Francesca, The Great and Terrible: A Reverse Harem Academy Romance Read online

  I couldn’t see like this, but I could feel. The entire sitting room was one giant teleportation trap. It was the same for her bedroom. The spell extended to the walls of each room. We couldn’t teleport into any room and get out safely without Saffron being able to get in.

  Glinda was smart, but what was her weakness? She thought she was clever with that big plan in the North, and it blew up in her face. She probably thought she was smart making the entire room the trap. I had a feeling she missed something like she did in the North. Something that I could use.

  I decided to just check the bathroom. Would she have put a trap in the bathroom? She didn’t! Her bathroom was big enough for Frabess and me to both teleport in. We could break the traps in the bedroom from the door, then get to the sitting room and break the traps from the bedroom. I pulled my hands back and grinned.

  “Got her! How are you doing with that lock?”

  “It’s a modified Badsky puzzle. If you don’t solve the riddle in time, another block with another riddle drops on top of it, and you have to solve it before you can move it. It’s designed to keep stacking the pieces on top of the pieces you need to move to unlock it.”

  “You’re the master at riddles, though, right?”

  “You think I can do everything, Frankie. I didn’t trigger the lock because the pieces would keep stacking after we left, and I’d never get it unlocked, but there may be a riddle on this lock I can’t solve.”

  Saffron and I just stared at each other for a minute. “Oprix,” we both said at the same time.

  Oprix was a master at puzzles and riddles. When we were fifteen, we teleported to a pub and managed to get free drinks because he solved what was supposed to be an unsolvable riddle the bartender asked. He wasn’t too pleased Oprix solved it, but we got to try mead for the first time. We got into so much trouble when we came home drunk, but it was worth it. Winkie mead was one of my favorite drinks now. It was hearty, and they flavored it with the golden yellow apples that grew in the West. Like the lemon trees, everyone had at least two apple trees in their yards growing crisp golden apples.

  “You said you had her. How did the great Glinda the Good slip up?” Saffron asked, grinning at me.

  “Wall to wall teleportation traps everywhere but the bathroom. That must be where she’s coming and going when she actually comes back to her room. She didn’t know about my mother’s trick about scanning through doors, and I guess she was counting on anyone who tried to teleport past the locks wouldn’t try for her bathroom.”

  “So, we can come up with a plan now? Because I really want to try that apple raspberry crumble, and I want to hang out with Emarus. The Quadlings here are so nice.”

  “They are, aren’t they? Let’s get off to the common room. I want to try that apple raspberry crumble too.”

  Chapter 3

  Oprix

  H

  onestly, I thought I was going to be pretty useless, breaking into Glinda’s room. Idris and I would be there to search for clues once it was safe to go in, but neither of us had Sentinel knowledge like Frankie, Saffron, and Frabess. We still hadn’t figured out where Daxar was, and we could have used his help. He had been Glinda’s right-hand man for the longest time. He might have had a geas on him about her big plan, but he could tell us how her mind worked. Maybe that was why he’d been sent away. I just knew he wouldn’t have left Frankie without saying goodbye unless he had been forced.

  We had all things we wanted to find in Glinda’s rooms. What she was up to was a big one, but we also wanted to find out where Daxar was. There was a part of me that thought Glinda had thrown him in jail with Mombi since she knew he wasn’t on her side anymore. It would account for why Frankie couldn’t find him in her mirrors. There were no reflective surfaces in the jails, so sorcerers couldn’t spy in the jails and talk to the prisoners. That was the only thing I could think of why Daxar hadn’t been found yet.

  Glinda had also stepped up security at the jail, and Frankie was no longer welcome there. Glinda knew she had questioned Mombi from when we all talked after the spell was broken on Ozma, but we all thought there was more information to get from Mombi. Francesca had training to get into her head and access her memories. Saffron was still learning that from Frabess and Frabess wanted to teach her on Mombi. We’d all been banned from the prisons.

