‘I . . . I don’t know.’
‘The King in Exile has invited the original refugee families to return home and help rebuild the Fourth Realm,’ Taggie said. ‘And Jem doesn’t need bodyguarding quite so much now, if you want to go.’
‘Your family house looked lovely,’ Jemima said encouragingly. ‘I’ll be happy to visit with you and wake the forests and flowers there if you’d like. It’d be a good start for a new life.’
Felix gave her an admiring look. ‘You would?’
‘I’m the Blossom Princess,’ she said in a mock-serious tone. ‘That’s my job, remember.’
‘I need to think,’ Felix said. ‘This is all so amazing.’
‘Take as long as you like,’ Taggie told him. She walked away from the group that clustered round Felix, and made her way out into the garden. She transformed into the snow eagle, and flew away from the palace.
The prim little canal station below the Great Gateway was the first thing Taggie had ever seen in the First Realm. It remained comfortingly unchanged as she alighted on the grass pathway behind it. She walked up to the iron-bound wooden door that was set into the hillside. It was shut, as usual.
‘Arasath, I am Taggie, Queen of Dreams, and I have something for you.’ She took the Trakal from her pocket, and held it up.
The door swung open, and Taggie stepped into the curving brick tunnel behind it. This time it didn’t lead to the door at the bottom of the roundadown. The door she encountered was a lot older. She could hear voices on the other side.
It opened into an old hall, with little by way of elaboration. Long tables were laid out down the middle, while a big open fireplace at the far end had a grate piled high with blazing logs, throwing out a great heat. The high windows were all shuttered. Iron candelabras holding twenty fat candles apiece hung from the rafters on long chains.
All the chairs were taken by very old people, wearing elaborate robes whose finest days had come and gone centuries ago. The women had long wispy grey hair, and the men beards down to their bellies. One of them stood just inside the door, smiling in welcome.
‘So this is the Universal Fellowship,’ Taggie said as she looked round.
‘Indeed,’ the ancient man said.
Taggie knew that voice and grinned. ‘You’re Arasath.’
‘Yes. Welcome, Queen of Dreams, to our first assembly in a thousand years.’ He gave her an affectionate hug, the kind a grandfather would bestow.
Taggie held out the Trakal. ‘I came to give you this.’
The hall fell silent, with all the gateway mages staring at the simple pendant in respectful silence. Arasath reached out and gingerly took it from her. The Fellowship broke into applause. Taggie blushed.
‘Thank you,’ Arasath said sincerely.
‘I promised you I would bring it.’
‘You did.’ Arasath seemed to be on the verge of tears. ‘You must forgive an old mage, but we grow cynical and bitter as the centuries flow past. It is both a surprise and a delight when someone acts with honour these days.’
‘What will you do with it?’
‘It will become unmade,’ Arasath said. ‘And we will rest easy once more. We have not rested easy for many years.’
‘So is that what my quest was truly about?’ she asked.
‘We became what we are so all peoples of our Realms would be free to enjoy travel and prosperity. That is still our purpose. And now we can look to the future with hope, no longer absorbed by the past and its failings.’
‘You guided me, didn’t you?’ she said as a lot of things suddenly became clear. ‘I was your instrument from the moment I first stepped into the roundadown, even though I never realized.’ She wasn’t sure if she should be pleased or angry.
‘You were our shining hope, Queen of Dreams. You are the proof that we were right to forge the Great Gateways. Look at you, my dear, born of parents from different Realms, raised in yet another. Such diversity brings strength in so many ways. In effect, you have become our greatest triumph.’
‘Humm,’ Taggie refused to be convinced by his flattery. ‘And Mirlyn?’ she asked, staring round the tables again. ‘Is he here?’
With everybody watching, Arasath led her down the length of the hall to the seat closest to the roaring fire. She knew without having to ask further which mage was Mirlyn. He was as old as the rest, yet had a vitality that burned as intensely as the fire.
As she approached, a young woman rose from where she’d been kneeling in front of Mirlyn’s chair. She smiled at Taggie. ‘I am Isabel, and I thank you for freeing my grandsire,’ she said, and gestured Taggie forward.
Mirlyn looked up at her with surprisingly gentle eyes for such a resolute face. ‘I was unheard for so many centuries. I don’t know how much longer I could have endured. And then you appeared. You are my miracle, Agatha Paganuzzi.’
‘You’re welcome,’ Taggie replied, for once not cross that her real name was being used. ‘What will happen now? Will you remain open?’
‘I paid a great price for my arrogance. During the time I was unheard, I swore that arrogance would be undone. That may have been the one thing which kept me from diminishing as too many of my colleagues have done. I was the one who always wanted more. I reached into the Dark Universe, proved I was the greatest of our Fellowship. And now I see it was all for nothing, for vanity’s folly. I think it is time we bade our acquaintances from the Dark Universe a lasting goodbye.’
