Page 102 of The Princess of Portals

“My…mother?”

“Dr. Alara Winters. I knew her, you know. We were both members of the same expedition. The expedition to steal magic from another realm. The expedition that cursed the Earth. So if I’m guilty, so is your mother.”

“I don’t believe you.”

Melanie Meyer smiled at me. She wore victory like a perfume. “Of course you do. Use your magic, Savannah. See if I’m lying.”

I already had. The answer wasn’t one I wanted to face. Not now. Not ever.

“And here’s the best part of all, Savannah. Your mother wasn’t just one of the scientists on the expedition. She was the head scientist. She led the team. She made the calls. She caused this disaster. She is the origin of the Curse.”

CHAPTER 8

THE CITADEL

Istumbled out of the prison. Somehow, I managed to make my way down the tower without falling. My mind was spinning, trying to make sense of this, trying to squeeze this new information into my reality. It didn’t fit.

“Savannah!” Skye was at the other end of the hallway, moving toward me fast. “Orion and Jareth told me about your mother. I’m sorry.”

I wanted her to go away. I wanted them all to go away. My whole life was crashing down all around me. I really needed to be alone right now.

“We’ve given Melanie Meyer to the General. He and his Watchers left with her,” she said. “It’s just us now. And it’s really starting to sink in, you know? We are alone. We decided to be independent, and now we have to rule ourselves. Somehow.”

I didn’t see how I could help with that problem. I had enough problems as it was. And, besides, I didn’t know anything about ruling.

“The Knight Commanders are organizing a forum to discuss the future of the Knights. I was hoping Kato and Conner could weigh in,” Skye said. “Kato is a Knight Commander, and Conner led the Rebels. People respect them. We all want to hear what they have to say on the matter. Do you know where they are?”

Conner and Kato were gone, and they weren’t coming back. I opened my mouth to tell her that, but the words didn’t come out. Saying the words would make them real, and they couldn’t be real. They just couldn’t be.

I cleared my throat. “I don’t know where they are, Skye.”

I turned and walked away. Kato and Conner were coming back. They had to come back. It was as simple as that. This wasn’t the end. I would see them again. Hadn’t they promised me that if I ever needed them, they would be there for me? Well, the whole Castle needed them now.

I found an empty corridor. It was usually empty. People didn’t come this way very often. I set my hand over the two necklaces they’d made for me. The metal started to glow.

I waited for them to come. It was high time that the three of us had a real, honest conversation about the past. Why did they really come to Gaia, and what did it have to do with me?

My mind churned through scenario after scenario after scenario, each one even more impossible than the last.

The minutes passed, and still I stood there, clutching my necklaces. It was getting late. The sun was gone, and Conner and Kato still weren’t here. How long did it take to go from their realm to this one?

I’d been waiting long enough. It was time to go to them. I closed my eyes, focusing on the necklaces’ magic—on its rhythm, its flow, its melody. And there it was: the thread that connected my necklaces to theirs. But it was more than just that. It wasn’t just the necklaces that were connected; it was the three of us: Kato and Conner and me.

I followed the thread to them, cutting through realms. For once, the magic came easily. It was almost effortless, like I was supposed to go to them now.

I found myself in a long corridor with impossibly high ceilings. Archways lined one side of the hall. Natural light streamed in through them. I started walking. An armored soldier stood guard in every archway, motionless but alert. Their eyes watched me. They didn’t try to stop me.

A man and a woman came down the hall in the opposite direction. They saw me. It was obvious I didn’t belong here, but they didn’t try to stop me either. No one I encountered made any move against me. They all just ignored me. I guess they didn’t see me as a threat.

This place was unsettling. Something about it just didn’t sit right with me. Everyone I saw was a soldier. Some of them spoke of serving a higher purpose, like they were holy knights or something. Most of them said nothing at all.

Finally, I reached the end of the thread. I found Kato and Conner in a stone courtyard. They were dressed in the same armor as everyone else here. They stood facing each other. Sweat coated their faces. They’d clearly just been sparring.

“Seven?” Kato moved toward me. “What are you doing at the Citadel?”

So this was the Citadel. It was beautiful, but also kind of soulless, if you asked me.

“I came to talk to you. To both of you.”