Mira's eyes were bloodshot and her back ached from the relentless concentrated effort at poring over countless firefly visuals coming through on the scry-visual orb. Aside from a few short breaks, Mira had remained in the scry-visual chamber alongside the entire celadon crew of scri-visual mages.
She had not slept for almost two days.
"That's the last of the firefly visuals from Jasper, My Queen." The celadonian mage bowed. He was shaking from fatigue, but at least, he had slept for a few hours within the last twenty-four hours.
How could he complain when the royal woman before him had not even taken a break to sit and eat anything. She had swallowed a few pieces of dumplings and went back to peering into the scry-visual globe.
"Bring me the next set of firefly visuals for the surrounding area of Topaz. I want the fireflies that flew around the Academy. Maybe we can find his magik signature there."
She looked up at him briefly from her continued scanning. "You look exhausted. Why don't you take a break. Send another mage in for me, please."
The celadonian mage nodded and went off to find the next person to take his place.
It was not supposed to have been a round-the-clock effort because it took plenty of magikal energies to continue showing stream after stream of firefly visuals and the mages were not an inexhaustible source of magik energy.
Unfortunately, as long as the Queen of the Northern Realm was on her feet working, there was no way the celadons could flick on the Closed sign and call it a day. So the mages did the next best thing.
They took turns, rotating through the entire group of scri-visual mages. Those who had sufficient energy to take their turn at powering the scri-visual would stay and work with the Queen.
Those who were depleted would be sent outside with food and a pillow. They would then join the rest of the scry-visual group who were also sitting in the sun to recharge their mage energies and to photosynthesize.
It also meant they could sleep for a bit before going back in to pick up the next round of scrying.
It was Wednesday evening by the time Erick's work eased up enough for him to realize his precious Mira had not been eating or sleeping for over two days.
He swaggered into the Scry-Visual room with his Advisors in tow.
"Oh noes!" Erick's voice boomed across the large hall. "I just now got word that we're missing an entire section of firefly visuals!"
Mira turned to him, her bloodshot eyes glared with shock and indignation. How dare they lose that much information!!!
"What happened???" She demanded.
"I'm not sure, but there is nothing we can do until they can recover the information. This is actually as good a time as any for you to take a quick break."
"I'm not leaving the Scry-visual room." She muttered, returning to peering at the scry-visual globe.
"But darling, they are going to need some time to recover the firefly visuals. Why don't you go take a nap?"
"I'm not leaving this room Erick." Mira stated baldly. Her tone broke no arguments.
Erick narrowed his eyes at her and compressed his lips. What a frustrating and stubborn woman she was.
He raised his lazy fingers and wiggled it a bit.
Within seconds, he had crossed the room to her side and caught her with a deft arm.
"Where is her room?" He looked down upon Mira's pale exhausted face. She looked less as if she was sleeping from a tiny magik spell and more as if she had passed out from exhaustion.
"I'm sorry Prince Erick, we haven't assigned a room for her yet because she refused one."
"Find me a room NOW or I will be taking over YOUR room."
"Yes, Your Royal Highness." The caledonian bowed and quickly went to find a steward who could quickly set up a sleeping room for the Queen.
Within minutes, Erick had carried her to another chamber within the Scry-Visual edifice.
The windows had soft sage green sashes that fluttered in the gentle warm breeze blowing into the chamber. There was a nice low oak divan with plenty of pillows and a large soft pale blue quilted cover.
He gently laid her down on the divan and arranged the pillows around her until she looked like a little doll, lost among all the colorful pillows. Then he covered her with the coverlet.
"Sleep well my love," he whispered and leaned over her.
His face was only inches away from hers. He was so close that he could feel her soft warm breath on his shoulder.
Erick buried his nose into her neck and inhaled deeply the scent of the woman he had fallen so hopelessly in love with. He could smell that same scent of wild flowers that were indelibly forged into his mind.
It was the first thing he remembered upon awakening that day at her house on Azure. She had saved him from certain death. He owed her a life debt, one that he would gladly pay over and over again.
But more than that, he loved her indomitable spirit. He loved her courage in the face of overwhelming fear. He loved how she treated everyone and how hard she worked for the people around her.