‘You’re going to close permanently, aren’t you?’ she realized.
‘This assembly is my farewell to my old friends. When the last of the exiles have crossed back, I shall become unforged. Like the War Emperor and the Grand Lord of old, I do not want temptation to stain the separate Universes. And if I continue to exist, then there is a chance it will. We must learn from our mistakes, and strive never to repeat them. So now I will say goodbye to you, the greatest Queen of Dreams. I am pleased to have met you, and seen the kindness you show to your friends and your foes. You have even shown me that hope can always flower in the darkest of places. Live your life well, my dear.’
Taggie dipped her head. ‘I will,’ she promised him.
The dress was perfect. A white bodice, its skirt layers of ruffles with black and scarlet bands. Its hem swirled just above her knees.
‘My legs are too thin,’ Taggie exclaimed in dismay as she stared at her image in the full-length mirror. ‘My knees stick out.’
‘Stop fishing for compliments,’ Mum warned. ‘You look lovely, and you know it.’
‘But—’
‘No! Now put this on.’
The tiara had more diamonds than a jewellery shop. But Taggie had to admit, it did look rather grand sitting on her brushed-to-a-gloss hair. She pulled a face, then grinned. ‘We should go down, it’s about to start.’
Mum rolled her eyes. ‘Did you learn nothing from me? A lady does not arrive early, she allows expectation to build.’
‘Yes, yes, but there’s going to be dancing. Oh, Mum, I want to dance all night.’
‘I met with the heads of the other Third Realm Sorceress houses this afternoon,’ Mum said.
‘Oh!’ Taggie’s hand flew to her mouth. ‘I forgot that was today. Sorry. What happened?’
‘Well! While you went mysteriously missing for several hours, we discussed the succession.’
‘Mum!’ Taggie squealed and clapped her hands together in delight. ‘You’re going to be a Queen, too!’
‘Don’t be ridiculous. Of course I’m not.’
‘Oh.’
‘When it was our house’s turn to provide a Queen, we put your aunt on the throne.’
‘She stole it. Everybody knows that. It’s rightfully yours.’
‘That was an internal house problem. Exactly the kind of thing the Third Realm gets its bad reputation from. As I didn’t fight it then, I can hardly claim it was all a mistake and I should be Queen now. That would be plunging us right back into the bad old days, so it was agreed the crown would pas
s to Voywiss, as the duly appointed successor to our house.’ Mum sighed. ‘Though the Heavens know that woman is so incompetent she couldn’t manage to lead a starving pig to its food.’
‘OK, Mum. Well, I’m proud of you for being so noble about it.’ Taggie adjusted the tiara slightly.
Mum raised an eyebrow. ‘However . . .’
‘Yes?’ Taggie was starting to wonder if she would actually get to dance at all this evening.
‘I did agree to go back to take up the burden of leading our house. After all, someone has to keep an eye on your aunt even in her current state, and a great many changes need to be made for our house to regain its correct status.’
‘Yeah, that was such a brilliant piece of magic,’ Taggie said. ‘Vacuuming out her power like that.’
‘I don’t know why she thought I would spend my whole time in the Outer Realm baking cakes and driving you two about on the school run like some domestic goddess. Of course I kept up my study of the art – how else can you grow more powerful and finally defeat your arch enemy? She clearly blanked out our entire childhood.’
Taggie pressed her lips together so she wasn’t smiling. There were times when Mum was just plain unbelievable. ‘I’ll try and remember that.’
‘Quite. Come on, you’re going to be late. That’s a bad trait in royalty.’
‘But . . . you said to arrive late,’ Taggie fell silent as Mum gave her one of those ‘disappointed’ looks. She took a breath. ‘I’m ready now.’
Dad was waiting for them out in the corridor, looking rather dashing in his new ceremonial tunic. He cocked his head to one side and smiled in complete satisfaction at Taggie. ‘You look beautiful, darling.’ He kissed her on her forehead.
Taggie endured her hair being slightly mussed, she was just so glad he’d come back unharmed from Banmula. Jemima was standing beside him, very content in her own satin dress – the most grown-up she’d ever had. A small crown of ocean-blue flutterseed stems was woven into her hair, with the flowers flapping exuberantly, yet never taking flight.
Taggie grabbed her sister’s hand, and grinned. ‘Let’s go.’
‘Can I have champagne tonight? Jemima asked brightly.
‘No,’ Mum and Dad said together.
‘But Taggie’s going to.’
‘One glass only, and she’s fourteen now,’ Dad said.
‘That’s just not fair.’
‘You can sing if you like,’ Taggie said wickedly. ‘The band will play any number you want.’
‘By myself? No way!’ Jemima exclaimed.
