Marge and I were thrown into the same room to get dressed in. The servants muttered something about how we were the same size so it would be easier to work with us both at once. They pulled out multiple long dresses and pantsuits, all of which resembled the castle’s horrible color scheme. In the end, I settled on a magenta dress while Marge opted for a yellow, green, and blue one.

  Once we were done getting dressed, we met with the others. We caught Maverick in the hall leaving his room and I could not stifle the laugh that came out when I saw him.

  “That’s what you’re wearing?” I snickered.

  He instantly turned around and eyed our outfits. “I’ve been told it’s the height of Vafir fashion.” He shrugged.

  “And you believed them?” Marge also snickered.

  “No, but I wasn’t going to spend hours picking out an outfit. They said black is out of the question.”

  “So you chose the rainbow suit out of everything?” I was trying not to double over laughing. I mean, it looked ridiculous! The jacket was blue, green, and yellow, while the pants were red, orange, and purple. If this is what Maverick decided on, I wondered what everyone else looked like.

  “It was the path of least resistance.”

  The door swung open and hit Maverick in the head. The assailant did not seem to care one bit and ran towards us. “What do you think?” Finn spun around with his arms out. He was wearing a blue suit with gold shoulder pads and a green sash.

  “It’s a lot more subdued than Maverick’s.” I laughed into my palm.

  “Shut up.” Maverick was still rubbing his head where the door had hit.

  Zephyr came out next, in a violet suit with pink polka dots. He fidgeted with the sleeves a lot, which seemed to bother him more than the questionable color scheme.

  Finally was Aidan, several minutes later. My jaw had nearly dropped at his outfit. He wore a white suit with red sleeves and pant cuffs. A gold design trailed from the top of the jacket down to the bottom of the pants, and an elaborate emblem appeared on the back of the jacket.

  “The Vafiran royal crest…” Zephyr studied the emblem.

  “You know what it looks like?” I raised an eyebrow.

  “It’s been on every flag and banner since we entered the palace.”

  “Right…” I facepalmed. Shows how much I pay attention. I-I’ll just blame it on being distracted by the hideous colors! Yup!

  To my surprise, the dinner was being held outside. The palace was essentially lodged into the side of the cliff when we entered. Outside, there was a beach as well as a small amount of grass. This raised a lot of questions. Where did the water come from? Where did the sand come from? Aren’t we on the third floor of the city? Something told me Avaline would not be answering these questions tonight.

  Dozens of golden tables were set up across the sand as well as the grassy area near the entrance to the palace. Torches were strewn about, adding sufficient lighting, along with the moon and stars in the sky. Man, you never realize how much light pollution sucks until you end up in a fantasy world.

  A few servants walked us over to the most elaborate table. You could tell because it was rectangular instead of circular. The seat in the middle looked similar to a throne, so it was obviously reserved for Avaline. It seemed there was a specific seating order, with Aidan closest to Avaline and me at the end of the table for some stupid reason. I was surprised when Maverick pulled out my chair for me to sit.

  “What? Are you planning on pulling it away as I sit down?” I eyed him suspiciously.

  “Why would I do that?” he asked seriously. I couldn’t shake the feeling that this was some sort of trick, but I decided to sit anyway. To my surprise, he simply pushed me in like any normal person would do.

  We waited a few more minutes before Avaline made her dramatic entrance. She was dressed all in gold, just as she always was, but the servants around her were also dressed in gold and holding up elaborate gold banners. Seriously, the one time they could’ve used a variety of colors!

  She took her seat at the middle of the table, where she stared at Aidan for longer than I was comfortable with. It didn’t help that she had a goofy smile either!

  “As you are all aware, these visitors are the ones responsible for defeating the Falor Ghula to the east,” Avaline began. “As such, ether should begin to stabilize in the area, and ghula poisoning will be greatly reduced. It is my joy to announce to you this evening that I have decided to ask these visitors for their help in eradicating all of the Falor Ghula in Vafir!”

  Applause erupted from the crowd as I struggled to process what I had just heard. Did she just tell everyone that we would be fighting more of these creatures? No. Nuh uh. I nearly died the last time.

