Page 9 of Severed Heir (The Serpent Heir #2)

Toni released her shadows with a flick of her wrist. They were darker now, edged like blades, and almost lethal. Across from me, Myla faced off against a male guard, silver frost spiraling from her boots and seeping into the fractured ground.

Perhaps Sabitha had been kind when she said I’d last a week.

I barely had time to breathe before a voice behind me said, “Hey, you’re Severyn, right?”

I turned to find a male staring at me. He wasn’t a royal guard, just one of the quelless initiates I’d seen earlier.

Ashen curls skimmed the tops of his ears, and warm brown eyes flicked down to my clenched fist before rising to meet mine.

He had a shadow of stubble along his jaw, like he’d forgotten to shave for a day. He wasn’t much taller than me.

“Hi,” I said, caught off guard.

He smiled. “Think you could teach me a few fire tricks?”

I blinked. “Tricks?”

His brows lifted. “You know. Just in case I feel like lighting someone’s hair on fire later.”

“I’m not sure that’s much of a trick.”

“My parents are both flames,” he said, shrugging off his jacket. He had tawny skin and lean shoulders, with a pale scar curving just above his collarbone. “My stepfather used to say it takes years to master a quell. Was he lying?”

I hesitated. “Controlling it takes work,” I said, still unsure why this random initiate had picked me to talk to.

He rested his chin in his hand, head tilted as he studied me. “What realm are you from? A flame like that doesn’t come from nowhere. You must be true-blooded.”

“You’ll never guess,” I said.

“Let me try.” There was a playful glint in his eyes, like he wanted this to become a guessing game. “Ravensla? Most of them have green or hazel eyes. Rumor is they used to lure soldiers into the southern dunes with a single look.”

“I wasn’t born in Ravensla.”

“Well, you’re clearly Summer-born,” he continued, “There are what—eight Summer lands? Gives me about a twelve percent chance. Based on your reaction to Ravensla, I’d say... six more tries, seeing as I have never seen you in my country.”

“Who says I’m Summer?” I challenged.

He grinned. “Then give me a hint.”

“I don’t think even a hint would help.”

Across the training circle, Myla raised her hand and pointed at a tall, broad-shouldered male whose face drained of color.

“Fraser,” she called.

“Shit,” he muttered, unsheathing a dagger. “I just wanted to win one round.”

The male beside me chuckled, his voice dipping low. “So, where are you really from?”

“North Colindale.”

His brows lifted. “A Frozen valley? Damn. Must’ve been fun explaining the flame to your family.”

“Listen, I’m not here to make friends. And I can’t help you with your flame.”

He smirked. “Then let’s be mortal enemies. Could be fun. ”

I scoffed. “Mortal enemies? What are you, twelve?” I wasn’t sure why I was being so harsh—maybe because he was too easygoing, or maybe because today wasn’t the day to be friendly.

Before he could answer, Rok’s voice sliced through the field. “Keep your foot grounded, Myla! Everyone else, find a partner. First to draw blood or break a bone wins.”

From the crowd, Antonia stepped forward, her gaze locking on mine. “Severyn,” she purred. “Care to gamble at dueling again?”

The male raised a brow. “You two know each other? Are you a Serpent haul?”

Antonia rolled her eyes. “If you were smart, you’d stop flirting with Severyn.”

He ran a hand through his curls, grinning. “I never said I was smart.” Then, with a wink, “Honestly, I’m quite dumb.”

“I can tell,” Antonia muttered, and before I could blink, a shadow swept beneath my feet. The ground vanished, and I landed hard on my ass.

“Get up, Blanche,” she sneered. “Didn’t expect you to fold that fast.”

I gritted my teeth, swallowing the sharp flare of pain in my palm. I pushed myself upright, hands slick with sweat, eyes burning. They weren’t looking at me as the Serpent’s daughter anymore. Now I was just a guard’s sister—and expectations? They landed harder than fists.

I raised my relic again, smoke curling from my fingers. But she was faster. Shadows surged like a wall, swallowing the flame before it could spark. Then, behind me a sharp crack split the air.

I turned, just in time to see Cully freeze mid-note, his quill slipping from his fingers. He hadn’t known about my flame. The way his fingers scrambled for another quill said enough. But I didn’t have time to mourn whatever belief had just shattered in him—because Antonia struck again .

“I’m the hot, silver-haired shadow-wielder, and you’re just… helpless.” Her voice rang out, but the shadows she hurled lacked their usual sharpness.

Something was off.

But whatever it was, she shook it off. Her shadowed fist slammed into my cheekbone, snapping my head to the side. I hit the ground hard. A drop of blood slipped from my lip, and she’d won.

Gasping, I shoved her off. “Where’s your flame?” she sneered. “Did you finally burn out?”

I didn’t answer.

