Page 9

H eat from my fire magic blazes against my face, causing sweat to bead on my brow. I put every ounce of strength and energy into training, pouring myself into mastering my magic— my fire magic.

Captain Kylo’s approach is surprisingly kind and thorough. I didn’t expect that. Maybe not everyone employed by the royals is as evil as they are. But then again, Prince Lukene wasn’t exactly cruel to me either. The memory of his hands on my body keeps pulling at my thoughts. They felt warm and powerful through my clothes, like a little sinful delight best enjoyed in privacy.

Lukene’s eyes were playful and flirtatious. Those formidable emerald eyes—ugh. He clearly enjoys toying with me. I won’t give in. I’ll fight with him every step of the way—for any and everything. I can’t believe I told him I wanted to stab him. What came over me? He just brings that out of me with that stupid dimple on his right cheek.

“Are you paying attention, prisoner?” Kylo asks. His voice cuts through my thoughts, and I look at him with guilty eyes. The prince was on my mind again. “I didn’t catch your name earlier. What is it?” he asks, his tone surprisingly polite.

Gods and goddesses, he really does have a kind soul. “Reign. Sorry. I’m just excited I actually have fire magic,” I say, my voice brimming with excitement. I honestly thought I was a Nomatrab.

His assessing gaze softens, and the smile he plasters on his face seems genuine. “It’s pretty neat, isn’t it?” He opens his hand, and a ball of fire forms hovering above his palm. I can feel the heat radiating off it, kissing my face.

I know my eyes must be wide and full of amusement because I have never seen something like this in my entire life. I hope one day I can do this. It’s as if he can read my mind.

“You will be able to do this one day,” he says, grinning from ear to ear. “We will teach you.”

He says we , and I assume he means himself and Prince Lukene. The Prince is infuriating yet alluring. I find I like his attention—I think… but I also want to stab him.

It is confusing. He is kind, but also cold. It’s probably the typical royal mind games they play on people, and here I am, almost falling for it. Well, I won’t. I refuse to fall for his games.

He would probably bed me, then slit my throat and not think twice about it. I have heard the stories of the infamous ‘Dark Prince.’ No royals can truly be trusted.

But I did trust him at that moment, when he touched my back and stomach. I don’t know how I knew, but I did. I knew he wouldn’t hurt me.

It doesn’t matter. He will meet the same fate as the other royals

“All right!” Kylo calls out. “Rest up tonight. We’ll train again tomorrow.”

We line up and leave the training room. I follow Larah and Elm, laughing at something Larah says about one of the guards. Before we part ways to our respective hallways, Elm braids his fingers then kisses them, and Larah and I do the same in return.

I head to my room, eager to digest the day. As soon as I’m inside, the guard locks the door. I walk to the bathroom, wondering if I can manage to sit in the bath. It’s the same as before—I can step in but can’t sit.

I wash up and slip into a black nightgown, then lay in bed, exhausted yet restless. I toss and turn, feeling hot and sore.

Getting up, I open the window. The cool wind is refreshing as it softly tosses around loose strands of my hair. From the weather outside, it seems summer is at an end and fall is approaching. I drink in the fresh air. I don’t think I will ever take it for granted again—not after being locked up in the Hollows for years.

I take in the view before me. The sun begins to sink lower in the sky, casting hues of golden orange, reds, and purples across the sprawling kingdom. My eyes scan the surroundings, taking in the grandeur and the grim disparity that lay before me.

Directly below, the palace grounds stretch out with perfectly manicured gardens. Beyond that are massive, luxurious mansions, boasting of wealth. Gardens continue around the cobblestone walkways, which go around the homes and streets. The wealth and beauty fade as I look further and further from the palace. Houses become smaller, dimmer. Gardens turn to weeds, while cobblestone pathways turn to dirt.

There is an enormous protective stone wall, a barrier separating the rich from the poor. Its walls are weathered with imperfections from countless seasons. Towers and battlements speckle the wall, serving as a lookout for attacks from neighboring kingdoms or a herd of Necrums.

Outside the protective embrace of the cold stone wall, the city’s outskirts stretch into the horizon. The homes are smaller still. The houses are run down and weathered, but still not as dilapidated as the houses in the Drifts. The Drifts are so far out on the kingdom’s edge, I can’t even see it from here. But I don’t want to think of my old home and what my life could have been had things not gone awry.

I lie back down, thinking of the day. I have fire magic! Wishing my father was around, I wonder what he would have thought about it. I was always closer to my father than my mother. My father was my everything. I loved my mother, and I know she loved me; however it was not the same connection. When he died, I think a part of me died too. When my mother left me to go off and die by herself. I felt empty and broken. I may have had a husband, but I would have been better off alone. Being with someone and still feeling completely alone is a different type of torture. I wish she would have just let me help her in her last days. But I don’t want to think about that either.

