Shiviria didn’t want to be alone so we ended up camping out in the Princess room. Kalli sat next to Shiviria on the pink canopy bed as they exchanged stories about what it was like growing up. Wendy and I decided to give them some space and sat across the room at a tiny table.

The Aeromancer prepared four cups of tea and walked two of them over to the sisters. When she returned, I chuckled and picked up my cup. “You do love tea, don’t you? I’m surprised you had some on you.”

She blushed, hiding her face behind the teacup as she sipped. “It’s not tea. Not exactly. That’s my mana. You already know that it’s tea-flavored but I’ve learned that I can give it a liquid form if I concentrate enough.”

I downed my glass and licked my lips. “The flavor of this tea has really improved. Normally, I’m not a huge fan of tea but I think I like this.”

Wendy blushed and looked away and Kalli yelled at me through mate chat. Melvin! That was Wendy’s mana that you drank. You just told her that she tastes good!

It was my turn to blush. I stammered, “I didn’t mean it like that. Sorry.”

Wendy’s red face and green hair made her look like Christmas when she replied. “It’s okay. I don’t mind. I’m glad that you like it.”

Trying to change the subject, I held up the empty glass and pushed some mana into it. The mana was textureless and sought something to latch onto. Since the cup was empty, my mana invaded the cup itself, causing the glass to hum and vibrate in my hand.

Frowning at the result, I changed the aspect to water and tried again. After filling the glass with my essence, I sniffed it gingerly. Wendy giggled and said, “I doubt that will work. It might taste like you but the reason my tea tastes the way it does is that I have such a strong affinity for it. I love tea so much that it has become a part of me. Oh, watch what happens when I focus my wind element on it.”

She took the cup away from me and took a sip of my mana. Then, smiling the whole time, she held her hand over the liquid and it began to bubble.

Wendy took another sip before handing it back to me. “Wow, sweet tea. It’s not my usual style but I think I like it.”

She was right. When I took a sip, I could taste the sweet nature of my mana mixed in with the strong tea flavor of Wendy's. Also, there was something else. “You carbonated it?”

Giggling like a schoolgirl, Wendy nodded. “That’s right. When I infuse my tea with wind magic, it gets bubbles.”

The sisters had stopped talking and walked over to see what Wendy and I were doing. Kalli took the cup from me and said, “I’d like to try some too.”

We stayed up into the late hours of the night experimenting with mana flavors. It took a while to teach Shiviria how to do it but she was a quick study. It turned out that her newfound ice mana had a cool mint flavor to it as well as chilling anything she infused with it.

Wendy worked with her to make a tea slushy that turned colors as the ice melted. Shiviria was impressed with Kalli’s mana as well, saying, “It’s so spicy.”

Finally, I edited up some ramen, and Kalli and I combined our mana to make Ambrosia. The shining noodles glowed beneath the murky broth like a treasure sitting at the bottom of a shallow pool.

When we offered a bowl to Shiviria, she didn’t taste it and immediately started applying her mana to the broth. I watched intently but Kalli lectured her sister. “Don’t play with your food.”

She stuck out her tongue, a habit she shared with her sister, and said, “But I want to see what it tastes like if I add my flavor.”

We all watched as the broth in the bowl went from cloudy to clear, making the noodles shine even brighter. When she was satisfied, Shiviria picked up the bowl and tipped some of the broth into her mouth.

After slurping some noodles out of the bowl, she smiled at us and said, “It’s delicious.”

Wendy blinked at her, and asked, “Why don’t you use the chopsticks?”

Shiviria looked down at the instruments and frowned. “I don’t know how. We never had any of those.”

Wendy stood and moved around the table to sit next to Shiviria. “Don’t worry. It’s easy. First, you hold them like this.”

“What a day,” I said, holding Kalli in my arms.

She sighed happily. “I can’t believe I have a sister. And parents for that matter.”

Squeezing her tighter, I complained. “I’m kind of jealous. I wish I had brothers or sisters.”

She turned her head and kissed me on the cheek. “You have Kiki.”

I kissed her back. “That’s right. I wonder how she is doing over in Dabia. We still have to go back there to deal with the contract.”

Kalli nodded and pressed herself into me. “We should talk to my parents about that. They might know the King and Queen of Dabia. It’s worth a shot.”

“What if they were the ones that tried to kill you?” I asked, rubbing her shoulders.

She stretched and sighed contentedly. “Well, then we should see what mother knows about them. Anything can help.”

I nodded, still not sure how to deal with the contract. “We also need to see if Kiki found anything.”

Kalli turned in my lap so she was facing me. “We can do all of that tomorrow. For now, I want to just enjoy the dream for once. It’s been a while since we just held each other.”

I smiled as Kalli wrapped her arms around my neck. The truth was, making out with my girlfriend was all I wanted to do when I slept. I kissed her softly and said, “I had an idea about that. What do you think about having sex?”

