Clockwork Kiss

The Prophetess

Standing in the doorway, framed by the glittering light of the hall behind her, was the woman who had dressed me. She was still in her simple frock, her hair pulled back. When I looked at her this time though, I saw an age in her eyes that her smooth face hid. She was a woman considerably older than she appeared. And those eyes locked on me with an intense, knowing sorrow.

“My Lord,” she murmured, bowing her head. “I fear you speak too loudly of secrets that the walls already know.”

Torian’s expression immediately softened. “Morwyn, what are you doing here? You should be resting. You did so much already in preparation of the Gala tonight.”

“I am where I must be, my Lord,” she replied, her gaze sweeping over Torian then settling back on me. “The Veil is thin tonight. I saw the light of her arrival, and knew the path you were forced to walk.” Morwyn stepped into the room, shutting the door behind her. “I am Morwyn, child, and I am sorry to have stolen you from your old life.”

“Why did you dress me?” I asked, my brows knit tightly together as I studied her. Torian might have trusted her, but this was so much to take in. “Torian said this dress was meant for Lady Lysandra, was it a trap?”

Morwyn walked further into the room and placed a comforting hand on Torian’s arm. “No trap, child, just a necessity. The Lady Lysandra abandoned her vows last week, fleeing the castle, and throwing herself into the arms of Lord Valerius.”

Torian looked away, his humiliation evident in the rigid set of his shoulders. “Their letters were found, Morwyn. She gave him security details, she helped him compromise the Gala.”

“Yes,” Morwyn confirmed with a quiet nod. “A public defection planned for the moment you stepped on the dais. However,” she turned towards me, half a smile curling one corner of her mouth while mischief gleamed in her eyes, “your arrival threw off their entire plan, dear. I saw you, Anya, step through the portal. And I saw you, dressed in the traitor’s silk, luring the enemy into the light. Your presence interrupted Valerius’s plan. When you didn’t return the signal, his plans crumbled.”

Her lavender eyes seemed to pierce my soul as she continued, “You are the destined anomaly, Anya. The one dreamed about a millennia ago. You are the only person who truly knows what the key looks like, not just stories. And you are the only one that can save the Drakemoor bloodline.”

Morwyn’s gaze shifted back to Torian as I tried to process the weight of her words and responsibility being thrust upon my shoulders. “My lord, the cloakroom has been searched. Valerius’s agents are hunting for the nutcracker now.”

Torian turned to me, the familial comfort of Morwyn’s presence replaced by the cold resolve of a ruler. He gripped my hand, pulling me to my feet in a swift move that snatched my breath away. “The ballroom is lost,” he decided as he moved behind the sofa to the far wall of the room. He pressed his free hand to the wall, shifting his touch back and forth until a secret door slid free. “We must find the temporal key before the sun rises.”