I pull a sheet over me and roll to my side, feeling the wind caress me from the window. I close my eyes, hoping to drift into a deep sleep. Before I can fall into the black abyss of sleep, a pair of green eyes dance around in my mind.

When morning comes, I am not feeling all that rested. I dreamt of shadows and coldness that chilled me to my bones—shadows all around me, watching and lurking in every corner. An uneasy feeling creeps up my spine when I notice that my window is shut. I know I had it open when I fell asleep. The wind… the wind must have somehow pulled it shut.

A sudden knock on the door startles me.

“Enter?” I call, though it comes out more like a question.

“Miss Reign?” a soft-spoken, curly redhead says as she walks into the room.

I immediately sit up. “Ah, yes. How can I help you?”

“I was sent here to help you. My name is Sasha. I will be your servant for the entirety of your stay.”

I look at her golden eyes that remind me so much of Larah’s. She has freckles splattered all over her beautiful face. “I, uh… I don’t need a servant. I can handle what I need.”

“I am sure you can, miss, but why not let me help while you are here?” She smiles kindly at me and walks over. “Are the clothes to your liking? Do they fit you?”

“Yes, they fit.” The dresses are actually a little big, and I hate dresses, but I don’t need to tell her that. Before my time in the Hollows, I only wore dresses. Now I despise them.

“Alright. Well, let’s get you dressed and ready for breakfast. You are eating in the main dining room with everyone today—King’s orders.”

“Oh.” I know my face must show my shock. I was not expecting to eat with everyone. We may be their contestants, but we are technically prisoners. I am suddenly nervous. I hate the royals. They are vile, evil bastards that can’t be trusted. Plus, I have never really been near royals until recently.

“I see. I guess you were not informed. No worries. I will help you get ready.” She goes to the armoire and pulls out a deep navy-blue dress with a cream-color corset. I groan to myself. I miss wearing pants.

“Is something wrong, miss? Do you not like the color?” she asks, picking up on my groan.

I guess I groaned out loud. “The color is just fine, thank you.”

She cocks her head to the side while placing her hands on her hips. She gives me an expression that tells me she can see straight through my lie. “What would you wear if you had other options?”

“A tunic and a pair of pants,” I reply, guiltily, knowing I should be thankful to not be in a prison, gray uniform.

“I will be right back,” Sasha says, disappearing out the door. I use the moment to head into the washroom and brush the knots from my hair. When I return to the room, she’s placing clothes into the armoire.

“Here, I picked this out for you today, and I placed some other tunics and pants in the armoire,” she says, holding out a plum tunic and a dark pair of pants with black boots. “These are fine for the day, but if you are invited to dinners, it would be considered disrespectful for a lady to show up in anything other than a dress.”

I could squeal from excitement. “Thank you, Sasha.” I place a gentle hand on her shoulder.

She looks at me, smiling. “You are very welcome, miss.”

“Please, call me Reign.” She nods. “Who sent you, the King?”

She stops loading the clothes in the armoire, and looks at me carefully before answering. “It doesn’t matter, does it? I was just told to serve here.” She smiles, returning to her work. I quickly get dressed, tucking my palm blades into my pants. Sitting me in a chair, she begins to braid my hair. I shift uncomfortably. I am not used to being pampered at all. It is actually making me a bit uneasy.

“Alright, I will take you to the dining room. Is there anything I can get and have sent to your room for later? Do you like to journal or read? Play cards, perhaps?”

“I love to read.” I haven’t read in so long. In the Drifts, I would trade books with some of my neighbors. I miss reading.

“What type of book would you like? I will go to the library and pick one out for you.”

“Surprise me. Anything will be fine.”

She looks me up and down before she says another word. “I know just the book!” Excitement fills her voice as her joyful aura wraps around me.

* * *

Sasha leads me to the dining room. As we walk in, I notice the other contestants seated alongside a few unfamiliar faces. I’m placed beside a stunning woman with brown hair and hazel eyes. Her beauty is almost intimidating.

“Good morning,” she says, her voice smooth and melodic.

“Good morning. Are the royals coming to eat breakfast with us? I don’t see any of them here,” I ask.

“Apparently,” she says, rolling her eyes, “but their pompous royal asses are always late, and we have to starve while waiting for them.”

I can’t help the chuckle that escapes my lips. I think I am going to like this one, whoever she is. She seems kind, genuine. I notice she steals a grape from a platter in front of her and pops it into her mouth. She faces me, and places a finger to her lips, smiling widely—a silent way of telling me not to tell on her for eating before the king and other royals arrive. Oh, I do like her. I smile back, appreciating her rebellious spirit.

