Rogue Royalty

by Rebecca Ethington

  "I assure you it's not," I said, sitting back in the chair, my thumb running over the clasped hands on the screen of my phone.

  "We gained access to it a few years go. A pool of Black Water.” Both of their eyes went wide. “My parents harvest the water to use on the recruits. We were hoping to trigger Drak magic in them, create an army of visionaries to tell us how to overtake the Drains, and anyone else in our way. According to Talon, it's been disrupting the Queen's visions. With the Queen out of commission and the dark line opened..."

  "We have a straight path into the heart of Imdalind. Into the royal families underground castle." Tasha finished with wide eyes that I wasn't one hundred percent sure were actually seeing anything.

  "So, who wants to join us on a raid this weekend?"

  All they did was smile.

  28

  Rowan

  My heart was trying to pound its way through bone and flesh long before the heavy knocks on the door sounded.

  We had invited Gemma to join our make-shift study group tonight. I say we because it was mostly Greer who had done the asking; done the conniving and planning. It was also Greer who had bowed out at the last minute and decided instead that he 'needed to wash his hair.'

  Yes, the short shorn black man with that wide grin had used the excuse that he needed to wash his hair. He had sold me to the wolves. He didn't know what fire he was playing with.

  My magic had mostly settled after last week’s connection, my father's bind settling enough that I could easily control my magic again without the Drak power taking over. Although, I could still feel the magic. Feel the heavy power as it tried to take its rightful place. There was no stopping it now, no matter how much I hated it, I let it out, little by little, as I tried to find another way to control the power.

  I would figure it out.

  I had to figure it out.

  Pushing as much of the magic down as I could, I walked toward the door, straightening the dark grey V-neck I had chosen that morning, subconsciously knowing it was my best shirt, and who was coming by.

  My hand was still on the knob as I stood there, taking one steadying breath as I felt her magic through the door, felt the waves of her power try to move against mine as they had since that day they had sparked.

  "Hello, Gemma," I said, before the door had even opened all the way, my heart tensed, hoping to see that glimpse of a stunning smile again, instead she stood, hip popped, hair in curls, scowling as she popped her hip.

  "Hey, Princey," she crooned, giving me the shit-eating grin she usually did and muscling her way into my room. "Where's Greer? I expected him to be at the end of the hall ready to drag me in again."

  I shut the door, lingering with my palm against the wood before I turned, dragging my hand nervously through my hair.

  "He's not coming," I sighed, shifting as even her teasing grin twitched out of place.

  "That rat bastard," she snarled, jumping up from the couch she was about to sit down on. "No offense, but it's probably not the best idea for me to be here. I mean, I've wanted to kill you at some point in the last thirty days.”

  I knew she was right, having her alone was dangerous. Even with what I knew was brewing between us, it’s not like she’s even been quiet about her end goal. Scarier still, I knew she was telling the truth.

  "Are you going to kill me now?" I asked quietly, sitting down on the couch opposite the chair she was still standing in front of, safely placing the coffee table between us. Like it would do anything to have a splinter of wood in a magic battle.

  "The jury is still out on that," she mumbled, tugging at the frayed edge of the shorts she wore so often I was sure she had more than one pair.

  "Well, don't worry. If you decide to try your hand, I'm sure I can take you," I said, throwing one of the grapes I was holding at her. She didn't even dodge, just scowled. "We are sparring partners after all. At some point I am going to have to kick your ass."

  "If that's how you think it's going to go down, then you are sorely mistaken." She laughed with a mocking groan, her eyes flashing with a spark as I felt her magic flare in the air.

  The sensation was so powerful. I had felt it the first time when I had seen her the other night. Having the majority of my magic flooding through my veins was making all of these sensations more intense. More greedy. I sighed and pushed the feeling away, now was not the time to explore that. She was still pacing before her chair, eyes continually darting back to the door. I was sure infiltrating magic would send her running for it.

