Page 37 of The Princess of Portals

“I will always tell you the truth.” His words had weight, like he was swearing a Knight’s solemn vow.

“Do you have one?” I asked.

He blinked in confusion.

“A suit or tux or whatever male Knights wear to balls, silly. Of course I wasn’t talking about a dress.”

“Neither was I.”

“Wait, what?”

“When I asked you if you have one, I wasn’t talking about a dress. I was talking about a date.”

I practically choked on my own tongue. I tried to keep my voice relaxed, even as my face flushed hot. “Unfortunately, not one of the Knights you made me practice my enchantments on was the least bit enchanted. And I still can’t believe you made me practice my magic by asking them to the Ball! It was so humiliating.”

“It was supposed to be motivating. If your spell had succeeded, you would have experienced no humiliation.”

He looked genuinely perplexed, like he thought I didn’t understand that he’d only been trying to help me master my magic. And he really was helping me a lot.

I squeezed his hand. “I know you were just trying to help. And I do appreciate it. It’s just, well, next time you might want to consider how terrifying it is for a lowly Apprentice to ask out a bunch of Knights she doesn’t even know. And how mortifying it is to be rejected. Repeatedly.”

His mouth pressed into a straight line. “You’re right. I didn’t consider that when I gave you the task. I’m deeply sorry, Seven.”

His eyes told me he really was sorry. And that made me feel a little sorry for lecturing him.

“Hey, it’s ok,” I said. “Let’s just stick to fireballs and other safe things from now on, ok?”

“As you wish.”

“Thank you.”

I didn’t realize Kato was still holding my hand until he suddenly dropped it.

“Uh, sorry to interrupt,” Killjoy said.

I nearly jumped out of my skin. The Sorcerer was back in the workshop room, standing just a few steps from us, a small glass bottle in his hand. It was bright blue and very ornate. Kato had noticed Killjoy’s approach. I had not.

I really needed to work on paying better attention to my surroundings. Or the next time someone attacked me, it might be the end for me. Not everyone made such an obvious entrance, smashing through the window, shouting my name.

“Your energy tonic is ready.” Killjoy handed me the bottle. “But please be careful, Savannah. It’s very potent. Drink it slowly, or you’ll get a rather unpleasant jolt of energy that’ll have you shaking for hours.”

“Thanks, Killjoy. I owe you one.”

A smirk flashed across Killjoy’s face. “By now, you owe me a lot more than just one, Savannah.”

I chuckled. “Fair enough.”

I thanked him again, then I left the infirmary with Kato, the magic potion in my hand.

CHAPTER 6

FIRE, SMOKE, AND DESTRUCTION

Kato and I headed to the Castle’s rec room. I drank the tonic slowly, just as Killjoy had told me to do. It made me hungry. Luckily, there were sliced mangos in the rec room’s snack corner.

“Mmm, so good.” I took another bite. “They’re so fresh.”

“Those mangos come from the trees growing on the Castle’s grounds.” Conner popped into sight in front of me, and I nearly jumped out of my shoes.