Page 47 of Her Royal Blood

“You’re just like your mother,” he said with a weary fondness in his eyes as he continued to eat, looking as if the world had beaten him one too many times. “She was headstrong too.”

“Things will be okay, I promise,” I said with a softer voice as he had been through so much and Lex and I did act impulsively, but it was our right.

“One day, perhaps things will be okay,” he said quietly. “As soon as we’re done with breakfast I’ll help you with whatever you need.”

“Thank you, father,” I said, touching his hand as a means of offering reassurance, though I had nothing to truly assure him of.

He was right, Polonius would sense the mating bond on me, especially because his own wolf would be seeking its own bond, but I didn’t care. For once in my life, I’d done something for me. Amadeus and I did finish our breakfast no longer speaking about my mating bond, as he taught me some basic rules and principles about magic.

I didn't have the heart to tell him that Sire Vanoire had already explained some of the basic rules of magic to me. Ilistened as he explained that overusing my power would fatigue me to the point where my physical body would not be able to function. He explained that the magic I had was wild and unsettled and if I wielded it without knowing exactly the spell and its purpose I might actually do greater harm than good. And lastly that as I get more control of my magic my mage would allow me to use it more often and with greater skill. So he tasked me with using magic every day in order to build my confidence and talent.

After breakfast we went to Amadeus’ room and he walked me through the astral projection spell. I started small and thought of illuminating a scene onto the wall. I put out my hands as Amadeus instructed, and focused my energy on transferring my thoughts into images and those images into a projection that would materialize on the wall in front of us.

After several missed attempts where I projected fractured colors and disorganized lines onto the wall, I was finally able to stabilize my magic to the point where I was staring at a picture of Amadeus and I together standing in front of the wall. The projection was a mirror of what I saw in my mind’s eye.

“Very good,” Amadeus complimented me with a note of surprise. “Your magic is exceptionally strong. How do you feel?”

“Apart from a slight bit of dizziness I feel fine,” I told him with a shrug of my shoulders.

“Good. Now try to watch me and project a mirror image of me onto the wall.” Amadeus lifted his arms up and spun them gently over his head as if he’s wielding magic, but I knew he wasn’t.

I concentrated on his arms and the idea of reflecting his actions back precisely on the wall. I then looked over and saw both Amadeus in real life and Amadeus as an imaginary replica performing the exact same movements in front of me as his image was on the wall.

“I’m doing it,” I shouted, feeling accomplished and triumphant.

Any tiny victory I claimed was a point of pride as I inched closer to mastering my magic.

“You’ve done it,” Amadeus said with a tiny spark of joy and admiration in his expression. “And the image is perfect. So for the projection to work, you just have to envision the skies over whichever kingdom you want the message sent and hold that picture in your mind while you watch Lex speak. What you see will be translated into a projected version of him, much like you’ve cast the image of me onto this wall.” He gave me a fatherly smile and my heart warmed.

We had been practicing my magic for most of the day and we were both too stubborn to admit that we were tired. I may have been as willful as my mother, but I was also as determined as my father.

“Okay. Let’s try it.” I was eager to see Lex again, and try my magic with him.

“Do you feel strong enough to handle the magic?” Amadeus asked me, always the skeptic. “You’ve been working yourself extremely hard today,” he said, stating the obvious.

“I do think I’m strong enough,” I reassured him with just a little white lie, as we left Amadeus’ workshop to find Lex and King Helix.

We met King Helix and Lex in one of the private rooms in the King’s stronghold. The place was so big and twisted around tens of flights of stairs, I had no idea where I was most of the time. It was a hidden set of rooms, hallways, and wide open spaces hidden inside of an apartment complex with hundreds of residents. We were hiding in plain sight, but because of that, it was hard to find our way around. Luckily Amadeus had been there many times before having been King Helix’s mage for so many years.

“Thank you for doing this for us, Queen Aria,” King Helix said, making sure to use my title. “With the extra troops we will see this uprising ended.” He then looked at me with a note of pride and adoration. “Lex told me,” he said in confidence, perhaps assuming that I hadn’t told Amadeus, or that he hadn’t already figured it out. “And I am happy for you both. He will make a wonderful king, and you two a powerful mated pair.

I nodded my head to King Helix and gave him a short curtsy.

“Thank you, your blessing means a lot to us.” I glanced over at Lex and I didn’t have to see his face to know he was bursting with joy. “Now let’s win this war.” I smiled at both of them with Amadeus by my side.

Chapter 16

Aria

Amadeus, Lex, King Helix, and myself stayed in the room and discussed what Lex would say during his speech. While the hour was growing late and all of us were tired, we had to project Lex’s speech at night so that it could be illuminated against the darkness, versus during the day. Also we had to get his message out as fas so that we could start our recruiting efforts.

We didn't dare go outside with so many Crypt Claw warriors in Navarah City, especially near the port which was only a few miles from the king’s stronghold. I focused my thoughts on the skies over Tobran and used my magic to recreate Lex’s image onto the sky above Navarah City, the Obsidian Valley, and Angeline Falls.

It took an incredible feat of concentration to focus on the image I was projecting over such a large expanse. I was probably a little over confident that I was able to do it after such a long day of magic training, but my will was stronger than my fatigue and so I was able to cast Lex’s likeness across the sky as he reached out to the kingdoms of Tobran.

“Hello good citizens of Navarrah City, our friends to the East, the Obsidian Valley, and our allies beyond their borders in Angeline Falls. As you may have surmised, Navarrah City isunder attack by Warlord Polonius and his Crypt Claw warriors acting in defiance of a peace treaty my father, King Helix signed and upheld. I am asking now that men, women, and children of fighting age take a stand to protect their homes and their way of life. If we do not stand up to this uprising we will find ourselves defeated and the values we cherish and honor abandoned to the pressure and tyranny of a ruler who seeks to enslave us all.” Lex paused for a moment for his words to make their impact.

“We are offering the full might of our military if you will resist the Crypt Claw warriors on your own home fronts at the very least or come help us defeat the soldiers in Navarrah City as we fight for our kingdom. When we are victorious our troops will march with yours to protect all of our ways of life. Every citizen of our kingdoms will one day be free to live with liberty and justice, if we stand together now and defeat the monster who seeks to destroy us for his own gain. We can be victorious only if we band together. Come fight with us and we will protect you. Together we’ll see victory.” Lex’s speech ended and I let his face linger with a slogan below his image.

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