Fight for the Crown

by Emilie MacCauley

  Here; he can protect her.

  “What are your plans for today?” He asks Roe, standing up.

  “We’re going to hangout at Lola’s booth and try to brainstorm ideas about who could know the passphrase for my amulet,” she clutches the iridescent rose-colored pendant in her fist.

  “Good luck with that.” As soon as he starts to walk away, he stops. “Would you two want to...grab breakfast first?”

  “With you?” She blinks.

  “With me,” he nods.

  “Sure,” a large smile creeps across her face. Roe picks Lottie up and holds the little girl at her hip. “I thought you’d be too busy.”

  “Normally I am,” he scratches the back of his neck. “But, I think I’ll take a few minutes for myself today.”

  “Just a few?” She smirks raising an eyebrow. He smiles back hating the heating feel of blush spreading across his cheeks. He uses his shadows to cover as much of his blushing face as possible.

  How ridiculous of him.

  Blushing?

  Shadow doesn’t blush.

  Lottie is happy and hyperactive as she runs around the table and jumps from seat to seat. Roe watches her with a big smile plastered on her face. She catches him staring at her but her smile doesn’t falter one bit.

  “Did she sleep okay?” He asks hoping at least one of them managed to get a good night’s sleep.

  “Yeah,” Roe nods. “She must’ve been exhausted, it was hard to wake her this morning.”

  “Good,” he digs at his breakfast. Toast with blackberry jam and a glass of milk.

  “Shadow,” she doesn’t meet his eyes. He can guess what she has to say is going to be unpleasant or it’s a question he won’t be able to answer truthfully. “Tell me about when you first got to Cirvka.”

  Out of everything she could have asked, Shadow didn’t expect her to ask this. “It was a long time ago. My entire family came here after King Bren died. I worked the ticketing booth and sometimes my sister would join to keep me company. That is, when she wasn’t performing. She had such strong powers, but she wanted to dance,” he chuckles, “She wanted to dance as her performance.”

  He hates the vulnerability that comes with this conversation. Hates the too wide smile on his face that physically makes his cheeks hurt. He also hates the look Roe is staring back with. A pitying smile.

  “Where is she?”

  He faces away from her and closes his eyes. Shadow doesn’t know whether to answer that she’s dead or alive. There’s so much he can’t say—especially about her. He decides not to answer, taking another bite of his toast. He could tell she wants him to open up, he tried, but answering her question truthfully would make it all a reality.

  And it’s not a reality he’s willing to face yet.

  Maybe one day he’ll tell her the truth.

  “I know I’ve asked twice before and I promise this is my last time but, who hurt you that day in the infirmary? Who whipped you?” Her deep amber colored eyes are wide and pleading. Shadow knows she’s only asking because she cares and he knows if he doesn’t answer, she won’t ask again. He knows she will respect his boundaries and drop the question.

  “My father,” and that’s all he has to say.

  They are silent for a few moments. There’s nothing that needs to be said and Shadow doesn’t want her to say anything back. He doesn’t want sympathy or pity, he doesn’t like to share intimate details about his personal life because he doesn’t like others worrying over him. He could see the worry in Roe’s face. She’s twisted up with questions. He wouldn’t answer them anyways. He already fears he’s said too much. He doesn’t need his father killing him because he stirred up even more questions for her to ask. Especially questions regarding his father. Roe digging into his father’s business is bad news.

  Digging into his business would mean digging into their plans and if his father’s plans were ruined…

  Blade and Knoton sit at the table uninvited. If looks could kill, Shadow would’ve been a murderer. He gives Roe a look that urges her to take Lottie—who is in line getting another piece of toast—and take her out of the tent. If Blade and Knot saw they were harboring a Shevka girl, the two would jump at the opportunity to sell Shadow out to his own father.

  “Are you two here to start my day off with some stupidity?” Shadow amusingly finishes off the last few bites of his breakfast. His eyes discreetly follow Roe who makes it out of the dining tent with Lottie unseen.

  “Very funny,” Knot scoffs crossing his arms and looking less than thrilled to see him, too.

