Even teen evil queens need love. Right? (Or at least a handsome sword-fighting minion to do their bidding!)
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Bad things happen when Rowen is around and the worst part is, she has no idea why until a massive family secret sends her on a fantastica...
"How did the queen react when she learned her heir was a failure?"
"The usual way. First, she punished the heir. Painfully. Then she let out the remainder of her frustration on the earthly realm. You've probably noticed over the years all the field blighting, freak snowstorms in July, and the sudden (but thankfully brief) onset of jeggings? But the tantrums grew to a steady stream of superstorms, earthquakes, tornados (an old favorite as long as you stay away from falling houses), chocolate shortages, and other disasters humans liked to call "natural" because they were blithely unaware of the mystical forces bearing down on them from the evil queen's realm."
"Sounds like kind of an overreaction. Why do so much harm?"
"This is what a life without love does to a soul."
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We continued not teleporting through the forest.
Dead leaves crunched under our feet like the snapping of bones. Moonlight trickled through the many barren trees, creating skeletal shadows on the thick underbrush, and a few weak stars twinkled in and out of view as dark clouds drifted past. This was the kind of forest where things LURKED. I never liked things that lurked. Lurkers rarely had good intentions; and the moment they un-lurked, there was bound to be blood or pain. Or blood AND pain.
Or even pain.
And given that this place had more than its fair share of cannibals, I stuck close to Frekvic and his sack of monster chow. Even though he was half as tall as me, he knew his way around. Still, it was hard to keep up with him as he led me down the narrow dirt trail.
A chill breeze carried with it the stench of mud and mold. The tips of my ears ached with the cold, and with each exhale, curls of vapor formed in front of my face, obscuring my vision. There was something disconcerting about seeing the air that had just been inside of me, keeping me alive. Breath should be invisible unless you're a fire-breathing dragon.
Oooh! A dragon could be an excellent familiar with its ability to fly and incinerate my enemies. A spark of excitement lit in my belly, and for a moment, I wasn't cold.
"Rowen, Rowen," squeaked a tiny voice. My heart started thumping, and I spun, looking for the source.
"Did you hear that?" I said.
"Hear what?" Frekvic said.
"Someone was calling my name."
"Probably just the wind."
I rolled my eyes. "Does the wind here speak English?"
"What else would it speak? We're nowhere near Zandorkia. Keep up. We have a long way to go, and I don't want to miss lunch at the castle. It's pizza day!"
Pizza? Well, it beat frogs' legs. I was too wound up to care about food. There was so much on my mind with finding a familiar, focusing my powers, saving Blade and my dads, and carrying through my (hopefully) brilliant escape plan. Everything hinged on making it to the zoo and finding my familiar.
