Southern Secrets: Book 2 in Southern Charms Series

Chapter Twenty: Up

Rose

I don't know what I was expecting to find on the other side of the door. Caly sprawled across her bed like a Disney princess? Looking despondently out a window? Absolutely anything else would have crossed my mind except for the sight before me.

"Can I help you?" My sister asked in an authoritative voice I couldn't recall ever hearing her use. She stopped buckling the belt around her waist and stared expectantly at our group.

Willow blushed all the way to the tips of her ears, across her nose, and down her neck. Her crush on Caly was something she never quite managed to hide, and I could only imagine finding Caly clad in head to toe black leather was for Willow, the equivalent of me walking in on a shirtless Ash.

Okea nudged me, and I nudged her back. I didn't know why Caly was acting as if she didn't know who we were, but then again, I wasn't sure this was even my sister. Growing up everyone liked to put the three sisters in a box. Harmony was the powerhouse brimming with magic and beauty. I was the weird one, social outcast and a lost cause. And Caly was the mediator- calm, sweet, and a bit naïve. Her cornflower blue eyes and blonde hair lent themselves perfectly to the southern belle image.

In the throne room, she'd looked every bit the part of a princess in her green gown in pearls. This- whoever this was- was channeling a Xena Warrior Princess vibe.

"Looks like I picked the wrong sister," Malphas said, drinking in Caly's slender form.

"Sister?" Caly froze, but the questioning light in her eyes hardened to something far more sinister as she glared at Okea. "Did you come to taunt me about Rose? I thought my grandmother could trust you."

"Uh, Caly," I said, reaching for her to calm her down. It was an unusual turn of events for me. Rarely did I offer my older sister comfort.

"Who are you? I only recognize her."

"Oh, crap," Willow said, raising her right hand, palm facing her body as she muttered the spell to undo the glamour. When the magic released, she swayed a bit as the burden of carrying the spell lifted.

"Hey, you know what I just realized," I said, glad to see my scaleless skin and dark brown hair again. "I haven't had a single negative reaction to magic since I broke the locket."

"I told you," Malphas growled in exasperation. "It was because everyone else's magic was trying to fill the space inside of you caused by your father's stupid attempt to get around our deal."

"Rose!" Caly shrieked, launching herself at me and squeezing me until I thought my head might explode. I returned the hug, but only after flipping Malphas off where Caly couldn't see me. "I was certain you would die down there. Even Clemmy was worried."

"Not worried enough to save me," I said with bitterness.

"Oh, Rosie, don't be like that. If she could have killed King Atticus right then, she would have done it. We had to wait until something distracted him before we could try to save you. We're watched constantly."

"Is that why you're wearing that?" Willow squeaked out.

"Willow, it's so good to see you," Caly said, scooping up my friend and spinning her around. When they stopped moving, Caly lingered in the embrace for longer than necessary and seemed flush when she stepped back. "And you've brought Ash with you?"

"Malphas, actually," the sorcerer said, taking my sister's hand and pressing a kiss to her knuckles.

She pulled away, shooting me a questioning look, and I tried to figure out how much she knew about what had happened in Black Brier. She and Clemmy disappeared shortly after Daddy was injured and before we discovered the deal he made with the sorcerer. But Clemmy had a good idea of what had happened because she said as much in the Dream we shared.

The door behind us swung open and Clemmy entered wearing the same outfit as Caly. She took in the scene in front of her with one elegantly arched brow and shut the door with a sigh.

"I'm guessing one of you is responsible for the unconscious guard out there?" she asked.

Willow raised her hand. "That would be me."

Clemmy sniffed. "Next time use magic. I had to wipe up the blood that trickled on the ground. Dead giveaway."

"Yes, ma'am."

That resolved, my grandmother zeroed in on me. "Looks like someone found their magic."

Caly gasped and jumped up and down, completely spoiling the badass vibe she had going on. "Rosie has magic?"

"I always knew it was there. So, tell me how it came about."

"Um, Queen Clemanthia, don't you think we ought to head toward the portal? We won't get a chance like this again. I don't remember the last time you were without guards," Okea said as she flitted about the room and drew curtains over the frost glass walls.

"No," Clemmy said, dismissing the girl's concern. "No point. King Atticus already knows Rose escaped. Sent someone down to check on her. He suspects me, of course. We won't make it out of here without a fight, and I think it best we all head to land for that altercation. Caly has been practicing her shift, but she can't hold it for more than thirty minutes. I'm out of practice myself."

"Reason for the suit," Caly said, pointing at her outfit. "Spelled to protect my body against the temperature and pressure."

They started talking over each other at once. Okea protesting Clemmy's plan. Willow admiring Caly's suit. Clemmy hushing them. The only people not speaking were me- because my head was pounding- and Malphas, who had not stopped staring at my grandmother since she entered the room.

"Enough," I shouted, earning everyone's shocked silence. Malphas looked between me and Clemmy and back again. "Can we get out of here and then we can all answer each other's questions? All of them."

"Fair enough," Clemmy said. Gone was the cowering woman from the throne room. This was the grandmother I knew. "I only have one additional suit, however. I was not prepared for two others. You'll have to hope you all can cast a decent enough spell to get you to the surface."

"Good thing Mama didn't come," I muttered.

"Alizon was coming?" Clemmy's brave face faltered. "She absolutely cannot come here."

"She's on her way," I warned, even if I wasn't sure that was one hundred percent true. "So we need to hurry before we have to make a repeat rescue mission."

I hoped she took to heart what I told her before I stormed out and waited for me to go with them. Of course, there was the slight problem with the fact that I made the trip without them, but unless they found the portal my locket opened, they wouldn't know I wasn't at Willow's.

"That sister of yours can't do anything right," Clemmy fussed. "She was supposed to deliver the witch map to you and only you. Not you, your mother, and your boyfriend. Why are you looking at me like-"

She rushed forward and grabbed his face. The silver shine grew so bright it was reflected in her two different colored eyes. Malphas didn't pull away or complain at her harsh grip, and the hand at his side twitched, almost as if was stopping himself from touching her.

"Rose. Why did you bring him here?"

"It wasn't intentional," I said as alarm bells pealed through the room. "He kind of... hijacked a ride."

"Hello," Malphas whispered, something strangely sweet in his voice. Something belonging entirely to him and not Ash.

"Stop," Clemmy commanded. "I'm not who you think I am. I'm not her."

Malphas recoiled, looking broken. Then, with steely resolve, he said, "I know you're not."

"We have to go," Okea said, the alarm bells growing louder as pounding started on the door. She slapped her hand on the wall, magic bursting from her palm and sending cracks through the glass.

"Are you freaking crazy?" Willow shouted.

Caly hooked an arm around Willow's waist. "I've got you."

"Where are we going?" I asked, feeling a sickening deja vu settle over me as water seeped into the room, flooding faster as the cracks grew wider and deeper.

"Up," Clemmy answered. "It's the only way out."