The Destiny Detour

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Rosaliy

Rosaliy heard Daniella's version of events, which was colder and more precise than Drake's, but still gave her the general impression of what had been going on around her while she was in her magical coma.

Rosaliy pushed herself onto her elbows. She felt woozier than she preferred, but she could work past that.

"What," Daniella snapped, "are you doing?"

"Getting up," Rosaliy replied. She had no energy to argue.

"I'm specifically supposed to prevent that. The cross Sorceress whom everyone claims is my progeny said you would attempt to be up the instant you were conscious. The gray-eyed Sorceress who seems to resent me said you were not under any circumstances to leave this room until all the magic had flushed from your system."

This would not do. There was no way Rosaliy was going to lie around useless. "But...I need—" She floundered for reasoning Daniella might respond to. "We've come all this way, but we still need to find the children." They were the whole reason for the original journey.

Daniella's eyebrows rose slightly. "Am I to assume you've had prophetic dreams to that end?"

That woman's weaponized sarcasm could cut through walls.

"There must be some sort of clue to their whereabouts," Rosaliy insisted.

"When the Queen returns," said Daniella in a chilly tone.

"But that won't be for weeks—not until the moon is aligned."

There was a soft knock on Rosaliy's door. Drake peeked his head in. Of course, he was washed and changed and back to his old put together, vaguely mysterious, unreasonably attractive self. Meanwhile, Rosaliy looked and felt like she had been trampled by a herd of stampeding horses.

"You were instructed to sleep," Daniella accused.

"I thought about sleeping," he replied, his eyes on Rosaliy.

"Come in," Rosaliy beckoned. "What's been going on?"

"What seems like normal chaos for this place," Drake answered, slipping into the room. "How are you feeling?"

Rosaliy felt like someone was alternately setting her on fire and then dropping her into a vat of ice water, but saying that would keep her confined to bed for a week.

"Fine," she said. "I feel fine."

Drake had come in serious and concerned, but a smile broke over his face. "You really are a terrible liar."

She heaved a sigh. "I can't lie around doing nothing when an island and all the people on it have been dropped into the Glade and there are missing children to find."

His eyebrows rose. "You have an idea where to look?"

"Apparently I need a way to speed up the moon," she grumbled, sinking back onto her bed. All this aimless arguing was exhausting.

"Are you being serious?" he asked, taking a few steps forward. "Because every time I think you're not being serious, you're being serious."

"She wants to bring back the Queen," Daniella clarified, "and there won't be enough power to bring her back until a particular moon cycle."

Rosaliy's eyes shifted over to Daniella, who looked like herself but had just taken the time to explain a magical concept to another human being without sarcasm or a demand for results. She must have taken to Drake. Also, Rosaliy was suddenly aware she had both Drake and Daniella in her bedroom. She had many conflicting feelings about this.