Page 19 of The Princess of Portals

The door to the house swung open, and Ophira stepped onto the porch. I recognized the man at her side, though Ren looked decidedly less tired than he had in the photograph Yara had given me. Hope flashed in his eyes when he looked at me and Conner.

“So, you are my saviors. A couple of teenagers.” He chuckled. “Why not? The universe is a crazy place.”

“Tyren has accepted your offer,” Ophira said.

Conner grinned at the Alchemist. “Smart move.”

Ren folded his hands in front of him. “We’ll see soon enough,” he said serenely.

“Shall we?” Conner extended his hands.

Ren took one, Ophira the other. As the three of them blinked out of sight, Conner turned his face toward me and winked. I smiled to myself, wondering if I had in fact done them a favor by introducing them to the mischievous Rebel.

EPISODE 2

STRATAGEM

CHAPTER 1

MYSTIQUE’S

“You look positively miserable, Savannah.”

Nevada slid me a smile: half-amused, half-sympathetic, all-knowing. She was the one who’d convinced me to go shopping with her in the Magic Emporium today. We weren’t alone. It felt like every Apprentice in the Fortress—or at least every female Apprentice in the Fortress—was shopping at Mystique’s at this very moment.

“Oh, right, dresses,” I said.

Before we’d headed off to the Magic Emporium, I’d promised my bestie a fun afternoon. We were an hour into our shopping spree, and thus far, I hadn’t done a very good job of bringing the fun. I was such a terrible shopping partner.

“Show me what you’ve found, and I’ll tell you what I think looks prettiest on you.” I attempted an easy smile.

Nevada’s chuckle told me she wasn’t fooled. “It’s all right, Savannah. I know you have a lot on your mind right now.”

She sat down next to me on the plush sofa. It was as pink as the carpeting and the wallpaper. And it smelled like roses.

“If you want to go home, I totally understand.”

‘Home’ for now meant my cottage in the Apprentice Village. Just a few weeks ago, home had meant an old furniture warehouse in Bayshore, a town on the other side of the Pacific Ocean. And in just a few days from now, home would mean the Castle, headquarters of the Knights of Gaia. My life had gone through some pretty big changes lately. I wondered if it would ever stop changing.

“Oh, no, Nevada, you’re not getting rid of me that easily.” I flashed her a smile. “Show me what you’ve got.”

“Ok, I’ll be right back.”

Nevada got off the sofa, then disappeared through the sea of Apprentices. I tried to keep my mind focused on dresses. That’s why we were here: to pick out dresses for the Masquerade Ball. Not to wallow and worry and obsess over all the problems I couldn’t fix.

Problems like the fact that my friend Kylie and a bunch of other Apprentices were being held prisoner by the Order of Kings.

Problems like finding the traitor inside the Government who was working with the Order of Kings. Conner thought the General was the traitor, but our clandestine raid on the General’s office inside the Black Obelisk had been a bust. Maybe I should sneak into his office in the Castle to look for clues. Or use my off time to trail him, waiting for him to do something suspicious. That might work. Bronte, my former fellow Apprentice, wasn’t around anymore to spy on me and report my movements back to the General.

Bronte. That was another problem I couldn’t fix. I hadn’t seen her since Ainsley and Jareth had escorted her out of the Castle. I wondered what she was doing now that her dream of becoming a Knight was over. I wondered and—admittedly—felt bad for her, even after all that she’d done. I guess I just didn’t think she was truly evil. Desperate, yes, but not evil.

Speaking of evil…

“Honestly, Georgia, I don’t know why Savannah Winters is bothering to go dress shopping at all. It’s not like she has anyone to dress up for. She doesn’t even have a date for the Ball.”

Zoe didn’t bother to keep her voice down. She wanted me—and everyone here—to know just how big of a loser I really was. I refused to let her get to me. Just because she thought I was a loser, that didn’t make it so. The world did not revolve around Zoe Santos and her weird ideas.

“Did Rhett ask you to the Ball?”