So, as any power-hungry king would do, King Darius had placed all of his brittle hopes on Stefan, because if Stefan won, the chances of King Darius retaining his self-imposed status increased two-fold.
Little wonder Stefan felt pressured.
Understatement.
“I wouldn’t bet on that,” Stefan said.
Clank.
“You nervous?” I asked.
Stefan wiped his brow. “A little.”
“A little?” I smirked. I might have lost my magical ability, but I could still feel the emotions of those around me. It was an ability only I seemed to possess, having inherited it from my mother. My dad said it was a “gift,” but I found it to be more of a nuisance. Like now, when Stefan’s anxiety was so potent that it was making me shake.
Clank—dodge—clank.
“Hey, well, at least if you lose, you’re still the prince of Valdon,” I said, “and the prince of Valdon can do whatever he wants.”
“Yeah, but that’s not enough.” His tone dripped with acid, and I knew he was referring to the king. “Are you nervous?”
“About?”
“Tonight.”
Right. The Aegis dinner. Just thinking about it twined my insides into giant knots.
Clank.
“He’s going to be there, you know,” Stefan continued.
I set my jaw. “And?”
Stefan smirked. I was about to wipe that smirk off his face with the butt of my dagger when a stiff breeze ripped through the forest. I glanced up; the trees moaned as they rocked back and forth, their needles rustling against the wind.
The wind always followed me here. At first, Dad had thought the wind elemental, Cian, had taken a liking to me. Both he and the king shared a tie to the elementals—my father with earth, the king with fire—so it wouldn’t have been out of the realm of possibilities that the trait might extend itself to me. However, like magic, after my initial entry into this world, the wind had stopped speaking to me. Instead, it followed at a safe distance, constantly taunting me with its invisible presence.
A rush of energy slammed into me, and I was suddenly thrown back and flung on the cold, hard ground. Thick roots snaked from the earth, wrapped around my ankles and wrists, and held me there.
I tried to rip free, but the binding only tightened. “Stef!” I growled. “Knock it off!”
He frowned over me. “A distracted opponent is not an opponent. Remember that.”
“Thanks for the lesson”—I jerked the vines—“but you can let go now.”
With a wave of his hands, the vines slipped from my wrists and ankles and disappeared beneath the roots of a large tree. Stefan extended his hand to help me up, and this time, I took it.
There was something bothering him, something beyond the tournaments, the games. It was in the lines of his face, the dull spark in his eyes, and the way he kept frowning at me.
“You’re disappointed in me,” I said as he pulled me to my feet.
He sighed and turned away, the breeze lifting a few strands of his golden hair. “I’m not disappointed. I just worry, that’s all. To not be able to do magic, and in this world—” he looked back at me with sad eyes “—it just makes you seem so…fragile.”
I didn’t like that adjective, particularly when it was applied to me.
He was on the ground with my sword at his throat within seconds. He grinned. “Okay, so maybe fragile was the wrong word.”
“Ya think?” I released my hold and he leapt to his feet.
But instead of readying for another round, he walked over to the horses and snagged his cloak from Parsec.
“You’re not going already?” I asked.
He didn’t meet my gaze as he wrapped his cloak around him. “Master Durus needs me to come earlier today.”
Master Durus had suspected our secret training sessions, and he’d usually show his approval by giving Stefan a menial task, like ironing his socks.
“Oh, so you’re on his side now?”
“I’m not on anyone’s side, D; I just have a million things to do before the games this week.”
My anger flared. “You’ve been training every day for months, and these two hours a week are all I get.”
“And you’re lucky for that.” He bent over to tighten his boots.
I threw my dagger and it sank into the ground just inches from the boot Stefan was tying. He went rigid and looked back at me. His gaze was hard as he held mine and finally melted with a sigh. “Look.” He stood. “I know it’s difficult for you. I’m sorry, but I’ve got challenges of my own—”
“Like finding a backbone?”