  "Oh, I know that's how it's going to go down. I'm used to getting my ass kicked by the King and his stubborn brother. I'm excited to win for once." She had no idea how true the statement was. Yes, I was sure Gemma would give me a run for my money, but I surely wasn't going to go down that easy.

  "If you always lose, how do you know you'll win? Maybe they've been going easy on you your whole life and you suck so bad you think you are losing with them at full power." She was smug, her prod meant to hit some tinge of regret or truth. There was none there. If I was ever able to do what Angie asked and bring her home, she would know just how much those two 'go easy' on anyone.

  "Could be," I shrugged, "I'm sickly remember." I gave her a fake cough and she rolled her eyes, glancing back at the unlocked door before she finally sunk into the overstuffed green chair.

  My heart released a bit. The blood pumping again. She was staying. I really wasn't sure if this was a good thing or not, but I couldn't ignore the way everything loosened, magic included. It was already trying to make a bee-line for her. I pulled that sucker back. She was still freaking out about our magic sparking. Like hell if I was going to let her catch wind of what was really going on.

  "If your sickly than I'm destined to be the new queen. Oh, wait..." She tapped her index finger against her lips, a whisper of that beautiful genuine smile from the other day peeking through, it was almost enough to stop my heart again.

  "You gotta get through me first--"

  "Not a problem," she interrupted, throwing her legs over the side of the chair and stealing a grape from the bowl on the table. "Latest rumor is that you are as dead as a doornail and have been sent home because you were so sick you couldn't even walk. I guess your magic ate you alive."

  I couldn't help but laugh, my belly shaking as the ridiculousness of the whole thing bled through me. It wasn't the first time I had heard that. Unbeknownst to me, that rumor had been going around for years. Somehow, it got funnier every time. Probably because this time my magic had actually eaten me alive.

  "My poor parents, they will only be down to one perfect son," I chuckled, pressing my magic against my heart as she turned, her perfectly red lips pulling up. "I hope it was a good death."

  "Oh, the best, very bloody. Someone was trying to say you were lost in an epic battle in the old Americas," she ate another grape, taking one bite before she froze and turned, speaking through a mouth full of grapes. "Wait. I thought you had two brothers?"

  "One is as far from perfect as you can get. Clearly, my loss would be devastating." It was hard not to let out frustration in those few words. Talon had only grown more agitated over the years and the last few days before I came to Imdalind Academy still stung in the worst possible ways. I had never known so much hatred to live in him.

  "Ah yes, how could I forget, Talon,” She rubbed her jaw and sat up abruptly. "You know. The fact that Talon exists and is related to you, has got to remove at least ten points of your douchebaggery scale."

  "Gee thanks."

  "I've met Dramin, he's pretty cool. So, another ten points off." She waved her hand to the side, but I had frozen, the couch suddenly seeming hard and cold beneath me.

  "You've met Dramin?" Dramin and Patrice were essentially the black sheep of the family. They were there, I saw them all the time. But they were more likely to be fundraising and touring kingdoms halfway across the world than cavaliering around Imdalind Academy. They were at The Gauntlet because we all had to be at
The Gauntlet, yet Gemma had met them.

  "Yeah, he and his wife help us with the food. He's cool. Acts like he swallowed one of those old-timey novels with a chesty man on it sometimes. But still cool."

  The description was accurate, but I still choked on the water I had chosen that moment to swallow, the fluid burning as it went down the wrong pipe.

  "Is there anyone in my family you haven't met?" I asked, she leaned back in the chair folding her ankle over knee as she contemplated, counting on her fingers like she had them all memorized or something. She probably did.

  "Are we talking immediate or extended, because I think at this point all I'm missing is that little one from the Gauntlet. The kid."

  "My baby sister," I hadn't meant the words to sound harsh, but hearing her talk about Angela, seeing her smile, it sent my Drak magic boiling, the little bits I had released bubbling at the base of my neck as they tried to pull me into sight.

  That sight. I had no interest in seeing it.

  I closed my eyes, pushing the magic away and forcing myself back to the conversation.