Suddenly, Vanna enters, and everyone stands. I follow suit, bowing along with everyone else. Double burning hells, I hate Vanna.

“Be seated. Please eat,” Vanna says, not bothering to look at us. As I sit, my eyes meet Elm’s down the table, then Larah’s. Larah wears the same expression. We’re all aware we’re dining with the very woman who ruined our lives. Adrenaline surges through me, and rage boils just beneath the surface. Elm shakes his head slightly, a silent warning not to act impulsively. He knows me well—too well. I would strike now, but he would want me to wait and plan it out. I grunt… She is so close. I can almost taste the sweet revenge on my tongue.

Not wanting to ruin our chances for visceral vengeance, I decide to eat my breakfast instead—well, the fruit, not the slab of ham on my plate. The fruit is sweet and juicy but isn’t nearly as delicious as vengeance would be.

“Gods and goddesses, they are just letting the gutter rats from the Drifts sit with us and dine with us now?” the woman across from me scoffs. “They didn’t dine with us last time.”

I look up and see a woman with long black hair and gray eyes peering at the woman next to me.

“Oh, hush, Cora,” my new companion says.

Cora scoffs again.

The woman next to me leans over, and whispers in my ear, “She always has a stick up her ass. Ignore her.”

A slow smirk forms on my face, and I pay no mind to the gray eyes looking at me.

Cora shoves her chair back, and gets up from the table, taking her plate with her, leaving the dining room.

Suddenly, the woman next to me stands, and I see him walking over to her.

“Lukene!” she squeals.

They embrace each other quickly. He looks at me, assessing me with those mysterious green eyes. Are they together? He has a genuine smile when he greets her. He walks over to the other side of the table, and sits directly in front of her.

“Good morning, Lilyana. You look as beautiful as ever,” he says. That name… it sounds so familiar.

“Thank you, brother,” she replies.

Brother? Brother! Oh goddess, she is the youngest royal princess. I fight to keep my jaw from dropping. She seems sweet and approachable—nothing like I expected a royal to be. She catches my eye and smiles warmly, only deepening the confusion spinning in my head. Is this some sort of game? Why are we dining with royals, and why is she being kind?

I stare at my food, not all that hungry now. I begin to push the food around on my plate. Suddenly, I feel it. That tingling sensation, and I just know he is looking at me. I won’t look up. I won’t give him the satisfaction of knowing I can sense his stare.

“You actually need to eat your food,” Prince Lukene states. His voice is deep and gruff, cutting through my resolve.

Well, that makes me look up and glare at him. His face is devoid of any emotion, and he repeats himself as if I didn’t just hear him, strumming his fingers on the table. “You need to eat your food.”

“I am not a child. I know when I am hungry,” I bite back. My defiance snakes around us, thickening the air.

“Lukene…” Lilyana begins; however Prince Lukene puts his hand up to stop her from talking.

“How are you going to train if you aren’t eating enough?” He leans back in his chair, arms folded, while he cocks his head slightly to the side. Assessing. Calculating.

“I ate much less than this in the Hollows and still trained daily for the ring. I will be fine.” Who does he think he is? I would have eaten more, but now I don’t want to just because he told me to. He narrows his eyes at me as I notice we have many people watching us now.

“Eat. Now. It is not a request. It is an order. If you don’t start eating, I will personally pick the food up, and force you to eat it,” he says, voice low and commanding.

Double burning hells, I hate this man. But I know he’s serious. He would do it, just to prove a point. Reluctantly, I shove some eggs into my mouth, glaring at him as I chew. He seems satisfied and returns to his own meal. Pompous prince.

* * *

Lilyana walks with me to the training room, talking my ear off the entire way before she leaves me. She is sweet—almost too sweet. I’m surprised by her caring and friendly demeanor. Lilyana says she wants to see me more and explains how Vanna doesn’t allow her to have friends outside of the palace. I feel bad for her. She is a prisoner herself, in her own home.

Now that Lilyana has left, us contestants are walking in a line around the training room, being shown all the areas of the massive room. There were so many weapons I hadn’t noticed the day before: swords, bows and arrows, staffs, flails, throwing knives, daggers of all kinds, and some weapons I didn’t even know the names of. There are all sorts of targets and sparring equipment. I knew the room was massive, but we only stayed in one area.

After being shown the entirety of the room, we are taken outside to another training area. It’s even larger, with similar equipment spread out over an expansive space. Kylo explains that we’ll use this area for practicing magic, so we don’t accidentally bring the palace down. What a shame that would be to see this haunted place turned to rubble.

Kylo starts explaining how we’ll break into groups to train with weapons first and then move on to magic later. As he speaks, a familiar prickling sensation runs down the back of my neck. I know without looking that Prince Lukene has arrived, his gaze fixed on me. It’s as if my body senses him before my eyes do.