His lips formed a line. “I am not Grandfather.”
I folded my arms. “Yet.”
He held my gaze a moment longer before leaping onto Parsec. “I’ve got to go. See you at dinner.”
He and Parsec left through the trees.
I threw my other dagger, hard. It split the air and sank into the bark with a thud. Calyx shifted beside it and whinnied. For a moment, I stood there staring absently at the hilt, still quivering from shock. In the six months I’d lived here, I’d grown to love Stefan. Sure, I wanted to strangle him at least once a day, and his being a goody-two-shoes made me seem like the devil reincarnate, but he had a good heart. He just…didn’t get it.
No one did, except Fleck.
A sharp ca-caw sounded overhead, and I glanced up. There was a giant black bird sitting on a branch with its head cocked to the side, watching me. It blinked and ruffled its feathers with another loud “ca-caw!”
It felt familiar, somehow, and something about it tugged at the shadows of a memory…
Movement in my periphery made me turn.
In the shadows, leaning against a tree, was a person. Judging by the physique, it was a man, but beyond that I could tell nothing. From head to toe he was dressed in black, as if he were made of shadow, and when I tried to get a sense of him, all I could feel was cold. As though winter had taken up residence inside of him.
He watched me as I watched him, and with the slightest movement, he slipped deeper into the forest, out of sight.
Calyx’s anxiety rushed through me.
“I’ll be right back,” I whispered, and I grabbed my daggers and ran after him.
My boots crunched over the frozen earth as I searched the shadows. The forest held its breath, the breeze quiet, and there was no sign of the man in black.
I reached the edge of the stream. It was full today, swollen from a few weeks of rain. Most of the boulders were drowning beneath the rushing water, but a few managed to poke their heads above the frothy madness.
A twig above me snapped and the black bird darted to a branch on the other side of the river, right above the man in black, who ducked back into the forest.
Stop running after him! You have no idea who he is. He could be dangerous!
I shoved my daggers in my belt and jumped onto the closest rock.
One foot slipped as I landed, and I waved my arms to balance myself. Once I regained control, I jumped to the next rock and the next, all the way until I was safely on the other side.
Now where?
“Going somewhere, princess?” said a gruff voice behind me.
I stopped in my tracks and spun around. A young man with flaming red hair stepped out from behind a tree. His eyes were filled with a sort of deriding satisfaction, and he was thick, really thick. The kind of thick where his head was shaped like a bowling ball, his arms bowed out from his sides, and his neck was squished in between.
Denn Faris.
I recognized him from the Academia, which wasn’t far from the castle. He was an Aegis in training, and he had a distinct reputation for being a bully.
“You deaf, princess?”
I didn’t have time for this. “What do you want?”
He stepped forward, thumbing the hilt of the dagger strapped to his round waist. “It’s a little dangerous for a princess to be wandering about these parts all by herself—
especially when there are rumors of a dark rider in the area.”
Dark rider. Was that what he was called?
“If I were you, I’d be scared.” Denn took another step. “No magic, no possible way to defend yourself against him. So vulnerable and,” his voice dropped, “so alone.”
I did not like where this was going, not one bit. “Save it, Denn,” I growled.
His fat cheeks pinched as he smirked. “Shouldn’t you be at the castle?”
I eyed him up and down. “Shouldn’t you be eating?”
His ears turned a shade of red that matched his hair.
Two more young men emerged from behind the trees—other students from the Academia. I recognized the lanky blond one, Felix Thorne, from the tournaments. I started to back away and bumped into someone.
“Not so fast, princess,” jeered the short, dark-headed boy. Two more young men appeared, flanking him.
I was surrounded.
Denn stopped before me and leaned so close I could smell the garlic and onions on his breath. “Does the king know about your little mornings with Stefan?”
I clenched my jaw. “My personal life is none of your business.”
That ugly smirk spread on his round face and his eyes held something cruel in them. “Oh, see, now that’s the beauty of being royalty. Your personal life is our business, and, well, we”—he gestured at the group—“think you’ve been lying to us.”
