“Oh, isn’t this fun?” The Fate Maker clapped his hands together and came toward me. “You on the throne, like I always imagined you’d be. A perfectly wooden princess, brought out to do my bidding. Do you know that the day you were born I slipped into the hospital and saw you?”
I tried to shake my head, and tears built behind my eyes as I struggled harder, fighting with all my might against the bonds holding me.
“Your mother was asleep, and I just held you. I sang and sang, and all you’d do was laugh and blow spit bubbles at me. You were completely helpless then. I have to say it was probably the time I liked you most, all things considered. Helpless but essentially silent.
“With one look I knew that if I could keep you exactly as you were you would be a glorious queen. A ruler who would make wizard-kind strong again. We could have conquered the dragons, the trolls, put the mermaids in their place, and imprisoned the ridiculous Nymphiad. We could have been gods.”
He stepped onto the dais and leaned forward so that we were nose to nose, and I fought the sob that threatened to burst out of my chest. Tears filled my eyes and he smirked at me, his eyes flaming cruelly.
“But you had to go and screw it up.” The Fate Maker shook his head. “You had to meddle and try to fix things. You just had to…”
He wrinkled his nose as if I smelled like three-day-old garbage left out in the sun. “Grow a conscience. Of all the practical skills that you could have brought to this realm, instead you bring me a bleeding heart and a sense of right and wrong. Do you think those are in any way useful for ruling an empire?
“You’re scared of me, aren’t you? Terrified. A pathetic, scared little girl. A child. I would wager if I removed your gag all you would do is whimper like a whipped animal. Let’s see, shall we? Are you going to whimper for me? Cower away like a kicked dog? Like your mother used to?”
There was another brief flash of light, and the pain in my throat loosened as my lips unsealed with a sharp rip. I took a deep, shuddering gulp of air and tried not to let him see how much I was shaking.
“You will never rule this country through me.” I kept my eyes fixed on his and tried not to let my voice waver, even as I fought back another terrified sob. “Not even over my dead body.”
“Oh, my darling, that can certainly be arranged.”
“If you kill me there’s an army full of men and dragons who’ll come after you,” I managed to get out through gritted teeth. “There’s nowhere you can hide from them. They’ll hunt you down and kill you, and I’m pretty sure at least a few of them will enjoy it.”
The Fate Maker tapped my nose with his finger. “Then it’s a good thing that killing you serves no purpose right now. Then again, not killing you doesn’t mean I can’t hurt you. Think about it. I can always get from Nerissette to the World That Is, and your mother is still there—unattended, unloved, with nothing but nurses and doctors to care for her while she lies trapped in that coma. All alone.”
I tried to lunge at him but couldn’t move, no matter how much I wanted to struggle against the bonds tying me to the throne. “If you touch her then you can forget about the army of men that will come after you. I’ll kill you myself.”
“No, you won’t. You don’t have it in you. So be warned, little girclass="underline" if you don’t want me to bring her back here to die at your feet you’ll do exactly what I say—and you’ll do it with a smile on your face.”
“Stay away from my mother.”
“Why? Wouldn’t it be a mercy to end her pitiful life?” He squinted and wrinkled his nose before touching my cheek, then gripping my chin with his thumb. “I could put her out of her misery. Don’t you want her to be at peace?”
“You don’t know what mercy is.” I tried to bite his thumb since my mouth was the only part of my body that I could actually move, but he jerked his hand away too quickly. “You’re not capable of having an emotion that complex.”
“True.” He shrugged and stepped away from me. “Then again, I made you queen. Once the cat brought you through, I was the one who made you a queen. Remember who cast the spells that let your silly friends stay here in the World of Dreams, too. If you don’t do what I say, then I’ll simply have to pop back through to your world and find another girl who’s better at following directions. I’ll replace you.”
It hit me then. In all my fear, I had forgotten one very important detail. “Oh wait,” I started with a smirk. “There is no way back to my world.” I paused while his brow furrowed, letting it sink in. “The mirror is no more. Not even a fragment. When it shattered we collected all of the pieces and ground them into dust. Then the dust was scattered to the winds. Your link with my world is gone.”
His eyes narrowed at me. “You wouldn’t have destroyed your only connection to your mother. There must be a piece remaining somewhere, something you kept for sentimental value. Besides, you can’t destroy magic that easily. It’s not something that you can just throw away.”
“No, I destroyed it. All of it. And now you’re trapped here just like the rest of us. There’s no way back into my world. For any of us.” I tried not to blink as the lie slipped off my tongue. How could he have known? No one knew that I’d smuggled a shard of the mirror out in my pocket that day. That I’d saved a final link to my mother. That one last shard of the mirror remained, hidden in the toe of a pair of shoes inside my closet.
“You think that stupid mirror was the only link I had to your worthless version of reality?” The Fate Maker laughed and leaned forward to slap his thighs. He snorted out a few more chuckles and then shook his head. “I forgot how funny you can be, how endearing, how ridiculous.”
He straightened and let a smirk curl his lip. “There are always other means of moving between worlds. Dark magic you can’t even imagine. So remember, do things my way or you just might find yourself an orphan. Or even better still—replaced. You do have an aunt who can take your throne if I need her to.”
“What is it you really want? Why are you here now?”
“To offer you a deal. To give you a chance to save your pathetic land and its people. To save your own life. In three days I’ll be back here…with an army. If you want your people to live you’ll come out and bow to me. Then, as a show of good faith, you’ll bring me the tear.”
“The tear? What’s the tear?”
“The Dragon’s Tear. I know you’ve found it. The cat hid the relics from me but she made sure you would have them. If you want this kingdom to survive you’ll bring it to me.”
“Esmeralda didn’t give me anything, let alone a powerful relic.” It wasn’t entirely a lie. She told me they were in the palace, but not where they were or what they were. “And even if I did have it, which I don’t, why would I give it to you?”
“Three days,” he hissed. “You, on your knees, pledging allegiance to me and giving me the tear, or this entire land will burn.”
“I’m telling you, I don’t even know what it is!”
He turned to look around the room. “Then find it. Now, I think it’s time for me to go. It’s been lovely chatting with you, my dear, but the hour is late and I do have an invasion to begin.”
“One of these days,” I called out as he started to walk away from me, “I’m going to kill you.”
“No, you won’t.” He snapped his fingers and I felt the magical bonds tying me to the throne fall away as time started again. People screamed, and then Rhys rushed forward, his sword drawn, pushing through the now stampeding crowd toward us.
“This world will be mine. No matter who I have to kill to possess it,” the Fate Maker said with a snarl. He lifted a hand and Rhys and two burly guards who’d been flanking him froze with their swords lifted to attack.