He also loved everything about her. The way her long dark lashes fell on her pale cheeks. The curve of her familiar sweet face. Her wildflower scent. Her flawless pale ivory skin. Her shapely nose. The long dark veil of her soft lustrous hair.
If there was ever a woman who was what he would consider to be worthy of being a Queen...nay, an Empress---it would be Mira.
His stomach quivered when he looked at her soft pink lips. He waited for it to stop quivering. It never stopped. Those same butterflies attacked him at random moments of the day every time he thought about her, tickling and torturing him.
They were torturing him now.
Erick was a man who had never stolen anything in his entire life. If he wanted or needed something, he simply told his Advisors and Counselors to obtain it for him and within a very short time, what he wanted would be in his hands.
The idea that there was something he wanted but could not get was foreign to him. He had been living with this unobtainable desire for quite some time now, and the longer he lived with it, the more his desires grew.
Unfortunately, he could not just take her for himself. Zander was not just a cousin. Zander was closer to him than even a blood brother. He could not do anything that would jeopardize that bond.
His mind flitted back to the bands he still carried around everywhere. Even if he could never place a soul-band on her wrist, it gave him some comfort to know he was carrying around with him the soul-band that was meant for her.
Being soul-bonded with Mira was a distant possibility. It was so distant that even Erick could not see it ever happening.
Although it was way out of reach for him at this time, he could at least hang his hopes on one day reaching it. It was a very faint hope, but it was better than no hope at all. He could not steal his cousin's woman.
But stealing a kiss...that he could do. As long as no one knew...no harm no foul, right?
He bent his head closer to her face. In the single instance of a swallow's breath, Erick lowered his lips and claimed hers.
Wild horses kicked him in the guts.
He gasped at the strong emotions coursing through his veins. She tasted so good, he could not stop himself. Just a few minutes more, he vaguely told the rational side of his brain.
Erick's lips drank in the feel and taste of Mira. He was literally getting drunk from kissing her and it was driving him insane. He could not stop kissing her.
He clenched his teeth and forced his head back.
She was passed out, for crying out loud! He couldn't take advantage of his precious angel in this state, especially since he was the one who had put her into a deep sleep.
He sat back and buried his head in his hands.
Breathe, Erick. Breathe. Keep breathing.
He shook with the fierce effort to remain seated where he was and not give in to his strong desire to crawl under the quilt and make raw passionate love to her.
Oh God, she was like a strong drug that gave him such a high that he could not resist no matter how hard he tried.
He was slowly going crazy with love over this woman.
Sighing with deep regret, Erick rose from the divan and walked away from the most precious thing he had ever found in his life.
Outside the room, his Advisors and Counselors were milling about waiting for him.
"She's sleeping now. Let's get back to the Scry-visual room."
"Pardon me? I thought you told the scry-visual mages to take a break so the Queen could get some sleep."
"When did I tell the scry-visual mages to take a break?" Erick began striding down the hallway back to the Scry-visual chamber. "I told them to pause so my precious beloved could get some sleep."
"But your Highness, they have all left for the day."
"Bring them back. I want my Queen to wake up with some good news."
"Yes, Your Royal Highness."
It was with some trepidation that the Advisors approached Gerald Pomfrey with the Crown Prince's demand that the scry-visual mages be redeployed.
Without hesitation, Gerald Pomfrey called the scry-visual workers back on the job.
"Add four more mages to the scry-visual team. I want all the firefly visuals to be scoured for any signs of King Zander and his parents."
Gerald Pomfrey had no qualms throwing more mages into the task.
Unlike the Queen, Prince Erick was a very powerful wizard. With him lending magikal aid, the search would speed up tremendously.
Erick was still in the Scry-visual room working with the mages when he got word that someone important needed to talk with him.
"Who is it?"
"Your Royal Highness, it is the Head of the Council of Mages at Topaz, the High Wizard Horatio Blackstone. He would like to speak with you."
Erick shot a glance at the celadonian messenger who stood waiting patiently for his response.
"Is there a portal to Wizard Blackstone?"
"Yes, Your Royal Highness."
"Take me there."