Alora opened one eye as she yawned without opening her mouth, inhaling through her nostrils. Her lips parted as she exhaled and stretched, her tail reaching towards the sky as her wings spread open. “Oh?” Both eyes widened as they shot open, and her head swiveled around. “I’m a dragon again. Vur’s polymorph must’ve worn off.” She let out a groan as she splayed her limbs out, her paws pushing the dirt apart and creating divots in the ground. “I wonder how much longer he’ll be in there for.” Then she folded her legs back underneath herself, curling up into a ball. “I’m getting kind of bored. Well, I guess I can go back to sleep. He’ll wake me up when he’s out.”

***

Within a room with red walls and a black-tiled floor, a stalactite hung from the rocky ceiling. Beneath the pointy structure, there was a coffin made of a transparent material that refracted light in all directions like a diamond. The coffin was filled, nearly to the brim, with a red liquid that resembled blood but was less murky. A droplet fell from the stalactite and landed in the coffin, creating a ripple on the mirrorlike surface of the liquid inside.

The room was a cubical one with no windows. Glowing red crystals embedded in the ceiling were the only source of light. A fissure in one of the walls was the only exit, but it was blocked off by layers upon layers of red spiderwebs. Dust covered the ground, and white moss grew on the walls and ceiling starting from the base of the stalactite.

Another droplet of liquid fell from the stalactite into the coffin. As the ripples on the surface reached the edge of the transparent material, the ground shook as the room was engulfed by a bright, white light. The red liquid bubbled as if it were water in a boiling pot, and a pale white hand erupted out of the coffin. It groped around before clasping onto the coffin’s edge, and a second hand snaked out of the liquid beside it, its fingers curling around the diamond-like surface. The pale hands shimmered, flickering in and out of existence, as they gripped the coffin tighter, blue veins bulging against their skin.

A third droplet fell into the coffin, and the hands solidified. A head burst through the surface of the liquid, and blood-red rivulets ran down its sides. The head was bald, and its skin was as smooth as a baby’s. Its eyes opened, revealing a pair of green irises. A fourth droplet of liquid fell onto the person’s head, and the outline of a neck appeared as the man rose up. Arms and elbows broke through from underneath the bloody surface as the man pulled himself up with his hands as if he was climbing out of a swimming pool. As the man rose higher and higher, the level of the liquid within decreased. When the man fully emerged from the coffin, rolling over its edge and onto the floor while panting, the last vestiges of liquid had disappeared.

The man’s arms and legs were splayed as he lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling. He raised one hand over his head and in front of his face. His hand flipped back and forth before his gaze traversed down his arm and onto his bicep. He flexed, and his skin bulged as his muscles knotted. A faint smile appeared on the man’s lips as he sat up. He clenched and unclenched his hands a few times before bending both his arms at his elbows. An exhale escaped from his mouth as he unbent his arms and cracked his neck. He rolled his shoulders a few times before standing up, bending and unbending his knees. Finally, he rolled his ankles one at a time with his eyes closed. The smile on his face widened as his eyes shot open. “Perfect.”

***

Mary stared at the man kneeling in front of her feet. He was wearing a black outfit that covered everything except for his eyes. She had just returned to the palace when the Shadows member appeared to greet her. Mary pursed her lips as she walked around the man towards a couch in the palace’s foyer. She placed Emile and Susan onto two pillows before sitting down between them. “What happened to the banquet?”

The man shuffled around without getting off his knees to face Mary. “My liege,” he said, his head still hanging. “All the preparations for your banquet have been completed. It can begin at any time you’d like.”

Mary’s eyes widened. “I didn’t miss it? When is it taking place?”

“The banquet was scheduled to happen in three days, but it can be moved forward,” the man said. “Did something happen while you were exterminating the devil to make you lose track of time, my liege?”

Mary let out a low hum as she leaned back into the couch and exhaled. “A lot of things happened,” she said. “A lot of interesting things happened. Does Shadows know about the black dragon that appeared?”

“Yes,” the man said. “We’ve sighted it, but after it flew over Viscount Tori’s land, we lost track of it. There’s some kind of magic interfering with our tracking techniques.”

“Don’t try to find it,” Mary said, still staring at the ceiling. “It’s too strong to kill. Locating it will only antagonize it and bring about greater trouble. Before I could kill the devil, the dragon interfered and took it away.”

“I understand,” the man said. “My liege….”

Mary waited, but the man didn’t say anything else. She sat up and tilted her head at him. “What is it?”

“Have you”—the man’s forehead wrinkled as he hesitated and bit his lower lip—“heard anything about Sir Zyocuh?”

“About Uncle?” Mary asked. Her eyes narrowed. “What do you mean? Are people spreading rumors about him even though he’s dead?”

“No, that’s not it,” the man said and shook his head. A bead of sweat formed on his forehead, but it was instantly absorbed by the cloth covering his face. “Forget I said anything, my liege.”

Mary stared at the man without saying a word.

“I’m hungry!” Emile squawked and smacked Mary’s thigh with his wing. A metallic ringing noise echoed through the foyer, and Emile flinched as he waved his wing back and forth. “Ow. That hurt.”

“Emile! Can’t you see she’s busy intimidating someone?” Susan asked. “You’re ruining the atmosphere.”

Mary sighed as she scooped up the phoenixes. She narrowed her eyes at the kneeling man. “My good friend, Tafel, will be attending the banquet. She must be treated with the utmost respect. If I hear even a single complaint about the banquet from out of her mouth, I’ll disband Shadows and create a newer, more competent intelligence network.”

“M-my liege,” the kneeling man said.

Mary tilted her chin up as she walked away, two phoenixes tucked under her armpits.