Page 24

“Me? Why?”

“I was hoping you could tell me.” Kaelis gives me a skeptical look.

“Clearly, your brother and I are the best of friends because I am, in fact, a long-lost noble. He makes social calls all the time. Visited me often in Halazar,” I say, deadpan.

Kaelis huffs and tilts his head in the opposite direction, as if he’s not accustomed to someone calling him out when he’s being utterly nonsensical. “Well, I don’t know either why he’s here, asking for you, specifically.”

“Reassuring.” My stomach is in knots, threatening to upturn my breakfast.

Kaelis’s jaw tenses in reply. For a stretch there’s silence, except for the echoes of our footsteps. And then he says, “Just…be careful. The goal is to get Ravin out of my academy as quickly as possible.”

Everything here is Kaelis’s domain—including me.

He’s made that much clear. I’m even wearing him on me…

all over me. The reminder makes my clothes feel tight, as if the top button of my shirt is nearly choking me.

Every time the fabric brushes my skin, it might as well be Kaelis’s hands. I fight a shiver.

“ Your academy…” I say under my breath.

“Yes. Mine. Everything within these walls is entirely, wholly, and exclusively mine.” Kaelis says it with a protective edge—or controlling, more like.

The discussion evaporates the moment we reach a heavy oak door.

Two Stellis stand on either side. Kaelis wastes no time waiting for an introduction and strides in.

I’m a step behind, the door too narrow for us to walk through side by side.

But his hand lands on my hip again, pulling me close, as if the movement is already instinctive.

That same protectiveness I just heard in his voice manifests anew.

But this time it’s directed toward me, like I’m another ancient fortress to lay claim to.

Ravin’s dark eyes flick to his brother’s hand and then to my face. His smile widens warmly, a stark contrast to the cold halls and the even colder demeanor of his brother. “Clara, a delight to see you again. A few warm meals and a good night’s sleep have already transformed you into a vision.”

He scoops my hand and punctuates his final statement with a kiss on my knuckles. It’s such a change from our last interaction that I’m left reeling.

“You flatter me,” I say with a bow of my head. Flattery—that’s all his pretty words are. I know how I still look. The dark shadows that sink my eyes. How dull and listless my hair is from months of undernourishment. Even the nails on the hand he kisses are broken past thebed.

A smile doesn’t reach his eyes, because they’re filled with recognition that I see right through him.

“I must apologize for our previous encounter,” he continues. “I was…taken aback by the sudden news of my brother’s most unexpected engagement, and by the revelation of someone from Clan Hermit having actually survived the annihilation of their clan.”

Kaelis’s jaw tenses briefly at the mention of Clan Hermit and the destruction. I’m reminded of Rewina’s warnings to avoid bringing up the massacre with the prince. Something that Ravin must know…but clearly does not care about.

“Completely understandable.” I keep my expression polite, even though I don’t believe him for a moment. “You’ve nothing to apologize for, your highness. I was just as shocked as you were when Kaelis first told me the truth of my family.”

“Now that you have made your remorse be known, is there anything else before you are on your way?” Kaelis cuts through the paper-thin facade of our making nice.

“But I have only just arrived.” Ravin continues to wear his placid, but smug, smile.

“And just how did you manage to do that, again, without my knowing?” Kaelis tries to hide the frustration behind his words and fails.

“Where is the fun in my telling you outright? I thought you liked puzzles, brother.”

“I like puzzles when they don’t involve trespassers.” A vein in Kaelis’s neck bulges. Every word is strained.

“Arcana Academy is part of Eclipse—”

“ No, it is not,” Kaelis interjects. “Father has given us each a domain.”

“Which he wants us to oversee together.” Ravin’s remark is ignored.

“ I give Oricalis the protection offered by the fortress and Arcanists by guarding the Farlum River from any who would punch through to the heart of our kingdom. The futures of my students protect our kingdom, its trade, its resources…and your little city.” If Kaelis hadn’t made his possessiveness about the academy so recently clear, I would think his manner…

protective, in an almost endearing way, even.

“Yes, the Arcanists make their sacrifices on behalf of all Oricalis, not solely for you. Just as the clans give their own protections in their lands, labors, and resources. Or the Stellis devote their lives to defending the crown.” Ravin dismisses his brother with ease.

“You do not own the sole responsibility for the well-being of Oricalis.”

“Were it not for me—”

“Must we always spar?” Ravin’s gaze lands on his brother and stays there. There’s a tightness to his laugh that betrays it’s not as light as he’d want others to think. “I came here for a reason, and it wasn’t to discuss your security flaws.”

“Then what was the reason?” Kaelis grinds out the words from between clenched teeth. I suspect he’d rather be asking about the details of those “security flaws,” if he thought he’d get a direct answer.

All the while, I remain still and silent, as if Ravin might forget about me if I don’t move for long enough. But the crown prince’s eyes return to me anyway.

“Clara, it is my esteemed pleasure to invite you to a soiree at my residence in Eclipse City. I am a patron of the arts, and during the creative Season of Wands I invite my dearest friends to experience the fruit of the labors of Oricalis’s most talented.

Since you have recently reclaimed your title, I must insist, as it’d be a lovely opportunity for you to get to know your noble peers. ”

Surprise grips me at the invitation, followed by one immediate thought: I’d be out of the academy.

And if he’s hosting this gathering in the Season of Wands, then it’s soon.

Ravin’s manor is right in the center of the city; I could quickly and easily get to the Starcrossed Club.

So if I can sneak away during this soiree…

“You’re absolutely right; it would be my honor to attend.” I seize the opportunity before Kaelis can react.

