Rogue Royalty

by Rebecca Ethington

  Mira kept walking forward, like I wasn’t spinning around like a human top.

  “No, it's my job to guard the royal family.”

  All thought of additional guards swarming around me was forgotten, “Aren’t you part of the royal family?”

  “Yes.” There was that tiny hint of a smile again.

  “So, you guard yourself?”

  “I guard my family.”

  “So, does that mean you have been watching Rowan the entire time?” Man, really sucks to be him if that’s true.

  “And you.”

  “But I haven’t seen…” I paused and looked around again, instead of looking with my eyes, I felt with my magic. The added pressure of other people and their power so faint I barely found it. “Damn, you’re good.”

  "I was trained by an evil king who was trying to end the word," she said, stuffing her hands in her pockets as she smiled at me. As if smiling would make what she said normal somehow.

  "End the world, like the guy who Ilyan and Joclyn stopped?" At least I had paid some attention in history class.

  "One in the same." She sighed, slowing as we grew closer to the office where more than a few people were gathered, the king and queen in the middle of them all. "I killed more than I let live those first years."

  "Ummm. So, are you the one who is going to kill me then? Because I promise you I didn't blow up that hall." I was suddenly back to evaluating escape plans. I hadn't fully eliminated jumping out the window.

  "No, no death. Not here. I know you didn’t blow up that hall. I follow you, remember?”

  “Still creepy.”

  “Plus, I control your magic.”

  “You control…?”

  She stopped, turning to me and smiling so broadly I had to question how much the wicked king had taught her. How much she still retained.

  “Seriously Gemma, what did you think the Štít was for? The bits of stone will turn your magic off without some sort of barrier. I get to control it, like a remote.” Her grin stretched, the light in her eyes gleaming as that deadweight I had felt on my chest since day one lightened. My magic buzzed through my veins, same as it used to. Same as it did every night when she was probably sleeping.

  “Holy shit,” I hiss-whispered, staring at my fingers as they hummed.

  “Pretty cool, huh?” I really didn’t know what to say to that, cool was not the word I would go for.

  I was leaning more towards a solid ‘total bullshit’.

  My magic snapped back to a low roar as we turned another corner, toward the open door and a buzz of voices at the end of the hall.

  “So, no blowing up buildings for you anymore.” She gave me a wink, like she still thought this whole thing was cool. “I know of only one other person with the strength to do that and he is MIA, so you have nothing to worry about. Even without all that, I would have known. Working for Ilyan and Ryland for all these years has taught me one very important thing."

  "What’s that?" The queen was looking at me now. Her silver eyes were devoid of any black as she peered through the hall, her brow furrowing

  I almost went back to the whole running away thing, but I was sure any of them would catch me before I got too far.

  "How to spot a tyrant," she said as the queen walked our way.

  I laughed, but she was dead serious.

  "Any around here I should know about?"

  "A few. But don’t worry, you're not one of them." I twisted to her, waiting for her to finish, to give me the names, but she smiled. “You lied for the prince, Gemma. Tyrants don’t do that.”

  I was stuck in place, her words pounding against my skull.

  She was right, I had lied and covered for a prince. For a damn Eternal. What was wrong with me? What was I anymore?

  “Hello again, Gemma,” The queen said as she reached us, her smile wide before she spread her arms. I cringed, expecting an attack, a slap. It could go either way.

  Instead, she wrapped her arms around me and pulled me into her.

  “Thank you for caring for my son.”

  What. The. Fuck.

  32

  Rowan

  I flew home to Imdalind.

  Home to the underground circuit of caves that had been my entire world up to a few months ago. I had hidden in there, ignoring truth and fate and pretending the dreams I had were nothing more than that.

  Coming back, I realized how small and dark the once safe tunnels were, how much I had coated the stone with lies while I let the world around me burn.

  I had blocked my mother’s sights. I was as responsible as the rest of them.

  The fact that I had also collapsed an entire wing of my father’s precious Abbey was inconsequential at this point. Right now, I needed to talk to my mother.

  Finding her may be nearly impossible, seeing as they had stuttered out of Cail’s office less than an hour before, but this was as good as a place to start as any.

  The only question now was where to start. Their massive suite, or the dark tunnels that led to the underground pool of black water that was kind of like a temple to her.

  To me.

  Standing in the middle of the massive stone courtyard, I could feel the floor hum with the power. The rock pulsing like a heartbeat, pulling like a deep current that was pulling me toward it.

  It had always been there, but now, with so much of the Drak magic flowing through me, it was so much more pronounced.

  Before I could stop myself, I turned on my heel. My heart moved in time with the heat of the stone as I walked down the darkened tunnel that I had avoided for the last ten years, when I had sat beside the pool and filled the mug for the first time. When I drank for the last time.

