A ray from the sun that dared to shine into my window forced my eyes to open. I had wished for it to blot away, but it was cheerfully refusing. The offensive celestial body was shining through a set of three windows, deeply recessed into an alcove. The three windows, one, a picture window with a transom above it, flanked by two smaller, rectangular windows, were bare of curtains or shades. A mahogany-colored desk sat before it. On the desk was a large, horse-shaped lamp with a wide shade and a thin computer monitor.

Although the monitor was a strange sight in a world that was supposed to be magical, I turned my body to look up at an arched ceiling made of slats of redwood. My eyes followed the curve to a wall of brownish-gray stone that led to a wide fireplace.

In front of the fireplace, in an oversized comfortable chair, was my aunt.

I turned away and pressed my face into a plush feather pillow. I didn't want to see an impostor wearing my mother's face.

"Our apologies for telling you that way." My aunt's tone was flat, and I sat up in bed to look at her. She didn't sound all that sorry. She was holding a box in her lap and staring at me impassively.

"Please tell me where my friends are." Alongside my grief for my mother, the only other thing I could think of was that my friends were alone someplace in this house, and I needed to get to them. If they killed Luis or Dom, I had no doubt I would fade away. And, losing Adrian so soon after seeing him again would haunt me forever. I still hadn't apologized to him.

Athalia ignored my command. "Understand, Luke only thinks about duty. Honor above all - that is his motto. He does not mean to be heartless, but I have to agree that all of this is highly irregular."

I thought of my kidnapping, the slap he gave Erick, and the ballsy announcement that I would have to marry him if I didn't win some game. It was more than irregular. I sat up in bed and faced her, flinching as more light assaulted me. Large panes of glass and a sliding door led to a redwood balcony overlooking frozen mountains and trees.

"Where are my friends?" My tone turned frosty. 

"I do not know where Luke is keeping your friends. That is not the reason I am in your room."  She got out of the chair and deposited the box on the bed. "This belonged to your mother. I brought them to you, hoping they can bring you some comfort. She left them to me as I am her closest kin, and now, I am giving them to you."

"I don't want it," I said as I turned my body away from the gift.

"You must take it. The contents are things only the daughter of the Brigid should have."

As I gripped the box, I fought with the urge to throw it at my aunt. I didn't want my mother's box; I wanted her presence.

"When can I see my friends? I want them safely away from here."

"That is my hope, too," Athalia whispered as she stood, giving me an odd look. She seemed like she wanted to say more but pursed her lips. "I will send in some maids to help you."

"I don't need any maids!" I hollered to her retreating back. Then I flopped onto my back as her parting words confused me. Did she really care if my friends got home? My suspicious meter went into the red. 

When the door shut, I sat up again and stared at the box. Maybe my aunt put a snake in it, or worse yet, a creepy doll.  The pretty box sat there benignly, and nothing jumped out to kill me, but that didn't mean it wasn't dangerous. I caressed the top of the box, which was decorated with paintings of trees in a circle. After pausing a moment to work up my courage, I removed the lid. After flinching away, I felt silly. The only things inside were carefully laid out jewels in three layers of velvet.  My hands trembled as I picked up a necklace designed to look like a string of golden daisies.

"That's a lovely one."

My grief evaporated as alarm overtook me. I clutched at the necklace with one hand and reached for an object to throw from the end table beside me. After I launched it towards the intruder, he caught it and set it down on the reading table next to the chair my aunt had vacated. The object was a crystal rose in full bloom. It would have been a shame if it had broken - great reflexes on that guy.

The Asian boy had dyed his short, spikey hair a shocking pink. His grin was broad as he leaned against the fireplace and studied me. He was gaudy, wearing peacock-hued clothing: a mustard-colored dress shirt paired with a bright purple jacket and teal dress pants. He had several necklaces of jumbled, colored stones around his neck. The man had a crooked nose, as though he'd broken it before, and one of his eyeteeth had a twist. Even though he wasn't handsome, he had this air about him, as though anything fun was ultimately his doing. That made him more attractive than a pretty face would have.

While I gaped at him,  I dropped the necklace and the jewelry box on the bed and stood upon the mattress. Because I still didn't feel safe enough, I backed up against the headboard to give me more room to run if he tried to grab me.

"Who are you?"

He tilted an imaginary hat. "Hello, Princess. I'm Ciaran. That lady that just left is not an agreeable person. I think you'll be sorry for accepting her gift."

I agreed with his opinion on my aunt but trusted him even less. However, he hadn't moved from his spot next to the fireplace, so I didn't get the feeling that he was a bodice-ripping kind of guy. I'd met those kinds. I had known one quite well.  "Ciaran. How did you get in here, and should I scream now?"

He waved his fingers all around, his grin growing ever broader. "Magic! Impossibilities! Breaks of reality! How else?"

