Chapter 123

FELIX

When I emerged from the dungeons, I felt more confused than ever.

Charles had been shockingly helpful, despite the fact that he seemed as lost as I was as to what the truth was about Mila’s true role in all of this. Our conversation had also led me to have a deeper empathy for what he must be feeling right now, and maybe even an understanding for why he led the coup.

I felt like all the puzzle pieces were there, laid out for me, I just couldn’t quite fit them together.

When I returned to the throne room, however, I found it to be in a state of complete disarray.

Esmeralda and my parents were near-yelling at each other. My father’s face was beet-red, and my mother was once again on the brink of tears.

“What’s going on?” I yelled as I rushed over to them.

Esmeralda turned to face me. For the first time in my life, the witch looked… worried.

“I had an unusual sensation this morning,” she rasped. “Something is deeply wrong.”

Suddenly, I could feel it too–that same sensation Charles had been talking about in the dungeons. While my magic usually felt like a warm, settled sensation deep in my core, now the space it typically occupied felt cold and empty. Not completely barren, but something was definitely missing.

“The magic,” I whispered in horror.

Esmeralda’s eyes widened. “So you can feel it too.”

“I can feel a coldness,” I admitted, “like it’s not as strong as it once was.”

My mother clasped my arm. “Your father and Esmeralda are reporting the same sensation.”

“My magic is being drained somehow,” Esmeralda stated. “That means that something is wrong with the very magic in Fresonia.”

My father frowned. “Fresonia’s magic is at risk?”

“The dragons can sense it,” I said, thinking back to the unease in the aviary. I had chalked it up to my illness, but the dragons were sensitive. They could tell when something was wrong with the magic.

“If the magic in Fresonia is dying, my guess is that the other magical kingdoms must be affected as well,” Esmeralda mused. “Are there people who you can reach out to discreetly ask?”

“There are,” I replied automatically, even as my brain scanned through my still-alive sources. Admittedly, the battle had put a strain on my foreign relationships. We were all trying to rebuild our damage and torn alliances domestically before even thinking about helping our neighbors.

Still, there were people I could talk to–people who would tell me the truth.

“Contact them,” Esmeralda advised. “See what they know.”

“What does this drain on our magic mean for right now?” I asked.

“I need to conserve my magic,” Esmeralda said. “I won’t be able to do anything beyond big spells or protections. My strength is best saved for when it is absolutely needed.”

I gave her a curt nod. I was not sure if that meant she would continue to magically examine Mila’s body or not, and I certainly did not want to ask.

“We should move the dragons closer to the castle,” my father chimed in.

I shook my head. “And run the risk of more people seeing them? There are still the riots in Barlow to worry about.”

“We might not have the portal be available much longer if the magic dies,” my father pointed out.

I sighed. “Keep the dragons in the aviary, for now, but start work on some sort of temporary shelter closer to the castle. And make sure it’s out of sight.”

“Agreed,” my father said.

I turned to them all. It was time for me to be a king.

“I need to reach out to the other kingdoms,” I informed them. “And Esmeralda, I would pay Charles a visit when you get the chance.”

I left the room before she could respond.

The first call I made was to Wisteria.

Wisteria had suffered the least amount of damage after the battle. It was the smallest of the seven magical kingdoms, and therefore had the fewest amount of nobility. Prince Lukas had bravely fought by my side, and was an old friend.

It seemed like the safest place to start.

I had the prince on speed dial–I had five out of the other six leaders on speed dial, Abernathy excluded.

“Felix!” Lukas exclaimed, picking up after the second ring. “How are you?”

“I’m alright, Lukas,” I said, inserting a kingly air into my voice. “And yourself?”

“I’m close to your borders, actually,” Lukas said. “We’re almost done with rebuilding but there are still some unforeseen issues we need to work through.”

Something about his tone made me realize that he was lying–or at least not telling the entire truth.

And if he was close to the Fresonian border… “Do your issues have anything to do with the drain on the magic?”

There was a long silence before Lukas spoke again. “And what do you know about that?”

“Only that it’s happening here, too,” I told him.

There was no small measure in Lukas’s voice when he spoke again. “Yes, that’s exactly what we’re investigating.”

I explained what we were dealing with, and Lukas interjected a few times to offer his two cents. It seemed like Wisteria was actually a bit worse off than we were, and it gave me a grim view of the future.

After agreeing to a council later in the week, I made my next call to Prince Nicholas of the Whitelands.

It was the same story out of Nicholas as it was from Lukas. The report from Prazole was no better.

My call to the South Smyth Islands was the one I was most nervous for. After a long debate of succession, the crown had finally passed to Princess Aurelia, Albert and Anton’s closest cousin. She was the first female ruler in the Islands’ history, and I would hopefully be attending her coronation the next month.

“There is much troubling news of a magical drain here,” Aurelia said in her lilting accent. “We are not quite sure what to do. The dragons have gone into their caves and will not come out. It’s as if a poison has seeped into our lands.”

I felt horrible about what this poor woman had to go through in her first few weeks as queen.

“We’ll find a cure,” I promised before inviting her to the council.

My last call was to Prince Marcello of Sagrada.

Before I could even say hello, he was already drawling in my ear. “Is this about the drain on the magic?”

I nearly gasped. “So you’re familiar?”

“We’re experiencing the same thing here, my friend,” the prince said.

I was close enough to Marcello that I felt comfortable asking the next question. “What about Abernathy?”

“I cannot confirm nor deny that I have eyes in Abernathy,” Marcello said slowly. “But what I can say is that their magic does not appear to be suffering in the slightest.”

Interesting. So the prince had spies in the other kingdom. That was, perhaps, a conversation for another day.

“Nothing at all?” I pressed.

“Nothing that I’ve heard,” Marcello clarified. “In fact, it sounds like their magic is doing better than ever.”

My eyes narrowed. “Then perhaps Abernathy is to blame for all of this.”

“I will let you know if I hear anything,” Marcello offered up. “But, Felix?”

“Yes?” I said.

“Be careful. This magical drain is nothing to mess with. Whatever we decide to do, we must be smart about.”

I hung up the phone, aware of the way my heartbeat had suddenly begun to race.

We were so close to the truth.

And yet not close enough.