Page 2 of Vicious Princess (The Trials of Death and Honor #1)

T hree years ago

Fane pulls a card from the deck. Before she even sets it on the low table, I know she has a winning hand.

Again.

“No fucking way,” I murmur.

Her hazel eyes—identical to mine—flick up from the card to me. A corner of her mouth curves. She sets the card down, keeping my gaze, and winks. “Better luck next time, Sister.”

With a groan, I toss my cards on the table. Fane snickers.

“No way can someone be this good at cards!” I tell Mom, who watches us with a little grin on her lips. I turn to Dad. “She’s cheating! Quint, back me up here?”

“All three of you have gifts,” Dad says, trying to stifle a smile. “Fane has an eye for strategy, Quint is empathetic and caring, and you, dear?—”

“Have the temper of a mountain goat,” Fane interrupts.

I roll my eyes.

“But hey, sis, your fire is perfect for the Royal Guard,” Fane offers, shuffling the cards. “All the best soldiers are stuck-up, and quick-tempered?—”

“ Fane ,” Mom and Dad say in unison.

Fane grins. I grind my teeth.

“Seriously, don’t you see the steam coming out of her ears?” Quint teases me.

She pinches my ear, and I bat her hand away.

“I’m the oldest, and they treat me like I’m the youngest,” I say, eyeing our parents.

“By a mere ten minutes!” Fane scoffs, right as Quint says, “Fifteen minutes means nothing!”

“I can’t wait to move into the Royal Guard’s base,” I say.

Fane pokes her tongue out at me, but Quint looks hurt.

“I’m joking.” I bump my shoulder into Quint’s.

“I don’t find the idea of us separating funny,” she murmurs.

“Yeah, as if that could last long,” Fane says, dealing another round for us all. “We were born together, and we’ll die together.”

Quint and I chuckle at the finality and drama in Fane’s statement.

“Now that you bring up the Royal Guard… Phoenix, we need to talk,” Dad says, all humor and warmth drained from his face. He exchanges a silent glance with our mom.

“What?” I urge them when they don’t speak. I have a bad feeling.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to join King Francis’s soldier unit,” he says firmly.

I’m so taken aback by his words, I’m speechless for a heartbeat.

Confusion and surprise don’t last long, though. The anger that bubbles to the surface is hot and thick. It coils in my chest like a snake getting ready to strike.

I slam my cards on the low table. “Excuse me?”

Dad’s face is neutral. “Please, control your temper, Phoenix.”

I clench my teeth hard and press my lips into a thin line.

“Phoenix—”

Fane interrupts Mom. “It’s not fair for you to forbid Nix from serving King Francis as part of his Royal Guard. Not after encouraging her all these years.”

“Yeah, Dad. That’s low,” Quint chimes in. “Nix worked her ass off for this! She went through rigorous Decarios training. She agreed to carve herself like meat on a butcher’s block just to prove she’s worthy.”

Even through my blinding anger, I appreciate my sisters sticking up for me. I’m so lucky to have them on my side, no matter what. Always.

We stand together. Against anything. Even our parents.

“I don’t understand what changed,” I say, looking between my parents. Our after-dinner family game stalls. My parents exchange another look I don’t like. “You’re clearly hiding something.”

“Yeah, what the fuck?” Quint drops her cards, and they scatter on the table. “We’re nineteen. Adults. Stop keeping secrets.”

“Mom?” Fane’s voice is gentler now. There’s a deep line wedged between her eyebrows. “You and Dad have been acting weird since you left the Royal Guard.”

All three of us are the spitting image of our mother. When I look at her, I see my sisters. And when I look at Fane or Quint, all I see is our mother.

“I’m not revoking my application,” I say, tilting my chin.

Mom shakes her head with a sigh. “Phoenix, dear, the timing is dangerous. Joining the Guard now…it’s not in your best interest.”

I scoff and push myself to my feet. “Why are you doing this to me?”

“Phoenix.” Dad’s voice is calm but stern. “The political unease with King Francis is growing. We can’t let you get caught in it. Things are not the way they used to be.”

The betrayal is like a sharp blade sinking into the soft flesh of my chest.