  “Your father is looking for you,” Blade skips the small talk.

  “Did he say what he wants?” Shadow crosses his arms. If he doesn’t have to see his father, he won’t. Every visit makes Shadow apprehensive. He seems to hold his breath whenever his father is near, the littlest things have been known to set him off. The last time he pissed his father off he was forced to endure fifty lashes. Shadow still can’t sleep on his back without experiencing an intense amount of pain.

  “Can he wait?” He raises an eyebrow while sipping the last few ounces of his drink.

  “You know your father doesn’t like to be kept waiting,” Blade gives him a pointed look. That is the truth. His father is not one to take orders, wait, or be made a fool.

  Shadow stands up from the table and discards his tray. Blade and Knot follow behind him annoying Shadow. It feels as if they are escorting him. What exactly was he going to do? Bolt and run like Blade did? Although he has more privileges than everyone in Cirvka, like being allowed outside the gates, he is still under his father’s command and his father holds something over him that he wouldn’t risk for anything. He follows the rules his father laid down and will continue to do so until the plan is fully carried out. It’s the only way.

  The three of them stand in Shadow’s father’s office. He is standing, staring out the window. His arms are crossed, from the side he looks striking like Shadow. Their resemblance is uncanny, from their dark features, to the tall build of their bodies, and sharp jawline. Like Shadow, whenever he is angry, he has a certain expression on his face—hard eyes and pursed lips. He looks over his shoulder acknowledging their presence. “Sit. We have much to discuss.”

  * * *

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Lottie wakes up from a nightmare.

  She doesn’t realize she is screaming until arms wrap around her enveloping her in the warmth of their body heat. She looks up into the eyes of Pepper who is gently rocking and lulling her back to sleep.

  She is too worked up, her breathing irregular and heart beating so fast it feels as though it’s going to explode. Her whimpering sounds are soon drowned out by Pepper’s singing. She is singing a lullaby, her voice soft and feminine. Lottie closes her eyes clutching onto the hybrid’s nightgown. Ever since she arrived at Cirvka, Pepper has been a maternal figure for her. Sweet and caring. So unlike the mother who birthed and raised her.

  The nightmare that awoke her is the same as always. Her father gets mad at her for leaving her laundry on the floor. His breath smells like alcohol as he screams in her face how worthless she is. He backhands her across the face, her teeth rattle from the impact. Her cheeks are burning and her head develops an instant headache. Her mother sits there and watches as he continues to hit her. The copper taste of blood fills her mouth. She is moaning in pain and crying to her mother. Somebody help her.

  Please help her.

  No one is coming to her rescue. No one will help her. There is no escape. She has to escape.

  Her sobs get louder waking up the other three in the tent. Instead of looking at her with annoyance, they look at her with sympathy and understanding. Lola lights the lantern on the desk and sits on the lumpy mattress next to her. Pepper and Lola hold her while Solana lingers. For as long as she has known them, Solana has been the most distant. She isn’t a hugger nor is she great with words, but her being there tells Lottie that she isn’t alone. That she cares.

  Ro
e grabs Lottie’s hand squeezing gently, the pad of her thumb rubbing across the back of her palm.

  “He’s going to find me,” she sobs hysterically.

  “Your father?” Pepper frowns.

  She nods her head. “He’s going to hurt me. He knows powerful Shevka, they are going to find me and he’s going to hurt you, too.”

  “We won’t let anyone hurt you, Lottie,” Solana speaks standing in front of her. She crouches down looking her in the eyes. “There was someone close to me who hurt me very badly. It happened all the time and I was so scared to tell someone. He was a high blood and I thought if I told someone, no one would care because of my blood status. I became closed off and didn’t want to live anymore.”

  “What happened?” Lottie asks with wide eyes.

  “Cirvka,” she replies simply. “I found a group of friends who support me and love me for who I am. Lola, Pepper, and Roe will do anything to keep you safe. I will do anything to make sure you never have to deal with what you did ever again. This place is a sanctuary and even if your father does find you, I dare him to try and take you from us. I have a few shapeshifting potions I’d like to try out. How about we turn him into a beetle?”