  I hadn’t brought this up to Frankie yet, but I would soon if we didn’t find something in Glinda’s room. Idris and I always hung out with the Quadlings while Frankie and Saffron did their thing outside Glinda’s dorm. They were a pretty easy-going group of people. I liked all of them.

  We never talked about our plans in front of them, even if they knew we were trying to find Glinda. We didn’t want to scare them with everything going on with the Fisher King and Locasta. The Quadlings weren’t stupid. They knew something was going on. They noticed Daxar missing right along with Glinda. They knew we were looking, and they trusted us to tell them when we found something out.

  We had just finished eating this totally delicious apple raspberry crumble Ufora made for us when we made our way back to our rooms. Emari and Emarus were the only Quadlings in on our plan, and they probably would have been even if Saffron and Emarus weren’t dating. We all liked Emari, and I hadn’t forgotten she approached Frankie first to make friends.

  We all crashed on the sofa and waited for Frankie and Saffron to tell us what they found out once Frabess got there. Saffron scribbled a message on enchanted parchment to Frabess, and she appeared in a cloud of purple smoke as she teleported in. Frabess just huffed and took one of the overstuffed chairs.

  “It’s a pity you can’t use whatever you did to her door at the jails so we can see if there are teleportation traps in there. We could just teleport in and see if Daxar is there.”

  Frankie just shook her head. “I’ve already gotten inside the jails once to question Mombi. It’s spelled to all fuck. There’s no way to use magic to get in because they don’t want anyone using magic to get in or out. There are traps on the entire jail and each cell. There are also all kinds of nasty Mombi style totems on the wall to shock you if you use magic to escape.”

  “You really think Daxar is in jail?” Emarus asked, squeezing Saffron. “I get that Glinda is doing a lot of questionable things right now, but I don’t think she would throw him in jail because of what happened when you went to the North.”

  His twin just shrugged. “We won’t know until you get into her room. Have you figured out how?”

  Frankie nestled into my chest. “We’re going to need your help, Oprix.”

  “What could I possibly do?”

  “Are you familiar with Badsky puzzles and riddles?”

  “Yes. Badsky was a Winkie, and you can trade for versions of his puzzles in the market. You know my father never let us eat until one of us solved his riddle.”

  Frankie squeezed my hand. “And it was usually you that had the answer. Saffron might need help with all the riddles on the door.”

  I kissed her forehead. “I can do that.”

  I loved puzzles just as much as Saffron did. We had done a few together while we waited for Frankie to get back from training.

  Idris just huffed. “Well, what do I do?”

  Saffron just smiled. “Once we solve the puzzle, the door is going to fight back when we try to open it. We’re going to need your strength to push it open.”

  “Is that the plan?” Frabess asked. “I thought Francesca could scan through the door.”

  Frankie just grinned. “I can. She forgot to trap the bathroom, and her bathroom is bigger than mine. We can easily teleport inside without stepping on each other.”

  “I know she’s watching us. I’m glad there are no mirrors in the Quadling dorm hallway. Do you think she’ll be watching her rooms?” Saffron asked. “I’ll be glad when we can take the sheets off of everything.”

  Our room was a scrying nightmare. There were mirrors or gilded surfaces everywhere. Frankie told us Daxar said no one was suppos
ed to be watching us in our rooms, but we didn’t trust that with Daxar gone. Idris and I spent an entire day draping sheets over everything so we couldn’t be spied on. We only ever uncovered a mirror or shiny surface if we needed to use it, and we never spoke about anything important when we did.

  Frabess was itching to get into those rooms. “When do we do this?”

  Frankie just shrugged. “Well, we have tomorrow free because Glinda won’t teach history. We could do it after breakfast.”

  Emari just gave a curt nod. “Not if it’s too noisy. The Quadlings all like you, but we also like our sleep. A lot of the Quadlings like to sleep in and skip breakfast on days we don’t have history. Emarus and I are awake, but at least half our dorm is passed out.”

  “After lunch, then?” Saffron said.

