Page 10

CHAPTER 10

I awoke before dawn the next day by the demands of my father. He’d sent a guard to escort me to the throne room because apparently, I had some making up to do on my chores since I was gone yesterday.

As if he wasn’t the one who sent me to Silicate.

“Every crate,” he drawled from where he was seated on his throne, inspecting his nails as if a speck of dirt could be found on his perfectly clean hands.

I was already exhausted just a few hours in. Not only was I woken up long before the sun had risen, but I’d had a hard time falling asleep to begin with, images of that man being shot flashing through my mind every time I managed to close my eyes.

I didn’t believe thievery was a big enough reason for someone to be killed, but what did I know?

“I need a minute, Father,” I said from where I was sitting on the floor beside one of the many crates spread about the room.

“The longer you take, the longer you prevent me from getting to my job.”

It wasn’t my idea to do this in the throne room. Since I hadn’t fulfilled my typical load of vials yesterday, I was now tasked with filling every empty crate in this room. If I had to guess, there were a little over two dozen neatly set out in rows. I’d filled at least seven so far, which was already more than I typically did, but I still had a long way to go.

Sometimes, I really loathed that he’d closed the mines in return for me providing Amosite’s magic supply, but one look at Silicate yesterday told me the work I’d been doing wasn’t enough. But if he was so hellbent on me getting through this load with no breaks, I could at least distract him to take a moment to rest.

“Why don’t you let me leave the castle?” I asked, leaning an elbow on the crate next to me for support. Even my spine was tired of holding my body upright.

“I do. I allow you to see that girl.” He spoke as if that was a luxury.

I scoffed, which earned me a glare and the thinning of his lips.

“Aside from my short visits in the garden with Taylin,” I clarified.

He waved me off. “It is too dangerous. Look what happened yesterday. That could easily happen again.” His eyes narrowed. “People are unpredictable, Auria, but you wouldn’t know that. How could you?” His tone was accusing, as if I was the reason I was so left in the dark. “Now stand up and get back to work. I have no time for an unnecessary chat.”

I bit back what I really wanted to say and reluctantly pushed myself up to stand. I wanted so badly to defend myself, to tell him I would’ve been more prepared if it wasn’t for him, but I didn’t. Instead, I shook out the heavy feeling that had settled into my arms. It felt like I’d been lifting fifty-pound weights with only the tips of my fingers for hours.

“What if I had guards with me?” I continued, bending to grab the vial of fire magic from the crate, along with an empty vial off the table beside me.

I could practically hear my father’s teeth grinding to dust. “And what if I were to lose you? Who would fill all these vials to provide for the people?”

The silence that followed his question echoed louder than the words he spoke. Was that all I was to him?

I had no answer, so I focused on my power, letting it course through me as it duplicated what flowed from one vial to the next. Fire magic sometimes left a tingle in my arms, my skin and bones feeling slightly hot with the substance as it traveled.

My eyelids drooped as I filled vial after vial, the glass glowing a vibrant amber hue. I’d just gotten done filling half the current crate when the door to the throne room opened. My father instantly jumped from his chair, hazel eyes blazing bright with rage.

“No one is allowed in,” my father’s voice boomed. “Guards!”

Quiet panic filled me as I quickly bent to set the two vials in the crate, but as I straightened, my head spun from the sudden movement.

“They must not have received the memo,” a male’s voice stated, sounding bored. “They’re snoring just outside the doors.”

I set a palm to my head as it pounded, my hand on the table beside me to keep me from swaying.

“No need to wake them,” the man said. He sounded familiar, but I couldn’t pinpoint who it was in my current state. “I only came to say my goodbyes.”

Pinching my eyes shut, I waited until the dizziness subsided before letting go of the table. I turned to see my father’s nostrils flared, a clear sign of his anger, as he stared the man down from up on the dais. Then my gaze moved to find Bowen standing in the doorway, looking directly at me.

The prickle of my magic through my veins was nothing compared to what his eyes on me felt like. His curious gaze heated my core and sent shivers over my skin all at the same time. He was…entrancing. Nearly making me forget we were standing among other company.

“I was under the impression you left yesterday,” my father said, snapping me back into the now. But even so, my focus stayed glued to Bowen. His hair was as messy as every other time I’d seen him, as if he ran a hand through it one too many times quite often.

Bowen’s hard gaze trailed down my body, catching on the crates behind me, before moving to my father. With his inspecting eyes now off me, I sucked in a breath. It was almost as if a weight had been lifted off my body, but still, I felt a ghost of the pressure.

Bowen folded his hands behind his back. “I decided to stay another night.”

