As more time passed, I felt like I would have gone insane if it wasn’t for Wynn’s company on the island. Betty kept me calm, too, but my friendship with Wynn was special. Every morning, she smiled and greeted me. Compared to when I first arrived, it was like I didn’t exist.

“When this is all said and done and we defeat King Mozer, we should become triple monarchs and rule over Lavarund with gentle care. We’re going to usher in a period of tranquility, the likes of which Lavarund has never seen,” Wynn said one morning during breakfast.

Akara listened with a smile, and I nodded along.

“Sounds like a great plan to me,” I said.

“And then maybe we’ll build three castles! One for me, and one for you, and one for Akara. Whatever design you want, all the bells and whistles. Your dream home. Akara, if you want to have a castle made of nothing but bones because you’re a necromancer goddess, go for it!” Wynn beamed. “And mine will be a kingdom of love with bright colors everywhere!”

“Settle down there. While that does sound fun and charming, we have greater things to worry about right now. I still need to see you fly, and I need to see you—” Akara pointed at me. “—summon a unicorn.”

“Let’s do it. I think I have this under control. I think today might be the day!” I finished up my eggs and pancakes and stormed out the door, carrying the burlap sack of unicorn remains. I emptied them out in front of the grass and felt an extra pep in my step. The daydream of leading Lavarund as king excited all my senses.

Standing in front of the remains, Betty raced over to me from inside the house. I gave her a pat on the back.

“Thanks for joining me.”

I focused my attention back on the bones. Whispering the incantation, I locked in my focus. The knife blade became white-hot, and I stabbed my hand. No sting or surge, just an outpour of blood raining down on the ivory.

The necromancer’s block invaded my imagination, but I had complete control, like a puppeteer. I imagined the block shrinking until it was nothing more than a pebble. The bones glowed with white light, and they strung together, forming the elusive unicorn.

My jaw dropped, and I fell down. Wynn and Akara sprinted out of the house and gawked at the tall, horned stallion. Betty ran in circles around me.

“Maximilian!” Akara sprinted to my side and helped me back up. As soon as she did, the remains of the unicorn fell back to the ground.

I was drawing in deep breaths. “What happened? Why…did it…collapse?”

“It didn’t like you very much.” Akara smirked.

“What? Why?” I cried.

“Relax. I’m only teasing. It’s good to have a joke every once in a while with so much seriousness afoot. But the summon collapsed because it takes a lot of energy from the caster to keep it sustained. It’s not like Betty, where you can summon her and leave her be. The unicorn drains your power, fast.”

“Huh, so when you summoned it, it fell apart as well?”

“Mine lasted a little longer than yours.” Akara winked.

Wynn ran over to the beach’s edge and put her feet in the water, concentrating for a moment. Akara, Betty, and I watched as she turned her back to us. A shot of wind blasted out from her heels, and Wynn reached one hundred feet in the air. She sputtered for a moment, trying to balance. I thought she might fall, but she adjusted until she skated on the air.

“WOOOOO!” Wynn screamed throughout the sky, zigzagging high above the tiny island.

I couldn’t look away. My face hurt from smiling so tight. When I glanced over at Akara, she was beaming, as tears ran down from her eyes in rivers.

Later that evening, Akara pulled me aside to the edge of her beach, as far away from the house as we could be.

“I can’t tell you how proud I am. You’ve made tremendous progress since you’ve been here,” Akara said.

“I guess you can thank my mentor for that.” I smiled.

“You don’t give yourself enough credit. Regardless, I wanted to give you something for what you’ve done today.” Akara dug in her pocket and pulled out an artifact crafted by osseous steel. It had similar features to a knife, but it wasn’t. She handed it to me. “You deserve this.”

I studied it for a moment. It was scratched and chipped, but I could still see three tiny skulls engraved in the center. Its sides stretched like a rib. It was cut with symmetrical lines and shapes stemming from the middle, showcasing the grandeur of the three tiny skulls. Something about it gave me chills, not because it was intimidating, but I sensed a resonating power from within. “What is this?”

“A crown from Princess Nezalon. The woman who founded Nezura and turned it into the self-sufficient, beautiful city.”

My skin tingled all over my body. “I don’t deserve this.”

“That’s how I felt when I received it. But truth be told, she had numerous crowns, all of which are housed in a museum in Nezura. One of the Nobles had this one as a family heirloom, but it’s in pretty rough shape. It doesn’t contain any magical properties,” Akara said.

“It certainly feels powerful, like it’s imbued with something.”

“I think that probably comes from the art and the sheer age of the crown. It’s about a thousand years old. But it was given to me by the Nobles before I invaded the Royal Lavarund castle.”

“Why did they give it to you?”

“They knew I would make it to the castle. And I think they wanted to make a statement that our dead crown made it through the walls of the tyrannical king’s home. A fact that would drive the Mozer and the Silver Army mad. They’ll probably never know because I had it in my possession the whole time as a charm, but our leaders in Nezura knew, and I think that gives them enough satisfaction.”