  The energy in the stone drifted into the air, it vibrated against my skin as everything hummed.

  Hum in the silence, as though the energy was singing inside of me, accented only by the pound of my feet against the stone as I moved faster. Faster.

  I needed to move faster.

  “If they are telling the truth... if they found a raw one? What do you think that means for us?” I froze, not because of the voice. But because of who it belonged to.

  It wasn’t my mother. I didn’t know of one other person who was allowed to be down there. Who should be down there.

  All that thrumming magic twisted itself into a panic in my gut as the high-pitched voice of the woman moved closer. Not one, but two pairs of footsteps coming right behind.

  “I’m assuming good,” Analine said with foreign glee in her voice, I pressed myself against the wall, knowing she and whoever she was with were close.

  “It all depends on how it’s used.” If Analine was bad, the answering voice was worse.

  Talon.

  The steps grew closer. I remained in place, magic boiling in time with the pulsing stone as two figures turned the corner and came face to face with me. They both jerked as though they had been punched, Talon's features quickly rearranging into something closer to fury as he shifted something behind his back.

  "What are you doing here?" He was clearly trying to keep his voice even, trying to push a bit of surprise into his features. Nothing could mask the shock in his eyes, even if Analine hadn't been such a huge giveaway. Her usual smug snarl was missing, her eyes darting around me, looking for who I was with.

  "Odd. I was wondering that about you as well." I said, folding my arms, if only because it was the only way to control my magic right then. The power was growing closer to boiling rage. "I mean, it's been a while since I've been down here, but I'm pretty sure there is nothing that would interest you..."

  I shifted, trying to get a look at whatever he had shifted behind his back, but he countered me, stepping closer so as to block my line of sight.

  "Aren't you supposed to be at school?"

  "Yeah, school's canceled, someone blew up a building," the two looked at each other, eyes not even trying to hide their alarm now.

  "I wonder who that could have been, come to turn in the litt
le Drain this time." I chose to ignore my brother's jab, even though he was smiling so broadly it was clear he thought he had been handed a win.

  "Where is mother?" I asked, looking between them and down the long dark hallway. I half expected her to be standing passed it, looking in on us. But I couldn't feel her magic anywhere, no matter how far I stretched my magic to look.

  Now that I was actually looking with my mind and not letting my magic drag me away, I wasn't sure she was there at all.

  "The King and Queen were called away. There was an emergency on the outer edge of our kingdom," Talon's voice rumbled over the stone, pulling my spine as though his tone was some kind of trigger.

  We rarely spoke to each other that way, if only because it was irritating enough when we had to do it to others. But Talon looked right at me, his proud voice loud, the air prickling around me as the skin on my neck lifted.

  I swallowed, "What emergency?"

  They hadn't been planning on going after the Demarco's and their army until the weekend, I had seen them less than an hour ago. Surely if something had happened so soon they would have told me.

  "None of your concern, Atty," Talon snapped over any answer Analine had been about to give, her mouth snapping shut as Talon stepped closer to me, his frame so close now that I could feel the heat of his magic, of his shield buzzing above his skin. "Leave the tough question to the adults."

  He was expecting a fight. With the intensity of the layer of magic that was smothering him, he was ready to put up quite a fight.

  "Okay, so here's an easy one. Why were you down by the water?" I could visibly see Talon's shoulders straighten, Analine stepping back as her own magic flared. "Why were you in the Temple. You're not a Drak."

  "Neither are you, Atty." God, every time Talon used that nickname I wanted to slug him. He knew it too with how he was smiling.

  "Actually, I've been having second thoughts about that."

  "Why?" Talon said with a laugh, turning to Analine who gave a half-hearted laugh. She hadn't taken her eyes off me, off my hands. "You gonna go save some more Drains? Pull them out of the tunnels and set them free like the vermin they are. Or, if what Analine says is true. She is." He clicked his tongue and shook his head. "That fucking Drain you make eyes at every morning."

  "She's not a Drain." I cut him off with a snarl, taking two quick steps forward as the rock in the stone next to me cracked like lightning. I didn't have to turn to know I had done that. Talon's smug smile was enough.

  "Control yourself, Atty, or you're going to drop the world."

  I totally tried to slug him. My fist only got about halfway to his jaw when his magic slammed against me, throwing me into the wall. Stone cracked around me in jagged broken lines.

  "I warned you when all of this first happened that she wanted to kill us, Rowan. That she wanted to hurt us, me, you, Angie. Instead of keeping your distance you have buddied up to her. Now you are crawling into bed with her."