My father tried his best to cover up his irritation as he stiffly returned to sitting on his throne. “Well, you must be on your way, then. Better to make the journey in the morning, and it’s nearly past that.” He was being oddly polite, but I could tell in the way his words were clipped that he was hiding how he truly felt, fighting the urge to kick Bowen out. Aside from the clear vexation in his tone, that same waver from before trickled in, proving he was, even in the tiniest amount, intimidated by Bowen. But why?

Bowen silently eyed my father, then moved his gaze back to me. “I was busy looking for something, but I’ve found it.”

“Glad to hear it was not truly lost, then. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we have other things to attend to,” my father said, doing his best to politely urge Bowen to leave.

More like I had work to complete.

If Bowen had any idea of what was going on when he walked in, he didn’t show it.

“What are the crates for?” Bowen asked, surveying the space.

My father’s cheeks instantly reddened when Bowen very clearly didn’t take the hint.

“My daughter is double-checking inventory.”

My palms grew clammy when he failed to sound convincing.

“Of seven crates full of fire magic,” Bowen said blandly. “And a multitude of empty ones?”

My father’s jaw pulsed. His composure would soon crack, though Bowen surely saw through it already. “She is assuring the stock is all accounted for before her trip.”

Bowen arched a brow in question. “You don’t have workers to do that for you?”

I wanted to ask, Yes, Father, why am I the one counting inventory? But I thought better of it, knowing the consequences of speaking out of turn.

“I do not trust them. Now, if you will excuse us?—”

“You may be right in that traveling so late in the day might not be wise. Perhaps I’ll stay another night,” Bowen interrupted.

If I wasn’t so tired, I’d be amused by Bowen toying with my father like this. He was bold, that much was certain.

My father’s lips rolled together, likely thinking on how to respond to that. “I will have to insist you leave today.”

Bowen meandered toward the crates—toward me —with his hands still lazily clutched behind his back. “Is that an order, King Tenere?”

“My daughter is leaving on her journey with her betrothed tomorrow. We will need the castle clear, as I am sure the grounds will be quite hectic leading up to their departure.”

It was the poorest excuse I’d ever heard.

If I was questioning it before, I wasn’t any longer. Bowen and my father clearly didn’t get along. But what game was Bowen playing here? My father wasn’t the bear he wanted to poke.

Bowen stopped directly in front of me, and I dared not move for fear that if I did, I’d get another dizzy spell. My father would have Bowen’s head if he put a hand on me in his presence, even if it was to save me from falling.

His intense gaze searched my face, lingering on the bags under my eyes. It was no secret that I was exhausted. On a good day, using my ability drained me, but with little sleep and more work, my magic was taking every bit of life from me today.

He unfolded his hands, only to reach past me to grab an empty vial off the table.

“You are to leave this instant,” my father said hurriedly, hands fisting at his sides. I could practically feel the fumes blowing out of his ears from the rage he tried to keep tightly contained.

Even so, Bowen took his time. He held the vial up to inspect it, twisting it in his fingers. By the look in his eyes, it was clear he knew as much as I did that I wasn’t simply counting inventory like my father claimed.

What if my secret got out?

Would he tell people? Or possibly blackmail us with it?

Would my father kill him for knowing?

The beat of my heart picked up its already pounding pace, crashing against the cage of my chest. My father had easily ordered someone to be killed for simply getting close to me before. What was stopping him now if he already disliked the man in front of me?

As Bowen set the empty vial back on the table without so much as a sound, two guards filed into the room, hands at the pommels sticking off their belts.

“I suppose it’s time to get going,” Bowen said, more so to my father, but he was looking straight at me.

He gave me one last once-over before turning on his heel and striding out of the room. As soon as he left, I inhaled a deep breath in an attempt to slow my racing pulse.

“Where were you?” my father demanded, not trying to hide his aggravation any longer.

“Our deepest apologies, Your Majesty. We didn’t mean to doze off. I don’t know what came over us,” one of the guards answered, followed by a rough chorus of coughs from the both of them.

“No excuses!” my father boomed. “One slip-up, and everything could be ruined. Is that what you want?”

The guards shook their heads in unison, keeping their eyes downcast.

He’d have them killed, I was sure of it. Not only for falling asleep while on watch, but for seeing what was in this room.

My entire life, my magic had been a secret. Now there was the possibility that Bowen knew. The way he’d looked at that empty vial, how he saw the crates full of glowing amber—he knew .

Would he send someone to harm me? Or would my father give orders to have him killed before he could step foot outside this kingdom?

“Auria,” my father snapped. I flinched, my eyes shooting to him. The guards were gone, the door now closed. I hadn’t noticed them leave the room. “Finish your job.”

I bent, grabbing the vial I held minutes before and palming the empty one Bowen had held in my opposite hand.

Only a little less than two dozen crates to go, and I’d be that much closer to leaving this castle.

That much closer to knowing what a sliver of freedom might feel like.