Page 10 of Wicked Prince of Mirrors
I stiffened, disliking the question. “I am.”
“How did you come by Mirror Magic?”
“How can you be sure I have magic?” I asked, wondering if it were possible to decipher his truth from lies. I knew little about this Prince, aside from the fact he was pure evil, full of malice and trickery. At least, according to the legends.
The only reason I hadn’t given in to the watery grave was that, unlike the Captain of the Venators, he wasn’t trying to kill me. At least there was the hope of being able to flee from him when daylight arrived. I clung to those strands of hope, willing myself to survive the conversation and make it to dawn.
“I felt a disturbance. I felt your power, bending the curse, thinning the veil between this world and the mirrorverse, from there I was able to break free. How did you do it?”
“It was a mistake,” I choked. I didn’t understand the magic and it was one topic I wished he wouldn’t linger on, besides I had questions of my own. “Where are you taking me?”
“Does it matter? Do you have a preference?”
“Not south,” I sputtered.
“Curious. Why? Are you not from the southernlands, your skin color indicates you are from that region.”
I glared at him but it elicited no reaction. Could he see in the dark? With the hood pulled over his face I couldn’t tell how good his vision was or if he were even looking at me.
A low growl drew my attention to the bank which rose on either side like walls. It was cold, eerie, and the thrashing in the distance turned into vicious cries and screams of pain. A predator had found its prey. Fear swept through me and I drew my knees to my chest, burying myself in the warmth of the cloak. I was helpless but I wasn’t alone, I needed Prince Methrin, but what a shame it would be if he were as helpless as me. After all, he’d been a Prince. Spoiled, arrogant, dripping with wealth. Had he traveled the lands and did he know how to fend for himself? More disturbingly, where had he been for the past two decades?
“I haven’t been to the south. I grew up here, in the palace.”
“A child of one of the usurpers?”
“How can there be an usurper if there’s no one to unseat? My father took up leadership of this nation when you left it in ruin.”
“You have a bold tongue, no doubt taking after your bold father.” The scorn in his tone was plain. “Does he still live? Did he proclaim himself king?”
“He took the empty throne you left.”
His voice dripped with malice. “Princess Esmira, am I correct? A false princess with a falsecrown.”
I despised him, and my words came out hard. “The kingdom belongs to those who take it, who can hold it.”
“Ah yes, and now I have a pawn. You belong to me, Princess of Mirror Magic.”
I saw myself being handed off in marriage to a scornful prince and bile filled my throat. “I’m not yours,” I snapped.
“No? Then feel free to toss yourself overboard again, the water will take you.”
I paused, regretting my heated words, but the trajectory of the conversation had slipped out of my control. I had to steer it back to safety. My father often said that while the sword was might, words were powerful. I needed to figure out what, exactly, Prince Methrin wanted and use it to my advantage. “I have no wish to go back into the cold waters, but I want freedom.”
“Freedom,” he repeated and held up his hand. Something glittered there and it looked like a dagger, or perhaps a slice of a mirror. “Then answer my questions, child of the usurper. I am still waiting for truth to pass from your lips. Answer my questions and I might be gentle with you, I might withhold my wrath.”
My throat went dry. “What do you wish to know?”
“Tell me, Princess, how long have I been gone?”
“Two decades. There are many who are still alive and remember how it was before.”
“Before, as in when I ruled.”
“Yes, before you were cursed?—”
“Is that how they tell it?” Methrininterrupted. “I wascursed?”
I lifted my chin, everything that happened had beenhisfault. He’d asked for the truth and I’d given it to him, although I had to be careful lest I invoke his anger. “You did not help your people, you did not save them from monsters, from war, from famine, and so they revolted. They marched upon the city and called you to come forth and answer to your crimes.”