Since I was fourteen years old, I have trained relentlessly to become the best Decarios I can be. So I could emulate my parents, whom I adore dearly.

I can’t believe them.

Pursing my lips, I shake my head. Words fail me. So I whirl on my heel and storm out of the family room, then leave the house.

The cool air of the late evening does very little to soothe me. My eyes burn, but I refuse to cry. Instead, I cling to the anger that threatens to suffocate me.

My feet take me to the forest nearby before my mind can catch up. The gentle wind rustles the dry leaves on the trees, enveloping me in a cozy melody. We haven’t had rain for weeks. The weeds under my feet crunch with each step.

Despite the moon hanging in the cloudless sky, not much light penetrates the heavy foliage above my head. I don’t have to see, though. I know this forest like the back of my hand.

I find our tree quickly. I scale the branches until I reach the largest one that can hold all three of us without breaking. I’ve lost count of how many hot summer nights I’ve spent here with Fane and Quint, searching the sky for falling stars.

Leaning my back against the thick trunk, I exhale a long breath and look up at the dark sky full of stars.

If I don’t join the Royal Guard, what will I do? My life will have no purpose, no direction.

Quint has her scholarship at the Academy of Arts and an apprenticeship lined up with one of the most famous artists in Wetra right after she graduates.

Fane’s a talented healer, passionate about her degree and future work.

All I ever wanted to do is be an honorable soldier, like Mother and Father, serving the Crown. Maybe, if I were good enough, one day earn the title of royal commander and lead the king’s armies.

Fighting is the only thing I’m good at.

With a sigh, I close my eyes. This can’t be the end.

Through the rustle of the leaves around me, I almost miss the distant shouts of men.

My eyes snap open.

I blink, confused. I must have fallen asleep right here in the tree. How long was I out?

The cool air caresses my cheeks, and the smell of smoke tickles my nose. I frown. Right in front of me, at the direction of my family home, the sky is painted in faint reds and oranges.

My heart drops to my stomach.

Swiftly, I make my way down the tree. The moment my feet touch the ground, I run.

As I get closer to home, the smell gets stronger. The smoke thicker. The acrid, sharp stink tickles the back of my throat.

They’re okay , I repeat in my head like a prayer. They’re okay .

Finally I reach the edge of the forest. I burst out of the woods and?—

No.

Flames. Towering, roaring, devouring our house.

I cover my eyes when the second-floor windows burst in a shower of sparks.

“Dad!” A scream rips out of my throat.

No answer.

“Mom!”

Nothing.

Horses whine. I whip my head towards the sound.

Royal Guards—I recognize their uniforms.

Even Royal Commander Axel Dukas is here, glaring at the fire with dark eyes. I sigh, panting as I brace my palms on my knees for a moment.

Relief punches through my chest. Until Axel Dukas raises a hand.

A rider lights another torch…and throws it. It arcs through the night and lands in the flames.

No.

I stumble forwards. “Stop! What are you doing?!”

They don’t hear me through the crackling of the flames.

The soldiers turn their horses. They ride away. Not towards the fire, but away from it.

Away from me.

The cold realization hits me like a sack of bricks.

I run. My feet move forwards, and ignoring the flames devouring the place I’ve spent my whole life in, I make my way inside.

I scream my sisters’ names. I claw through the door leading to the kitchen, but it’s all flame and smoke and ash.

I don’t care.

With adrenaline coursing through my veins, I charge deeper.

I can’t see. I can’t breathe. The smoke forces its way into my throat. It burns. My eyes sting.

“FANE!” I shriek. “QUINT!”

I press my fists to my ears, as if I can block out the fire.

The truth.

“No. No. Please.”

I yell until my throat tears. The hot flames lick at my skin.

“MOM!”

The only sound in my ears is the roar of the blaze. The hiss of wood turning to coal.

No, no, no. Maybe they escaped. Left before the fire escalated. Maybe…

I make my way towards Fane’s bedroom. Finally, a different scent. The sickly sweet of burning flesh.

More desperately, I call for my dad, and my mom, and my sisters.

But nobody answers.

In that moment, something inside me burns to ash, too.