Akarnae (30 page)

Alex’s eyes widened as she realised that the book she’d given Gammy was actually Gammy’s own recipe book.

“Why don’t you take a seat, dear. You look a bit peaky.”

Alex didn’t argue as the older woman led her to a stool and placed a glass of water in front of her.

“Now, you just sit there and keep me company while I cook up a feast,” Gammy said.

Alex sipped her water and concentrated on the melody Gammy began humming, readily receiving the peace that was flowing out of the older woman.

Eventually Alex had to move as the Ronnigan household began to fill with more and more people. Apparently Bear had been telling the truth when he’d said that Kaldoras was a community event for his family.

Benny and Sal arrived first, bringing with them a large flagon of Sal’s homemade dillyberry juice to serve with lunch—much to everyone’s pleasure.

Next came Dorothy’s sister, Tessa, who surprised Alex by pulling her into a hug and giving her a small wrapped package, saying, “To go with your dress.” Inside were two tear-drop earrings, delicate and beautiful. Alex stammered her thanks and tried to apologise for not getting Tessa a gift in return, but Tessa just laughed, saying she hadn’t expected one.

A number of other guests arrived and, just before they all sat down to eat, Anton Grey hurried through the door, apologising for his tardiness. Alex was more concerned by the smoke coming off the back of his jacket than anything else, and she watched as Bear quickly spoke to the Chemist, pointing him towards the bathroom.

Anton rushed off, calling out, “So sorry! Had a little accident in the lab! Be right back!”

They all laughed and waited for him to return before they sat down to start Gammy’s amazing feast, revelling in the happiness of the day and enjoying one another’s company. Not for the first time, Alex felt the warmth of contentment stirring in her chest. She never would have guessed upon arriving in Medora that she could have felt anything other than alienated and isolated in this strange, new world. But sitting around a table brimming with
food and merriment, she realised her presumptions couldn’t have been further from the truth. She felt safe. She felt comfortable. And, most importantly, she felt
loved
.

“What are you thinking about, Alex?” Jordan asked from across the table. “You look like you’re miles away.”

Alex shook her head and offered him a soft smile. “I’m just having a moment.”

He glanced at her quizzically but only said, “Well, when your moment’s over, can you pass the potatoes? They’re begging for my attention.”

Alex chose not to comment on the mountain of food already covering his plate and instead handed the potatoes over. As she turned back to her own delicious but much more appropriately sized meal, she sent a silent thought back to her world:
Merry Christmas, Mum and Dad. I hope wherever you are, you’re as happy as I am.

Twenty-Nine

The days following Kaldoras passed
by in a blur of food and laughter. Johnny and Blake were due to leave after lunch on New Year’s Eve, so the family—which now included Jordan and Alex—crammed in as many experiences together as they could. One of those experiences included a walk into the village so that Alex could prove to them that Ye Olde Bookshoppe existed.

Unfortunately for Alex, when they entered the bookshop all they found was a half-collapsed building. No books, no weapons or jewellery, and no Lady Mystique. If not for Gammy’s reassurance that she’d previously met with the lady, Alex would have questioned her own sanity. Instead, all any of them could do was shrug and try and put the strangeness out of their minds.

Woodhaven turned out to be a winter wonderland, with everything from a fantastic sledding hill to a small frozen lake that was perfect for ice-skating. They skated and sledded until the point of exhaustion, and even had a snowman-building competition which ended in a massive snowball fight.

Before she knew it, the week came to an end, and it was time to say goodbye to Johnny and Blake.

“You take care of yourself, Alex,” Johnny said, pulling her into a hug.

“I’ll try,” she promised.

“Be good, and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” Blake said, giving her a hug as well.

“That doesn’t give me a lot to work with,” she replied with a knowing smile. If there was one thing she’d learned about Blake in their short time together, it was that he enjoyed the thrill of a challenge.

“Exactly,” he said, adding a wink for good measure.

While she was sad to see them go, Alex was also excited, because it was finally the day of the New Year’s Eve Gala.

“I better go and start getting ready,” she said after Johnny and Blake departed.

“Do you need any help?” Dorothy asked.

