Rakarthen Academy

by Clara Hartley

  Instead, I sat in this claustrophobic room that smelled too much like dusty pages. I glared at the haughty tutor.

  “There, Your Highness,” he said. “That should teach you not to skip your lessons anymore. Your mother’s not pleased about it in the least.”

  “Can I go?” I felt like I must have stayed in this dusty room for centuries, though it couldn’t have been more than a couple of minutes.

  I’d thought if I arrived late enough and missed the lesson, I wouldn’t have to attend it. I showed up late, and by that time, my siblings and I were to be dismissed.

  I tapped my quill on the piece of paper before me, avoiding the teacher’s glare and wearing a sour look.

  “You can’t leave. Her Majesty asked me to repeat this lesson for you.”

  “Why does she have to be like that?” I whined. “Please let me go.”

  “Go?” the tutor asked, his brows rising to his hairline. “You’ve barely been here for five minutes. There’s just so much to run through.”

  I groaned and kneaded my temple. “My head hurts just thinking about it.” I yawned. “It’s so much slower when you explain it to me. I can just skim through the pages. The tests aren’t so difficult anyway.”

  “Please try, at least. You’re second in line for the throne. Your mother expects you to help your sister rule once she ascends, and as a ruler of Constanria, you will have to know the world well. Surely, if you skim through the notes, you won’t understand the important topics in an in-depth manner.”

  I groaned and buried my face into my hands. “Shoot me with an arrow, please.”

  The tutor huffed. “Your Highness, all you can think about is swinging swords and shooting arrows. Violence should always be the last resort.”

  “That’s not what Father says.”

  “Which one?”

  “Kael.”

  The tutor sighed. “He doesn’t always practice what he preaches. And most of the time he preaches the wrong thing. You should know that by now. You’re a grown girl. Just past nineteen.”

  “I like listening to what’s convenient,” I muttered. I readied to stand. The chair creaked against the floorboard.

  “Please, Your Highness,” the tutor said, lifting both his hands. “Your mother insisted I do this to you. I know it’s not pleasant, but if I don’t carry out my job, she’ll get mad, and I don’t know what that means for my career. It’ll be terrible if I get demoted. I promise to make it quick if you’re attentive.”

  Attentive? How was I supposed to be that during boring history and religion lessons? The scholars always managed to make those topics dry. I was about to tell the tutor to choke on a sock when I saw the scared expression on his face. I held my breath. Kaji, my friend from the evaradraes, always told me I needed to be more empathetic. He reminded me that not everybody was born as lucky as I was, so I had to try to be more understanding.

  I valued my time and didn’t want to give much more of it away, but the tutor had a job to keep.

  I growled out my frustration and sat back down. “Okay, then. You have an hour.”

  The tutor relaxed, reached for the nearest book, and flipped it open. “Thank you so much, Your Highness. Now, if you can only be this cooperative with the rest of your lessons.”

  “Don’t push it,” I said, already itching to get up and leave. “If you keep doing that, I think my brain might melt.”

  “Melt? Won’t it be strengthened with important knowledge?”

  “You can’t overdo certain things.”

  “Asking that you attend your lessons isn’t that much.”

  “Oh, it is,” I said. I leaned over, glancing at the page he’d flipped to. “So, what are you going to start with? Aleaham?” That was where all the expired souls went to. “I might just go to the underworld if I this keeps up.”

  “You have a tendency for the dramatic.”

  “I take after my parents.”

  “You take after His Highness Kael, mostly. I’m surprised your hair isn’t white like his, but black.”

  “Uh huh.” I folded my arms across my chest then cocked a brow at my tutor.

  He stared confusion at me.

  “Why the quiet?” I asked. “You’re supposed to teach, right? Go on.”

  The tutor opened his mouth to start with his dull lesson, but just as he did, I spotted Mayhem, my ingoria, through the window. Mayhem was supposed to be one of my mother’s pets; a giant white wolf who had a playful disposition, as his name would suggest. The ingoria had bonded to me when I was a child, and we always kept close. Mother owned two other ingorias, but we never shared the same bond that I had with Mayhem.

