31. Tiana

Chapter thirty-one

Tiana

I sat on the side of a sprawling bed and peered about the room. From the vine-etched pillars and ornate furniture, to the bed's stunning mahogany headboard engraved with an intricate Phoenix, the whole chamber looked like something out of a children's tale.

None of it made any sense.

I'd been snatched off the street, stuffed into the bottom of a cart, drugged, hauled for hundreds of leagues to who knew where, and now they treated me with respect and put me in a room made for royalty? This had to be some kind of game or trick—something designed to put me at ease, but to what end?

A side table held a platter of fruits, nuts, and pastries, and I didn't care that the largesse came from my captors; I was famished. I poured a mug of steaming tea and downed two of the pastries .

As I scooped up a handful of nuts, the mirror caught my eye, and I realized powdered sugar clung to the tip of my nose. An instinctual chuckle slipped out, the first time I'd laughed in . . . well, I couldn't remember when.

The door's hinges screamed, and two masked figures I hadn't seen before entered.

My laughter died.

A man in a snarling eagle mask set a vial on the table.

"Mistress, tonight we hold a ceremony in your honor. Drink this and rest. We will return to help you dress in a few hours." He stared, unblinking.

When no one moved, the eagle motioned with an open palm toward the vial, then in my direction. My shoulders fell as I realized there was no way around another dose of the drug, so I complied.

The eagle and his companion bowed and backed out of the room. I flinched as the bolt slid into place. I finished my tea, then returned to the bed to wait for sleep to take me.

It felt like only a few minutes had passed when I heard the bolt slide back and the hinges groan again. The eagle was followed by a Child wearing the mask of a wolf's head with the wings of some ancient predator. The wolf set a large box on a chair by the fireplace, then helped the eagle pour steaming water into a white basin.

"Come. It's time to prepare." The eagle held a hand toward me .

As I rubbed sleep from my eyes and sat up, I looked up at the eagle. "What's this ceremony? What's going on?"

"All will be clear soon, Mistress. You will receive the highest of honors."

He sounds oddly sincere, I thought. I wish they would tell me what was happening, at least.

An hour later, I was bathed and dressed in a golden gown. My hair was brushed to perfection. I turned and beheld my reflection, shocked at the regal figure staring back.

"You look like a queen, Mistress. The only thing missing is jewelry."

My eyes widened as I turned to find the eagle holding a magnificent necklace whose every inch shimmered with inlaid diamonds. The teardrop at the chain's center was a sapphire the size of my fist, surrounded by more thumb-sized diamonds. I couldn't take my eyes off the sapphire as the eagle raised the necklace toward me.

"Please allow me, Mistress."

I turned and lifted my hair as Eagle placed the wealth of a small nation around my neck. I was amazed by its weight, then I recognized something familiar in the sapphire. It glowed, and I felt the aura of a magical presence pressing against my own power.

It felt hungry .

I heard the snap of a clip, and the eagle stepped back. "You are perfect, Mistress. Please come with us. "

They led me down a series of hallways illuminated by magical flames, stopping before a pair of well-polished doors. Pearlescent Phoenixes stared down from their perches at the center of each door.

The eagle stood to my left. "Mistress, take my arm if you need it."

The doors crept open, and the rhythmic thrumming of drums echoed from the hall.

Their rhythm felt so familiar.

Then my eyes widened.

The drums were beating in time with my own heart .