Dhara's life was turned upside down once before, and she had recovered nicely from it, thank you very much.
Then the king dies, which is enough cause for worry, and the reason for all the past upheaval in her life walks in through the front door wit...
Forlorn returned that night, her form even more transparent than before. Apparently, that was a good thing: solidity meant that a wraith was losing her power, while a more difficult-to-see one showed that a wraith had gained some juice.
Forlorn, obviously, had gotten a lot of juice.
Malachi filled her in on the plan to find Queen Edna's father, and she readily agreed.
"Forlorn and I will go. Samson, are you up for an adventure?" Malachi asked. Samson grinned regretfully.
"I have to be here to man the house and the network. Why not take Miss Torner? Her powers will be invaluable there."
Before Malachi could speak, Dhara cut in. "And don't give me that crap about being the princess-heir and needing protection. I can protect myself fine, thank you."
Malachi shut it, bottling all his oppositions. Brynn and Samson guffawed, then gave each other appraising looks.
"What about me?" the prince asked, bouncing in his seat. Dhara crouched beside him and whispered something. His eyes lit up, and his posture stiffened, taking on that regal quality he seldomly lost.
'I'll do my best," he intoned, and Dhara gave him a little nod.
"So, when do we go?"
"The earlier the better," Malachi said, reaching out his hand. Dhara took it without hesitating, and they walked out Forlorn sinking into the floor.
"Two weeks," Samson said immediately the pair were out of earshot. Brynn arched a brow at him.
"Seriously? Dhara knows how to hold a grudge, and Malachi hurt her some 10 years ago. Trust me, she hasn't forgotten. 3 weeks to a month."
"How is that much better than mine?"
"It is more exact, Sammy dear."
Samson glowered, his height and physique truly intimidating. Brynn tittered and waggled her fingers at him.
"Quit the posturing and place your bet. 2 weeks, and I give you my entire stash of narwhal horn powder."
Samson's jaw dropped. "That powder is rare, and only the narwhals can give it to anyone."
"And I have 5 untouched pounds of the stuff. Imagine all the spells and charms you can power with that. Hell, you can run your entire network for years with just half a pound of the stuff."
"Damn, Miss Callaway, you drive a hard bargain. 3 weeks..."
"Make it 24 days," Brynn said. Prince Lucius didn't quite understand what was happening, but he was having fun.
"3 weeks and 3 days, assuming you aren't using your Analytic powers to predict this..."
"I'm not. That would be cheating."
"Hm. 3 weeks and 3 days, they agree to marry each other, and I will make you Assistant Director of the network."
Brynn gave him a disbelieving look, then laughed. "You want to trust someone like me with that kind of power? I'm not even in the serving class! What makes you think I won't seize control of the whole shebang and make you all my minions?"
"Because you won't," Samson said quietly, drawing closer. Brynn shivered at whatever she saw in his face, then gave him a coy look.
"Come, Your Highness. Let's begin your lessons before...other things take pre-eminence."
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Another ability wraiths had, apart from being super frightening, was one of absorbing the powers of whoever they possess and eventually kill. Forlorn was a traveler now, for one day to a week, depending on how powerful Julian was.
Malachi and Dhara reached the foyer, and Forlorn appeared in front, facing them.
"Ennis Daan the Third is holding court in Doley, a delicious little town in Woan, a country in the Northern World," she said, reminding Dhara of how dangerous wraiths can be, regardless of what side they're on.
Malachi turned to Dhara, gently holding her shoulders.
"Dhara, baby, I need to know that you will do exactly as I say when we get there. I need you to trust me to do what is right."
Dhara had stopped listening at 'baby'. The way he said it made the butterflies already fluttering in her tummy soar throughout her body. She looked at him, dazed, and nodded. Malachi grinned and kissed her on the cheek.
"Take us to Ennis Daan."
Forlorn placed her hands on them, and it felt like a hook grabbed them by the navels and dragged them down, down, down, until they landed abruptly on solid ground again.
"Good god of light, that was horrible!" Dhara groaned, bent over, clutching her stomach. Malachi was upright, grimacing, rubbing his stomach, and taking in their surroundings.
"Where are we, Forlorn?"
They were standing in a grove, brushes surrounding them. What little sunlight that filtered through was from above: they couldn't see anything through the foliage.
"The backyard of Ennis Daan's home," Forlorn said, making a show of peeking through the leaves. "I found it necessary to land us here, just in case there was a trap to be sprung when we arrived. I was correct: the queen's undead has the house surrounded. They knew we were coming."
"Someone told them we were coming," Malachi said quietly. Dhara looked at him, sunlight dappled on his hard, cold face. Forlorn took one look at his face and solidified in fear.
"I wasn't the traitor," the wraith trebled, her form flashing from solid to transparent and back. Malachi turned his gaze on her, and she nearly screamed. Even creatures as powerful as wraiths had heard of Malachi and were afraid of him.
"I know you didn't, Forlorn. Calm yourself."
Forlorn heaved a sigh of relief, and Dhara wondered if wraiths needed to breathe.
"You say that like you know who ratted us out," she said, holding on to his hand. He nodded.