  “What is your answer, Champion of Vafir?” Avaline turned to Aidan, who paled. I watched his throat bob as he swallowed his saliva and turned to Maverick to his right.

  “You’ve given us a lot to consider, your—” Maverick was quickly cut off.

  “Excuse me, but I don’t believe you understand what an honor it is to serve the empress.” Avaline tapped her fingers on the table impatiently.

  Maverick turned to the empress, then to the crowd, then back down at the table in front of him—his knuckles turning white as he clenched the tablecloth. I could’ve sworn I saw him scowl before answering. “We will have our answer for you in the morning—”

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  “No. You will give your answer tonight—right now. It is either yes or no. Vafir will not wait for you to make a simple decision.” Avaline’s tone grew more serious—more irritated.

  Zephyr cautiously cleared his throat. “There is the matter of our lives to consider—”

  “You would put your lives above Vafirans’?”

  “Fine. We’ll do it.” Maverick crossed his arms and kicked the table with his foot, reclining the fancy chair backwards so it was balancing on its back two legs. I didn’t miss Avaline’s scowl.

  “You heard their answer! By the end of the year, Vafir will be free from the ghula, or these travelers will die trying!”

  “Why did you agree to that?!” I snapped at Maverick once we had reconvened in our suite. Servants were moving our luggage into the suite as we spoke. I little cared what they thought of our conversation.

  “I just wanted her to shut up!” Maverick threw his hands up, his eyes practically bulging out of his sockets. “The woman drives me more insane than Sylvis!”

  “Well, you just signed us up to save the world!”

  “One country,” Marge corrected.

  “I don’t care! Lives are in danger! Our lives! In case you forgot, I almost died today!”

  “D-do we have to go through with it?” Aidan asked.

  “Yeah, we could just teleport back to Meridia.” Marge shrugged. “Vafir hasn’t been all it’s cracked up to be. Kind of like Maverick—”

  “Excuse me?” Maverick interrupted.

  “I said what I said.” Marge shrugged and crossed her arms.

  “I guess nothing is stopping us from just leaving,” Finn added.

  “Somehow, I don’t think it will be that simple.” Zephyr paused. “Maverick, try teleporting back to Sylvis and explain our situation.”

  Maverick eyed him suspiciously but nodded. And paused. “Son of a wharrack, you jinxed us.”

  “Merely predicted.” Zephyr shook his head.

  “So, Avaline has enough power to prevent us from teleporting out, but can’t defeat these big creatures on her own?” Marge asked.

  “That is a good point.” Finn crossed his arms, looking lost in thought. “Something tells me it didn’t matter what Maverick answered at the dinner tonight—it was all for show.”

  “Then perhaps agreeing was the best course of action after all…” Zephyr straightened his glasses.

  Sleeping in the palace was an awkward experience. I somewhat took Marge up on her previous offer, sleeping in bed with her because… something about the place felt haunted. Like we were being watched by ghosts. We were probably just being watched by Avaline, which was equally, if not more, creepy.

  The next day, once we had finished breakfast, we set off to the west this time.

  “What do we think of Avaline?” Marge asked once we were far enough from the capital. “I know she gives us the creeps and all, but anything else?”

  “I don’t know… I-I mean, I don't think she's that bad. S-she just wants to protect her people, right?” Aidan answered.

  “She gives you special attention, and now you have a crush on her, huh?” Finn teased. “I guess I’ll take Ella for myself then.”

  “Not if I take her first.” Maverick smirked.

  “You too now?!” I whined.

  “N-neither of you can have Ella!” Aidan crossed his arms and huffed.

  “Hey, my question was about Avaline, not which one of you wants to get in Ella’s pants!” Marge shouted.

  “Well, clearly Aidan wants to get into Avaline’s pants.” Maverick smirked again.

  “I-I do not! I-I just don’t think she’s all that bad!” Aidan shot back defensively.

  “She seems quite comfortable with her power,” Zephyr added.

  “Comfortable enough to practically force us to do her dirty work.” Marge crossed her arms.

  “We can’t really fault her for putting her people’s lives above ours. Admittedly, she hasn’t done anything wrong, yet.”

