Page 35 of Rapunzel Unchained

I glanced down at myself and frowned. Rebecca had a point. Someone might see me. I closed my eyes and gathered my magic for a moment.

As I wrapped it around myself, Rebecca gasped. “Where did you go?” She reached out and touched my shoulder beforeletting out a little yelp. “I’ve never seen anyone do a cloaking spell like that. Your magic barely even flared.”

I didn’t know what to say. Being able to use and control my magic in the fashion that I did had always been an anomaly. It was one of the many reasons King Midas had been so anxious to have me as his queen. If he married me, he controlled my magic.

Or so Midas thought.

Mages with their humans in tow walked down the sidewalks, most of them with their noses in the air as if the very ground was too lowly for them to acknowledge. The surrounding buildings were just as large and intimidating as the one before me.

On my way into the building, it was becoming clearer that this part of the city was meant for the rich and prestigious. How far away was my mages’house from here? We’d driven quite a ways, so I knew that Rebecca didn’t live in this part of the city.

I kept the cloak around me even as I entered the building. During this time of day, there weren’t many people around the main floor. For a moment, I panicked. How did I get to the top floor?

My eyes darted around the room, searching for stairs. Eventually, I found a sign for the stairs and began to move toward them. Then a ding rang in the air. Turning toward the sound, I watched as the wall opened up, and two mages stepped out.

Curiosity getting the best of me, I stepped up to the wall and watched as the sides began to close. I reached out to touch them and then jerked back, but my touch seemed to open the wall back up.

I quickly jumped through the opening before it closed again.

I found myself in a strange chamber. Mirrors covered the top part of each wall, reflecting a shimmery blob of myself, the only visible evidence I was there. My eyes locked on a wall withcircles, each with a different number on them. I cocked my head to the side. Were these the floors?

The numbers went from one to fifty and then there were three with letters on them. LL, L, and PH. Didn’t Rebecca say something about a penthouse? Could the PH stand for that?

Before I could second guess myself, I touched the one with PH. It lit up, and the floor rumbled beneath my feet. I grabbed the wall, my eyes pinched closed as fear and uncertainty swept through me.

The rumbling was over before it barely had begun, and the walls opened with a resounding ding.

My hand on my racing heart, I pushed off the wall and stepped out. Air dragged into my lungs like painful knives daring me to go on. Why did I think I could do this on my own?

I’d stepped out of the transportation box and into a world of black and white. Everything from the floor to the ceiling was decorated in the monochrome colors. Deep black floors made me worry that the next step would be into a never ending abyss. The walls so white that it hurt to look at them straight on.

For a moment, I wondered if I was in the right place and then I came face to face with a large life size portrait of Healer Beatriz.

For a woman who used illegal means to stay younger, it only made sense she would idolize her own face in her home. It made what was coming both easier and harder. This woman was vain. So vain that she would do anything to keep her secret unknown.

Hopefully, she would be smart enough to take what I offered her. Otherwise, this might get bloody.

Chapter 18

Cloaking wasn’t a complicated matter. It would hide you from prying eyes. However, if you wore a heavy perfume and stood close enough to someone, they might not see you, but they can smell you. That would lead to suspicion.

Animals were trickier to fool than humans. Most humans would rationalize away a strange smell or sound when their eyes said nothing was there.

Animals weren’t so quick to leave it alone.

When I stepped into the main room, a growl came from my left. I froze, my head slowly moving to the side to take in the large black dog. Its mouth was open, showing off rows of fangs and slobber dripping out and splattering on the floor. Its sharp claws clacked on the ground as it stalked toward me.

The dog couldn’t see me, but it knew I was there.

Now, in general, I don't condone hurting animals. They only did what nature intended or what their masters have taught them to do. It was hardly this dog’s fault that their mistress was on my list today.

However, if push came to shove and I had to, I would put the creature down.

“Nice puppy,” I murmured, pushing my magic into my voice. I’d never tried to use my powers of persuasion on an animal before. Most humans were easily manipulated, but a strong mind could hold out against my magical persuasion.

Here was hoping dogs were the same.

The dog cocked his head, his eyes dilating as he stared me down. The growling lowered slightly, but it didn’t cease completely as the dog tried to decide if he wanted to let me into his mind.

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