Determined to take control of their fates, Arjen and Arien escape Derolina Castle at the age of sixteen after their cruel mother dies. They adopt new names and find a home in the city of Aramore, while the Emperor of Yuriana searches for his missing...
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Eiji leaned back in his chair at the dining table and tapped a finger on the arm. The table was set, candles lit, the ambiance perfect. The ocean waves hissed and crashed on the cliffs far below the veranda. Flowering vines hung over the roof of the small pavilion where the dinner was prepared, providing the privacy he had wanted for tonight so those pesky servants couldn't spy on them.
Eiji had used magic to give the flowers a glow. Zemerri would love it. It turned out she liked things that glowed or sparkled. Their flight to the waterfall had impressed her so much that his ego ballooned ten times its normal size. He wanted to impress her again and again. He wanted to see the amazement and awe and that smile; that beautiful, genuine smile, the way her eyes danced with it, how her laughter bubbled up from the springs of her heart. She was true and wild and beyond compare. Eiji could barely contain himself. He squirmed in his seat.
Zemerri was supposed to be here fifteen minutes ago. He snapped his fingers, and a servant came near the curtain of vines. "Where is the princess?" Eiji asked.
"I'm sorry, Your Highness, but it appears she is not here yet," said the servant.
"I know that, you dolt. I meant where is she?"
"I'm sorry, Your Highness, but I don't know. Would you like for me to check?"
"Of course!"
A few minutes after the servant left, Kirra appeared beside Eiji. "I've inspected the perimeters of the palace and didn't find anything amiss."
Kirra had needed no command, unlike Eiji's other subordinates. Kirra was excellent at detecting problems before anyone else knew.
"Take some guards and check inside the palace, too," said Eiji.
"They've already made three rounds today."
"Do it again." He couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Zemerri had never been late to any of their rendezvous.
Kirra sighed. "Alright. You're running them ragged, just so you know."
Eiji scoffed. What a bunch of whiners. He'll show them what it means to run ragged when they all get back to the imperial palace. "Just do it."
Ten more minutes passed. He crossed his arms, waiting. He'd had the servants cast a spell to keep the different foods warm or cold. He refused to let anything be ruined tonight. He had plans, important plans. If someone screwed up tonight, they would feel his wrath down through the generations.
Footsteps approached. He sat up straight, his heart fluttering in expectation, but it was just Kirra. Eiji frowned. "What is it now?"
"Eiji, I think you'd better come. It's not good." Kirra sounded grim, but not frantic. Even so, Eiji lunged out of the chair and slapped the vines aside. He rushed from the veranda and into the palace. He went straight to where the Isterisians stayed.
