The prismatic serpent shot another multicolor beam from its jaws. I raised my hand, and pitch-black orb formed before it and absorbed the beam, continuously sucking it in until the stream stopped.

  I swiped my hand and the orb shot toward the serpent. It tried to roll out of the way, and the orb exploded against its side, darkening its bright scales with sprays of black. Ribbons of void shredded the undead shambling around the serpent.

  Black threads whipped out from my writhing shadowy robe, slicing back and forth through the tides of the static-outlined undead surging toward me. They fell apart in small chunks of flesh down onto the dirt.

  Giant serpentine dragons of my own burst out of the ground, arching overhead. Their bodies were pitch black, made of shadow and void. The sharp claws of their small legs ripped apart everything in their path, rendering armor and flesh into dust.

  They trampled over what remained of the horde and slithered toward the towering serpent, still encircling me with its long body. My shadow dragons latched on; the black of their bodies made the shimmering scales of the serpent appear blindingly white in contrast.

  EEEAAARRRROOWW!

  The bleached serpent threw back its head and let out an ear-piercing screech. Its body thrashed, shaking off one attacker only for another to slither into its place. It twisted its head back and unleashed another beam at the black forms intertwined around it, disregarding the damage to its own body.

  The beam sliced through the shadows, but they reformed in its wake, and their claws tore deeper into the bright scales, darkening and dissolving them.

  In a desperate attempt to break free, the serpent snapped a violent, rippling wave down the full length of its body, throwing off a few tormentors. It launched itself up toward the heavens.

  “Don’t let it escape,” the demon sword in my hand commanded, the force of its voice coursing up my arm.

  Wings of light sprouted from my back, spreading feathers of glowing filament.

  A brilliant aura of divine heat enveloped me, its brightness coating even the demon sword, illuminating the blade’s pulsating pitch-black void.

  I shot up into the air. My wings of light propelled me upward until I caught up to the serpent. It clawed at me, only for my shadow threads to slice apart its legs. It fired another beam, but my sword cut straight through it.

  I drove my blade into its body and it pierced smoothly through, as if the defensive field that blocked me before never existed.

  We fell, spinning downward in a death spiral. I was on top of it with my sword still plunged into its body. The serpent cratered, the ground exploding into a spray of dirt and rock. It now writhed helplessly beneath my boots, pinned down by the might of my aura.

  I glanced back at my ethereal wings, and clenched my gauntleted fist.

  So, these are the powers that I’ve yet to earn. Is this my final form? Will it be enough?

  Turning back to the serpent, I raised my sword to finish it off. But the demon sword shrank and sank into my palm. My divine aura flickered and faded. My wings burst apart, drizzling particles of light. I felt myself being pushed back, deep within myself.

  I was no longer me.

  No, I am the sword.

  My hand caught the neck of the serpent and it shrank down into a small eel. Its scales reduced in size until they were too tiny to be seen and formed a smooth, metallic surface over its body.

  “Finally, I got you.” I raised it. This serpent, no, the virus, stared back at me. Its head was now round, shining like polished chrome. It wiggled helplessly against my grip.

  “We will definitely get to know you well. And then, perhaps afterwards, we’ll send you back to the one who gifted you to us.” My hand squeezed the metal worm hard, causing it to squirm. “As a little token of our appreciation.”

  A thin electric whine buzzed out of the creature.

  Back in my bedroom, my body jolted, convulsing as I popped back into myself.

  A voice asked hesitantly, fearing to hope. “Jo? Is that you?”

  Her comforting hands grabbed my cheeks. Mama looked over my face as relief flooded hers.

  She pulled me into a tight embrace, and I let myself be sheathed in her warmth.

  “I’m back, Mama.”

  —

  Operating at 25% efficiency meant my body was completely wrecked. Not only that, but my muscles had seemingly forgotten how to move. I took a few steps out of bed, and my legs turned to gel. Beatrice and Claire caught me before I face-planted.

  I was forced to stay in bed after that. The girls didn’t even trust me to feed myself, and I had to endure the humiliation of being spoon fed.

  Beatrice waxed with nostalgia, claiming this reminded her of the days when I was still her “precious little Josephine.”

  Then the girls got excited reminiscing about my first birthday party.

  “I remember when we first dressed her up for that day. The way she curtsied so perfectly on her first try.” Nellin gushed, lying on the bed beside my feet with her arms splayed out. “So graceful!”

  “She wowed everyone at that party!” Claire chimed in from beside her.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  That wasn’t the party I remember…

  I didn’t wow Father. I lost my temper and nearly got taken away by the royal guards. But thinking about back then made me wonder…

  If Sarsee or Ally really did think of Priscilla as a friend, what must she have thought when she saw me?

  Wait, she must have already known I was the demon sword: Murion hinted as much. So whatever she was planning must have been in place even then. Did she lose her composure because a reincarnator being the demon sword would ruin her plans of using it to get home?

  “Your hair was so nice even back then,” Miona mused airily as she pulled a comb through my long blue hair. “But you used to let me style it more.”

  I squinted back at her. “I still let you do whatever you’d like.”

  She giggled brightly, winking at me.

  “I’m basically your hair doll,” I grumbled, but it was a half-hearted complaint. My mind drifted with the rhythmic tug on my scalp as her comb ran through my blue strands.

  This feels nice.

  Elise strolled into my room with a nursemaid in tow, who was carrying a wailing Cecilia. She had grown quite a bit since I last saw her, and her stubby hands were already reaching for me.

  The girls scrambled off my bed and stood ramrod straight.

  “Relax, all of you. I’m only here to check on my daughter.” She drifted over to my bed and sat down beside me. “How are you feeling?”

