Page 6

Shaking hands pulled me from a dreamless sleep. I blinked up at a tumble of dark curls, and it was Myla hovering above me.

“You’re going to be late for quelling,” she said.

I dragged myself upright, slick with sweat. “What’s quelling?”

“Initiation.” Then Myla tossed a pair of combat boots and a fitted uniform onto my bed. “I checked your boot size while you were sleeping. Hope these fit.”

“Thanks,” I murmured, turning away as I dressed. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust her. But with Charles bonded to Lorna, I couldn’t be sure who had access to whose thoughts anymore.

The Malvoria uniform was simple: a deep green leather vest over a black undershirt, the stylized M crest stitched above the heart. It was nothing like the ornate attire Charles wore. Clearly, royal guards were treated differently than recruits.

We moved fast, the dim lantern light stretching our shadows across the narrow stone walls as we headed toward the same open space where I’d met Sorpine the night before.

The grand doors groaned open, and several vaguely familiar faces were already inside.

But I couldn’t place where I had seen them before.

“What’s happening?” I whispered .

“Fifteen new recruits are arriving today,” Myla murmured, nudging me with her elbow. “Most are from Demetria. Word is the Serpent of Shadows is escorting them himself.” She raised a brow. “Wasn’t he your mentor at the Academy?”

Archer.

My chest tightened. “Yes.”

Myla smirked. “Is he really as ruthless as they say? I heard he dismissed half his realm as unfit for heirship. Total tyrant move. Honestly? I’m impressed. The king must be losing sleep letting that slide.”

My cheeks burned. “Unfit? No. Archer isn’t like that.”

She tilted her head, eyes gleaming. “Does Severyn have a little crush?”

Before I could answer, Antonia jabbed me in the ribs. “Don’t take it personally, Sev. We were all under Archer’s spell. He flirted with anything that had a pulse.”

Bile crept up my throat. “Everyone?”

“Oh, yeah,” she said, grinning. “He spent the first month tangled up with Lydia. You know, the blonde from Spring? Legs for days, tragic backstory. Her realm went barren, and Archer’s family took them in.”

The memory hit like a slap. I remembered the girl I’d seen him with the night I met Damien. I hadn’t even known her name. Or her story.

“It doesn’t matter,” I said too fast. But it did. It twisted like a dagger in my gut. We’d never said we were exclusive. We hadn’t labeled anything. I didn’t even know what this was.

“The Serpent and I are... close,” I said, voice tight. “We’re friends.”

It wasn’t a lie. We’d shared moments. We were bonded. We’d slept together—shadow-wrapped and half-broken. But beyond that? What were we? It’s not like he was my boyfriend. And he definitely didn’t seem like the type who courted .

Oh Gods.

Before I could spiral deeper, a tall guard gripped my arm and shoved me toward the other recruits. Two more students were herded beside me, forming a single-file line.

I glanced sideways at six of them. They had dark-hair and eyes bright as starlight. I knew who they were. Or at least, who they were meant to be. First-year Serpent students. The ones who might’ve worn the mark if I hadn’t claimed it first.

It made sense now. Painfully so. All of Demetria’s potential heirs had been sent here because Archer already had one.

The doors groaned open again, and I froze.

Archer stepped into the room, but beside him was someone I never expected to see so soon.

Kian. The third Lynch brother. Archer’s hand rested on his shoulder, guiding him forward like he was afraid Kian might bolt.

It felt like a lifetime since Ravensla—since that awful dinner with Victor.

A sharp whistle cracked through the air, and an auburn-haired guard stepped forward. He was tall and broad-shouldered, with one eye cerulean, the other umber. Something wicked gleamed behind his smirk.

“Welcome to Malvoria,” he said, voice clipped and cold.

“Here, you’ll become leaders. Guards. Protectors.

But first, you’ll face three tests.” He began pacing the line, boots echoing off the stone.

“Is your quell useful? Can you defend? And most important—can we trust you?” He stopped, smile sharpening. “Most fail number two.”

Tension rippled in the air. “My name is Rok. Captain of the new recruits. I’ll be watching to see who is worthy of becoming a royal guard.” His sneer twisted as he scanned the line of us. “It’s not uncommon to uncover a forbidden quell during testing. Let’s see what you’re hiding.”

I glanced away, because holy Gods, this man was terrifying. That’s when I saw them. Journalists lined the far wall, their pens scratching across parchments like claws, desperate not to miss a single flinch. Valscribe reporters. But why were they here?

Then, through the sea of unfamiliar faces, a flash of gold stopped my breath cold. Cully.

