“You look pale,” Aland said matter-of-factly. His white irises made his face as difficult to read as ever. “Are you afraid?”
“My last encounter with the teramarth wasn’t exactly the smoothest. I had to drag Kaji back, and he seemed like he was on the verge of death.”
“Oh, that was just a tiny swarm. A baby compared to this.”
“Your point being?” If Aland was attempting to reassure me about my fate, he was doing an awful job.
“This is going to be a lot more exciting. The alarm was sounded. That was the first time it was ever played like that.” Aland looked into the distance, his eyes searching across the Wall of Thorns. “Even I’m a little worried.”
“You didn’t talk to me to comfort me, did you?”
“No.” He shook his head. Was that a smirk I saw? Only a crazy person would smirk at such a situation. “There should be no comfort in this. That’ll make you lazy. Your guard will go down. And then you will turn into teramarth food.”
“Hm.”
I glanced at Kaji. I always looked to my friend when I needed to feel better. He didn’t have it in him to give me reassurance. The temperature around us had dropped, turning icier. It was almost as cold as Aland’s eyes. I squeezed Kaji’s hand tighter as he grunted not tearing his eyes from the Wall of Thorns.
We didn’t even need fae magic to feel it.
The anger.
The pain.
It was as if Lysunth wished to project her anguish across the lands. The agony she went through thrummed through all of us. The sky had turned cloudless. There was not a bird in sight. And the hue of it had turned into a brownish red.
A minute later, quiet was all the remained. The horns stopped blaring. Charmingface didn’t say a word.
It was all silence except for that one girl who wouldn’t stop crying.
The Wall of Thorns shifted, and all the soldiers remained on high alert.
“They’re coming,” I whispered.
Aland breathed out softly. A light mist of air escaped his lips. Had it really turned that cold? I wasn’t one to feel the chill due to my dragon-kind abilities. We were immune to the chill since our bodies generated far more than enough heat.
Why the fear, children…
I stiffened. “Did you hear that?” I asked, not certain who exactly I was directing the question to.
“It’s Lysunth,” Aland responded. “Until now, only Neremin has heard her voice. It is creepy, just as he’d described.”
A lump stuck in my throat.
“Draw your swords!” Charmingface shouted. We did as he asked. I didn’t think I’d ever grabbed the hilt of my blade this tightly. Suddenly, I regretted leaving my ivory dagger back at the dorm. I thought I shouldn’t have shown it to the rest of the fae, lest they questioned where I got it from. I fought far better with it in my hand. I’d been training with it every since I was a child, after all. Maybe I would die without it. Paranoia fastened around me like a noose. My breathing grew erratic.
The Wall of Thorns continued to part, revealing the teramarth behind.
Their atrocious smell swept across the distance. My eyes teared from the stench. Behind me, the girl who had been crying lost control of her stomach. She vomited, the puke staining the comrades who sat by her side. I curled my nose up in disgust.
“You might have to shift,” Aland said.
“Yeah,” I said, speaking over my fear. It wailed in my eardrums. “I know.”
A sea of undead.
They awaited us.
And they had magic, too. Some of them wielded the earth, bending it to their will, and above the gigantic army were dragon teramarth. Hundreds of them. Kaji and I had struggled fighting them, and there was so many more of them now.
“Ready the catapults!” Charmingface boomed.
My nerves were wound tight.
Anytime now, the teramarth were going to charge. I was about to have undead guts all over me. In the chaos, I wasn’t going to know left from right.
“I’m predicting lots of screaming,” Kaji said. His whole body was tense, just like mine.
In my head, I began counting. Something about counting made it a calming act. I focused on the numbers, attempting to drown the fear out.
In time…
Lysunth’s voice sounded far too soothing, considering the anguish she projected across the lands. In time? What did she mean by that? My mind circled those two words.
And the Wall of Thorns began closing.
I blinked. What was that?
The teramarth slunk backward, retreating into themselves. The thorns began intertwining with each other. The pain and anger that Lysunth had poured out died down, and the skies began turning blue once more. Slowly, the temperature rose, returning to its usual warmth.
This entire fiasco had ended as soon as it had begun.
Lysunth’s threat disappeared, and the teramarth retreated behind their wall. Their horrible stench lifted.
My jaw fell open as confusion buzzed through the students.
“What… what just happened?” I asked.
“Nobody knows,” Aland said.
Charmingface straightened. He wore the same puzzled frown as every member of the Rakarthen army.
“Retreat!” he shouted, waving a hand over his head.
Seriously? Was it wrong for me to be somewhat disappointed that nothing had happened? I scratched my head, then turned to the triad. “Um, is nobody else miffed?”
“We all are,” Cendri said. “I don’t know if that’s a warning.”
“Hmph,” Aland said. “The orb might really be defective. Can we still trust it?”
We were standing at the front, and the army retreated from the back, so the triad and I were the last few to leave. Charmingface had gone out front first, having to deal with administration. I overheard that classes were postponed for the day. The recruits needed some rest after all that mental strain. Many of us thought that we would have died.
My stomach grumbled, reminding me I was hungry.
I’d almost forgotten about that.