  That was so weird to me. Winkies woke with the sun. We had to. There were chickens to be fed, cows to be milked, and farms to tend to. I don’t think I’d slept late in my entire life. I’d kept plenty of late nights, but as soon as the sun came up, my body woke up. It was weird not hearing our rooster screaming for everyone to wake up and tend to his wives. Idris and Frankie were both early risers too. Saffron was the one who liked to sleep in.

  Frankie didn’t say anything about people wanting to sleep in or not working as soon as they woke up like it was in the West. She just nodded.

  “After lunch, we break into Glinda’s rooms and see what she’s been hiding.”

  Chapter 4

  Idris

  W

  here the fuck was Daxar? I think that’s what we all wanted to know. Francesca was worried sick, and I wanted to know where he was too. I trusted Glinda about as far as I could spit. If she weren’t up to no good, she would have shown her face by now. What was with all the booby traps and puzzles in her room? It wasn’t like Saffron and Francesca couldn’t break those if they really wanted to. Glinda had to know that.

  Francesca was glued to her scrying mirror while we waited for the Quadlings to wake up for us to break into Glinda’s room. All the other mirrors were covered up except one. It was her mother’s old, scrying mirror. Since it was enchanted, no one could watch her on it unless she allowed it.

  We all peered over her shoulder and watched as she tried to find Daxar. Once again, there was nothing. She tried to find Ozma and Dorothy. They had taken the Nome King’s belt, but they weren’t sending Dorothy home just yet. They were on their way back to the palace. Luckily, the Nome King’s territory was underground and not in the North. Ozma had to enchant a carpet to cross the Deadly Desert to get there, so we didn’t have to worry about Locasta finding out.

  Ozma had her own mirror when Francesca tried to look. Ozma and Dorothy were sitting in a chariot being pulled by the Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger, Ozma's bright face stared up at her.

  “Hi, Frankie. Any luck finding Glinda?”

  “I see you figured out how to get a scrying mirror working?”

  Ozma just gave her this cheeky grin. “We stole this from the Nome King when we were stealing his belt and freeing all his slaves. Any luck finding Glinda?”

  “We are breaking into her room in a few hours. Are you coming home soon?”

  “Yes. It sounds like you need my help. I just couldn’t stand by when I found out the Nome King was keeping those people as slaves. Idris, when we get the cup back from Glinda, I’m going to help Frankie break the curse on the cup. I have the Nome King’s belt. It can send Dorothy home, and it might be able to break the curse on the cup.”

  I felt this tiny glimmer of hope start in my gut. Could the Nome King’s belt actually do that—free my people for good? We’d been shackled to that cup for hundreds of years. The curse was put on us before I was born. I hadn’t lived with it as long as my family had, but I hated it all the same. I’d lived with the cup while Azami had it, and she never abused it. I was still taught to hate that fucking cup.

  “I can’t promise anything, Idris,” Ozma said. “The belt just seems to be an item of power, and there’s a lot it can do. Maybe it can remove the curse.”

  Francesca squeezed my hand. “Maybe we’ll find the cup when we search her room.”

  “What all are you searching for?” Dorothy asked.

  “Documents mostly, but we need to find that cup too,” Francesca said. “Daxar has disappeared, and we don’t know where he is. He wouldn’t have left without telling me goodbye.”

  Dorothy and Ozma just shared this knowing look like they guessed about Daxar and me. “I’m going to be making some changes when I’m queen. The Scarecrow has been filling me in on Oz law. Some of this, I won’t stand for.”

  Francesca had told us our relationship was punishable by death in Oz. Ozma had this look on her face like that was something she intended to change. Would the rest of Oz go for it? It hadn’t been that way for the longest time. The Flying Monkeys were their own court, and we didn’t answer to Oz law. I guess that was why my mother had multiple mates and it was against the law for the rest of Oz.

  “When are you getting home? We are searching Glinda’s room in about an hour.”

  Ozma just laughed, “We won’t be back in an hour, and we’ll want to rest when we get back. I just want to take a bath, to be honest. If you find the cup, bring it to my room and bring any documents you find. We’ll talk again soon.”

