Chapter 17

CHAPTER 17

P aige's hands trembled as Dominic stared at her, awaiting an answer.

"Ms. Turner?" he asked again as she failed to answer, her eyes wide and her throat dry.

"That's future Mrs. LaBlanc," Devon shouted. A few hoots and claps went up from the crowd as Paige finally snapped back to reality.

"Uh, yeah, ready."

"Ready to lose, I hope," Ivy said as Dominic motioned toward the realm.

"Contestants, please enter and take your places at the podiums."

Paige stepped forward, her feet feeling like lead as she walked and slipped into the other realm. Lucious greenery surrounded her as she climbed onto a pedestal and stared at a massive pink flower between them. Her heart skipped a beat as it opened its petal-like mouth and spoke.

"Welcome, welcome. I'm your moderator Fleur le Petal. I'll be the one overseeing this challenge today. Contestants, before we begin with the coin toss to determine the order, I'll explain the process.

"You must conjure images of powerful, heartfelt memories. Once you have your image, press and hold the red button in front of you to project it from your brain into the world. There will be three rounds. Judges will score after each round. Any questions?"

Paige's forehead creased as she tried to sort through the information.

"No," Ivy answered, "I'm ready."

"Uh, me too," Paige said with a nod, wiping her sweaty palms against her pants.

"Then we'll begin. I'll throw the coin. The challenger, Ivy, will make her call. You can choose from petals or roots."

The flower readied the coin on a hand-like leaf and shifted his head toward Ivy. "Petals," she said.

He nodded and tossed the coin in the air. "It's roots. Choice goes to Ms. Turner."

The odd, talking flower turned toward her for her answer. "Uhh, I'll go second."

It worked for Henry, she thought.

"All right. Ms. Delacroix, you are first. Begin your memory process now and press the button when you're ready. You have a two-minute limit on memory conjuring. If you do not press the button within two minutes, you will automatically forfeit the round."

"Don't worry about that," Ivy said with a smirk as she pressed her hand against the button. "I'm ready."

Paige leaned back as a giant three-dimensional hologram of Ivy's memory filled the space between them. A dapper Devon in a tuxedo danced with a ballgown-clad Ivy. Both grinned at each other.

Paige shifted her weight as she studied the memory, likely of their first dance. "Great," she murmured under her breath as the memory faded.

"All right, over to you, Ms. Turner. Same rules, you have two minutes."

Paige sucked in a breath, her palms turning sweatier as she strove to find as chic an image as the one Ivy conjured. With a shrug, she went for one of the kisses Devon had recently planted on her, hoping it had some emotional impact.

She pressed the button and let the image form.

"All right," Fleur answered as it faded. "Word from the judges?"

Paige flicked her gaze to the screen containing the live feed from the real world as the judges conferred. "The first round goes to…Ivy."

Paige's heart sank as she saw her chances to win slipping away. She cursed under her breath as she rolled her shoulders back. "Shake it off, Paige."

"Ladies, the second round starts now. Ms. Delacroix, you have two minutes."

Across from her, Ivy pressed her button already, filling the air with the image of a moonlit night and a garden stroll that ended in a kiss.

Paige rolled her eyes at it, wondering why Devon hadn't married her already.

"Very good, now, Ms. Turner," Fleur answered. "Two minutes, starting now."

Paige's heart thudded against her ribs as she tried to conjure something equally romantic. Her mind struggled. She'd used a kiss in the last round and it hadn't won. As the clock ticked closer to zero, one memory stood out in her mind. She slammed her hand onto the button and filled the air with the image of their first meeting .

In the hologram, Paige tumbled down the stairs, and Devon helped her up and slid her glasses back onto her face.

The image faded, and Paige shifted her weight from foot to foot as she stared at the judges. Was she about to lose the Amor Fortis or would she get one more chance to win?

Finally, the head judge leaned forward. "Round two goes to…Paige Turner."

Relief washed over Paige, and she blew out a sigh as she shook her head, her mind already spinning as she searched for the next memory to use.

Across from her, Ivy glared at her until Fleur announced the next round. She immediately slammed her hand onto the red button. The image of her writing Mrs. Ivy LeBlanc with hearts filled the air between them.

Paige heaved a sigh. She'd never compete with that. Ivy was trying to suggest that she truly loved Devon and had for some time. Doubt crept over Paige as Fleur sent the round over to her.

Her throat parched, and her knees wobbled. How could she find a memory to beat that?

Her breathing turned ragged as she searched the depths of her mind for something to convey a heartfelt emotion, but she found nothing. Her gaze flicked to the countdown timer, which crept closer and closer to zero as the seconds ticked by.

"Mr. Turner, you have ten seconds left," Fleur announced.

