I feel it again: that annoying call from within. It tells me to take her hand, to allow her to help me. I thrash against it, trying to deny its force, but it only grows. Discomfort blasts through my chest, and I feel sick to my stomach. The longer I fight it, the more pain I feel. Grudgingly, I stop fighting and eye her with disdain.

She only nods and extends her hand. I drop my shoulders in defeat. These wretched woods. This wretched place!

With a scowl, I reach my hand out to take hers.

The trees and the path shoot past me as our skin meets, though I remain in place. The sky rapidly expands into the distance. I cannot even take a steady breath before the world around me contorts into a thousand twists and turns. The woman is no longer beside me. I am being sucked backwards, though my feet do not budge.

Suddenly I jolt forward, falling onto a marble floor. My chest tightens as I try to level my breathing. What just happened? Where am I?

I look at the ground, stabilizing myself. I recognize it; it’s the floor of my castle. But it’s brighter, as if it’s new. I draw shallow, escalating breaths. I’m in our entrance hall, but so many things look different. The chandelier that holds over one hundred candles isn’t the dull bronze I know it to be, but instead sparkles with flaked gold. The stone steps of the twin staircases that curve to meet each other on the next floor gleam white. It looks exactly like my home, yet, completely different at the same time. Nothing here is worn with age. How did I get back to Verdana? I can’t seem to catch my breath. Footsteps approach, and I scramble behind the nearest pillar. Two maidens carrying piles of soft toweling walk towards me.

“The babe is a boy; praise the Lady and the Guard. Queen Adelaide has produced a fine new ruler. Healthy as a horse.” The two ascend one staircase and continue gossiping. I press my back against the pillar.

Adelaide? The Traitorous Queen? What in the four hells is happening to me? More footsteps disrupt my thoughts. When I see the male, dressed in royal Verdanian blue and flanked by two guards, I really can’t breathe.

I recognize his face. Paralyzed, I remain flattened against the pillar.

The men walk straight towards me; there’s nowhere to hide. The guards’ eyes don’t meet mine.

“What’s this?” The man I recognize speaks in a deep voice and raises his chin in suspicion.

I cry out and stumble to the floor.

“Idalia Hyland, the Princess of Verdana! My mother is Queen Revna Hyland, and my father, Ivar, is her King consort. Please. I’m so confused. The Baellileans have captured me…”

“An old friend, you dolt! I hear it is a son!” Another voice rises from the entry.