“Classes have been postponed,” I said to Kaji, “but we’re still going to have food, right?”
“You can snack on this first,” Kaji replied, already returning to his bored self. He pulled a piece of sugared meat out of his pocket and tossed it at me, treating me as if I were Mayhem.
Twenty-Four
When the moon was out, with students all inside their bedrooms, and when nobody walked about, the pixie lake was awfully calm. The surface gleamed. Not a ripple disturbed its surface. It acted as the perfect mirror.
I took a good look at myself.
Most people needed that from time to time.
I questioned everything. What was I supposed to feel? Who was I?
Earlier this morning, when I’d stood in the middle of the army and awaited the teramarth, I felt insignificant and small. All my initial doubts and worries and fears had stopped mattering. None of that held any meaning in the face of death. In that instant, I could no longer hate the fae. How they performed during the clash determined whether I lived, after all. We were all ready to fight for the same thing—survival.
What did my hatred and desire for revenge even mean?
I looked back at the lake and my reflection, at my short hair. Because of what Nemreth had done, I’d lost the locks so many people had complimented me on. My mark of femininity. He’d taken that away from me. The hair was already growing back, but it’d take at least a year for it to reach the length I was used to.
I couldn’t let that slide so easily. After facing all that bullying, I’d sworn to make him suffer.
“Being introspective?”
I lifted myself from my kneeling position. Aland strode to me, his hands behind his back. He wore his long amber hair in a low ponytail. It lay flat on his chest. I’d never seen him dressed this casually. A plain tunic and slacks. But there was nothing casual about his gaze.
“Uh, hi,” I said. What els
e was I supposed to say?
“I come to the pixie lake to stroll often. It’s serene. The quiet makes it easier to hear your own voice. Was it the scare this morning? Did it make you have to think?”
“Why are you here?” I asked.
“To think, just like you. I thought I’d be alone with my thoughts. I didn’t expect to find you here. A pleasant surprise.”
“Pleasant?”
“Aren’t you?”
Aland walked up to me then sat on the grass. He wrapped one leg over the other, then tipped his chin up, toward the moon. He sat still, almost like a statue. What an odd fellow. I considered leaving him alone in his meditative position. Curiosity got the better of me, and so I sat next to him. My sitting position was sloppy in comparison. I slumped forward, my shoulders hunched. I cared little for propriety, even though I was raised a princess, and chose comfort instead.
“What did you come here to think about?” Aland asked.
I jolted. He looked so peaceful that I hadn’t expected him to speak. “Nothing important. Just about my own existence and whether my concerns are worth any coin.”
“Ah. That doesn’t sound important, indeed.”
“Yep.” I wrapped my fingers around my ankles, shaking back and forth.
More quiet surrounded us. I turned to Aland. He was in the exact same position, his eyes closed. I wondered how he stayed so still. If I tried the same thing, I’d lose focus too easily. I’d have to fidget. Shift. My raging emotions would compel me to do something—anything, and before you knew it, I’d be pacing around. Watching him, I admired how he was able to maintain such stoicism. Perhaps it was because he had a quality I failed to see in myself, and that ignited in me a sense of awe.
“What do you think she’s planning?” I asked, needing to break the silence.
Only Aland’s mouth moved. “You’re talking about Lysunth.”
“Yes, the goddess. That whole display earlier this morning. The recruits in the academy can’t stop talking about it, and nobody can figure it out. I don’t know why she’s doing this.”
“I don’t know, either. The only thing I can do is be ready for battle.” Aland blew out a controlled breath. “I think she’s trying to scare the weak ones away. Maybe the orb isn’t wrong. A huge attack is coming soon. The air’s magical signatures are just as troubling as this morning. Lysunth’s about to strike, and that was a warning to put fear in the students’ hearts.”
“What is the point of showing us her strength?”
“Did you not notice those cowards?”
“I did. They were difficult to miss.” Right after the incident this morning, some of the students had packed and left. At least they’d tried. The academy didn’t allow deserters. Only I, as an outsider, could choose to leave. The first group of recruits who’d dared, however, were made an example of. Neremin the fae king had rounded them up. Three of them had been executed right outside the mess hall. It was to deter the fae from running away. If the rules were too lax, there wouldn’t be anybody left to fight the teramarth.
“Morale is low,” Aland said. “Many of the fae view the lack of a fight as us running away. It was a compelling image. A horde of undead coming to eat us. Lysunth is allowing their imagination to run wild. It’s not the truth. The truth is, nobody knows how the battle would have turned out if it’d happened. But many students now believe they would have died, that they narrowly escaped death. Which means that they’re starting to believe that they’ll die in the next battle. She’s a clever god.”
“Yeah.” His cold analysis of the situation sent tremors through me. “Makes it sound like we might lose the next time she comes. Worse still, we don’t know when that’s going to happen.”
“I’ve been getting more letters.”
“Letters?”
“From fans.”
“Wait, what? You get that?”
“Of course. All three of us do. We’re very well known amongst the fae. Have you not heard the prophecy?”
“It’s talked about often.” I studied the paleness of Aland’s skin. It looked blue in the moonlight. He was the fairest amongst the triad. “What do the letters say?”
