“Yes, but I watched it on my computer screens because they’re bigger. I wanted to study your face.”
“Why?”
“Because you appeared emotionless, like you were in some sort of fucked-up trance. Which makes sense now that I’ve seen the memory through your mind.”
I shivered, the memory one that felt foreign and wrong, yet too real to be a lie. Like a nightmare come to life.
“Okay, let’s find my mother and start there,” he suggested, thumbing through a series of images before bringing one up from a formal sitting room. I recognized it as one of the many areas in his mother’s wing of the palace. It was her evening tea area, where she enjoyed light refreshments usually drizzled in blood.
Queen Lux sat in a regal chair, her ankles crossed at the side, and her hands clasped in her lap, while Valora gestured animatedly around the room. She was clearly upset, and she had a deep red hue hanging around her. I frowned. “Valora is red.”
“I could have guessed that by her cheeks,” Grigory replied. “Seems she’s furious about something. Probably you.”
“Your mother seems… serene.”
“What color is she?” he asked.
I studied the queen, frowning. “She’s… wrong.”
“What do you mean?”
“She’s surrounded by black,” I replied. “She’s never black. She’s always gray, like you. But I see a touch of red on the edges, as if some sort of emotion is trying to escape yet can’t.” It was a bizarre summarization. “Something’s not right with your mother.”
“Sort of like how she condemned you to death without talking to me,” he said slowly. “I wonder if she’s fallen victim to the same hypnosis.”
“If that’s the case, then we need to get back to her and help her.”
He shook his head. “Not yet. We need more evidence to present to her. However…” He shifted to a different screen and typed out a message in a language I didn’t understand, then hit Send. When he switched back to the surveillance camera, I saw Adrik pulling out his phone from his pocket.
“Did you just message him?”
“Yeah.”
“What language was that?” I asked.
“A secret one we created years ago when we wanted to avoid my mother,” he replied, smirking. “It’ll get the point across to him. Hopefully, he can help her while we dig up more evidence.” He paused, then looked at me. “You realize this refined gift of yours isn’t normal, right?”
“No, I thought it was perfectly fine that I’m suddenly seeing rainbows,” I replied flatly.
He snorted, then started sifting through images again until he found Napia and her father.
“Black,” I said immediately.
“Anything else?” he pressed.
I studied the two of them huddled together and slowly shook my head. “It’s like th
eir souls are so dark they have no other aura around them.”
He nodded and put away his phone. “Well, it’s certainly not a normal power, but I think it’s going to help us.”
“An optimistic view,” I grumbled, then chewed my lower lip.
Why are these powers awakening now?
“Valora’s powers were gradual,” he replied softly.
“She’s Lucifer’s daughter,” I pointed out. “I’m a halfling.”