Page 32 of Jeweler to the Blessed (Champions of Chaos #1)

My brow furrowed before I focused on Jasmine and Matthew. “Hello, and congratulations to you both.”

Hart stood stoically behind me and didn’t appear to realize Serena’s address was to him.

“Your father is doing well,” Jasmine said.

That caught my attention. “Is he getting around alright?”

She tilted her head from side to side. “He’s getting by. Mom wants him to stay off it for a few weeks. He says that’s not possible.”

Maybe I should set up food deliveries for them. If I could take care of any reason he had to leave the apartment, maybe he’d let it heal correctly. “I’ll talk to him.”

Something like a stone plummeted in my gut as soon as I said it. Even if Mother’s medicine was taken care of, which I still needed to verify, Father’s shop was light on orders, and he had to stay off his feet. Could he provide the basics for them ?

I shook my head—nothing had gone according to whatever plan Alaric thought he had. I’d need to figure this all out for myself based on my current situation. At least now I knew not to search for Alaric.

“Are you going to visit soon?” Jasmine asked.

I glanced over my shoulder. “I’m not sure.”

Hart was staring straight ahead. He hadn’t conversed with Serena, so I was sure he was listening.

Since I’d read Alaric’s note, in addition to talking to Ava, I also wanted to check on Mother’s delivery.

If Alaric had kept to our schedule, she would have received a new batch today.

I wasn’t sure how I’d get away. My experience this morning only proved how dangerous it was.

Serena interrupted my thoughts, grabbing my sleeved arm.

Hart’s stony exterior cracked, and he surged forward at the violation. Serena shrieked at the aggressive movement.

“Relax,” I said to Hart. “She just wants to speak privately.”

I could guess precisely what she wanted to discuss. I wrapped her hand around my arm to steady her. She seemed to regain confidence with the action and pulled me a few steps away. Jasmine tugged Matthew into the circle.

“What is he doing with you?” Serena asked.

Her gaze flashed to Hart again, making what we discussed all too obvious. He gave us space, though. This gave me hope that I wouldn’t have to sneak away to talk to Ava. If I found her, he’d let me have a private conversation.

“Hart is my guard.”

“Hart?!” she squeaked. “You call him Hart?”

“What do you call him?” I asked.

“Someone I’d like to fu?—”

“That’s about enough of that, Serena,” Jasmine cut her off as Hart approached .

“Excuse me.” He nodded to the others. “Emberline, you’re needed for the festivities.”

I glanced behind him. He had a helmet in his hand, and another guard strode toward where Vaddon and the prince gathered at the steps. They had intended to present me at the Selection as the new jeweler. Maybe they would include me in tonight’s announcement.

“Give me one moment,” I said.

He stepped back and slid the helmet over his head.

“How did you end up with him for a guard? I’ll do whatever you did,” Serena’s words were rushed.

“Is he the guard you’ve been chasing?”

She looked affronted. Jasmine laughed again. “I wouldn’t call it chasing. That requires the one being chased to have knowledge that you exist.”

“I thought you were getting close?” I asked.

She’d been so excited by the progress she’d made. Something cold and icy slithered in my chest at the thought it was Hart she was after, but I refused to acknowledge it.

“I said I greeted him. That was progress! I heard Soren complaining the other night that he hasn’t been around.” Her eyes widened. “He said he’s been too obsessed with his new charge!” Her hands covered her mouth in a mix of excitement and outrage. She poked me in the chest. “That’s you!”

I stepped back, a little surprised myself. Soren wanted me dead. Of course he’d be upset that Hart was protecting me. At least, if Soren hadn’t seen him, that lined up with Hart’s explanation that he wasn’t aligned with the Feared’s recent activities.

I swallowed. “I have to go.”

“You lucky bit—” Serena didn’t even sound mad anymore.

“We’ll see you later!” Jasmine waved, pulling Serena and Matthew away .

I wasn’t sure what to make of that conversation, but Hart was ushering me toward Centre Street before I could decide. The closer I got to the castle steps, the more I could hear. Realizing the ceremony had already begun, I picked up my pace.

“Welcome!” Vaddon was speaking into something resembling a cone. It amplified his voice, and those down Cross Street heard his words and stopped their conversations. A hush fell across the event, like wings flapping in each direction.

“Welcome to the Cornucopia! I want to present, His Majesty, Prince Elias!”

A roar of clapping broke out, and the clinking of glasses lifted in cheers.

The prince accepted the applause with a bashful smile and waves.

It only seemed to make the thunderous claps louder.

He waited patiently, working the crowd with small gestures.

His clothing was more formal than I had seen in his study.

Fitted pants and a loose tunic in deep blue showed off his trim frame.

A rich blue and gold cape was drawn around his shoulders.

The flecks of gold drew attention to the golden crown atop his head.

A gem sat in the center of the point of the crown.

I didn’t have to wonder if it was adamas.

Finally, as the noise dimmed, he began to speak. “This is a Cornucopia, unlike the rest. Usually, you would have been introduced to your Selected by now.”

The crowd began to murmur. Hushed whispers of the Cursed King filled the space. Prince Elias had to have heard them too, but he didn’t stop. Blue glowed from the adamas jewel in the crown, and he continued.

I sucked in a breath. Glowing blue meant he wielded calm. It was a power I associated with King Rodric. I’d yet to see the prince use it.

“The events of this Selection cycle have made that impossible,” the prince continued .

I wasn’t sure his words were heard as the crowd whispered rumors of the Cursed King and his magic. The press of magic at my neck was feather-light. It didn’t seem like Elias was as adept at wielding it as his father. The crowd didn’t quiet.

So much for the prince pretending the Cursed King didn’t exist.

My gaze roamed the street, snagging on another blue glow from the castle balcony.

The one I feared. This one was vibrant, a cerulean blue, like cool, deep waters.

I wanted to dive in. As I stared at the gem in the distance, I felt a deeper prick at the back of my neck.

The gem’s power had reached Cross Street.

The crowd quieted—calming.

The prince glanced momentarily over his shoulder as his audience fell into line. His face pinched at the realization of a second blue glow, but he continued. “So, I’d like to introduce you to them tonight.”

Hart’s head turned, following the prince’s. His lips pressed together beneath his helmet as his gaze returned to the street. He appeared to make the same connection I did.

Was he unaffected like me?

“Wil Stone, Caitlyn Starn, Arthur Pinth, and Deidre Antone.” Prince Elias gestured to the group, filing onto the steps behind him. “These are your Selected.”

The crowd was too calm from the overwhelming blast of blue light still emanating from the balcony. I wasn’t sure they were capable of cheering. The audience didn’t even seem to realize the prince had stopped speaking.

The blue glow finally blinked out. The prince sighed and let the adamas in his crown shift to green.

He stretched both arms in feigned exuberance. “Aren’t you excited to celebrate your Selected?”

His persuasion pulled the desired cheers from the crowd. Satisfied with the reaction, he dipped his chin, lifting his hands in applause to the newly Selected.

I glanced again at the balcony where the figure remained.

The power he wielded made me think everyone had it wrong; maybe the Cursed King wasn’t Themis’s Champion but Rodric was.

His calm was so strong as to overtake the citizens’ emotions completely—so completely it required persuasion magic to pry a reaction from them.

King Rodric was the only Blessed with enough power to make the city forget their fear of the Cursed King.