Page 170 of Whispers and Wildfire
“What are your orders,” Lucia whisper-yelled at him.
“Oh yeah,” he said. “What are your orders?”
“Spy on the princesses and discover their plans.”
He bowed again and walked away. He was so cute, it was hard not to break character.
Taking a few steps, I kept reading. “Their power is nothing compared to mine. But I fear they have a secret weapon that could be my undoing.”
The scene shifted back to the girls, so I moved out of the way.
“Princess Iris, I know what we must do,” Lucia said.
Zola gasped dramatically. “What?”
“We must enlist the help of Queen Ione’s greatest nemesis.”
“Do you mean?”
“Yes.” Lucia pointed at Luke. “King Lukonidas. His power rivals the queen’s. He is the only one who can stop her.”
“Will he help us?” Zola asked.
“I do not know. But we must try.”
The girls marched over to Luke and curtsied to him. While I’d been looking down at the script, someone had handed him a gold crown. It was slightly too small, balancing precariously on his head. He stood straight and put his hands on his hips.
“Princess Persephone. Princess Iris.” He bent his head to each of them, and I could tell he was having trouble keeping the crown on his head. “To what do I owe the honor of your visit.”
I couldn’t stop smiling at his king voice—his tone low and serious. It sent a little shiver down my spine.
“We come to you with great need, King Lukonidas,” Lucia said. “The evil Queen Ione threatens our kingdom. You are the only one who can stop her.”
“For you, sweet princesses, I will do this.” His crown slipped off and fell to the ground, but he kept going. “I warn you, however, once I have begun this quest, I will not stop until it is accomplished, come what may.”
“You have our thanks,” Lucia said, and the girls curtsied again.
I had to wipe the smile off my face and get back into character as Luke strode over to me. But it wasn’t easy.
“We meet again, Queen Ione,” he said.
“Foolish king. You think you can defeat me?”
“We have done battle many times and always come to an impasse. This time will be different. I will prevail.”
Nico ran up and handed us toy swords. The script said we were supposed to do battle with magic and swords. Holding the plastic weapon in one hand, I clashed it with Luke’s a few times, then stepped back and stretched out my arm, as if casting a spell. He deflected my magic with his blade, then cast his own.
I glanced at the script. “Your power has grown, Lukonidas.”
“So has yours, Ione.” He lowered his sword a little. “As has your beauty.”
“My…” The slight flush in my cheeks was no act. It was so silly, but something about Luke’s king voice was getting to me. “You try to distract me.”
“No.” He stepped closer. “I came here seeking to defeat you. But now I know the truth. I love you.”
“How could you possibly love me?”
He moved in, closer still, and his voice gradually shifted to his own. “For long years, I have loved you, my beautiful queen. Fate has kept us apart, but it will no longer be so.”
