“Why is that, I wonder?”
“I’ve often questioned the same thing, and I think it has to do with a certain trigger.”
“A trigger. What kind?” I asked.
“I believe it is our desires,” Damon explained. He was about to go into more detail when we heard a scream from inside Velora’s room.
The men looked at each other. Without hesitation, Damon tucked his shoulder and slammed it into the door, trying to break it down.
“Wait!” Spencer pushed Damon back. He gripped the handle and opened it. “It’s unlocked.”
“Freya,” I breathed out, realizing she left the door unlocked for me.
We rushed into Velora’s room to see it in utter and complete chaos.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
“Make it stop!” Velora screamed, her face was puffy, and her eyes were red. She rubbed at her eyes and stepped over a straw bale. She sneezed loudly, sending more of the loose straw into the air.
When Velora saw me, she grabbed my hands. “Please, make my nose stop exploding!” As she begged, she turned to the side and another set of sneezing fits followed. “Oh,” Velora groaned and collapsed on the floor in a pile of the straw.
“I think you’re allergic to straw.” I covered my mouth with my hand to hide my amusement. “I didn’t know mermaids could have allergies.”
“Achoo!” Velora sneezed and clawed at her arms, her skin covered with red welts. “It won’t stop itching. It’s worse than when I got tail rot as a child.”
Along with the bigger, nicer room, the king had also filled every available space with straw. In the corner sat a spinning wheel. Her own mouth had caused this problem.
“You were the one who said you could turn it to gold,” I chastised.
“I lied. I was hungry. I get grouchy when I’m hungry. Can you blame me?” She pouted, and I found it irritating how beautiful she looked while pouting, even with a puffy face and red eyes. Some women have all the luck.
“No,” I sighed, looking at the mess. “I don’t blame you, but this is going to take all night and I don’t have a charm for this. Well, not anymore,” I muttered, thinking of Carlotta.
Spencer stepped close. “Just tell us what you need us to do?”
“I need you and Kash to gather every available reel of yarn that you can find in the palace and bring it here.”
My golden spindle had been left in the room on Velora’s night table. I grabbed it and felt the hum of magic. I knew by using it I was slowly going to drain it, but I had little choice. I needed to help her.
Picking up my golden spindle, I pulled out a long strand. I made a few knots in the thread. I ran it through my fingers and began a complicated finger weaving technique. The repetition brought back a memory of sitting in our drafty tower with my six sisters as we practiced knitting, cross-stitching, and mother chastising us about the links in our chains. She deemed it practice for creating the perfect sleeping spell. As long as I tied in the right knots and placed the right sigils in the floor around the spinning wheel, it would work . . . I hoped.
Everything that passed through the spinning wheel and touched the golden thread should turn to gold. I had no hopes of actually twisting the dry straw into thread. That was a farce. We were going to burn the straw and instead feed spools and spools of regular yarn through spinning wheel. I tied the thread and locked it in place along the spokes.
“Now we have to get rid of the straw.” I pointed to the fireplace.
Velora frowned at me, but I stamped my foot. “Now, Velora!” She crawled across the floor, the straw stuck in her hair. With angry fistfuls, she tossed it into the fire, and it was immediately gobbled up by a golden salamander who hopped out of the cinders to snatch it midair. The little creature was happy and hungry.
“Sol!” I recognized his coloring, and the fire elemental came out of the fire. “Do you think you could help me?” I begged. “Do you see all of this straw? It can be yours. I just need all of it eaten or burned by morning.”
Sol stamped his feet in excitement, turned in a circle, and disappeared in a poof of smoke. Moments later, the room was filled with hundreds of salamanders as they greedily ran along the room, burning up the straw and consuming the ashes left behind.
Velora jumped up in excitement like a little child and wanted to keep trying to pet the flaming lizards. “They look like guppies that are on fire!” She bent down to pet the nearest salamander.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Damon warned, and lifted his foot as an orange salamander began to burn up the straw, almost catching his boot on fire. “They don’t like to be grabbed in surprise.”
“She’s a water creature herself,” I said. “Fire and water aren’t necessarily compatible.”
“Ouch! You flaming piece of driftwood,” Velora cried out, grabbing her burned fingers. In retaliation, she flicked her hand and a spray of water streamed at the salamander, who easily dodged. “Take that. You ugly fire guppy!”
Over the next candle mark, the salamanders burned up all the straw and ate the ash, leaving no evidence of the straw behind, although Velora managed to leave large puddles of water in her wake. Kash and Spencer returned, and I sat Velora down in front of the spinning wheel.
“Now, you have to do the rest.” I showed her how to attach the thread and weave it through the wheel, demonstrating how the foot pedal would draw the thread through. As it touched the spindle’s enchanted thread, it turned to gold and refilled the reel.
“When it’s done, feed through another.” I pointed to the boxes of reels lined up on the floor.
“Do I have to?” she sighed.
“If you want to keep your big room, your fresh seafood, and dresses . . . then yes.”
“If you don’t, it’s backed to cooked meat for you.” Kash gave the wheel a casual spin and Velora covered her mouth at the thought.
“No, I’ll do it.” Her fingers grabbed the thread, and she pumped the foot peddle, her deft fingers flying as she fed the thread through at an inhuman speed.
“Well, I don’t think it will take her long at all.” Spencer whistled in surprise as Velora zipped through a reel and quickly threaded a second.
“No. I think we are safe to leave her and go to our next task,” I said, covering my mouth with a yawn. I tucked the almost empty spindle into my satchel, the magic almost depleted.
We headed back to the Gilded Hall and sat around our worktable. Even though we had all been here hours before, it was different because they were no longer in their cursed form. There wasn’t an awkward tension, and I didn’t have to worry about getting stabbed in the back.
I handed Damon the flask with the sliver of armor I’d peeled from his back.
“It looks . . . alive,” Damon shuddered as he peered into the corked flask and tapped it. It shifted from black metal to mist, then back.
“My thoughts as well,” I murmured.
Spencer was looking through my notes. Kash sat on the table, his legs swinging freely as he winked at me, unashamed of showing his feelings. My cheeks grew warm, and I cleared my throat, nodding toward the books. I handed one to each of them.