She swallowed hard, her mind a total blank. As the time hit two seconds, she slammed her trembling hand against the red button, unsure what would pop out in the hologram.

A flood of images filled the air, a montage of their time together. From his first smile at her to their moments in the jungle, ending with his support over her mother, every honest moment between them spilled from her brain .

With her hands still shaking, she pulled away from the button and held her breath as the judges conferred.

The head judge leaned forward toward his microphone. Paige bit into her lower lip as she awaited the news.

"The winner of round three, the Duel of Shared Memories, and the Amor Fortis is…"

Paige's eyes went wide as her heart thudded hard against her ribs. Time seemed to stop as the judge paused before making the announcement.

Finally, he spoke again. "Paige Turner."

Paige's eyes went wide as she stared at the judge, trying to comprehend it. Hands wrapped around her shoulders and shook her as she stood in shocked silence.

"Paige, you did it!" Dewey said with a grin. "You won!"

"I won," she said, her voice breathy. "I won!"

A grin slid across her features as she curled her fingers into fists. "I won! I did it! I beat her."

"That last montage memory was insane ," Dewey said.

Drucinda nodded with an arched eyebrow. "It really was. I've never seen anyone use anything like that before."

"It was beautiful, babe. Really. All the time we've spent together and how meaningful it's been," Devon said with a grin. "It's obvious how much I mean to you."

Paige froze at the words as she glanced at him. Was she into Devon? Had she only been resisting because he didn't fit into her plan?

No, she couldn't think about that now. She had to focus on getting married, getting the soul compass, and finding her mother. She couldn't worry about the off-chance that she may love Devon. Or at least…like him.

"Yeah," she said with a nod. "Right. Well, anyway, I won. And now you need to win tomorrow morning so we can get married. "

"Babe, I'm all over this," Devon said. "By this time tomorrow, you will be Mrs. Devon LeBlanc."

"Uh, oh," Paige said, holding a finger in the air, "yeah, no. That's not happening. I'll be…Paige Turner. Sorry. I'm not…I'm a little bit of a women's libber there."

"That's cool. Whatever you want, babe. Doesn't matter to me," Devon said with a grin.

"Awesome. Yeah, good," Paige said with a nod.

"And now, as much as I'd love to let you love birds chat," Dewey said as he wrapped a paw around Paige's shoulders. "We have to get to dinner and your bachelorette party. We've got so much to celebrate tonight."

"Yeah, let's just not get too crazy, okay? I mean, I've got a wedding to go to tomorrow. I don't want to be hung over."

"Who's going to be hung over?" Dewey said with a laugh. "Oh, Paige, we are going to have a blast ."

Paige offered him a tentative smile as she stepped from the ballroom toward the dining room. The excited chatter during dinner filled the dining hall. Guests congratulated Paige on her win throughout the night before Dewey whisked her away for her bachelorette party.

He gathered Paige, Drucinda, and a few others for the celebration, leading them to an upstairs sitting room.

A maid appeared with a silver tray filled with champagne flutes. Dewey grabbed his and passed one to Paige before he raised his glass in the air. "Thank you all for coming. We're here to celebrate my good friend, Paige's last night as a free woman. Tomorrow, she'll marry…someone, we don't know who yet, but someone. And then she'll embark on her life with that person…wow, this is hard not knowing who you're going to marry."

Dewey cleared his throat and shook his head. "Never mind. Anyway, I've prepared a little speech for this occasion. "

Dewey tugged a paper from under his scale and unraveled it. "Hello. How about that last challenge, huh? I guess that's why it's dangerous to marry a vampire. Ha ha. You guys might not know this, but I'm a bit of a loner. I'm a one-dragon wolf pack. But when Paige walked into the library, I knew she was one of my own. And my wolf pack grew by one. So now, in case you're not keeping track, there are now two of us in the wolf pack. I was alone in the wolf pack, and then Paige joined in. And then Drucinda arrived, and there were three people in the wolf pack. And with Devon, there are four. So, four of us wolves, running around in a vampire castle, looking for fun and shenanigans. So tonight, I toast…the wolf pack."

Paige stared at him as he raised his glass. He offered her a wide-eyed glance, and she lifted hers. "Right, thanks, Dewey. I'm glad I'm in your wolf pack."

She leaned closer and whispered, "Did you hijack that from The Hangover?"

"Of course not. I wrote that from the heart." He shook his head at her before he buzzed across the room and picked up the sashes for each guest. "Now, ladies, let's party."

Paige slipped the brIDE sash around her before she took another sip of her champagne. She was only drinking one glass. She did not need to have a hangover. She also hoped he hadn't booked any raunchy entertainment. A nice relaxing evening was just what she needed after winning the Amor Fortis.

She eased onto the plush velvet couch and took another sip of the champagne, her mind already feeling fuzzy. She assumed she was tired from the adrenaline surge of the challenge and let her head fall back against the cushion behind her. Her eyes slid closed.