The moment the words leave me, Kaelis goes as rigid as a statue. I can almost feel the agitation coiled in his gut. Frustration rolls off him and onto me like waves crashing against the cliffs beyond the fortress.

“ We will be happy to attend,” he corrects. I simply keep giving Ravin an easy smile. “You cannot expect my betrothed to go alone to an event. I am not a monster that would leave her unescorted.”

“Of course not, I thought it was assumed.” The way Ravin says it, though, makes me doubt he would’ve extended the invitation to Kaelis if not prompted.

Or…perhaps “assumed” referred to Kaelis being a monster.

I fight a smirk. “I am looking forward to this immensely. I’ll send necessary details as I have them.

” He claps Kaelis’s shoulder with an almost too-large, too-gleeful smile.

Kaelis hardly moves as his brother attempts to shake him.

“Now, before you lose all your composure, I’ll see myself out. Do take care, brother.”

Seeming very satisfied with himself, Ravin makes his exit. The sounds of the two Stellis follow him, eventually muffled by Kaelis clicking the door shut.

We square off. I’m beginning to think we don’t know how to look at each other without an open challenge or contempt.

“What possessed you to accept his invitation?” He takes two steps toward me and then lets out a noise of disgust, shaking his head and turning away.

“Did you not tell me to play my part?” I turn his expectations back on him, saying nothing of my hopes to see my friends again.

“Attending a social event hosted by the crown prince seems like exactly what the recently engaged second prince and his betrothed would do. And he is right. If I’m to be a noble, then I must act like one. ”

“It’s not that simple,” he mutters.

“Of course it’s not.” The moment I acknowledge it, Kaelis looks back at me with a hint of surprise.

I fold my arms, mildly offended he thinks I wouldn’t have realized the obvious implications of the dangerous game we’re navigating.

“I cannot begin to fathom your brother’s motivations or what he intends for the night, but I know better than to think this invitation is as benign as he’s letting on.

” I take a step toward Kaelis, my turn to close the gap while I feel like I have the upper hand.

“But I will tell you this, Kaelis Oricalis, I am not going back to Halazar. And if that means that I must convince every High Lord and Lady of every clan and all the lower nobles beneath them that I am madly in love with you and am, indeed, a long-lost heiress, then I will do whatever it takes.”

Kaelis’s eyes widen slightly. He shifts, facing me outright once more. Somehow, that tiny motion tightens a thread between us. For a breath, neither of us says anything.

“My family is dangerous.” The words are whispered. As if even Kaelis is afraid of the treason within them. As if…he’s afraid of his family, too.

“I, out of all people, am the last one you need to warn about that,” I say, both reassuring him and reminding him of my past. “I still have the scars.”

Kaelis opens his mouth, but whatever he is about to say is cut off by the tolling of the academy bells. I wait, even as the halls begin to fill with the noise of students. Though I’m not entirely sure what I’m waiting for. Something in his eyes made me think…

I could laugh at myself for hoping for an apology from Prince Kaelis of all people.

“I’m going to lunch,” I announce.

He doesn’t stop me as I leave the room. Not that I had been expecting him to.

The halls fill with second- and third-year students pouring from the classrooms. After more than a few sidelong glances from the students, I step off to the side and try to find a route away from the crowd, debating my next move.

I should go and eat lunch. But, while everyone else is busy, I could also work on finding Arina’s secret passage.

The only other person she mentioned being a fast friend with was “the man in the depths.” But I’ve no idea who that could be…

I don’t make it very far in my thoughts, or down the hallway, before a whistle draws my attention to another room.

As soon as I glance inside, my gaze meets a piercing yellow one. The man stands among empty desks. He smirks and tilts his head, his silver-white mess of hair, nearly the same shade as his skin, flopping to the other side with the movement.

It’s him: the one from last night…The noble initiate who wouldn’t stop staring at me from the corner right after the ritual of the Arcanum Chalice.

“Clara.” He says my name as an invitation. Soft and sweet.

“Do I know you?” I pause.

“Not yet.” The moon phases are stitched up his right sleeve—the symbol of Clan Moon. “Though you should.”

“Should I?” Something about the way he looks at me has my hand twitching by the deck in its holster at my thigh.

“Oh, absolutely. Especially since I know so much about you.”

“Do you, now?” I arch my brows.

“Two hundred and five.”

Those words send an icy shiver up my spine. Two hundred and five… my cell number in Halazar. It’s one thing for Ravin to have known that number. But this random initiate? And for him to direct it pointedly at me, something not even the crown prince did.

“Should that mean something to me?” My tone is casual even though every muscle in my body is now drawn taut.

“I think it does. You want to know what happened to your little co-conspirators while you were rotting away, don’t you?”

I practically lunge into the room. The moment I do, the door snaps shut behind me.

It’s not just me and him. There are two others.

My palm flies out, magic crackling, but strong hands close around my wrists.

Thrashing against my captors does little.

I’m still far too weak. Without being able to move to summon them, my cards are still in my deck.

“We’ve got a live one,” the man at my right mocks.

“Do it, Eza. Let’s see what Kaelis’s new toy is made of.”

My attention swings back to Eza—the man who drew me into the room, who knows far too much about me.

A card is upright in his palm, tucked against his thumb, which curls around it.

I don’t have a chance to catch the image on its front.

The world tilts sickeningly. Everything flips upside down.

The floor is now the ceiling, and Eza hangs by his toes.

I blink, trying to force away the magic that’s overtaking my mind. But every flutter of my eyes lasts longer than the last.

When I open my eyes anew, they’re met with the near-perfect darkness of my cell in Halazar Prison.