Amneris tossed the golden box between her hands as her Court remained quiet. She raised an eyebrow at their silence after a few minutes, taking her feet off the table, holding the box in one hand, and leaning forward. “Really?” she asked. “You’re that surprised at this?”
“Well, yeah,” Zoe said.
“You were the ones who hid the items,” Jay agreed.
Leo stopped the argument before it could begin. “We need to get the rest of the items before Tara does. She will be able to release the Dark King if that happens.”
Nikki pushed her fist into her palm. “We can’t let that happen.”
Kayla jumped into the conversation suddenly. “We can’t go after the items yet!” Everyone stared at the Healer as she raised her hands in defence. “If we do anymore missions this soon, there will be consequences. Especially for you.” This last part was directed towards Amneris whose eyes glowed in frustration.
“I’m with Kayla,” Dan agreed. “We can rest while we figure out where the items are.”
I know exactly where they are, Amneris thought to herself. But I can’t tell them. She suddenly hated herself for placing that spell on those who knew the location of the items. She and her old Court could not say a word on the matter, physically or mentally. They could not even write it down. The others knew this, but she doubted they understood her frustration on the matter.
“Besides,” Carmin was saying. “We have a plan for tonight remember?”
Amneris raised her head and blinked rapidly. “Say what?”
Hathor wrapped her arms around her mother. “You didn’t think you were getting out of it that easy, did you?” She poked her arm. “The end of the world is no excuse to not celebrate your birthday.”
“Seriously, guys, it’s not that important anymore,” Amneris told them all with an embarrassed smile.
Nikki pulled her to her feet. “You are now five-thousand and nineteen. That’s a very long time to live –”
“I died at fourteen –”
“So, there is no excuse to not party tonight and figure out what to do tomorrow. A break will help us all think better.” With that, she and the rest of the women in the Court dragged a protesting Amneris down the hall to pick out what they were all going to wear while out.
* * * * * * * *
Amneris and Colt zapped to the balcony on the Palace in Lapide. It was a large pearl-coloured palace carved into a granite cliff. From the front, there seemed to be only four levels, each with its own balcony. The Palace actually had more levels. They were hidden inside the cliff. The pair were standing on the fourth level’s balcony which overlooked the ocean on the edge of Lapide. The city glowed in the moonlight. It was made up of large buildings, town houses, and shopping centres. At the far end, near the hills to the east, was the Academy. A river cut through the middle of the snow-white city. Orbs of light floated on the ocean from boats bringing goods from the rest of the planet’s continents.
“There are six main cities,” Amneris explained to her guest. “This one is Lapide, the City of Light.” She smiled gently. “It’s my personal favourite and the one I spend most of my time in. That’s not just because of the palace. I’ve been living just outside this city for as long as I can remember.”
“It is beautiful,” Colt said in awe.
“There’s five other main cities on this world.” She counted them off on her fingers. “Kiloqua, the City of Darkness. Voliabyi, the Lava Falls. Iraliya, the Sky Kingdom. Subreai, the Hidden Ruins. Ariuma, the Water Land.” Colt nodded as she spoke. “Each of the cities are connected in one way or another.”
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“You will have to show me the others.”
“Indeed, I will.”
Colt looked around them. “Where are your friends?”
She stretched. “Probably in the city.”
“We should catch up.”
* * * * * * * *
Colt POV
The pair arrived in the city, quickly reaching the other eight. After explaining they had taken the scenic route, Amneris linked arms with Nikki and wandered ahead, a few of other others following. Colt hung back. The city did look similar to how it had the last time it was there, but there were some differences. It felt . . . more alive. That was the only way he could explain the buzz in the air coming from the shops, theatres, and restaurants in the plaza he was standing in.
A hand appeared on his shoulder. Colt turned to find Leo standing beside him. “Something on your mind?”
He shook his head. “I have not seen a city like this in quite some time.”
Leo nodded, beginning to walk alongside him. “This is only one of the plazas,” the General explained. “There are two others – one more on this side of the river and one on the other. This one – Starlight Plaza – has restaurants, cafes, and pretty much anything food related.” He pointed them out as they walked. “It’s right next to the ocean. The other one – Crystal Square – is clothing and jewellery.”
“I guess the women like it there?”
Leo laughed. “That they do.” He went back to his explanation. “On the other side of the Najima River is Visionary Palace. I guess you could call it the artist quarter. It has all those kinds of shops, studios, and theatres.”
“This place is massive.” Colt could not stop watching everything going on around him.
“You get used to it.”
* * * * * * * *
Amneris POV
Amneris, Nikki, Zoe, Carmin, and Hathor were dancing to the music of a small busking group when Leo and Col caught up. Clapping filled the air when the song finished, the four women jumping up and down while the men watched from behind. Amneris glanced over her shoulder as she linked arms with Colt, waving at the musicians as the group continued on their way. She occasionally stopped to speak with people, calling each by name. She knew most people in this city, even the children. Five-thousand years had given her a lot of time to get to know people.
She spent most of the walk with Colt, the two exchanging stories of where they had been. She told him of other worlds, and he told her of places on Earth she still had not managed to get to. She ended up promising to give him a proper tour of the planet, the Terpolite grinning at the offer. The more they talked, the more Amneris felt like she had met this man before. She just could not figure where.
A call from Jay interrupted their conversation. The Fae male was pointing towards a cream coloured restaurant. From the outside, it did not look like much, but the inside . . . the inside was massive. The walls were almost pitch black with gold and silver patterns covering them. Crystal chandeliers hung from the matching black ceiling. Ruby lounges were placed throughout the space with hickory tables between them, some tables low-lying with scarlet cushions around them. The group were led to one of the booths in a corner.
The group sat as a woman with a long, thick violet braid, amethyst eyes, and blue-tinged light skin came over to meet them. “Long time, no see,” Zia – the restaurant’s owner – beamed. “It’s been a while since you lot came to my place.”
“And we missed every second of it,” Jay sang. The others laughed.
Carmin pointed to Colt. “We’ve got a newbie. You might wanna give him the explanation before we begin.”
“Of course.” Zia faced Colt, her sapphire and gold tunic glinting in the lights bobbing around the large table. “Basically, you order whatever you want, and we make it. It doesn’t matter where it comes from. We can do it.” She lowered her voice. “Not to brag, but we are the best.”
“Got that right,” Leo agreed with a wink.
Nikki elbowed him violently. “We’ll have the usual and a little surprise for the birthday girl to start off.”
Amneris hid her face in her hands. She felt like she was going to die again from embarrassment. “I hate you guys so much.”
“We have just the thing,” Zia laughed, sketching a bow before leaving.
Amneris still had her head in her hands. “I swear to Re that if you lot make me have fried ice cream again, I’ll kill you all myself.”
Zoe shrugged as starters were brought out. “I swear you are the one person in the multiverse who doesn’t like it,” she said as the others began ordering mains.
The meal came out soon after the entre and the ten dug in just as fast. They spent the time laughing, joking, teasing, and competing. The conversation ranged from what was the best music to which city was the best to who had done the riskiest thing in the last sixteen years. Amneris and Leo both won that. Eventually, there was a round of truth and dare. That ended with Dan and Jay eating one of the hottest peppers found in the multiverse.
Almost two hours after arriving, the group decided to leave. They paid Zia – despite the woman trying to get them to stay – and left. This was mostly because Zoe had started to complain about wanting to go dancing. Everyone but Amneris and Colt agreed to go with her. The group said their goodbyes and parted.