She pushed me back, towering over me. “What? Mel, we talked about this. Even if I wanted to, that stupid prophecy means I would get pregnant. I just can’t take that risk.”

“What if we did it in a dream though?” I asked, propping myself up on my elbows. “The prophecy said the next time you have sex you will get pregnant. If we do it in a dream, then you can’t get pregnant, right?”

Kalli sat still on top of me for what felt like an eternity. Just when I thought she was going to go with it, she replied. “Dreams are magic, Mel. You just found my parents based on something a mysterious stranger told you in a dream. What if we have sex and I get pregnant in real life? Or what if I have a baby in here? Do you want to spend entire dreams on diaper duty? Or what if we leave a baby in the dream space and it needs a bottle while I’m awake?”

I hadn’t thought about the consequences. Kalli leaned over and kissed me, adding, “For now, you will just have to be satisfied with everything else we do. I mean, let’s face it, we do so many things with mana that real sex will probably be a letdown.”

Even though I desperately wanted to believe her, there was a part of me that disagreed. Kalli looked down when she felt it and sighed. “Fine. I get it. I want to try it too but we can wait. It will be so much better in the end when we finally do it.”

Not wanting to miss out on the promised makeout session. I sat up and pulled Kalli into an embrace.

I woke with a smile in the morning. Kalli, who was also awake, looked dreamily into my eyes and said, See. It was still awesome.

We locked eyes and I gave her a good morning kiss.

I agree.

“The two of you make strange noises when you sleep.” Shiviria giggled, pouncing her older sister.

“I do not!” Kalli whined, pushing Shiviria off of her and tickling her. “I think that tomorrow we need to sleep in our own room.”

I sat up and looked around. Before we went to sleep, I had edited a bed for Wendy and a bigger one for us. Shiviria slept in the princess bed as it was her bedroom.

Kalli slid to the side of the bed and said, “We need to speak with mother today about Melvin’s contract. Otherwise, they are going to make him marry some princess.”

“You’re a princess,” Shiviria pointed out, scooting to the edge of the bed with Kalli. “I just thought you should know that.”

We made our way to the kitchen as all of our stomachs were growling. As it had the previous day, the kitchen had food waiting for us. I was halfway through a plate containing green eggs and strange monster meat when the queen entered the dining hall. She looked around for a second and said, “Oh. You are all up. I trust you slept well. Castle, where is my meal?”

We looked around, wondering if something magical was about to happen. When it didn’t, Kalli said, “Castle, you heard my mother. Make her something to eat.”

To our surprise, the dungeon responded. Flames burst to life at the far end of the room as the stove cooperated with the pantry to prepare a foreign dish that I didn’t recognize.

When it finished, a steaming plate of food slid to the end of the table and the queen took her seat. She tentatively tasted a bite and announced, “Well, at least the castle remembers what I like. It looks like you are the queen now, Kalliphae.”

Kalli looked at me for support before replying. “I suppose. What does it even matter? It’s just a magic castle.”

Celestea shook her head. “It does matter. You are the rightful ruler of Celestea and the other royal houses will have to recognize your claim to this land.”

Seizing the opportunity, Kalli replied, “Speaking of the other royal houses. Melvin has a contract to marry someone in Dabia. Is there any way he can get out of it?”

Celestea took a bite of food, chewing quietly as she thought about the question. When she swallowed, she finally replied. “I fail to see how this is a bad thing. A union with Dabia can only bring fortune. As you said, this is just a castle. Marrying into Dabia can do a lot for our people.”

“Absolutely not.” Kalli shrieked. “We need your help, mother. Not an arranged marriage!”

The queen sighed dramatically and set her fork down. “Very well. If you have a messenger, I can send a letter to get us an audience with the king and queen. With the castle restored, I may be able to convince them to sell your contract to the queendom. Why did you sign a contract if you had no desire to be wed? Don’t tell me that you met Kalliphae while betrothed to another? I won’t stand for it.”

“I was the one who was engaged, mother!” Kalli barked at the queen. “When you abandoned me, I had to do things to survive. I signed the agreement to make my life better. They tricked me and then I met Melvin.”

Celestea held up a hand for silence and asked, “If you signed the contract, then how is Melvin bound by it?”

“Because of our bond.” I blurted out, irritated by the queen once again. “Kalli and I linked our cores together and apparently that allowed the Dabians to transfer the contract to me.”

“Why would they do that?” Celestea asked incredulously. “You aren’t royalty. You’re just…”

“He’s just what?” Kalli shouted, stomping over to her mother. “I’ll have you know that Melvin is special. He’s powerful and brought the dark lands together. If it wasn’t for him, you’d be living in a land full of corpses.”

Celestea picked up her goblet and took a long drink. “This bond of yours is magical? That would explain much. In any case, it’s a good thing that he assumed your contract. Binding you in marriage would give the Dabians the tools they need to take over this country. I will do everything in my power to negotiate young Melvin’s contract. This castle is not without its treasures after all.”