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“Hey, Alex, what happened to our drinks?” D.C.’s voice interrupted their conversation.

Alex hadn’t realised that the orchestra had stopped for a brief intermission, so wrapped up was she in Kaiden’s easy banter—and his arms. But her friends had found her and they looked between the two of them with unbridled curiosity. She hastily let go of him.

“Guys, this is Kaiden James,” she introduced. “He’s in my Combat class at Akarnae.”

“We know who he is,” D.C. said, amused. “We’ve been at the academy together for years.”

“Oh. Right,” Alex said, wincing inwardly. Of course they all knew each other.

“Thanks again for helping us out earlier,” Jordan said to Kaiden.

Seeing Alex’s questioning look, Bear explained, “Kaiden and Declan showed us the way down to the dungeons and then kept watch to make sure no other guards turned up. We didn’t know the king and that Warden were already there.”

“So that’s why you were waiting around the corner when I ran past?” D.C. said to Kaiden, who shrugged noncommittally in response.

“Hey, guys. What am I missing out on?” Declan asked as he joined their group.

“Nothing important,” said Alex. She wasn’t sure how she feltknowing the two Combat boys had heard her interaction with the king down in the dungeons, so instead of dwelling on that thought, she motioned to them and D.C. and asked, “Have you all grown up together?”

“For the most part, yeah,” Declan said. “Both my family and Kaiden’s are closely associated with the royal family in one way or another, so we’ve all known each other since we were kids.”

Alex wondered why the two boys hadn’t befriended D.C. at the academy, but then she remembered that her roommate hadn’t wanted to be known as the princess, and these two probably treated her like one, even if it wasn’t deliberate. Plus, they were both a year ahead of Alex and her friends, and unless she was mistaken, D.C. didn’t share any of their potential-based classes.

“What do your families do?” Alex asked, curious.

Before they had a chance to respond, the king called for everyone’s attention.

“We would once again like to thank you for coming to share in the birthday celebrations, but the night is getting away from us and we ask that you begin to say your farewells so our daughter can get some sleep before dawn. Not to mention, her parents as well.”

There were a number of chuckles and the king offered a general “goodnight” and left the ballroom with his wife.

“Ever the concerned parent,” D.C. said, her face showing how much she loved her family. “I’d better go make my rounds, but I’ll see you guys tomorrow at the academy. Alex, I’ll meet you upstairs in a little while.”

“Sure thing,” Alex said.

Everyone else disbursed soon after that. Kaiden and Declan took off after a quick farewell, leaving Alex with Jordan and Bear.

“Are you both truly okay with Dix being the princess?” she asked.

“I had a feeling it might have been her, even before we were friends,” Jordan said. “You don’t grow up in my family and not have some kind of intuition about certain people.”

“Well, I had no idea, but like we said down in the dungeon, it makes sense,” Bear said. “And it’s not like she’s a different person. As long as she doesn’t want us to bow when she walks into the room, then I’m cool with it.”

“You guys are so great,” Alex said, pulling them in for a spontaneous hug.

Jordan patted her on the back. “We sure are.”

“Time for us to get out of here,” Bear said, drawing away. “I told Dad we’d be back by midnight and we’re cutting it close.”

“We’ll see you back at the academy tomorrow,” Jordan promised, and the two of them took off into the departing crowd.

Alex looked around and noticed that D.C. was surrounded by admirers, so she quickly ascended the staircase and headed up to the royal suite. She’d had such a crazy day and couldn’t wait to put her feet up and rest—andfinallyget her hands on a drink.

When she entered D.C.’s room, Alex had to pause for another moment just to appreciate her surroundings. She’d spent hours with her friend that afternoon but she still couldn’t get over how royal the bedroom was. Like the rest of the palace, it was richly decorated in hues of gold, with lighter and darker shades complementing each other, and white, pearlescent undertones. Everything from the carpet to the walls, the bed and the curtains, was a mixture of gold and white. The effect was stunning. However the best part, in Alex’s opinion, wasn’t the décor, but rather the view.

Although she was practically dying of thirst and ready to drop on her feet, Alex didn’t hesitate to walk across the room and open the glass door that led out to a turret-style balcony.Earlier that evening she’d watched the sun setting across the shining city of Tryllin, the dying light reflecting off the ocean and bouncing along the windows of the city below. At night it was no less breathtaking, the moon bathing the view with an iridescent glow. The sight was enough to send a wave of relaxation over Alex, helping her shake off the stress of the evening.

With a contented sigh, Alex wandered away from the balcony, heading back into D.C.’s suite for a much needed glass of water before she curled up on the lounge to wait for her friend. She must have been more tired than she’d thought, because she was woken later by D.C. poking her in the shoulder. After a sufficient amount of grumbling, Alex had just enough energy to stumble into bed and fall straight back to sleep.