  I buried my face in Francesca’s neck. “Do you really think she can do it? Use the belt to break the curse on the cup?”

  Saffron frowned. “Do you think the silver slippers were the answer to breaking the curse this entire time? They grant wishes. Azami could have just wished for the curse to be broken.”

  Saffron was sweet, but we tried that. She looked totally heartbroken, like she was the one who lost the shoes. I let go of Francesca and slung my arm around her shoulder. Even though she said she wanted to sleep in, she didn’t really sleep that late today.

  “Adora did come to the West before all this mess started, and you were born. My father wished for the curse to be broken, and it didn’t work.”

  Francesca frowned. “Maybe it needed to be your mother that made the wish. If she’s the queen and everyone answers to her, maybe she needed to be the one who made the wish. Why did your mother stay hidden from us?”

  “She always said people wouldn’t understand our ways, but it must have been that law Daxar told you about. My mother doesn’t trust people on a good day. She was probably just on the verge of trusting your mother when she was murdered. It takes a long time for my mother to trust someone, even if she knows they are trying to help. It goes back to Princess Gayelette.”

  I didn’t think Francesca would understand. I didn’t get it myself. I always thought my mother should talk to Azami and introduce herself. My mother would always shake her head and tell me just because I thought someone was my friend didn’t mean they were. The Flying Monkeys thought Princess Gayelette and her fiancé were our friends and look where that got us.

  Francesca understood. She always did. She just kissed my cheek. “I get it. I do. We need to move out. We’re breaking into that room after lunch.”

  Maybe if we found the cup in Glinda’s room and we had a plan for breaking the curse, my mother would actually meet my girlfriend and be happy for me. She knew I was in love with Francesca, but she always told me it was some pipe dream and she would never love me.

  Maybe this would show my mother Francesca and I were serious.

  Chapter 5

  Frankie

  E

  verything was riding on what we found in Glinda’s room. I had all my hopes on finding the cup and documents telling me where Daxar was in there. I knew at least half of that might be impossible. Sentinels knew to only get important documents in writing and never put your plans on paper in case someone found it. There was a huge chance we weren’t going to find a single scrap of evidence that told us where Daxar was. But I had to try.

  Frabess and I were standing outside Glinda’s door while Saffron and Oprix worked on the Badsky puzzle.
We decided to wait until they were nearly complete to teleport into her bedroom. A magical lock couldn’t be opened from the inside either, and it was pointless for just Frabess and me to be in there searching while the others stood outside working on a puzzle they might not be able to solve.

  At least Oprix and Saffron were having a blast with the door. I realized how little Glinda knew us when she set these puzzles. If she had bothered getting to know Oprix and Saffron at all, she would have known they would have found this an awfully fun game.

  The way the puzzle on the door worked was that they had ten minutes to answer the riddle before another riddle would drop on top of the piece that would unlock the door. They had eight minutes to answer that one before another piece would drop. The countdown decreased by two minutes every time another piece would drop. The last piece that would drop, in theory, was supposed to be an unsolvable riddle that would permanently lock the door for anyone except the person who cast the spell or had been given the key to the lock.

  Saffron and Oprix were hooting and laughing as they solved pieces. There were a few near misses where they guessed wrong, and a second piece would drop, and they would have to solve another riddle. They were down to the last piece and apparently, it was a doozy.

  “Take away my first letter, then take away my second letter. Then take away the rest of my letters, yet I remain the same. What am I?”

  “Anyone know this one? Quick, we have ten minutes.”

  We had a Quadling audience by now, and they all started laughing. Emarus kissed Saffron on the cheek.

  “That’s a Southern riddle. You don’t have postmen anywhere else in Oz. The answer is a postman. They deliver letters. Everyone else in Oz uses crows and ravens. We have men who use horses to deliver letters in the South.”

  Saffron leaned into the puzzle. “A postman.”

  That was when the door started fighting back. It started violently shaking. Idris slammed his shoulder into the door. “You might want to teleport now. I’ve got this.”