“I think I’ll be fine, thanks,” Alex said. “But I’ll call if I need anything.”

As she headed up to Blake’s room, she couldn’t help but chuckle when she heard Bear whispering incredulously to Jordan, “It’s three o’clock! Does she seriously need two hours to put on a dress?”

Alex ended up thoroughly enjoying those two hours, despite the ridicule of her friends. Every so often it was nice to actually be girly and feel like the young woman she was.

“Ten minutes, Alex!” came Bear’s voice through her door.

“Coming!” she called back.

She glanced one last time at her reflection, still surprised by what she saw. The dress Dorothy had designed for her was stunning. It was a sky-blue colour and made out of silky material that flowed softly down her body, swishing as she moved. On her feet were the silver strappy shoes William had given her, and she wore the teardrop earrings from Tessa along with Evie’s wildflower clip pinned into her hair. All in all, she felt—and looked—like a princess.

“Alex! Come on!”

Hearing the impatience in Bear’s voice, Alex moved away from the mirror and dropped her ComTCD into the purse
Dorothy had loaned her for the night. “You told me I had ten minutes,” she said as she opened the door.

“And three have passed,” Bear said. “Which only leaves us seven to get you downstairs in those heels.”

Alex took in Bear’s worried expression. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine,” Bear answered. “But I don’t know if Jordan is.”

“Why? Where is he?”

“His parents called an hour ago and said they wanted to see him before the Gala. He told me he’d meet us there.”

Alex frowned. “I thought he didn’t get along with his parents?”

“He doesn’t,” Bear said, leading the way downstairs. “I don’t think they’ve ever hurt him or anything like that, but they’re pretty negligent as far as affection goes. They’re just too caught up with themselves to invest any time in him.”

“Then why did he go to them?”

“They’re still his parents,” Bear said. “He won’t admit it, but he would give practically anything for their attention, I think.”

“Poor Jordan,” Alex said, feeling sad for her friend.

“Don’t,” Bear warned. “The last thing he’d ever want is pity. He’s got us, at least. And he’ll need us tonight.”

“So what are we still waiting here for?” Alex asked cheekily. “I’ve been ready for hours!”

“Yeah, right,” Bear said, rolling his eyes. “But you look hot, so those hours must have been good for something.”

Alex sent him a look that said more than any words could. “There’s a reason you don’t have a girlfriend,
Barnold
, if that’s how you give a compliment.”

He laughed at her expression, before bowing cordially. “I apologise, my lady. You look
beautiful
.”

“That’s more like it.” Alex chose to ignore his over exaggerated dramatics. “You clean up all right yourself.”

It was true. He was wearing a tux—something she never would have imagined him to own, let alone wear. But he looked rather dashing in it, not that Alex was surprised.

“Oh, don’t you both look wonderful!” Dorothy cooed when she caught sight of them in the hallway. “My little boy’s all grown up.”

Alex had to cough into her hand to hide her laugh.

Bear tugged awkwardly at his collar, blushing slightly. “Mum. Please.”

“I’m sorry, darling. You just look so handsome! So much like your father.” Dorothy brushed some invisible lint off his jacket.

“And that’s our cue to leave,” Bear said, handing Alex her coat and pulling her towards the front door.

“Have a fun night!” Dorothy called after their retreating backs. “We’ll probably be asleep when you get home but we’ll see you in the morning!”

Bear just waved without turning and continued to drag Alex out the door.

“Are we using a Bubbledoor?” she asked when they were outside.

“Yeah, but we have to go separately for security reasons,” he said. “The hosts are always paranoid about party crashers.”

He handed over a bulky envelope and motioned for her to open it. Inside were two small Bubbler vials, along with a beautifully scripted invitation.

On behalf of His Royal Highness:

Alexandra Jennings

is hereby invited to attend the

New Year’s Eve Gala

Alex read the words a second time and asked, “Does this mean the royal family will be there?”

Bear shrugged. “Not necessarily. All the invitations to elite events are written ‘On behalf of His Royal Highness’ just so they sound more impressive than they actually are. I doubt the king and queen will be in attendance.”