“You sure you want me to have it?”

“With whatever is about to come, I couldn’t think of a better person to own it.”

“Thank you,” I replied.

“Besides, our chances of success increase if I give this to you.”

I blinked as my eyes widened.

“Come on, let’s go inside,” Akara said, stepping towards the house. “Or you can stay out here a little bit longer if you’d like; it’s a nice evening. I, for one, am hungry for dinner.”

“Yeah, that sounds good,” I said and followed her. I put the crown in my pocket.

***

A bell jingled inside the rustic bookstore. The walls were lined with shelves piled high with texts—tired spines on every faded book. The aroma of aged pages filled the air.

One gentleman was exchanging coppers with an old woman at the counter.

“I’ll be with you in a moment,” the old woman said, putting on a pair of spectacles and noticing the tall, cloaked figure standing at the front of the store.

The gentleman shuffled outside, and the cloaked figure chained up the doors.

“May I ask what this is about?” the old woman said, gripping a concealed sword under the counter.

The cloaked figure turned around and marched up to the old woman. “I need you to give me a book that’s not on the shelves.”

“Well, excuse me.” She grumbled. “Reveal yourself, and maybe I could understand you better.”

The veil dropped, and the old woman recognized her at once.

“You-Your Hi-Highness? Is it r-really y-you? Th-the royal g-guard?”

“Yes, I need you to give me a text on necromancy, specifically a history, if possible,” Lara said.

The old woman’s jaw dropped.

Lara sighed. “You’re not in trouble, and you’ll be safe. I’m going to need you to swear to secrecy because I need that book, and I know you have it.”

The old woman grabbed a candle burning on the counter. “Follow me.” She led Lara to a hall that went downstairs. The basement was lit with a faint blue glow from the luminous mushrooms on the walls. There was a thin layer of fog on the floor as they strolled through aisles of dilapidated shelves.

“Are these all necromancer books?” Lara asked.

“Yes, some areas are different from others. You have spells, recipes, and so forth.” The owner stopped in an aisle and pulled out a book from the shelf. “You’re going to want this one, A Necromancer’s History.”

Lara smiled and gave the owner a handful of gold coins.

“But, Your Highness, this is way too much! This book is just a fraction of what you’re giving me.”

“For your trouble.”

The old woman blinked and said, “But h-how?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“How did you know about my store?”

Lara paused. Memories of her childhood came rushing back to her.

Oh, how different we’d end up being, but how was I to know? We were kids. But we’d always be family even though it had been years and years. One thing was for certain; this was the shop he told me about.

“My brother, he was a necromancer,” Lara said, fighting back the tears, but memories of him being screamed at by her family conquered her mind.

The bookstore owner rubbed Lara’s arm and pulled her in for a hug as tears flowed down Lara’s face.

“What’s his name?” the owner asked.

“Telyos.” Lara hiccuped.

“I beg your pardon?” The owner’s eyes widened, and Lara repeated herself. “You don’t say? He’s become a leader now, y’know?”

Lara’s jaw dropped.

* * *

Mozer sat in his private flagstone chamber, lit up by a fireplace. Across from him was a purple velvet couch that could seat six people, but it only occupied two lovers locking lips and tongues.

Lara stood in the corner of the room by the window in case any invaders were crafty enough to reach the fourth-floor turret, but once Mozer’s entertainment reached a certain point, she would desire to depart.

“You may head off to bed, Lara,” Mozer uttered, breaking his attention from the couple that started undressing each other. Mozer chugged his mead, spilling some on the side of his face.

“Goodnight, Mozer,” Lara said, leaving the room as the king continued watching. She jogged on her tiptoes through the flagstone corridors until she reached her quarters. She pulled out the key from her pocket, reached under her bed, and opened an iron vault containing A Necromancer’s History.

Flipping through the pages and scanning the paragraphs for an hour, she came across images of a monster called “The Zevolra,” and reading about it gave her chills. There was no doubt that those were the bones Mozer had obtained.

The words faded into fuzz, and the book flew away in the wind. Lara was in the middle of a field, rushing towards a city glistening on the horizon. A unicorn stared at her, nodded, and galloped towards the skyline. Lara knew she had to chase after it. Happiness and hope were promised ahead. Something that wouldn’t just affect her, but everyone. It was freedom and compassion, which felt like attainable objects because of the unicorn.

Lara woke up to warm light spilling on her face. Her eyes opened, and she felt well-rested. She jumped out of bed, recognizing that the book was still lying on her lap. Lara stashed it away in her iron box and scanned the floor, looking for any clues that someone had come in. It wasn’t uncommon for Mozer to check in on her in the middle of the night. There were no impressions or markings of any kind on the floor. She took a relieved breath and headed down to the stables to prepare another journey to the Navy outpost.