Page 47 of The Princess of Portals

“This can’t work,” Seriana said.

Evie collapsed to the ground, convulsing. One moment she was fine, and the next she wasn’t.

“You see, Fenris?” the Vampire Queen said. “Their magic is unstable.”

“She’s right,” I said. “The Apprentices were force-fed all that magic. It is against nature. It’s not how magic is meant to work. Each Apprentice is meant to have one specific power, be in one specific Tribe.”

Evie was still coughing. She couldn’t stop.

“You made her sick,” Seriana told her son.

Fenris watched Evie, unconcerned. And that’s when a sickening thought hit me. This wasn’t the first time Evie had gone into convulsions. Fenris knew his experiments were hurting the Apprentices—and he simply didn’t care.

“You pumped her full of more magic than she could handle, and now her body is rejecting it,” Seriana said. “It’s too much. You’re killing her.”

Fenris scoffed at her. “I have given them a priceless gift.” His gaze snapped to the Apprentices. “Isn’t that right, soldiers?”

“Yes, Prince Fenris.”

They spoke in perfect unison, all seven brainwashed Apprentices, even Evie, who could barely stop coughing long enough to speak. They were like puppets, and Fenris was the puppet master. There was some kind of fog over their minds. I could feel it there, suffocating their free will. I had to set them free.

“I just need to perfect the procedure.” Fenris frowned at Evie, who’d finally stopped coughing. “And then I will control an army that rivals the Court’s army.”

Seriana’s mouth tightened. “Don’t be a child, Fenris. You don’t need to fight everyone. You don’t need to beat everyone.”

His smile turned sharp. A predatory glow rolled over his eyes. “Of course I do.”

“Once again, you demonstrate that you’re completely unfit to rule anyone. This is why I appointed Lyssa as my successor.”

“You always favored her over me,” he replied savagely.

So that’s what this was about. Queen Seriana had named Fenris’s little sister her successor, and Fenris went off on a temper tantrum. But instead of throwing things and shouting, he was building an army to overthrow the Many Realms Court.

“You have seen enough.” Fenris waved his hand, and his guards herded me and Seriana back into the hallway, back to our cell.

CHAPTER 3

THE LAWS OF MAGIC

The guards left me and Seriana alone in the cold, stone cell.

“Fenris has always been a ruthless, amoral boy,” the Vampire Queen said.

“Ruthless to the point of psychotic?”

“Sadly, yes. That’s why I named his younger sister Lyssa to be my heir. Fenris is far too ambitious, and his brother Wyxl has no ambition at all.” She sat down on the floor, sighing. “I’m getting too old for this.”

“How long do vampires live?” I asked her.

She looked up at me, her eyes tired and wary. “Why do you ask?”

“Fenris is centuries old, right? But he doesn’t look old. And neither do you.”

She folded her arms over her chest and leaned back against the wall. “No one really knows how long vampires live. We don’t die of old age. But, after many centuries, we feel like we’ve been stretched thin, like there’s hardly anything left of us. I had planned to retire soon from the Court and from ruling my kingdom, so I could finally enjoy life before I lose my edge.” She rested her head against one of her hands. “Politics is very tiring.”

“I can imagine,” I replied. “What will you do with all your free time after you retire?”

“If we survive—and if we get out of here—I plan to live out the rest of my days sunbathing on a tropical island, sipping fruity drinks and getting massages from handsome young Metamorphs.”