  Lottie giggles and nods her head. “I’d like that.”

  “Good,” Solana nods her head. “I’ll keep a vial of the potion on me just in case.”

  Pepper rubs her hand up and down on Lottie’s arm. “We’re right here.”

  “Yeah, and we’re not going anywhere,” Lola kisses her temple.

  “Promise?” Lottie sticks up her pinky finger.

  “Promise,” they all collectively stick out their pinkies, one by one swearing to be her guardians.

  Her protectors.

  Her friends.

  * * *

  Rowan is starting to feel completely and utterly hopeless.

  Everyday is an endless attempt to try and figure out how she can release her magic. It’s an endless slew of books to see if they can learn more about the curse placed on her magic. Endless attempts at new spells to see if any are strong enough to release the magic from her amulet. And endless brainstorming to think of who could’ve put the curse on her, or who would know the passphrase.

  “Has anyone seen Shadow lately?” Lola asks.

  Rowan hasn’t seen Shadow since yesterday morning when they had breakfast together. That is until Blade and Knoton had interrupted.

  Solana, Pepper, and Rowan all shake their heads.

  “That’s weird,” Lola ponders, “He wasn’t at the dining hall. He never misses all three meals, maybe one, but not an entire day. I’m worried.”

  “I’m sure he’s fine,” Pepper dismisses as she brushes Lottie’s hair. Lottie starts to look panicked as Lola voices her concern on Shadow’s whereabouts.

  “Yeah, I’m sure he’s fine,” Lola says unconvincingly but does it for Lottie’s sake.

  After dinner they all go back to their tent and decide to talk. Rowan has always dreamed of having female friends to confide in and talk about love and their hopes and dreams. To be able to share and keep secrets. She spent much of her childhood reading about so many epic friendships in classic books, she yearned for something identical to those stories. She couldn’t have asked for better friends than the ones she shares a tent with.

  Lola stole a bottle of red wine from the dining hall and they passed the bottle along while confiding in one another. Their tent is a safe zone and Rowan learns things about them she never would have guessed.

  Solana admits she contemplated leaving this world many times before she found Cirvka. Her depression flung her into a state of mind where nothing seemed hopeful and she wanted it all to end.

  Lola admits that she was once pregnant by a Dakra male who was the love of her life. A week after the night he was murdered, she had a miscarriage. It was going to be a boy.

  Rowan sits respectfully and listens to Pepper while she admits to Lola and Solana that she is half breed.

  Lottie—wanting to be involved—tells them as well as shows them what her parents did to her. It was her father who actively abused her, but her mother would watch. Her mother wouldn’t do a single thing to stop the insidious acts her sick father carried out. They all tried not to look mortified as they were shown finger shaped bruises on her body. The haunted look in the little girl’s eyes tells them all she has endured the worst.

  After hearing her friends divulge in their insecurities and vulnerabilities, Rowan debates telling the rest of them what she told Lola. It takes a lot of courage and she feels sick to her stomach, but she reveals that she is the princess. Pepper and Lola are shocked, frozen with surprise. Lottie doesn’t care as she jumps up and down. She wraps her arms around Rowan and tells her how she’s always wanted to be a princess.

  “You know what is better than being a princess, Lottie?” Rowan asks.

  “No, what?”

  “Having friends, privacy, and freedom,” Rowan closes her eyes and smiles. “The power that comes with ruling is overrated, but finding the power to be yourself, is better.”

  “This is insane,” Lola slurs sipping from the bottle of wine.

  Solana hiccups a laugh. “Lola you better slow down or else you’ll be working the booth with a hangover tomorrow morning.”

  Pepper who is still very much sober takes the bottle. “I think we all should get some rest. This has been a long, emotionally exhausting day.”

  Rowan couldn’t agree more.

