Nineteen
The portal’s magic spins in circles around me, and I’m almost instantly dizzy. I shut my eyes, cling to Roarke’s hand, and take a few fumbling steps forward. “You can open your eyes,” he tells me as the dizziness vanishes. I open them and blink a few times before focusing on the nearly colorless world around me. The grass, the flowers, the trees and hedges—everything is varying tones of bluish grey. The only vibrant color belongs to the four guards who jump to attention at our sudden appearance.
“Would you like to explain to me,” Roarke says to them, “why I just killed an ink-shade in my own chambers?”
The nearest guard blinks. “Y-Your Highness?”
I walk slowly away from them as they stammer out apologies and Roarke threatens to feed them to his sister’s favorite dragon. I look