  Many servants in the palace called me the Wolf Dragon. I spent too much time with Mayhem, which gave me the nickname. Mayhem usually had a bored look on his face, but today, he was growling at something. Someone.

  I squinted, focusing on the scene outside. The ingoria flashed its fangs at a stranger. He was a man with long blond hair that reached to the bottom of his chest. He was dressed in a green and blue uniform. The fashion was out of place, with leaflike accessories around his chest. He didn’t strike me as belonging to Constanria. I blinked. He was one of the visitors I’d seen at the palace gates earlier.

  “I’m sorry, sir,” I said to the tutor. “I’ll be back in a bit.”

  “Back?” he replied. “We’ve barely even started. Your Highness, where are you going?”

  “Just give me five minutes.” I gestured at him to wait and was out of the door right after. I ignored the tutor’s grumbling as I left. Why was he complaining? I’d be back right after I figured out what trouble Mayhem had gotten himself into.

  “But you promised to stay.” I could imagine my tutor shaking his fist at me. I shrugged.

  Mayhem had been growling at a tall man that didn’t look real. He reminded me of one of Aunt Bianca’s paintings, with features that were too over-the-top. His skin was flawless, and there was a certain glow about him. I squinted. I had to take a closer look just to make sure that my eyes weren’t fooling me.

  He had pointed ears. I didn’t notice before, but now that I was closer, I saw them.

  I rubbed my eyes. Was I seeing this right? I’d never heard of pointed ears.

  He was not dragon-kind. Was he?

  “Steady, boy,” I said to Mayhem, stopping at the ingoria’s side and digging my fingers into his soft fur. Mayhem trained his attention on the stranger. I sensed that the wolf was as unsettled about the newcomer as I was.

  The man turned his attention in my direction. Only briefly. The leaves seemed to rustle at his movements, connected and drawn to him. Nature was attracted to him, as if he were the moon to the tides. I stiffened when violet eyes locked with mine, and I tightened my fist over Mayhem’s fur, my heart pounding in my chest. Perhaps his strange, though beautiful, looks put me on guard. Even from this distance I could tell he smelled funny. Unnaturally sweet, like honey with an added dose of sugar.

  As soon as our eyes locked, the man quickened his footsteps, walking to me. I wrapped my fingers around the hilt of my sword. Mayhem tensed beside me.

  The stranger stopped a few feet before me, his gaze intense and cold. “I thought I felt fae magic here,” he said. “But all I find is you.”

  “Fae?” I asked. “What is that?”

  The stranger smirked, as if reveling in how he held a piece of information I had no knowledge of. “We are a species of beings most dragon-kind are unaware of. There was an attempt to foster trade and togetherness many years ago, but that, sadly, failed.”

  “Right,” I said. I flicked a finger at his ears. “You didn’t just get the tips attached to the ends, did you?” I couldn’t stop looking at the pointed ends. It could be just that they were easier to look at than his eyes. The violet color was far too striking.

  The man snorted, lifting his nose. “You’re proving my assumptions right. It seems like dragon-kind are still a race to be looked down upon. An uncouth lot.”

  I gape
d at him. “Excuse me? That’s not nice. Why are you here in the palace, anyway? Nobody invited you.”

  “Your father accepted our king’s request for a visit, actually. We’re about to seek an audience with him.”

  “And you come here to spit on our race?”

  “Fae are not allowed to speak falsehoods. Surely you value honesty. Or are dragon-kind a dishonest bunch?”

  “Wow, adding insult to injury, I see.”

  The man gave me a condescending look. I returned a hard stare, wondering whether I should challenge him to a fight, but then he finally decided to introduce himself properly. He placed a hand on his chest. “I am Cendri Nexine Imbeth Bellquaine, First Son of the House Bellquaine. Not very pleased to meet you.” Most of my servants greeted me with a slight bow of their head. I’d grown used to that gesture. Even the evaradraes, whom Kaji said detested me, tried to be polite when speaking with me. Cendri, however, offered his name as if it he’d bestowed a gift.