He looked up from his notebook like he sensed my stare, the pen slipping from his fingers as he saw me. And suddenly, I was twelve again, curled up in our icebound home, listening to him read me fables.

Rok’s voice continued down the line, murmuring low over each outstretched palm. But I couldn’t force myself to be still when my brother stood across the room.

“—Shadows… light… shadows… rain… storms…” Rok’s voice drifted toward me. Then he stopped. Without even glancing at my relic, he muttered, “Flame and shadows,” and moved on.

Then he stopped before three recruits.

“Quelless… quelless… quelless,” he hissed. Then, sharper, “Quelless?” His sneer deepened as he stared down one trembling recruit. “How weak must one be to have no power?”

The three were yanked forward. I could hear their breath hitch as they stumbled ahead like prey already marked.

One brave girl stepped out, her fire-red hair catching the torchlight as she tucked a strand behind her ear. “My family belongs to a barren realm,” she said quickly. “It’s been months since the Forgotten’s attack. We have no power.”

Rok pressed a flat palm to her cheek. “Then I’ll release it,” he hissed. “You are wind.”

She staggered back with a cry, part mourning and part relief. It reminded me of Malachi, how she used to say the wind carried whispers from the past.

The girl dropped to her knees. “Wind,” she whispered, her gaze locked on her palms as if she couldn’t believe the power had stayed .

Rok barely paused. He seized the next initiate by the chin, forcing his face upward. “Poison,” he muttered.

Something changed beneath the boy’s skin, like Rok was pulling it from his blood itself. A sweet, brine-like scent filled the air as dark fluid dripped from the boy’s nose. He wiped at it with trembling hands, tears shining in his eyes.

“Thank you, sir,” the initiate said, voice cracking. “I thought I was powerless.”

Rok didn’t answer. He slammed his palm over the last quelless male’s wrist. “Release,” he commanded.

The male crumpled onto all fours, roaring through his teeth as ash poured from his mouth.

“Flame,” Rok said with a smirk. “But your stepfather graciously lent you that.”

The initiate seethed, rage twisting his face. “He didn’t give me shit,” he snarled. “This flame is mine.”

“We’ll see,” said the captain.

I didn’t expect him to turn back. But when he paused in front of me, head tilting like a vulture sizing up its prey, I knew this wasn’t going to end well.

“Severyn, is it?” he asked. “Your brother said you had another power. Claimed he couldn’t strip it from you.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said.

He leaned in, breath warm against my ear. “Don’t play stupid. I don’t do stupid.”

I didn’t have time to react. His fingers latched onto my shoulder, and fire tore through me. I staggered, barely catching myself before I hit the floor. “Stop,” I grunted.

But his grip only tightened. His nails dug in, and I could feel it—he was enjoying this. My flame buckled, siphoning in jagged bursts as if he were tearing me apart one flicker at a time .

“Such power,” he murmured. “But no trace of ice in a girl like you…” His mouth twisted into a cruel smile. “Makes one question your true bloodline, doesn’t it?”

I gritted my teeth, fighting the wave of heat clawing through me. My vision swam. But I looked him dead in the eye. “I am flame,” I said, my voice like glass. “And I’m proud of it.”

“Rok,” Archer growled from the side. “Might I suggest you move along? Severyn poses no threat to your guards.”

Rok’s grin widened. He turned, slowly. “You have no say here, Serpent. Your job here is done.”

He stepped closer, so close I could see the veins pulsing beneath Archer’s skin. “Is that so?”

“Severyn Blanche is property of Malvoria,” Rok sneered. “That means she’s ours now. Her brother is dead, you shouldn’t carry that guilt of protecting her anymore.”

The words made my blood sing. Everyone knew about the Gemini bond. They knew Klaus and Archer had been friends. And now I looked like the helpless little sister with a schoolyard crush.

I focused on the flicker of flame beneath my skin, steadying myself. Archer had always stepped in. But this time, I needed to stand alone.

“I’m only here to observe how thoroughly untrained your methods are,” Archer said. “Normally, one is taught to wield a quell. Not tortured into it.”

Rok’s teeth flashed. “Might I suggest returning to your starry skies and wishing on them—or whatever it is you Serpents do—and leave the dirty work to those of us built for it?”

“Touch her again,” Archer growled, voice low and lethal, “and I swear—”

Rok stepped in close, lips curling with venom. “It’s only a matter of time before she’s crawling into my bed anyway. The new recruits always love playing favorites with the lead guards. ”

Archer lunged.

His fist shot toward Rok’s jaw, fast and brutal. But I didn’t think, I reacted. A flame burst from my palm, a burning rope coiling around Archer’s wrist mid-strike, yanking him back. Just like I had done to Naraic the day we left for Demetria.