  "How is that you have met all of my family and no one is dead?" I asked, pinching my nose as I continued to press the magic away. "Wasn't your entire goal to end us all or something."

  "Well, yeah, but that Mira girl restrained my magic," she sighed, looking up at the ceiling, avoiding my stare as her brow furrowed together. "That and some sickly douchebag prince taught me a few things."

  "Oh yeah, was it remorse?" I asked, remembering that very first conversation.

  "Fuck no." She made a face like she had eaten something sour. "It was that everyone needs to learn to control their temper."

  "Gee thanks. Now you really sound like my dad." I sighed and fell back against the couch, suddenly wishing I could help her destroy an apple rather than continue this conversation.

  She put on the same face she had before, dropping her voice as she tried to match my father’s deep accent, "Now son, don't go blowing up trees and food."

  "You're really stuck on that tree, aren't you?" I cut in, turning my head to glare at her from where I lounged on the couch, but she plowed on.

  "Be nice to snotty rabbits--"

  "Rabbits?" I said between laughs, the look she was giving me making the chuckles come deeper.

  "Don't let Sia Demarco suck out your soul." She finished with a gasping breath, her face returning to normal as she joined in laughing.

  "I'm glad I could teach you remorse," I said, earning myself a look, but I plowed on. "You taught me something too, you know."

  "Was it how to peel off Sia Demarco's lizard skin and reveal the monster trapped beneath, I mean I gave you enough hints." That smug smile was back, her usual teasing making a grand return as she deflected, her shields up high as I dug into something that scared her.

  Something told me to back off, but I continued forward, fighting the need to grab her hand as I leaned forward.

  "No, it was that I am in fact a selfish prick and that maybe I need to think of others sometimes, even if it scares me."

  "Damn you, Rowan," she sighed leaning back in the chair and giving me a bright grin, the real true smile that spread over her face stopping my heart. "I can't call you a douche anymore."

  We sat there, smiling like loons, every bit of my strength focused on keeping my magic restrained in my chest, restrained away from her, even though I could very clearly feel her power prod against me. Feel the warm need as it tried to connect with mine.

  As we understood something about each other.

  Something deeper.

  Something I don't think anyone could break.

  29

  Gemma

  "Do you guys have some weird blinking language you created without me, or are you speaking directly into each other's minds? Cuz you look insane."

  "Shut up, Ed" I snapped, flicking my fingers at his far too close face as I once again tried to pull my focus from Rowan. Something that was proving hard to do, it was like something about him was pulling me into him. Toward him.

  I had felt it first the first time he grabbed my arm after he tried to save me from his girlfriend, but after last night it was nearly impossible.

  Of course, he would choose today to make his grand reappearance at school.

  At least he hadn’t tried to come sit with me or something. But he wasn’t sitting with Sia either, even though the girl kept shooting him dirty looks. He was sitting with Greer and his friends, mostly Undermortals who looked bewildered about what he was doing there. Except there were two girls who kept giggling and waving. It was driving me crazy.

  It shouldn’t be driving me crazy.

  The whole thing was wrong in a million different ways.

  "Gemma," Eddy was whispering in my ear now, leaning so close that he might as well have been my Sia equivalent. Sick. "Gemma, take off your top."

  I laughed so loud that more than a few heads in the cafeteria turned, including Sia, who had been so busy staring at Rowan that she had missed the stare down I was in with her boyfriend. Or not boyfriend, I couldn’t keep track.

  She saw it now, however. In one flash of red in her eyes, I got my just desserts.

  Or rather a bowl of cauliflower soup exploding in my face.

  Everyone around me burst into laughter, Eddy and myself included as I scraped the mushy bits of vegetables off my face. Thank god it wasn't that gross leaf stuff, I had a feeling the Undermortals would use the green goop as spackle rather than food.

  "Keep your eyes on your own kind!" Sia yelled from across the cafeteria, her mouth open and ready to dish out some more elitist nonsense when Rowan snapped her name with a sound that was pure threat. The girl sat back down with a scowl.