  I huffed. Mayhem had calmed slightly, not growling anymore. The wolf could tell that this man had no intention to attack. I removed my hand from my weapon. “Cendri Ne— What? Don’t you have a shorter name?”

  “Ah, your memory fails you, too?”

  “This palace is my home. You’re being rude to me in my home.”

  “Merely returning a favor.”

  I couldn’t believe this guy.

  He blew a breath from his nostrils, as if exasperated by my presence. “You can call me Cendri, as most do.”

  “You could have made introductions easy from the very beginning.” I paused. “Call me Lyra.”

  Cendri faltered. “The princess?”

  “One of the three.”

  He gave me a once-over, and I thought I saw heat simmering in his eyes. Then again, I couldn’t tell properly because of the violet color of his irises. “I pictured you taller.”

  “Something wrong with my height?”

  “You are incredibly short. One of the smallest dragon-kind I’ve ever come across.”

  I growled. He was stating the truth, but I didn’t like listening to it. I was slightly over five feet tall. Aereala, the goddess of the drae lands, had decided not to bless me with height. Cendri towered before me. He was taller than my fathers, even, who always seemed to dwarf me. I tried to give off an intimidating vibe, puffing out my chest, but it was difficult, since I was a midget compared to Cendri.

  Cendri thumbed his chin. “Interesting. Why does one of the princesses possess hints of fae magic, I wonder? The meister will want to hear of this.” Treating me as if I didn’t deserve a goodbye, he spun and walked away. What was I, a tree? He couldn’t just turn and saunter off like that.

  “Hey,” I said, my nerves straining. “What do you think you’re doing?”

  “Have a pleasant day, princess,” Cendri said, waving at me nonchalantly. He didn’t even bother facing me.

  Mayhem snapped at him once more.

  “I share your sentiments,” I said, stroking my fingers through his fur to soothe myself. “I’ve already decided I don’t like the fae too much.”

  I wondered if Cendri had heard me. If he did, he didn’t make it obvious.

  Cendri stopped in his tracks. I thought he might direct another insult at me when wings burst from his back. They were unlike anything I’d ever seen—made from bright, purplish fire. He flapped them against the warm Constanrian winds and took to the air. His wingspan was huge, spreading farther than even mine.

  “Huh,” I said. “I guess those ears are real, then. Even hidraes don’t have wings like that.” I couldn’t stop staring at him as he flew away. Those purplish flames were majestic. They shone and glittered. I watched until Cendri was nothing but a speck in a sky and had disappeared into the clouds.

  “Your five minutes are up!” the tutor shouted at me from behind, interrupting me from my thoughts.

  “Yes, yes.” I spun toward him. Time for another hour of drivel. “Bye, Mayhem.” I gave the ingoria a kiss at its snout, already sensing the need to flee from my studies.

  Three

  Freedom!

  I spread my arms out, basking in the glow of the setting sun. My tutor really loved going over the unimportant details, which added way too much extra time to our lesson. I had yawned until my eyes began to tear. At the end of it all, he’d given me a quiz. One I’d aced. It wasn’t very difficult at all.

  As soon as my lesson ended, I summoned my wings and flew toward the evaradrae training ground, where Kaji was most likely to be. The warriors were still training, clashing swords even though the day was about to end. As I flew over them, I waved.

  “Hello,” I said, offering my friendliest smile. Most of them ignored me, even though some gave me enough courtesy to bow their heads. They acknowledged my presence merely due to my status as the princess. I wanted to be amongst them. They were famed warriors, said to be the best at sword-fighting in Constanria. But most of the evaradraes wanted nothing to do with me. Just Kaji. Kaji was a good friend. I wouldn’t know what I’d do if anything happened to him.

  I ignored my disappointment and lowered myself into Kaji’s balcony. He was usually in his room. Either that, or lazing about on top of buildings in his favorite spots. The evaradraes were rumored to be the most hardworking soldiers in Constanria. They trained from morning to dusk, often practicing the same move repeatedly until they suffered blisters on their hands.

  Not Kaji.

