Page 20 of The Princess of Portals

“Of course he did. How could he not?”

Zoe and her trust sidekick Georgia were clearly playing out this conversation for my benefit. They assumed I cared. Like Zoe and Georgia, Rhett was from a town called Victory. The kids from Victory were generally not very nice people, and I tried to keep myself and my thoughts far away from them whenever possible.

Unfortunately, hearing Rhett’s name brought me right back to Bronte. Rhett had been the one who’d told me about Bronte’s duplicity, but not because he cared about me. Oh, no, he just wanted to tear Bronte down, so he could rise higher.

Just before Bronte had gone away, I’d asked her about the General. I’d asked her if he was the bad guy. She didn’t know anything about the missing Apprentices or the General’s role in their disappearances. Of course, that didn’t mean the General was innocent. I didn’t trust him. He was putting off all kinds of evil vibes.

One way or the other, whether the General was involved in the kidnappings or not, I had to find proof. Until the Government traitor was exposed, the kidnappings would continue. I had to find the traitor and make him lead me to the Order of Kings and the missing Apprentices. Then I’d rescue the Apprentices, destroy the Order, and we’d all live happily ever after.

At least that was the plan. Reality was a tad more complicated. In order to defeat the Order and their powerful Templars, I had to get a handle on my magic.

And to get a handle on my magic, I had to practice.

“Hey! Where did all my dresses go?”

All six dresses had disappeared from the portable rack Zoe was wheeling around the shop. Not that I had anything to do with that. Oh, no, I most definitely had not sent those dresses to another dimension.

“Maybe they fell down?”

Georgia and Zoe began frantically searching the floor for the missing dresses. A few of the other Apprentices looked on in amusement.

“It’s not funny!” Zoe growled. She was practically frothing at the mouth.

“Hey, the dresses are back! Over there, outside the changing room!”

Zoe’s gaze snapped to the door of one of the changing rooms, and, sure enough, the six dresses were hanging from the hooks on the door. The other Apprentices exploded with laughter.

“Zoe’s lost it!”

“She can’t even remember where she put her things!”

“Just make sure you remember to put a dress on before you go to the Ball, Zoe! It’s not a clothing-optional event!”

Zoe snarled at the laughing Apprentices, grabbed her friend Georgia’s hand, and power-walked across the room. She snatched the dresses so roughly that she nearly tore the hooks out of the wood, then she slammed the changing room door shut.

“You know, you could use your powers for good, not evil.”

But when I met Nevada’s gaze, her eyes were laughing.

“I am using my powers for good,” I said. “I’m using them to fight the forces of evil, aka Zoe. And, at the same time, I’m honing my skills for use against even greater villains.”

“Greater than Zoe?”

“Oh, yes. I know it’s hard to believe anything could be worse than Zoe, but it’s true.”

Nevada and I both laughed.

“Now let’s see those dresses,” I said.

“I found two that I think will look good on you.”

Nevada held up two dresses. One was red, the other navy blue. Both were full-length.

I frowned. “I thought you were looking for a dress for you.”

She simply smiled. “Which one do you like better?”

“Neither?”