“Is it true? Can you spin gold?” Shannon asked.
“Can you show me?” Annette begged.
Velora basked in her newfound fame, and I groaned. Did she not know what the king would do if she failed? I pushed my plate away, hissing as I forgot about my freshly healed but still sore hand.
Soon after the king left, servers with trays of freshwater mussels appeared. Velora squealed in excitement at the fresh food. She greedily picked up each mussel and slurped the meat from the shell before tossing it to the floor. I’d never seen the girl this happy before. The buffet of seafood continued as another servant brought in crawfish and trout. Velora devoured each tray without sharing a single bite. It mattered not, as no one was interested in fish that were still moving.
After the parade of food, a parade of dresses followed. Gail and Freya brought in trunks of silk dresses, golden armbands, and elegant hair combs.
The awes stopped and I could feel the jealousy rise among the women. Unable to hide their feelings, it marred their beautiful faces. Shannon’s cheeks had turned splotchy, Annette was pulling at her golden curls with a vengeance as if she were envisioning weaving her own hair around a spindle.
Benton worked furiously, focusing on a gold-colored napkin. His hands shimmered, and the napkin shifted and changed into a swan, but it didn’t solidify or become gold. He sighed and shoved the cloth away angrily. His maker abilities only worked on changing the current physical shape of an object.
Brenna encouraged Benton, her hand resting on his arm, and his cheeks reddened.
Freya interrupted our dinner, and one by one escorted us back to our rooms. For the most part we were in the same wing of the castle. Velora was now escorted to the floor above mine, and I could only imagine what was waiting for her there.
After Freya locked the others in their rooms, we headed toward mine. “You don’t have to lock me in,” I whispered, walking next to her.
“It’s the rules,” Freya said.
“But what good are keeping the rules if I already know the secret about the blades.”
“That isn’t the only secret in this palace. There are many that are not safe for you to discover.” She slowed when we came to my door.
“If you lock me in, I guarantee Velora will fail her test. The king will arrive tomorrow to find an empty room. And then what will happen?”
“He will punish her severely.” Freya’s hands trembled.
I clasped her wrinkled hands between mine and pleaded. “And that will be on you, for I could have stopped it. I can help.” I stepped into my room and turned to look at her, pleading with her to not lock me in.
“But if you get discovered, it is I who will pay the price and be punished.” Freya’s bottom lip trembled. She pushed the door closed. I heard the key insert itself into the lock, but not the click that followed afterward.
Her footsteps faded away, and I tested the handle and felt the door swing inward. Quickly, I closed it again and thanked the stars that Freya had come to her senses.
Judging by the setting sun, I knew it would be awhile before everyone had all retired and it would be safe for me to make my way about the castle. I laid on the bed to take a quick nap knowing that tonight would be a long night of experiments. And now, because of a lie, I had to help a girl create gold.
My hand still throbbed painfully during my sleep, causing my mind to mirror the pulsing pain. In my dream, I was walking down a dimly lit tunnel. The ground was void of prints, and there were no markings on the wall to discern where I was headed. All I knew was the sound of a beating heart surrounded me.
“Come to me. Free me,” the voice beckoned. “Release me and I will give you all that you desire. I’ll grant your every wish.”
“What I wish is for you to be gone,” I answered, letting my voice carry. In the very realistic dream, I could feel the temperature rising. My clothes were sticking to my skin, my damp hair clinging to my face.
A rumble deep in the mountain followed. “Foolish child, you cannot banish me. For I am, and I will always be.”
Then, as if I were walking backward, my dream flowed in reverse, the throbbing sped up, and I awoke back in my bed. My heart beat in my chest as though I had run a thousand paces. My palms were sweating, and the hair on the back of my neck was wet.
It was just a dream . . . I think.
As I sat up in bed and held my still healing hand, I couldn’t help but wonder if I was connected to the thing in the mountain. That by feeding on my power twice, it had linked with me.
The moonlight poured through the glass balcony doors, lighting my room, leaving very few shadows for intruders to hide behind. I’d slept longer than I wanted to, and now had a very long list of projects to finish in a few hours.
I opened my unlocked door and almost walked into a powerful chest.
Strong hands caught me around the waist as I stumbled into Kash’s arms.
“I knew you would fall for me.” Kash’s golden eyes met mine. Even though he was teasing, I could read the shame he was hiding behind a false smile. His dark curly hair was slightly wet, and he was wearing black pants and a crisp emerald green shirt.