Page 74 of The Princess of Portals

EPISODE 5

THE MEMORY MONOLITH

CHAPTER 1

UNWANTED CONSEQUENCES

The wind beat on the windows, hard and persistent, and I was reminded of an old children’s story my mom used to tell me. My mind must have been playing tricks on me because the moment I thought about it, I could hear the wolf’s voice in my head.

Little pig, little pig, let me come in.

The Castle’s walls were made of stone, but I was not at the Castle. I was in my cottage, which was made of wood. That didn’t bode well for it—or for me.

Something scraped against the kitchen window, and I grabbed a frying pan, hefting it into the air. Whatever was out there, I was ready for it.

The scraping noise turned out to be just a tree branch caught in the wind. I put down the frying pan.

Conner snatched it off the countertop, his eyes twinkling at me. “Don’t put it away yet, Red. We might still need it.”

A part of me agreed with him, even though I knew he was joking. There was nothing outside. No enemies. No battles. No vampire princes. It was only the wind.

I snatched the frying pan out of Conner’s hand. If someone was out there, I would fight them. This time, I would be ready for them. I set the pan on the stove and turned up the heat.

“What are you making?” Kato asked.

“Eggs.” I drizzled oil over the pan, then cracked three eggs into it.

“Do you think we have enough food?” Conner laughed. He indicated the bowls of chopped strawberries and mangoes. And the yogurt bowl. I’d also baked blueberry muffins, cookies, and cake. And brownies.

“The last time I explored the contents of your fridge, which was only yesterday, by the way, there was nothing in there,” Conner said. “When did you have time to get all of these ingredients and bake all of these things? We escorted you home yesterday afternoon as soon as the Court adjourned. Did you sleep at all?”

“I fell asleep right away as soon as I got home. I slept for over ten hours. Sometime around three in the morning, I woke up. I tried, but I couldn’t fall back asleep. I wasn’t tired anymore. I was hungry, however, so I went to the early market and got groceries.”

“You went out without backup. You should have called.” Kato indicated the necklace he wore, a perfect match to one of the two necklaces I wore. “We would have come.”

“Anywhere, anytime,” Conner added.

My other necklace matched the one he wore.

I loved how adorably overprotective they were. Knowing that they’d always have my back, that they’d always be there for me, gave me confidence when I needed it most.

“So now I need backup to go grocery shopping?” I chuckled.

“Yes,” Kato said seriously. “Do I need to remind you how many times you’ve been attacked since you came to the Fortress?”

“Fenris is in custody now,” I said. “And so is Zenik.”

“That doesn’t mean you’re safe.”

“The Masked Metamorph is still out there,” Conner reminded me.

Oh, right. I’d forgotten all about him. Or maybe I hadn’t. Calm people didn’t grab frying pans in response to every tiny whisper of noise.

“We don’t know anything about this Masked Metamorph or his agenda,” Conner said. “Until we do, you shouldn’t go anywhere alone.”

An overwhelming sense of foreboding washed over me. I clutched my hands to my stomach.

Kato looked at me, his eyes drawn together with concern. He looked about half a second away from grabbing his sword, which, to be honest, was a lot more effective against fiends than a frying pan was. “What’s wrong?”