The boy was as painful as the sunshine outside to my senses. I figured he must be a ghost of some sort since he'd appeared out of nowhere. "Look, Ciaran. I get you were probably curious about me, but I'm not really up to dealing with..." I waved my hand at him. "All of this."

He strolled up to the side of my bed and sat down at the foot of it.

"Hey, personal bubble, dude." I edged closer to the end of the mattress nearest to the door as my nervousness rose. He was solid since the mattress had leaned over when he sat. He'd also caught that rose. The man was not a ghost, which sent my creep alarms blaring.

"You need to leave. Some maids are coming, and I bet you'd be in trouble, being in here." Then, I realized how stupid that sounded. What could the maids do, scream? By the time they ran to get help, the guy would have already murdered me and lept out the windows - or simply vanished. I rubbed my face wearily. 

"If you're here to murder me, get it over with — I don't care."

Ciaran made a soft, scoffing sound and shook his head. "No, I'm here to ask you something."

I made a reeling motion with my hand for him to hurry and get to the point.

"Choose me for your court. You'll thank me."

I exhaled as a headache formed between my eyes —another person making demands. "I don't even understand what you're asking. What court?"

"The court of the Elect, of course."

When it was clear I still didn't understand, he grinned. "They will be your teammates in a series of games you'll have to play to get out of your mess. I want to help, and to do that, I need to be in your court. You agree, and I'll owe you one favor."

I peeled back a layer of my caution as curiosity got the better of me. "What kind of favor?"

"Anything in my power, and I'm pretty powerful!" He buffed his nails on the lapel of his jacket.

I folded my arms. "What makes you so special?"

His eyes twinkled like prisms. They were not of one color but made up of as many colors as an opal. "Is that your favor, Princess?" His grin became feral. 

My mother had drilled into me the dangers of making deals with magical creatures. This was a pretty risky proposition. "No. That's not my favor."

His voice was sing-song, "I'm not going to tell you then."

 "If I accept your help, are you going to eat my liver?"

"No!" He said with a  surprised laugh. "I'm not of a species that eat livers, Princess. Trust me. I mean you no harm whatsoever. Quite the opposite, in fact."

Trusting people hadn't worked out well so far. "No. I'll take my chances on my own."

"Well, I expected that." He said with a tisking sound. "Let me give you this then." Ciaran held out a small key.

"What's this?" I asked as I took it from him, forgetting my training about accepting gifts.

"Oh... the key to everywhere. It will unlock any door."

"Any door, you say? Where did you get it?" I eyed the key skeptically 

Ciaran wiggled his fingers.

"Magic, right. Can I test it?" I stroked the key with my thumb as I imagined my friends trapped in a cage in the mansion's basement. Maybe I wouldn't need anyone else to free them if I could find them.

"I suppose you can. Allow me to show you a secret door right in this room."

His arm swept towards a darkened arch where I supposed the bathroom and closet were. I shook my head—no following strangers into my wardrobe. 

Ciaran tapped a finger against his lip as he grinned at my reluctance. "A key for a court. Both the key and I are yours, Princess."

I tucked the key into my pocket and squirmed at his continued flirtation. What's all this about being mine. I didn't agree to anything. "We'll see. What's with this court, anyway?"

"Each woman in the trial gets seven or more members for their courts to aid them. You may choose your court and can refuse  those you didn't promise." His brows lifted.

Could I refuse Luke? I fantasized about that for a moment. No, not while he had me at his mercy, I couldn't. "So, you want to work for me? What's in it for you?"

His grin became more brilliant. Why had I thought he wasn't handsome again? He was riveting.  "I told you already, but I get the added benefit of your presence."

I cleared my throat as his flirting disarmed me. Then I shook away my admiration. The last time I'd been dazzled by a man, he'd destroyed me.  "Anything else?"

"Yes, all the courts of the defeated elect become yours, as well as the fate of the defeated. Most of the Principi choose death for the vanquished."

"For all the vanquished, even the rival courts? They don't just... have them work for them?"

"Yes, death for all the rival courts..." Ciaran wasn't smiling now, and my heart stuttered in my chest. 

There was a rap on the door, and a feminine voice called from behind it. "Elect Madeline, we've come to draw your bath and help you get ready."

As I turned to tell Ciaran to leave, he'd already disappeared. With a frustrated huff, I took the key out of my pocket and put it in my mother's jewelry box. I stared at the daisy necklace I'd dropped back into the box after Ciaran had appeared and lifted it for a moment. The daisy was a symbol of innocence, purity, and transformation. My mother liked to put crowns of them on my head then would tell me the story of the goddess Freya. I clutched it. All my innocence was gone, along with my mother.

"Come on in," I called as I set the necklace in the box and closed the lid— time to get this over with.