  The laughter died into confusion, as everyone looked between Rowan and I in whispers and ping-pong eyes that made it clear that everyone had figured out what had happened. Great. This was going to make the rest of my day more interesting. To be honest, I had kind of been dreading it since he strutted into Professor Analine’s lecture about types of magic a full half-hour late; wearing his full uniform none-the-less. I don't think I had seen the guy actually wear the tie and jacket since school started.

  The image of him looking all dapper and shit was seriously making everything worse.

  "Rats on a platter, what is wrong with me?" I hissed under my breath, scrubbing away the last of the soup with the napkin, careful to keep my head down even though I knew he was looking at me again.

  "You mean beyond the fact that the prince seems to have an obsessive crush on you," Eddy was giggling again, his shoulders bouncing up and down.

  "He's looking at me again isn't he?"

  "Yep." Eddy was laughing again. "So is Sia. You’re getting it from two directions."

  "Perfect," I said, leaving enough of the soup on my face to make it obvious that I didn't care and sat up straighter. "Wave to your new best friend, Ed."

  We laughed, leaning in as we waved enthusiastically at Sia, the bitch going a gnarly shade of pink as Rowan laughed at us.

  "Oh, you are so going to pay for that," Eddy said through his smile, still waving enthusiastically at her as more and more people noticed, waves of giggles creeping over the crowded cafeteria.

  “Yeah, well, maybe she’ll knock some sense into me,” I mumbled, picking at what was left of my food. I was glad she had exploded the stuff, if only because it gave me an excuse not to eat it. My stomach hadn’t stopped spinning.

  “I’ve been trying to do that for weeks,” Ed mused through a mouthful of soup. “It clearly hasn’t worked?”

  “Weeks?” I wasn’t following.

  “Yeah, Gem, I saw you checking out his ass the day he destroyed your tree.” I whipped to him, hair tickling over the freshly shaved sides of my head. He wasn’t looking at me. “I don’t think you were breathing.”

  “Oh whatever,” I snapped, nearly snarling as I punched him in the arm.

  He didn’t flinch, but he did drop his spoon, giving me a bit of side-eye
.

  “That’s how I know I’m right, by the way, that you like him a little more than you want to admit, and a lot more than you know you should.”

  “You are so not right,” I was fully focused on my food now, scooping up as much as I could so as to fling it in Eddy’s smug face. Maybe I’ll put it on his neck. It’ll be a nice addition to his tattoos.

  “Oh yes, I am. You can ignore it all you want, Gem. I promise you I’ll keep it a secret, but your walls go up every time you get too close. Those snappy powerful walls that you led with for years, they protect you know when the one person you know you shouldn’t like is shattering everything that you worked for.”

  Ice coated my soul as I sat, my fingers clenched so tight around my spoon that the knuckles were turning white. I wasn’t even sure my heart was beating anymore. I sure as hell wasn’t breathing.

  “What is it, Ed? You get magic and you turn into some wise old man?” I didn’t turn, and I sure wasn’t going to look up to Rowan. Even though I was sure he was still staring at me, even though the cafeteria had begun to clear out.

  “No, Gem, I’ve known you for almost ten years. I’ve seen those walls for just as long, for all sorts of reasons. I saw them with Adrian too, even if you don’t want to admit it.”

  It was then that I turned to him, a spoonful of cauliflower soup armed a ready, he didn’t even flinch he just smiled.

  “Don’t worry, I think in the end you realized that Adrian wasn’t worth it,” he said, fingers slowly lowering my spoon back to the bowl. I didn’t even fight him, I didn’t think I had the energy to. The entire room was going hazy, my body numb as everything Eddy said hit hard and true.

  So, fucking true.

  “He wasn’t. He was a liability from the beginning.” I was snarling now.

  “You know I’m your best friend, Gem, and you’re mine. It’s why I’m here with you. I see your walls, they just don’t bug me.” he shrugged.