When she opened them again, bright light streamed through the windows, blinding her. "Ugh," she said as she squinted against it. Her stomach rolled and her brain felt like someone had melted it.

She pushed up from the puddle of drool underneath her on the velvet cushion. As she scanned the space, she spotted nothing but chaos.

Colorful streamers hung haphazardly from the ceiling, mingling with floating balloons and shimmering confetti. Glittering banners and flashing neon lights created a kaleidoscope of colors across the room.

A makeshift stage stood in the center of the room, the karaoke machine on it still blasting music that made her head pound.

Paige tried to take it in as she fought the urge to vomit. She pressed a hand to her forehead as she sat up. Drucinda lay sprawled on the floor, wearing a cheerleader uniform.

Paige wrinkled her nose at the sight before she stumbled toward the door. A unicorn blocked her way. She skirted around it, finding a monkey riding a unicycle.

"What happened last night?" she murmured. Her own voice made her head pound and her stomach whirl with nausea.

"Ugh," she moaned as she stumbled back over to Drucinda and nudged her with her foot. "Drucinda…wake up."

She collapsed onto the couch again, letting her head fall into her hands. "Drucinda, come on, wake up."

Paige let her eyes slide closed as she flopped back against the cushion behind her. "Why do I feel so bad? Dewey! Dewey?"

She snapped her eyes open, her head thudding at the temples. "Where is he?"

"Stop shouting," Drucinda answered, her voice slurred with sleep and whatever else that had led them to feel so bad this morning.

"I'm not shouting. How drunk did we get last night?"

"I didn't drink that much," Drucinda answered as she pushed up and sat back on her haunches. "Oh, what happened?"

She pressed a hand against her forehead and winced.

"I'm not sure. All I can recall is sitting here, attempting to unwind, and then suddenly waking up to find this room in chaos, feeling as though I've been through the wringer."

Drucinda climbed to her feet, her cheerleader skirt flouncing as she rose. "Please stop talking. There is no way liquor did this."

"I think it did. What was in that champagne?"

"No," Drucinda answered. "I could drink three bottles of that stuff and not even feel it. Valkyries are very good at handling liquor. This is something else."

"What?" Paige asked, screwing up her face and immediately regretting the motion as it made her headache worse.

"I don't know. Someone…drugged or something. Maybe some form of magical powder." She collapsed onto the couch next to Paige and sank her head into her hands.

"Magical powder?"

Drucinda swallowed hard as she struggled to keep her eyes open. "Yes. Something like Dream Dust or the like."

"Dream Dust?" Paige questioned.

"Right. Basically…it's magic drugs. We would have been better off just taking drugs to be fair. It's supposed to give you wild dreams, but…if it spills over into this world, it's mayhem." She stared at the unicorn and the monkey on the unicycle. "Judging by this room, it spilled over."

"Dream Dust," Paige repeated. "Someone drugged us?"

"Definitely. Oh, I haven't felt this bad since college. "

"How can we feel better? We have the Test of Selflessness at ten. I can't go there feeling like this."

"I don't know. Maybe some water. Maybe…death."

"Death?" Paige asked, her head splitting. "You're right. Death would be preferable. Where is Dewey?"

"Dewey?" Drucinda asked. "Oh, right, the dragon. Dewey? Here boy. Where are you, little fella?"

Paige rose on wobbly knees. "He's got to be around here somewhere. I wonder if he feels as bad as we do. He's so little, if someone dosed us, he could be in real trouble."

"Dewey!" Drucinda called in a weak voice as she remained on the couch. "Come on out."

Paige wandered around the room, checking under party decorations and pillows. "He's not here. That little jerk probably went back to his room and had a good night's sleep."

She stumbled to the door and tugged it open before she spilled into the hall. Running her fingers along the wall to balance, she threaded her way through the halls toward Dewey's room. She found it empty.

Another moan escaped her as she shuffled her way to her own room, finding it empty, too.

As she rounded the corner in search of someone who may have spotted the tiny dragon, she bumped into Devon.

"Hey, Paige, how was the party?"

"Please don't talk so loud. Someone drugged us."

His features crinkled with concern. "What?"

"Someone gave us some magical drug. I don't know. I feel awful. Have you seen Dewey?"

"No. I was just down in the dining hall, he's not there."

Paige slouched against the wall. "Oh. Where is he? I can't find him."

Drucinda stumbled around the corner toward them.

"Whoa, Dru," Devon said, reaching out to steady her. "You okay? "

"No, I am definitely not okay. And neither is Dewey. He's nowhere. He's gone. He's missing."

Paige's eyes went wide as her temples throbbed. What had happened last night? And where was her little dragon friend?