  Once, Kaji had confessed to me that his first love was sleep. He told me that while traveling with a dancing troupe when he was a child, he’d seen everything, and so nothing entertained him anymore. He enjoyed slumbering. It helped him cope with the boredom of life. I used to wonder how someone like Kaji ended up with the evaradraes. He wasn’t the least bit hardworking. And then I saw him actually fight. If he tried hard enough, he could probably defeat my father. His flames couldn’t turn to electricity, not like my father’s, but they were the reddest and hottest flames I’d seen from any dragon-kind.

  I kicked the door of his balcony open and sauntered into his room.

  Kaji had food all over his mouth again. He told me he knew about his messy eating habits. He just couldn’t be bothered to wipe the stains from his face sometimes. A shower each day should do. His unruly red hair emphasized his messy appearance.

  “Mmm,” he began. His eyes remained closed. He kept his hands tucked behind his head. “The smell of dried meat. I wonder who it could be.”

  I smelled like dried meat most of the time due to my carrying around jerky in my satchel. They were treats saved for Mayhem. I needed them to keep my ingoria happy.

  “You’re a terrible member of my guard,” I said. Kaji was supposed to be part of the group of evaradraes who were assigned to protect me. They lingered around me, watching my movements to keep me safe. Kaji, however, liked relieving himself of his duties. Instead of coming to find me, it was usually the other way around. “I’m not sure if you’re doing your job properly.”

  “Nobody’s going to hurt you in Raynea,” Kaji said. “Most of the people love your parents too much for saving them from the Great Ash. Plus, you’re perfectly capable of protecting yourself. I pity the stupid assassin who dares attack you.”

  I folded my arms across my chest. “I appreciate the confidence. Still, I can’t help but feel like you’re being patronizing.”

  “My peers have got your back. I only disappear every so often. It’s not like I’m slacking off all the time.”

  “Just seventy percent of it,” I muttered. I moved toward Kaji’s bedside table and picked up a dynfowl wing. I began gnawing on it. It was already burned and overcooked, just like how most dragon-kind liked it.

  Kaji flicked open one eye and turned to me. “You know I was saving that for a snack, right?”

  “I consider it tax for my keeping quiet,” I said. “I make the other evaradraes shut up about your absence. And I don’t tell my fathers about your slacking, too. You’re only sitting comfy now because of me. I
should be allowed to eat all of your snacks.”

  Kaji narrowed an eye at my dynfowl wing, as if considering whether to tear it from my hand. “Fair enough. And what else do you need me for?”

  “What makes you think I need you for something?”

  “Because you always come bother me when there’s a quest or errand to run.”

  “Errands? How about that time when I made you rob the party food stores with me?” It’d been five years since I’d done that with Kaji. My mother had a special stock of ingor meat shipped from Kainrya, and so I’d forced Kaji to sneak into the stores with me to steal for fun. We had a blast. And I got a huge scolding after that. The look on the puzzled guards’ faces was priceless.

  “Was that not an errand?” Kaji asked. “You asked me to help you sneak around.”

  I huffed. “I thought you enjoyed it. The smile on your face told me you did.”

  Kaji smirked. “Okay, fine, that was pretty fun.”

  I used Kaji for company, mostly. He didn’t have to be there with me all the time. I liked my space, too. But he was the only person in the palace other than my family I could be friends and hang around with. The rest of the servants treated me like royalty, distancing themselves from me. And the evaradraes hated me for some reason. I still couldn’t wrap my head around why.

  “What’s the bother now?” Kaji asked, lazily pulling himself into a seating position. He didn’t wear a shirt. Most hidraes like him didn’t wear one. Not wearing shirts helped them shift more easily. Kaji flicked his messy fringe and pulled a joint from his pocket. He was always smoking darkweed. The sour scent of the herb drove me insane.

  I resisted the urge to pluck the joint from his fingertips, waving my hand across my face. “Ugh. Why do you have to do that every time I’m around?” I asked.

  “I do it whether you’re there or not,” Kaji replied, taking a drag. “I’m just always smoking, that’s all.”