Thirteen's chunky heeled boots echoed across the clay tiled halls of Avelle's main palace — Veramar — named after the kingdom that stood here before the Darkwood King and his vicious war. She liked Avelle the most out of all the territories. Decorative tiles could be found everywhere; along the lower walls, adding color to every staircase in the palace, and could even be found covering extravagant fountains. This palace stretched wide with grand outdoor halls, lined in tall archways and colonnades that surrounded various open courtyards. The scent of lemon from the courtyard fruit trees filled the air as she walked through the halls in the dead of night.
It amazed Thirteen that just northeast of the mountains of Forsyth lay a subtropical city, tucked between two small mountains and the sea. In just three weeks, the scenery changed drastically. She was grateful that Avelle's main city was built closer to its southern border, at a significantly lower altitude than Forsyth. And she was especially grateful that Avelle's Starlight Trial was traditionally held on one of the southern islands. After Forsyth, the Star Court, the princesses and the prince candidates desperately needed a break. The last thing they needed were any more surprises.
Then, she spotted two empire knights standing guard outside a room — Twelve's room.
Thirteen approached and without a word, both knights moved aside. Her hand gripped the gold-plated knob. When she entered, she quickly closed the door behind her.
And there she lay.
Twelve.
Motionless but alive.
When the Forsythian doctors told her they couldn't help Twelve — that whatever ailed her was beyond their abilities — that's when she knew this was surely some magical affliction. On that fateful night in Forsyth, Twelve was taken by the infected and brought to someone. When Lexi awakened, she was in a panic, her sentences incoherent. But eventually, she was able to explain. That night, she'd run ahead of the other prince candidates and only caught a glimpse of the masked perpetrators — a ram, a lion and some tentacled creature she couldn't identify. The tentacle mask had done something to Twelve, they just didn't know what. What they did know was that this group could use magic, even something as complex as teleportation magic.
And as Thirteen gazed down at her old friend — her guide and confidant — she knew they were at a stark disadvantage. Attacking Twelve during the palace takeover wasn't spontaneous at all.
This was a premeditated attack.
And it was executed perfectly.
Thirteen knew, whoever had done this had been planning this for a long time. And whoever this person was — whoever this group was — they'd had access to magic for a long, long time.
Her gaze moved toward the small window that allowed moonlight to flood the room. The shore was so close that she could hear waves tumbling in the distance and could smell salt in the air. They had arrived the day before yesterday. That meant that tomorrow they would be received by the king and queen of Avelle and be given a royal tour of the palace.
Thirteen closed her eyes and let out an exhausted sigh. She had a plan, one Twelve told her would not work. But she had to try. If she was going to attempt to keep this Kingdom together, she had to find a way to unearth all the treasonous bastards that would see the empire fall, all so they could sift through the ashes of its demise. After Forsyth, it became clear to her that everyone was a suspect.
That is, everyone who wasn't in service to the empire.
Even the prince candidates.
Still, she couldn't help but doubt herself.
"I don't know how to do this without you, Abigail," she whispered.
***
Maren stood outside the doors of the throne room, Cora beside her. She glanced at her, taking note of her face. For the first time in a long time, Cora seemed more chipper than usual. Luckily, her mother had left before the trouble in Forsyth began and she wouldn't be back until the trials in Wildburn. After learning of all that her family had done to use her power, Maren was grateful she wouldn't see them for some time.
But Starblessed or not, Cora was a Garynese Princess.
As long as she ruled the empire, her parents would always try to have some kind of hold over Carbouran.
And some kind of hold over her.
Still, as she gazed at Cora's relaxed expression, her chest warmed. Avelle was a beautiful city and more like Garyn than any other place in Carbouran. The warm tones that covered every inch of the kingdom matched the bright sun that hung in the sky. Maren couldn't help but feel excitement build in her chest.
The heat of this place was inviting.
And as the doors to the throne room opened, Maren felt that things were finally changing.
"One moment, your highness," Selma whispered behind her as she re-tied the deep blue bow of her gown.
"Thank you," Maren whispered, staring into the room ahead of her. She could already see Ariel's bright blonde curls standing at the back of the room, like a beacon of light. And just a few feet away sat his mother on the other side of the king. At the sight of them, Maren's legs stiffened, but she continued walking through the royal hall, passing crowds of royal officials from all over the empire.
With the king's peppery grey hair and deep green eyes, Maren could easily tell that Ariel took after his mother. The queen was stunning but much younger than she remembered. As a child, Maren remembered thinking all adults looked the same age.
To a child, everyone is old.
But looking at her with the eyes of an adult, the Queen was starkly younger than the king. Age gaps as large as theirs were normal among older marriages but were looked down upon even in her mother's time. Maren wondered, so why was queen Erin married off to him?
When the princesses reached the foot of the steps of the royal perch, the queen stood, outstretching her arms on either side of her.
"Welcome home, Princess Maren Windsor of Avelle," she said, her eyes sliding to Cora. "And Welcome to Avelle, Princess Coralynn Valentyne of Garyn. We are deeply honored and excited to host this year's Starlight trials."
As she spoke, the queen paused and her eyes glanced, only for a moment, on someone to the back of the room.
She continued. "Traditionally, the trial in Avelle is held on the island of St. Monte in the south. But due to the unforeseen weather patterns we've experienced here these last few weeks, the undercurrents near the island are far too strong for us to risk the lives of our prince candidates." She paused again, and Maren thought she saw her swallow. "Therefore, we have decided that the island of Salto del Muerto is the only island suitable to host the trial-"
Instantly there were gasps among some of the officials.
Maren looked around, confused, meeting Cora's eyes. Cora looked just as lost as she was. The weather in Forsyth was unprecedented, but she hadn't realized that it affected even the currents in Avelle.
She looked around the room, her eyes landing on Thirteen who stood at the front of the crowd to the right of the room. Her eyes were hard and steady on queen Erin who wore a bright, relaxed smile that did not match the tension in the room one bit.
"Worry not," she assured the crowd, her voice as sweet as her expression. "We have taken every precaution and even confirmed with our local scientist Robert Welman that this is the best course of action. We will keep boats stationed every hundred feet around the shoreline in case of emergency and will have our eight best medics posted ahead of time with plenty of supplies as well as soldiers on standby. We will even give each of the prince candidates a map of the area ahead of time so that they may plan a course of action before the trial begins."
Maren's gaze moved beyond the king and queen, falling on her friend who stood beside his father. And his expression was one she would not forget. Ariel's blue eyes were wide with horror, locked on his mother. He did not look at the king, who kept his gaze steady and confident on his wife as she spoke. Ariel's mouth was plastered shut in a thin line and his fists balled into the sides of his trousers for comfort.
Whatever dangers lay in wait on this island, their reputation definitely preceded them.