I didn’t like the looks on their faces or the licentiousness that darkened their eyes. I wasn’t sure what they had planned, but I knew one thing: I was completely outnumbered and no amount of screaming and yelling in this part of the forest would attract any notice.
“You know what I think?” Denn leaned a little closer. I didn’t like his sneer. “I think you’re hiding your magic until the right moment…so that you can rule instead of the king.”
I looked for a sign that he was joking, but he wasn’t. He was perfectly serious. “That’s ridiculous,” I said. “The entire guild has tried.”
He smiled and his teeth were crooked and yellow. “I think that you haven’t been threatened—” he slid the cool metal of his dagger along my jaw “—properly.”
I felt his hunger, and my stomach twisted. I struck before he could say another word.
I punched and kicked, my feet and hands landing hard and true. Denn was back on his feet within seconds, wiping a drop of blood from his bottom lip.
Felix took a step toward me.
“Stay back!” Denn growled. “I don’t need your help against her.” He looked at me with that ugly sneer and repositioned himself to attack.
His size made him slow, but he was strong, much stronger than I was. Each time our blades met, the impact burned down my arm, into my shoulder, and each jolt stole more and more of my energy. I was running on adrenaline now, and I wasn’t sure how much longer I could hang on.
I hated that I was so weak, that I was so helpless. That I didn’t stand a chance.
I told you that you shouldn’t have chased that man.
Denn’s fist landed on my right cheekbone, and the force sent me spinning and tumbling to the ground. I landed hard, but my world did not stop spinning.
Denn crouched on the ground beside me, pinning my wrists. “Use your magic, princess,” he mocked. “I know it’s there.”
With a last effort, I jerked my knee up, right into his crotch. He doubled over in pain, snarling a string of very colorful language.
I stumbled to my feet and hunched over, trying to gather myself. My world spun in a dizzying blur, and my temples throbbed like someone was trying to wrench my head apart.
Denn’s fury flared as a light appeared in my periphery, and my heart sank.
He was going to restrain me with the one weapon I was defenseless against.
Magic.
There was a flash, a shock of surprise, and a dull thud.
But I was still standing.
I glanced back. Denn had fallen to the ground, and a smoky grey dog was bounding toward me.
Egan.
He was soon sitting at my feet, snarling at the others, while showing off his glossy white canines.
Thad suddenly appeared, dusting his hands with a satisfied grin on his face. “Well, well, well, what do we have here?” He glanced around the group until his eyes finally lingered on Denn, who was rolling around on the ground, moaning and groaning. “Oi, Rusty, you brought all of them—” Thad gestured at the group “—to fight her?” He pointed at me. “A little, non-magical girl?” Thad made a tsk-tsk-tsk sound. “And you call yourself Aegises. I am starting to grow very concerned for the future safety of Gaia.”
“Why you—” Denn choked on air while holding his stomach “—the king’s…”
Thad planted a foot on Denn’s face, pushing it into the ground, and continued speaking in the nicest, most unthreatening tone. “If the king hears a word about where the princess spends her mornings, I’ll make sure it’s impossible for you to procreate. Got it, Rusty?” With one last shove, Thad released his foot from Denn’s face, and Denn choked again and spit up dirt.
The boy with dark hair stepped forward, scowling. “What did you do to him?”
Thad beamed with mischief in his eyes. “Don’t worry, Laird; he’ll be walking just in time for dinner. Spirits help us if he ever misses that, and I know how much you care about him.” Thad winked, and Laird’s cheeks flushed pink. Laird reached for his sword, but Thad waved a hand and Laird’s sword flew through the air and landed in the stream.
Laird growled and lunged forward but was thrown back by an invisible force.
“Anyone else?” Thad looked around the group while Egan dared them with vicious snarling. When no one stepped forward, Thad looked genuinely disappointed. “I’ll be borrowing the princess, then.” He motioned for me to follow.
