Page 50 of Queen’s Gambit

‘Yes, some can hide their true form. Lord Alaric might be right, but I don’t know how it could be done.’ Ciesko was so blasé about it. I swallowed hard. If Alaric didn’t know how to help either, then the hope they’d awakened would just be a cruel prank. I’d had enough heartache and surprises today.

‘Can you help?’ I murmured while Lily rubbed my shoulders.

‘I can try. If you can convince my Annika to leave while we experiment with your magic.’

‘Ari, stop being an overbearing prig. Sana needs help, and I’m the strongest mage here. I’ll stay.’ She placed her hand on Alaric’s chin. ‘Me and the babe will be fine. Arachne wouldn’t let anything happen to her favourite toy. Now make me proud.’

Alaric sagged. No matter how often I observed their interaction, it always baffled me how much control she had over this ancient fae and how happy he was about it.

‘At least sit over in the corner. Please.’ He kissed her hand, and with a marked waddle, Annika moved towards the windowsill.

Alaric reached for my hand and nodded to Ciesko. ‘Step in if needed. My knowledge of vivamancy is sparse at best.’

That wasn’t exactly reassuring, but I didn’t have much choice. I placed a hand on Alaric’s, and he began chanting, drawing a small sigil on my wrist.

‘This is to let me feel your power as we work so I can guide you better,’ he explained without being prompted. ‘Good, now let me… oh sweet Mater Tenebri, Roksana.’

His quiet exclamation raised goosebumps on my skin. ‘What?’

‘It’s no surprise that Tangrian bastard tried to drag you through the portal. You could rival Annika with the power at your disposal. It’s as if the land itself answers to you.’

‘The Tangrians want me to revive their land. This invasion… It’s a cry for help. It’s brutal, senseless, but since he told me why they’re here, I can’t stop questioning myself. What if it were Dagome? What if I could save them?’

Voicing these thoughts didn’t lessen my determination. The Hierophant and his syncopates could rot and die for all I cared, but Tangra wasn’t just its cruel theocrats. It was filled with innocents who fought back the shifting desert sands and prayed to survive another year.

‘You wouldn’t destroy one country to save your own, that much I know. Morana’s tits. They could’ve just asked for our help, not… not this. No, Roksana, they must be stopped,’ Lily said. I didn’t know how much I needed to hear that until the words left her lips.

‘Let’s get to it then. Fix my wings, then we’ll save Dagome, knowing both Tivala and Lumivitae are our enemies,’ I declared, nodding to Alaric. ‘Shall we?’

For an hour I sweated, struggled, and cried as both Alaric and Ciesko guided me through the transformation. Initially, nothing worked. However, my wings eventually responded, becoming longer or shorter, even so translucent that they became almost invisible, but they didn’t disappear; their weight was still heavy on my back.

‘Why can’t you just flatten yourself against my back like a pretty tattoo?’ I grumbled, throwing myself onto the bed. Alaric paused, a smile slowly spreading across his lips.

‘Remove your chemise and breast wrap, Roksana,’ he commanded. I was so used to obeying unusual requests by now that I listened without questioning. ‘Good, now flatten the wings against your back and will them to fuse with your skin… yes, just like that,’ he guided. The touch of his magic steered my power as gently as a parent guiding a toddler’s first steps.

My body was trembling from the effort to guide my power precisely and not transform the world around me. Aether lashed across my back as I fought. Then, just as I was giving up, my mother’s song came to me. A whispered lullaby swept around me, embracing my soul. The tempest calmed. My wings relaxed, settling against my skin until their weight disappeared.

I looked at Alaric, shocked by the tears in his eyes.

‘That was beautiful. Now call them back,’ Alaric commanded, and my head snapped up.

‘What? No.’ I didn’t want them back. When he didn’t back down, I sighed.

‘Being able to fly is a useful skill to have, my lady. Don’t let your aversion to this gift keep you from seeing it for what it is—a weapon,’ he insisted. In this context, I didn’t have any arguments left.

‘Fine,’ I grumbled and called the wings back. They emerged from my skin untouched by the process. Still delicate and translucent, the wings shimmered, Aether dancing between the delicate veins.

Alaric insisted I do it several times until it became almost instinctive. Only then did he nod to Danka, who was dozing next to the bathing chamber.

‘Help your lady into the water, then bring us something to eat,’ he commanded. My maid turned to me with a questioning look.

‘We don’t have time for this, not while Rey is fighting to keep our allies,’ I scoffed, but Alaric shook his head.

‘I’m not heading to war with three hungry women. You made me your mentor, so I’m calling my dibs. No one’s leaving until you all rest,’ he said.

I looked to Annika to temper him again. She shrugged with a mischievous grin.

‘He’s right, little sister. Bath, then food, and maybe a little nap. Let the men have their screaming match first, then we’ll fix it all.’