  “Better,” I assured her. “My body’s recovering, and no more nightmares.”

  “Nightmares? Was that all it was?” She shivered, rubbing her arms as if a sudden chill had struck her. “Your screams… they’re still giving me nightmares. It sounded like you were being cut open alive.”

  My girls grimaced, and Mama, who was sitting at her reading table, cleared her throat loudly.

  Elise covered her lips. “Oh, my apologies. But there’s someone else who misses you dearly.” She waved the nursemaid forward. “Every day, Cece goes into fits of inconsolable crying. And I’m sure it’s for you. Are you well enough to hold her?”

  I dipped my head. “If it’s just in bed that is fine. I still can’t walk well.”

  The nursemaid quickly unloaded Cecilia into my arms. The crying ceased instantly as she latched onto me. One of her hands reached up and grabbed a fistful of my hair. A burst of light giggles bubbled out of her as she tugged on it.

  She’s gotten strong.

  “See, she really does miss you. And she seems envious of your blue,” Elise teased me.

  “I’m sure she’ll come to appreciate having her mother’s red in time.” I ignored the pull on my scalp and rocked her gently.

  Elise smiled at me. “I’m glad you’re alright, Josephine,” she said to me, relief evident in her tired voice.

  “Is Father well?”

  “He’s resting now, but he’ll be overjoyed to hear you’re awake. He bore the brunt of it, spending day and night desperately searching for a way to revive you and…” She sighed in exasperation. “...dealing with that damn woman.”

  “Who?”

  “You don’t remember? The Queen. She came to see you.”

  I massaged my temple, trying to recall. “I think I remember seeing her, but everything from that time is very muddled.”

  “It’s alright, no need to force yourself to remember. She came to see you, and apparently you said something that set her off. She started demanding that she be given custody of you.”

  “What?” Cecilia tugged harder on my hair and I pulled her in tighter against my chest.

  I don’t remember saying anything at all to Sarsee. All I remember was seeing her and Long in the room, and the memories of my last moments as Steve flooding me.

  I didn’t say a thing to her.

  “My lady has a habit of unsettling her Majesty. It happened during her first birthday as well,” Mama added after lowering her book.

  “So the rumors of her attempting to imprison a one-year-old weren’t an exaggeration?” Elise pressed a palm to her forehead. “And I thought it was just slander from the Consort. Neither Leopold nor Winthrop would talk of it when I asked.”

  “That might be because both of them might have felt some level of complicity in what occurred. Back then, My Lady seemed only nominally to be part of this house.” Mama said cooly.

  The other girls stiffened while Claire brought Elise and me a tray of tea and snacks.

  “I’m glad that the situation has changed. Still, the past gave credence to some of the rumors of maltreatment that have been spreading like wildfire. The Queen’s trying to use that as an excuse to take you.” She blew away the steam swirling over her cup. “Meanwhile, the Consort is starting counter rumors of the Queen attempting to hoard the ‘Blue Flower’ all to herself. You really do seem to be the eye of the storm everywhere you go.”

  She took a sip of the tea. “I am dying to know. What did you say to the Queen to set her off? Meridol, you were there.”

  Mama shrugged, accepting her own cup of tea from Claire. “She was delirious and blabbing incoherently, like she had been for the past several days.” Her voice then turned to ice. “She was just trying to take advantage of the situation as always. I doubt she even wanted My Lady… she just wanted to create more misery.”

  I wanted to refute her. There was something that I knew the Queen definitely wanted me for. But she was right: in the end, her plan would only bring more misery for Mama.

  My hand gently patted Cecilia, who was now calmly asleep in my arms.

  Elise gave Mama a grim, understanding nod. “I am glad that for once, Leopold did not give in to her. I heard they had quite a row on her way out.”

  Mama sighed. “That wasn’t until she had made herself at home here for an entire night. Nothing was to her satisfaction. She yelled at the maids, the chamberlain, and even that foreigner she came with. He stormed off after they got into a spat. And then she turned her fangs on the Duke.”

  Sarsee had stayed over… for an entire night?

  Was she that worried about my sword form being broken?

  I knew the Demon Sword was supposed to be their ticket home. But why would she get angry at the Duke, who was her close friend? Why fight with Long? It all seemed... excessive.

  It feels almost personal.

  My head was starting to hurt from the possible implications.

  “My Lady!” Miona cried in alarm, she caught my body slouching forward over Cecilia.

  “I’m fine… I will go talk to the Queen and assure her that I’m well now.”

  “You’ll go nowhere near that woman.” Elise snapped sharply.

  “But… she might plot against us.”

  “That is for your father and me to worry about.” Elise straightened, reclining against the high back of her seat. “Besides, the Consort had already pledged to us her support. Which I’m a little shocked by, given what happened with the Second Prince.”

  “What do you mean… wait… did… I… really?” I stared down at my hand. My fingers still recalled the sensation of squeezing a child’s neck.

  I had thought Tomas was the Dauphin!

  That really happened?!

  “Yes, unfortunately. Despite the healer’s efforts, we had to send him back with bruises around his neck,” Elise confirmed dryly. “The Consort never mentioned it, however. Your betrothed must be truly taken with you.”

  My face was already heating up when Tomas’ contact image appeared before my vision. He was contacting me through the [Mind Messenger], and with my current [Mental] level, I couldn’t contact him back.

  “Excuse me.” I raised my hand toward Mama. “But can I get a moment of privacy? He’s contacting me now.”

  Elise’s ears perked up, and her eyes shot toward the ring on my hand.

  “What do you mean he is contacting you?”