Lantic was waiting for them at the top of the stairs, wearing the full dress uniform of a colonel in the Blue Feather regiment. His father had awarded him the commission the previous week.
‘Very stylish,’ Taggie said approvingly.
Lantic held out his arm formally, and she allowed him to escort her down the stairs to the outer hall. Felix was standing at the bottom, smartly dressed in the elegant uniform of the palace guard.
‘Look at this, another one who cleans up well,’ Dad observed. ‘Who’d have thought.’
Felix held out his arm, and Jemima accepted it, falling in behind Taggie and Lantic.
The outer hall was packed with the Kings and Queens of every Realm. Lord Colgath stood among them, with his wife, Lady Anaquis, next to him. And nobody seemed to think it was in any way odd, let alone disturbing. Taggie smiled at them as she and Lantic walked the length of the hall to the big doors at the far end, acknowledging their greetings. One by one the royal families fell in behind her so she was soon leading a grand procession. The crew of the Angelhawk were standing halfway along the line.
‘Captain,’ Taggie said, savouring the sight of the wonderful skywoman wearing a fancy new evening dress. ‘How goes it?’
‘Very well, thank you, young Queen,’ Captain Rebecca said crisply. ‘The keel of the Angelhawk II has been laid. I’ve designed a few modifications of my own, and she’ll be built of the finest Fifth Realm hornash planks. It’s expensive wood, but worth it.’
Taggie diplomatically ignored the pained expression on Mr Anatole’s face. ‘The least I could do,’ she said.
‘I’d be honoured if you’d perform the launch ceremony yourself. Send her on her way with a gust of good fortune, eh?’
‘Of course I will.’ Taggie frowned slightly, glancing round the crew. ‘Have you seen Sophie?’
‘Aye, over there,’ Captain Rebecca said with a sly chuckle. ‘Terrifying the Highlord’s fledgling. He really is as handsome as everyone says, you know.’
‘Ah.’ Taggie saw her friend next to the skyboy who would one day be Highlord, her red hair waving slowly and sinuously above her shoulders as she pressed up close to her prey. Yes, Taggie acknowledged, he was very handsome indeed, even though his perfect features were currently marred by a nervous expression as he attempted to back away – hopeless: his wings were already squashed up against a pillar. ‘I’ll see you inside, then.’ Taggie carried on towards the doors that led into the banqueting hall. ‘I claim the first dance with you,’ she told Lantic.
‘What?’ Lantic was suddenly as panic-stricken as the first time she met him. ‘But Taggie, I can’t dance.’
The doors swept open, and the orchestra struck up.
‘You’re only a prince,’ she told him, smiling straight ahead at the sumptuous party laid out waiting for her. ‘I’m a Queen. So you have to do as I tell you. Better get used to it.’
THE END
Taggie and her younger sister, Jemima, are just ordinary girls living an ordinary life. Until the day a white squirrel wearing glasses turns up in their garden. The next thing the sisters know, their dad has been kidnapped!
But it seems their father has been keeping some very large secrets from his young daughters – he is, in fact, a prince from another world, and the land he should be ruling has been overthrown by a ruthless invader – known as the King of Night.
Can Taggie and Jemima find their way between the worlds to save their father – and just what other secrets has he been hiding?
Taggie has had a busy year. From finding out she’s the queen-to-be of a magical realm and learning to use magic . . . to discovering that someone wants her dead!
Assassins have been targeting royal heirs throughout the magical realms, and everyone thinks the Karrak invaders are responsible. War seems inevitable – yet Taggie has just found out two very interesting facts. Firstly that the Karraks come from a completely different universe. And secondly that there was once a gate to this universe – now lost in the mists of time.
If Taggie and her friends can find the gate, perhaps they can also stop the war? But to do so they need to find a Karrak who will take their side . . .
Peter F. Hamilton was born in Rutland in 1960 and still lives in that county. He began writing adult science fiction and fantasy in 1987 and since then has sold over two million books in the UK alone and is the UK’s bestselling science-fiction author. He has two young children who inspired him to write for a younger audience. A Voyage Through Air is the final instalment in the fantastic The Queen of Dreams children’s fantasy trilogy.
Also by Peter F. Hamilton from Macmillan Children’s Books
The Secret Throne
The Hunting of the Princes
First published 2017 by Macmillan Children’s Books
This electronic edition published 2017 by Macmillan Children’s Books
an imprint of Pan Macmillan
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ISBN 978-1-4472-9117-6
Text copyright © Rutland Horizon Ltd 2017
Illustrations copyright © Rohan Eason 2017
Cover illustration by Rohan Eason
The right of Peter F. Hamilton and Rohan Eason to be identified as the author and illustrator of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Y
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Peter F. Hamilton, A Voyage Through Air
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