A violent chill runs down my spine. She’s wrong.
Father was willing to forgive Amari for treason. When I take magic away, he will forgive me for this.
“That’ll never happen.” I try to sound strong. “I’m his son. Magic won’t change that.”
“You’re right,” she says with a smirk. “I’m sure he’ll let you live.”
She turns and retreats into the reeds. My conviction withers with her taunts. Father’s blank stare invades my mind. With it, the air around me thins.
Duty before self. I hear his voice. Flat. Unwavering. Or?sha must always come first.
Even if it means killing me—
The girl gasps. I tense, whipping around to scan the blowing reeds.
“What is it?” I ask. Have I summoned Father’s spirit here?
But nothing appears. No human, at least. As the girl steps into the white horizon binding the dreamscape, reeds bloom under her feet.
They grow nearly up to my head, a rich green that reaches for the sun. She takes another tentative step toward the horizon, and the surge of reeds expands.
“What in the skies?” Like a wave crashing over sand, the reeds spread throughout the horizon, pushing back the white boundary of the dreamscape. A warmth buzzes in my core. My magic …
Somehow she’s wielding it.
“Don’t move!” I order.
But the girl takes off, running into the white space. The dreamscape yields to her whims, wild and alive under her reign. As she sprints, the reeds growing under her feet change to soft dirt, white ferns, towering trees. They grow high into the sky, obscuring the sun with their jagged leaves.
“Stop!” I yell, sprinting through the new world that grows in her wake. The rush of magic makes me faint, sliding down my chest and thrumming in my head.
Despite my yells, she keeps running, a fire in her step as the soft dirt under her feet transforms to a hard rock. She doesn’t skid to a stop until she’s face-to-face with a staggering cliff.
“My gods,” she breathes at the sight of the grand waterfall created through her touch. It foams in an endless wall of white, pouring into a lake so blue it shimmers like Mother’s sapphires.
I stare at her in bewilderment, head still pulsing with the thrum of flowing magic. Over the edge of the cliff, emerald-green foliage fills the crevices along the jagged stone. Beyond the lake’s outer rim, a small bank of trees blurs into white.
“How in skies’ name did you do that?” I ask. There’s a beauty to this new world I cannot deny. It makes my entire body buzz as if I’ve consumed a whole bottle of rum.
But the girl pays me no mind. Instead, she shimmies out of her draped pants. With a shout, she leaps from the cliff and hits the water with a splash.
I lean over the ledge as she resurfaces, soaking wet. For the first time since I’ve known her, she smiles. True joy lights her eyes. The image brings me back, faster than I can stop it. The memory of Amari’s laughter feeds into my ears. Mother’s cries follow.…
“Amari!” Mother shrieks, grabbing on to the wall when she almost slips.
Amari giggles as she dashes away, soaking the tiled floor with the remnants of her bathwater. Though an army of nurses and nannies chase her down, they’re no match for the determined toddler. Now that Amari’s made a decision to escape, they’ve lost.
She won’t stop till she gets what she wants.
I jump over a fallen nanny and take off, laughing so hard I can barely breathe. One moment my shirt slips off my head. The next, my pants fly through the air. House servants laugh as we run by, stifling their giggles at Mother’s glare.
By the time we reach the royal pool we’re two naked menaces, jumping in just in time to drench Mother’s finest gown.…
I can’t remember the last time Amari giggled so hard water came out her nose. After I hurt her, she was never the same with me. Laughter was reserved for the likes of Binta.
Watching the girl swim brings it all back, but the longer I gaze, the less I think of my sister. The girl slides out of her top and my breath falters. The water shimmers around her dark skin.
Look away. I turn my head, attempting to study the grooves in the cliff instead. Women are distractions, Father would say. Your focus is on the throne.
Just being near the girl feels like a sin, threatening the unbreakable law designed to keep maji and kosidán apart. But despite the rule, my eyes pull me back. She makes it impossible not to stare.
A trick, I decide. Another way to get inside your head. But when she resurfaces, I’m at a loss for words.
If it’s a trick, it’s working.
“Really?” I force out. I try to ignore the curves of her body under the rippling water.
She looks up and narrows her eyes, as if remembering I exist. “Forgive me, little prince. This is the most water I’ve seen since you burned down my home.”
The crying villagers of Ilorin creep back into my mind. I squash the guilt like a bug. Lies. It’s her fault.
She helped Amari steal the scroll.
“You’re mad.” I cross my arms. Look away. I keep staring.
“If your water cost a gold piece per cup, you’d be doing the same exact thing.”
A gold piece a cup? I ruminate as she dives below the surface. Even for the monarchy, coin like that is a stretch. No one could sustain those prices. Not even in—
Ibeji.
My eyes widen. I’ve heard of the crooked guards who run that desert settlement. They’re crooked enough to overcharge, especially when water is scarce. It takes everything to keep a smile off my face. I’ve got her. And she doesn’t even know it.
I close my eyes to leave the dreamscape, but the memory of Amari’s smile makes me pause.
“My sister,” I call above the roaring water. “Is she alright?”
The girl stares at me for a long moment. I don’t expect an answer, but something indecipherable burns in her eyes.
“She’s scared,” she finally responds. “And she shouldn’t be the only one. You’re a maggot now, little prince.” Her eyes darken. “You should be scared, too.”
*
THICK AIR INVADES my lungs.
Dense and heavy and hot.
I open my eyes to find Orí’s painted image above my head. I’m back.
“Finally.” Despite myself, I smile. This will all be over soon. When I catch her and that scroll, the threat of magic will die for good.
Sweat drips down my back as my mind runs through the next steps. How close is the bridge to completion? How fast can we ride to Ibeji?
I spring to my feet and grab my torch. I must find Kaea. It’s only when I whip around that I realize she’s already here.
Sword outstretched. Pointed right at my heart.
“Kaea?”
Her hazel eyes are wide. The slightest tremble in her hand rocks her blade. She shifts, steadying its aim on my chest. “What was that?”
“What was what?”
“Don’t.” She speaks through her teeth. “You were muttering. Y-your head … it was surrounded by light!”
The girl’s words echo through my ears.
You’re a maggot now, little prince. You should be scared, too.
“Kaea, put the sword down.”
She hesitates. Her eyes go to my hair. The streak …
It must be showing again.