“Two more for the dungeons!” Rok barked from the sideline. “Who’s next?”

“Dungeons?” I rasped, blinking through the haze clouding my vision.

Rok crossed the circle and crouched beside me, his mismatched eyes drilling into mine. “This isn’t the Serpent Academy, princess,” he said, voice sharp enough to cut bone. “You don’t just lose and get handed your dagger back the next day.”

“Let me fight again,” I said.

He leaned in, so close I could smell the mint leaf he was chewing on his breath. “How are you supposed to guard a realm if you can’t even summon your power?”

Then a gust of wind whipped across the mat.

I looked up just in time to see the male flame initiate dive, barely dodging the blast. He hit the ground hard, shoulder skidding, blood streaking down his vest, but still, he grinned.

“One more!” Rok barked. “Who else wants to join dungeon duty?”

The flame male smirked, curling his bloodied fingers in a come-hither motion. “Guess we’ll have plenty of time in the dungeons to see if you’re worth flirting with after all. ”

“How about you leave me alone,” I hissed—half from the pain, half from the raw humiliation clawing at my skin from loosing my first battle.

Myla appeared beside me, gripping my elbow and hauling me upright. “I’ve seen you fight, Sev,” she whispered. “You burned half a field once. What’s wrong?”

I jerked away from her touch, hiding the scar on my palm with a shaky fist.

“I—I don’t know,” I lied, the words catching like ash in my throat. “I’ve been off since Damien died.”

Her expression softened. “Initiation is hard, Sev. You have to get over it and fast. Most people don’t survive a week here. And once you’re on dungeon duty...” She trailed off, the warning heavy in her eyes. “Most don’t come back.”

I wiped another streak of blood from my nose and forced myself to stand straighter as I shouted after Rok. “Let me fight again,” I said. “I’ll prove I can win.”

Rok crossed his arms. “That’s not fair to the other guards, Severyn,” he said. “One quell match a day. You’ve already lost.”

I curled my palm into a fist, ignoring the stinging scars. “I have two quells,” I said. “Let me use my shadows.”

“I thought I smelled shadows on you earlier,” Rok said, brow arched. “Though I assumed they belonged to someone else.”

“Let me fight again,” I demanded. “You can pick the opponent.”

His grin stretched wide, a jagged scar cutting across his cheek like a second, cruel mouth. “Fine. Bow, Blanche,” he said. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”

I hadn’t thought this through. Shit. But I raised my hand anyway. I was the heir of Night. And I would prove it.

Rok turned to Myla and lifted his palm. A spiraling gust of snow peeled from her lips, drawn into his hand like he was siphoning the power straight from her lungs .

She gasped, collapsing to her knees. “Fuck’s sake, Rok,” she panted. “I told you to stop that.”

The words tore out of me before I could stop them. “What are you—some kind of siphon?”

“I prefer mirror,” he said, his voice smooth and sharp as cut glass. Frost laced his fingers as he turned back to me. “I mimic power, bend it to my will, and return it when I choose.”

He flexed his hand, and snow fell softly from the clouds.

“You grew up in ice, Severyn. This should be an easy defeat.”

I raised my palm, trying to call the shadows, but Rok didn’t flinch. His chin tipped up, and frost-bound ropes erupted from the earth, snapping around my limbs like the jaws of a trap.

Rok moved in, slow and deliberate, as an icicle dagger formed in his grip. “Let this be your first lesson,” he murmured, circling like a predator. “Arrogance gets you killed. Who you are doesn’t matter. Who you know doesn’t matter. You won’t last long enough to cry out to your shadow lord.”

I yanked at the restraints, but the jagged ice only bit deeper into my skin. “Let me out,” I hissed.

Rok knelt beside me and pressed the iced blade to the scar on my cheek—the one Estella had stitched after Monty’s attack at the Academy.

“Please don’t,” I whispered.

But with a single swipe, he reopened it. A thin line of blood welled and spilled onto the snow. That was all it took to end the duel.

Behind me, I heard a sharp snap—Cully’s quill breaking in half again. “Don’t hurt her,” he said, voice trembling. “Don’t.”

Rok didn’t even glance back. He turned to the auburn-haired flame initiate, still lingering nearby. “Your first test,” he said, nodding toward me. “Thaw her out before the beasts find her. I want clean ground for tomorrow. ”

The male hesitated. His brown eyes flicked from me to Rok with uncertainty. “I’m sorry, what? You want me to thaw her out?”

I bared my teeth, trying to hide the tremble in my hands. “I can handle it myself.” Lifting my palm, I tried to summon flame. A flicker sparked at the base of the ice. It was brief and hopeful. Then it died.

Nearby, Myla’s snow swirled higher, worsening the frost creeping over my legs. “Severyn, let him help,” she urged, her voice tight. “Teach him how to use his powers.”