PRINCE Harold’s face was a mask of shock.
“So…so all this time, Karina’s been a completely different person? And she’s the one behind all of it?”
“Yes, as you can see.”
“But…maybe this girl you’ve got with you here is actually someone else, made to look like Karina? Our Nigren magicians don’t have the skills to tell the difference…”
“I simply ask that you trust us, Prince Harold.”
I looked right into Harold’s eyes.
We brought Karina with us when we came to Harold to explain. She sat, gazing around as if fascinated by everything.
She was still acting like a child. Just moments before, she’d pointed at Harold and said: “We have the same color hair! Tee hee!”
“Why is Karina…like this?” he asked.
“I think she’s under the influence of memory-altering magic. I’m afraid I showed the technique to the Fake Karina yesterday…” Toll hung his head in shame.
“Can’t you fix her?”
“It’s…it’s still an unfinished technique… I…I don’t know what to say…”
Harold gazed at Karina for a few moments before clutching his temples in anguish.
Karina blinked at him, looking alarmed.
“Are you all right, Harold? Do you feel unwell? You should eat some apples…”
As Karina stared at Harold, his head suddenly jerked up.
There was a commotion in the hallway outside. The guards were talking, and then a high, commanding female voice could be heard ordering them around.
Face stiffening, Harold looked at the door.
“She’s here.”
The door opened with a slam.
“Brother, may I have a word?”
Fake Karina was standing in the doorway all of a sudden, smiling. But her smile didn’t reach her cold eyes.
“When she appeared in the bedroom earlier, she failed to notice Karina because I cast a Concealment spell on her. Without actually investigating the spells I cast, she shouldn’t be able to see nor tell that Fake Elena has reverted to the true Karina.”
Ed leaned in to whisper this in Harold’s ear. I was impressed. To avoid Fake Karina from figuring out we knew everything, he’d cast a quick spell to hide Karina from the Fake’s view and keep us safe for just a little while longer.
Harold nodded, keeping his eyes averted from Ed. He stood, smiling at Fake Karina.
“Karina, you’re back early. And where is Prince Daniel? Weren’t you two off sight-seeing together?”
“He’s right here, of course.” Fake Karina gestured behind her. Daniel was standing there, expressionless.
When did Daniel get back?
I frowned at Daniel.
Daniel hadn’t been in Karina’s bedroom when we’d teleported. Karina must have brought him there afterward, using her magic.
“Did you have a nice time, Prince Daniel?”
“Yes. Very nice.” Daniel smiled. “It’s nice to be welcomed back so warmly,” he said.
He looked like his usual self.
Harold nodded. “But aren’t you back rather early?”
“Ah, yes. Well, we saw the main sights, and then I started to feel guilty about enjoying myself while poor Elena was so sick.”
Fake Karina turned to Daniel, putting her arm through his and smiling at him. “Right, Daniel?” she said. Daniel smiled and nodded as their eyes met.
“By the way, Brother, I noticed Elena wasn’t in my room. Have you seen her?”
She had to know that we’d removed the real Karina from the room. And yet, Elena—the Fake Karina—still asked this of Harold. It was almost as if she was trying to test him.
“Oh, Elena actually suddenly got much worse. So I had her moved. It was a good thing that Princess Annabel and her friends were visiting at the time and noticed her deteriorating. I apologize for acting without letting you know what was going on first.
“I see. Well then, where is she?”
“She’s resting comfortably. I’ll take you to see her later.”
“……”
Fake Karina stopped smiling and glared past Harold at us. The next moment, though, her syrupy smile was back.
“By the way, Karina…the carriage isn’t back yet. How did you return?”
“Oh, we took a cab. For a change of pace.” Karina answered smoothly, looking up at Daniel through her fluttering lashes. “Right, Daniel?”
“Yes…we took a cab.” Daniel nodded, then pushed his long sleeve up.
Huh?
My gaze went right to Daniel’s wrist.
The protective bracelet Daniel always wore with the Magic Crystal in it…was cracked in several places.
Ed seemed to notice it too. He shot me a sharp glance.
“I see. Well, I hope you at least brought me a souvenir!” Harold said with a big smile.
“A souvenir?”
“Yes, you always bring me my favorite raisins back, don’t you?”
“Oh, of course! Sorry, I didn’t have time this time around.” Karina shrugged.
“That’s all right. It happens.”
Prince Harold smiled and waved dismissively. Then he started across the room. For some reason, he strolled all the way over to the decorative sword mounted on the wall. Picking it up, he turned on Fake Karina, brandishing the sword.
“Who are you?!”
Fake Karina gasped, taking a step back.
“Brother, whatever are you—”
“Don’t ‘Brother’ me! You’ve no right to call me that! What have you done to the real Karina? What have you done to my sister?!”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“I hate raisins! If you were the real Karina, you’d know that! I would never want them for a souvenir!”
Fake Karina cowered against Daniel as Harold waved the sword at her.
“This isn’t funny, Brother!”
“Who’s laughing?” he snarled.
“I simply misspoke.”
“I’ll say!” Prince Harold snorted with derision.
“You’ve got it all wrong! Hasn’t he, Daniel?”
Fake Karina turned to Daniel in panic. He met her gaze, smiling softly. Seeing the smile on his face, Fake Karina seemed relieved. Daniel held her tight against his chest protectively.
“Now, Prince Harold!”
Daniel shouted and Harold jumped. As his guards rushed forward to restrain Fake Karina with their leather belts, there was a flash and an ear-splitting zinging sound.
A gust of strong air shot out all around, with Fake Karina in the center. Shards of ice materialized in the air and flew in every direction.
“Princess, look out!”
Ed shouted, quickly casting a protective wall around me. The ice shards bounced harmlessly off. I covered my ears and closed my eyes.
It all happened in the span of a few seconds.
I looked around me at the aftermath of the attack…
“She’s gone…”
Fake Karina was nowhere to be seen.
“She’s fled!” Prince Harold was yelling, still holding the sword. Debris from the air blast and ice shards made a mess of the room. There were puddles on the floor.
“Princess, are you hurt?”
“I’m okay. But what about Daniel?!”
Daniel had been standing out of range of Ed’s protective spell, in the vicinity of Fake Karina’s blast. Now he was slumped against the wall. Ed hurried over to attend to him.
“Damn it! We almost had her!” As Ed treated his injuries, Daniel coughed and laughed bitterly.
As I watched them, I was thinking hard. Things had gone horribly wrong.
Fake Karina had fled, using teleportation magic.
But that wasn’t the problem. The problem was her power of Illusion. She could’ve transformed into a completely different person. She could be right in front of our eyes, and we wouldn’t even know it was her.
The Witch of the South can change her appearance. That’s what makes her so dangerous…
The full weight of those words finally registered with me and struck terror into my heart.