“Some talk about the strangest things. Like what they ate for breakfast or their fear of water pixies. Sometimes they invite me to their weddings.”
I frowned, not understanding.
Aland finally opened his eyes, looking at me. “Mostly, they mention how scared they are. They want affirmation from me. For me to tell them that everything’s going to be all right and that there’s no need to fear. I can’t do that. I can’t lie.” He shifted to face me and reached for my hand. His skin was cool to the touch, maybe due to mine burning up. Aland touched my short hair, taking a lock between his fingertips and playing with it. “The new look suits you.”
Aland let go of my hair. His fingertips grazed my cheek. He moved his hands, trailing a feathery touch down my neck. My insides coiled as I focused on the sound of Aland’s breathing. His eyes were so, so cold, yet the way they looked at me made my blood hot.
Aland’s hand traveled to the back of my head. He cupped it, and slowly, he drew me into a kiss. Unlike Cendri or Nemreth, I felt little hate for him. He’d been kind to me, after all, returning me the dagger I’d treasured so much. I let him take my mouth, giving in to my desires. His tongue snaked its way into my mouth.
This is me being reckless.
I was already confused enough, my thoughts racing due to what had happened at the Wall of Thorns. I didn’t need this as a distraction, but Aland tasted oh so sweet. Our tongues circled each other. It was then I noticed how he smelled like the earth. I thought I was floating away. The kiss was bliss. But Aland’s hold on the back of my head kept me grounded.
Then he released me. But not completely. That kiss had put me into a trance, and a heady sensation threatened to consume me.
“Can I admit something, princess?” Aland softly whispered.
“Yes?” He could say anything to me then and I’d eat up his words. I blinked at him, wanting this confusion to end.
“I fear, sometimes.”
“It’s normal to fear.” I didn’t think Aland would be scared, however. He always gave the perfect illusion of calm. How could anybody as composed as him be afraid? He hadn’t shown any emotion during the almost-battle, either. I was a wreck compared to him. Even Kaji looked scared, but Aland had faced the oncoming threat without batting an eyelid.
Aland pressed his lips into a thin line. “That’s not what my family tells me.”
“Then what do they?”
“Soldiers do not feel. They do not care about the possibility of death. The Cardells pride themselves on being heartless. That’s how they’ve protected the fae for so long, never flinching in face of the worst.” When Aland looked at me, it seemed as if he was reaching into my soul, wanting me to respond to his words so he’d have someone to understand him. “Is it wrong that sometimes I want to run away? The burden of the triad is too much. We are worshipped, yes, but the expectation to perform is always there.” His brow crinkled. Was that embarrassment I saw on him? I definitely saw uncertainty. Aland drew back and pried his gaze from me, shaking his head. “Why am I sharing all this with you?”
“Your morale was hit, too, wasn’t it?” I asked.
“Was it?” He was back to being cold again. Distant. I was more comfortable with this, but I had to admit to being intrigued when he’d shown vulnerability. “I’m not allowed to say it.”
“And why not?”
“What would the students think when their savior is showing signs of backing out? A revolt would start. All of them would want to leave, and then nobody would want to face the teramarth. Thesnan would be consumed. I am strong, but not out of choice.” Aland straightened his spine, back to sitting as he usually did. “My family thinks it’s a blessing for me to be part of the triad. The attention. Fame. The promise of glory. It’s a curse.”
“Is this whining I hear?”
; Aland grunted. “What do you mean?”
“You’re complaining. Few strong people ever do. They’re better at swallowing their worries. Keeping it to themselves.”
“I want to find someone to be weak around. It’s relaxing. I’ve seen other people do it.”
“Why me?”
“The fae wouldn’t trust you if you said these things about me. You wouldn’t be able to use my vulnerabilities against me. You’re an outsider to them.”
I held my breath, letting his words sink in. He wasn’t doing this because he felt anything for me. It was because I couldn’t hurt him. Because my words wouldn’t matter. Aland was… using me?
I inched away from him and rubbed a hand across my mouth. “I’m going,” I said, pushing to my feet.
“The Flower Trials start tomorrow,” Aland said. “Thought I’d warn you. You can’t rest yet, not unless you choose to go back to Constanria.”
“I’m not letting my guard down,” I replied. I couldn’t seem to do that when around these three.
“Don’t. Especially not at the Flower Trials. Charmingface has something planned. I don’t think it’s good.”
“The principal?” I asked.
Aland nodded. “The magical aura around him has been strange lately. I’ve been watching him, but he cloaks himself well.”
“Does it concern me?”
“I suppose it might merely be a matter of the fae.”
“Then I’ll see myself off.”
“Good night, princess.”
“Night.”
He waved me off, sending me on my way. I rushed back to my dorm.
Twenty-Five
Nobody told me the Flower Trials would be such a spectacle. Apparently, not just the students attended to watch the combatants slaughter each other. All the important people of Thesnan were invited to watch, too. Kings and queens and their officials.
There was a sudden increase in the number of bards in the school grounds. They strummed their instruments, the cheerful tunes wafting through the academy. A prelude to the many deaths about to come.
Rakarthen Academy Page 20