  “And you think she will?” Maverick asked.

  “I think we should keep our eyes on her.”

  All of us came to a sudden stop. Finn nearly stumbled backwards when he realized what was in front of us: a giant pool of lava. Or rather, a giant lake.

  “How are we supposed to cross this?!” I threw my hands up. As far as we knew, this was the only route west.

  “With pegasi, I imagine,” Zephyr answered.

  “Well… It looks like there was a bridge at some point.” Marge pointed to chunks of stone sticking out of the lava. They all seemed to be traveling in the same direction, so her theory was plausible.

  “With the abundance of magic and pegasi, they probably didn’t feel the need to rebuild it.” Maverick shrugged.

  “…Is flying across an option?” I asked.

  “Sure, if you want to risk falling in.” Maverick shrugged.

  “Um, no, thank you.”

  “We’ll have to go around.” Zephyr beckoned us to follow him as he followed the perimeter, taking a few steps back to ensure he wouldn’t accidentally meet his demise.

  I noticed Aidan staring intently at the lake of lava, seemingly oblivious to everything else around him. If I didn’t know better, I’d almost say the lava was hypnotizing him. Maybe there’s a scary lava monster with the power of mind control— Nah…

  Aidan reached out his hand to touch the lava—

  Touch the lava?!

  “Stop!” I yelled as I quickly pulled his arm back. We both stared at his open palm where drops of lava dripped onto the grass, causing a sizzling noise, similar to placing bacon on a hot skillet. Unsurprisingly, the grass burned to a crisp. I quickly retrieved my hand, not wanting my sweater to meet a similar fate. “What were you thinking?!” I shouted, still concerned for his well-being.

  “I-it almost felt as if the lava was calling out to me,” Aidan mumbled. “This isn’t the first time I felt like this either. Ever since last night, I-I can almost feel the elements calling out to me. Like the water in the bathtub.”

  “The water in the bathtub?!” I wanted to pull my hair out. “The water isn’t sentient! It can’t talk to you! You’re supposed to bathe in it!”

  “No, this is his Talent,” Maverick butted in. He had a wide grin on his face, and he looked almost… proud? “Your Talent allows you an unusual amount of control over the elements. Like being able to touch fire or lava without burning, or breathe under water.”

  “Really? That’s so cool!” Without waiting for us to reply, Aidan jumped into the lake of lava, sending lava splashing everywhere. I screamed as Maverick created a barrier around us, his laughter maniacal.

  I would’ve been shocked to see Aidan resurface without any burns if it wasn’t that Maverick had just explained how his Talent works.

  “I-it’s like bathing in a hot spring!” Aidan called out to us. “The temperature’s great!”

  “Yeah, I’m not taking my chances. I shook my head. Do we Ethereals have this ability?” I glanced at Maverick.

  He shrugged. “I’ve never tested it out, but you’re more than welcome to.”

  “Not even in the water?” I asked.

  “I don’t particularly like water. Though I do recall Rosalie being able to hold her breath for an unusual amount of time.”

  “Wait… Why don’t you like water?” Is this why he always smelled funny— Wait, he doesn’t smell funny. It’s just his personality that stinks!

  I didn’t get an answer as he turned to follow the others who were standing considerably further away from us. They didn’t have a lava-proof shield like we did.

  “Come on, Aidan. Bath time’s over,” I called out as I followed the others.

  It felt like we walked forever trying to get to the other side of the lake. We considered veering off the path, but these giant animals that looked very similar to dinosaurs were walking around. “Deenosaurs!” Aidan would call out —a word he learned from his time in New York. A word he still mispronounced.

  None of us wanted to mess with them, so around the lake we went.

  “Look, look, look!” Marge called out, pointing off into the distance after we almost made it to the other side.

  My jaw nearly dropped when I saw the waterfall of lava. “Don’t jump in this time!” I shouted at Aidan, who put his hands up defensively.

  “It looks like there’s some sort of town up ahead.” Finn was looking away from the lava to the right. Teeny houses seemed to line the cliff. Well, teeny from a distance.

  “That’s probably our next destination, then. Stop your gawking and keep walking.” Maverick beckoned us.