“It still sounds really exclusive,” Alex said, her stomach fluttering with nerves. She smoothed a non-existent wrinkle from her dress, hoping she looked okay.

“It’s not that big of a deal,” Bear assured her. “I mean, it is, but everyone’s always so snobby that it’s easier to see it as a bit of a joke.”

“Right,” Alex said, not at all comforted. “What do I need to know about these security measures?”

“You just need to have your invitation with you to be able to Bubble in and out of the venue,” Bear said. “Each Bubbler is formulated to work only when in range of the invitation it’s linked with. It’s really complex Chemistry, but all you need to know is, if I swapped one of my Bubblers with one of yours, it wouldn’t work because yours is networked to link with your specific invitation. I can only get there and back by using my two Bubbler vials, provided that I have my invitation with me as well.”

“What happens if I lose my invitation?” Alex asked. “Or one of my Bubblers?”

“Err—it’s best if you don’t,” Bear said. “Of course, it happens every year to someone. But you’d have to go and talk to the hosts and that’s not something we want to have to deal with tonight, if you can help it.”

“Understood,” Alex said, securing both the invitation and the second Bubbler in her purse.

“These Bubblers were created specifically to arrive and depart from a single place—the Gala,” Bear said. “Normally
the first person through a Bubbledoor has to envision where they want it to open out at, but with these the destination is already pre-set.”

“That makes things easier,” Alex said. It could have ended disastrously for her otherwise, since she had no idea where they were going.

Bear nodded and said, “I’ll see you in a minute, okay?” Without waiting for a response, he smashed his vial on the ground and jumped into the shimmering colours, disappearing from view.

Alex followed immediately after him, stepping into her own bubble portal and landing in the middle of a rose garden lit by twinkling fairy lights. A huge marble mansion glowed in the background, and Alex felt the need to pinch herself to see if she was dreaming.

“Nice, huh?”

She spun around, relieved to find Bear behind her.

“It’s incredible,” she said. “Does someone actually live here?”

“The hosts of the Gala,” he said. “It’s called Chateau Shondelle, which translates roughly to mean: ‘I have a massive house and an equally large stick shoved up my—’ ”

“
Bear!
” Alex hissed, looking around to see if anyone else was in hearing range.

“Anyway,” he continued, ignoring her reprimand, “the Gala is held here every year. There’s a massive ballroom inside which is perfect for the event.”

Alex struggled to take in the size of the mansion. She couldn’t even begin to imagine living in a place like this.

“Come on, we’d better get inside,” Bear said, pulling gently on her arm.

They walked straight over to and then through a doublearched entryway, continuing down a brightly lit corridor. At
the end of the hallway was an attendant waiting beside a set of closed doors.

“Invitations?” he asked in a bored voice.

They handed over their invites and the man looked at them closely before returning them. “Proceed,” he drawled, and the doors opened automatically with his acceptance.

Alex tried to contain her amazed expression when she stepped into the ballroom, but it was challenging. Crystal—possibly diamond—chandeliers hung from the vaulted ceilings, an elevated stage held a string orchestra, and there was even a buffet feast spread along one entire wall of the room. People everywhere were dancing, laughing and eating their way into the New Year.

Bear chuckled at Alex’s expression as he led her down the steps and further into the room. “Pretty fancy, huh?”

Alex nodded and continued scanning the room, keeping an eye out for Jordan. She soon spotted him standing with a group of people near the far wall. Like Bear, he was also wearing a tux—and wearing it
well
—but Jordan clearly felt uncomfortable. He was standing tall, his posture stiffer and sharper than she’d ever seen, and his face was a mask of stone. On one side of him stood a man and on the other a woman, both of them blond and beautiful. Their body language oozed confidence and self-importance.

“Are they his parents?” Alex asked, pointing out the group.

Bear tensed slightly. “Yeah, that’s them. Marcus and Natasha Sparker. I’ve only met them a few times, but they’re a real piece of work.”

Alex didn’t doubt his words. Even standing on the opposite side of the room she felt intimidated by them.

“Now that we’re here, should we go and rescue our friend?” she asked.