  The lantern extinguishes for the night and they all cozy up under their blankets for a somber slumber. Rowan feels content in her heart. Everything in the world, despite her revelation changing from Shevka to Dakra and not having access to her unknown magic skills, she feels all is right. Rowan never did care too much for appearance, status, or power, all she’s ever wanted was this. Friendship and sleepovers and talking until their eyes could hardly stay open. The perfect ending to a perfect night would be an uninterrupted, peaceful sleep.

  It’s too bad that her curiosity always beats exhaustion.

  Rowan is too busy thinking of Shadow. Ever since Lola brought it up, she has been concerned about his absence. He missed lunch and dinner yesterday, and all the meals today. He didn’t even come to check on Lottie like he previously promised. Something doesn’t sit right with Rowan and she thinks she knows who might be responsible.

  Finding Knot and Blade during the day will be easy, she knows where to find them at the performance tent and where they sit during meals. After eavesdropping on Blade and Shadow that one night, Rowan had asked Lola where they live. She practically knew which performer slept with who and where, but she couldn’t recall ever seeing them near the sleeping tents, or entering one. Shadow had conveniently mentioned that Blade and Knoton sleep near where he sleeps. Since Rowan doesn’t know where Shadow sleeps, she can only make her best guess.

  Rowan recalls the building Shadow brought her to the morning of her arrival to Cirvka. It was in a secluded area on the grounds and since Shadow has higher authority it would make sense he gets his own room. What makes her suspect both Shadow and the two performers sleep there is because of the dark corridor she saw that morning containing six closed off rooms. Whether they live there or not she still wonders what is being held there, and either way she’ll find out tonight.

  She pulls on a thin robe and brown loafer shoes and tiptoes around the scattered mattresses on the floor of the tent. She tries her best to be quiet with the zipper of the tent. It’s a good thing all of her tent-mates are heavy sleepers. She successfully makes her way out of the tent and heads toward the restricted section of Cirvka unseen.

  She tries to be as quiet as possible, the only sound she makes is the sound of leaves crunching under her feet. Looking above her, the moon is bright in the sky with a scattering of twinkling stars. The sound of the whistling breeze and bugs chattering are refreshing from the constant music used for performers and laughter of Shevka children.

  She tries not to think about picking the wrong r
oom and walking in on someone she shouldn’t. There are six rooms, she has a fifty percent chance of picking one of their rooms. The other fifty percent could be used for gods knows what. Maybe a room is reserved for Prince Arlo for when he stays. If he stays. Maybe another room is reserved for The Overseer—that is if he exists.

  When Rowan reaches the building she tries the door only to curse at herself for not realizing sooner that it is locked.

  Of course.

  Not wanting to turn away and declare it a failed mission, she walks around the building to see if maybe there is another entrance. There isn’t, but there’s something better. A window and the window has no blinds, even though it is too high for her to see, she doesn’t need to be tall to see there is a light on. She stands underneath the windowsill and reaches up tapping on the window. She just makes it. Another inch shorter and she wouldn’t be able to touch the glass.

  Rowan’s anxiety heightens as she waits to either meet Blade, Knoton, or someone completely different looking down upon her. Her heart skips a beat at the thought of how stupid she is for attempting this. It must be the wine.

  Definitely the wine.

  If someone as high up like The Overseer or Prince Arlo answers, she would completely sabotage her stay here. No doubt they will see her sneaking here as being insubordinate.

  “Roe?”

  Rowan sighs with relief. “Knot.”

  “What are you doing here?” He turns around as if to stare at someone in his room.

  “Uh,” she stammers not knowing what to say, “Is this a bad time?”

  He scratches the back of his neck. “Kind of,” a moment later, “Give me a minute and I’ll help you up.”

  Rowan hears some whispering and shuffling going on before he reaches down, grabs her wrists, and pulls her effortlessly up and through the window. The room is not what she expected. She expected a room like the one she had in the castle, but it’s nothing as luxurious as that. His room has a slightly larger and longer mattress than the one she has in her tent. His mattress is not on the ground but propped up on a wooden bed frame. Off to the corner is a desk that has papers and writing utensils scattered. His clothes are scattered throughout the room, too. There is a metal cabinet with two doors that open, revealing a small closet.