I took a deep breath. I wasn’t sure which I hated more, what had just happened or how helpless I’d been.
How could I protect Fleck when I couldn’t even protect myself?
We were far away from the group and sound of rushing water when Thad nudged me in the ribs.
“Lighten up, would ya?”
I spun around to face him. His brown hair was a disheveled mess, matching the mischievous spark in his eyes and, like always, he had a smirk on his face.
“It isn’t funny, Thaddeus.”
He rolled his eyes. “I suppose you’re right. Getting kneed in the crotch that hard is never funny. For a second there, I felt bad for Rusty.”
I eyed him and his grin spread wider. “I’m serious,” I said.
“So am I.”
Growling, I marched forward and Egan kept to my heels.
Thad grabbed my arm and yanked me back. “Come on! You’re gonna let that oversized toddler ruin your day?”
“That oversized toddler almost…” My voice trailed as I closed my eyes and sighed. I was too embarrassed to think about it.
“But he didn’t,” Thad said.
I opened my eyes. A piece of grass was hanging from Thad’s mouth and he was chewing on it, eyeing me.
“It’s not just him,” I said. “It’s everything. Everyone. I feel so helpless, and if you hadn’t shown up…” I looked away, and Egan dropped something on my foot.
A stick.
Thad let go of my arm. “Still no luck?”
I shook my head and Egan pawed at my boot. I picked up the stick, threw it into the woods, and Egan vaulted after it.
“That’s it, then.” Thad rubbed his chin.
Oh, no.
I’d learned to worry when Thad got ideas. I arched a brow. “What’s it?”
“I’ll be your personal bodyguard…well, until you figure out how to do magic.”
I rolled my eyes. “I don’t need to lose my sanity, too.”
“Oh, come on. Surely there are worse alternatives.”
When I looked doubtful, Thad laughed. “Anyway, I was coming to find you because Prince Alaric”—his voice took on a serious to
ne as he saluted no one—“was looking for you.”
Prince Alaric, a.k.a Dad. I hadn’t seen him much lately, because he’d been traveling all over Gaia with Cicero and Sonya Del Conte, making sure the world was safe for me. And, of course, it wasn’t. “He’s back?”
“Just. Went looking for you and I told him I knew right where you were.”
Thad was one of the few who knew the truth about my secret fighting lessons with Stefan. “Which was…?” I asked.
“Picking out fabric for your festival gowns,” Thad preened.
For weeks, the king had been insisting I look “charming” for the festival—which, to him, equated to wearing dresses.
But I was pretty sure “charming” was an attitude, and one I didn’t possess.
“Where is he?” I asked.
The treetops overhead creaked and moaned as the wind blew, and now that my adrenaline was wearing off, my nose and ears started burning from the cold.
“In the library,” Thad continued. “He says he’s got some very important things to discuss with you…and I don’t think you’re gonna like it.”
Chapter 3
My Dad, the Prince
I walked Calyx back to the castle stables with Thad and Egan as my escort. Thad refused to elaborate on what it was Dad had to tell me, but it didn’t keep him from smiling and shaking his head the entire trip back.
Once Calyx was situated, we walked past the guards, through the main doors and into the atrium.
“Really, Thad, do I need to be worried?” I whispered as we walked to the foot of the grand staircase.
Thad shrugged. “Naw. It’s really nothing you haven’t heard before.”
I looked at him to explain, but he only smirked and twirled the piece of grass in his mouth.
“Some help you are,” I mumbled.
“I aim to please.”
I rolled my eyes.
“But, if I were you, I’d come up with some explanation for…” He tapped his cheekbone.
Oh, yeah. I’d almost forgotten that Denn had punched me. I gently pressed on my cheek and winced in pain. I didn’t need a mirror to know it had left a mark. “Does it look bad?” I asked.
The Keeper's Flame (A Pandoran Novel, #2) Page 2