  "Excuse me?" I snapped, pushing myself off the wall, resisting the urge to fight back. I may be boiling, but I wasn't stupid. "I traipsed around that hellhole for months with that bitch Sia Demarco. If I had been crawling into bed with anyone it's her, and I ended that bullshit."

  Saying the words, the reminder of what I had done, was churning my stomach. I didn't need that thought in my head, especially when I could still remember how my magic had reacted to one touch from her. Vile Disgusting. Unwanted. So much different than Gemma’s.

  “Sia Demarco is not part of this,” Talon snarled, more anger in his voice than I had expected. In fact, he looked about ready to explode.

  “Not anymore, thank god.” Saying it aloud calmed my brother enough that his magic wasn’t crackling in the air anymore.

  "Well, if we are going to win this, you need to stay away from both of them. Sia is no longer your concern. And the girl..." Talon said, taking a step closer to me. "Her part in this has nothing to do with you.”

  "Win?" I interrupted, my voice nearly a whisper as I sat up. "What do you mean win? What battle are you playing, Talon?"

  "There is no battle. There is no winning," Analine said, finally stepping forward and back into the conversation. I wasn't sure I believed her. "We are trying to unite everyone, Rowan. You know this. You know you have a part to play in this."

  "A part that does not involve the Undermortals." Talon clearly had to concentrate in order to use that word. "Any of them."

  He was clearly trying to drive some point home, both of their expressions heavy as they peered into me. My magic buzzed against my neck, the same images from before blending with another flaring in my memory with that haunting moment of Gemma's hands wrapped around Talon's neck.

  “What are you saying, Talon?” I said, forcing calm through me as my magic boiled again, the power pushing me forward, down the long tunnel.

  “We don’t want anyone to get hurt, Rowan. You especially.” Talon tried to put his hand on my shoulder, I dodged him. "I know you want everyone to live in peace, and they can. Perhaps you can come with us. Perhaps you can help."

  Analine shook her head, eyes wide as she stared at Talon, trying to get his attention, but the guy was only looking at me, his hand still reaching toward me.

  "Help with what?" I glanced between the two, both sets of suddenly eager eyes, staring into me like I was some kind of prize. The intensity, the glee. I had been met with the hopeful glare of dozens of women for weeks, watched their eyes graze over me with some hungry lust that always left me feeling unclean.

  Now, I felt like I was swimming in shit.

  The look these two were giving me now was more predatory, a hungry stare that dug into my nerve endings, every muscle in me screaming, begging, me to run.

  Talon smiled, "If you are embracing that power. Embracing that magic, I know you can help. Help me. Help the cause. Perhaps even help our parents."

  Everything ached as I stared at him. His words sunk in as he shifted, dropping his hand and shifting his weight, giving me a glimpse of what he had held. A canteen.

  A canteen filled with water.

  Black water.

  My eyes snapped to his, jaw dropping. What in the world would he have need of Black Water for? Mom could summon it from anywhere, and I highly doubted she would use it in battle. Anytime the water touched non-Drak flesh a sight was triggered. I had seen in happen once before, when Angie knocked over moms mug as a toddler.

  "I don't know what you are playing at, but I think you need to go. I think you need to leave that bag with me. I need to find our parents. I think I need to talk to our father before I make any decision about what I am going to fight for, and who I am going to avoid."

  I didn't move beyond swinging my hand forward, palm up as I waited for him to deposit the water pouch. Thankfully he did without complaint, although Analine said something so low and fast that I couldn't make it out, even if Talon hadn't cut her off with nothing more than a glare.

  "I'll see you in class tomorrow, cousin. Goodbye, brother." I made sure not to use their names, to keep my voice impassive as I watched them go. Felt their magic retreat back to the main hall of Imdalind and then vanish from sight as they left the caves.

  I still didn't move. I just stood in the middle of the cave, the water sloshing in the canteen I held as my magic picked up, pulling me down to the end of the cave, to the water that part of me knew had all the answers.

  Instead, I ran knowing right where my mother was.

  33

  Gemma

  The hug was not the weirdest thing to happen.

  I had been shuffled into a room with every Eternal I had met so far, the royal family all clogged inside of Cail's office, Mira rushing in and out as she oversaw the issues that arose due to Rowan having blown up a building. Rowan, not me.

  None of them questioned it. Mira explained what happened, the King looked at me with a smile and commended me for holding my own against his son, and that was it.

  Well, not it-it, but they hadn't sa
id anything more about what happened in Defense class... or the fact that Rowan's eyes had gone black. "Thank you for caring for my son," the Queen had said, and then nothing else.

  It had taken me a few minutes of listening to them ramble about reconstruction plans to realize why. They didn't know.

  Either they didn't know he was a Drak, which I highly doubted, or they actually believed my story about me insulting the Queen and Rowan flipping his shit. Damn, the kid must really have a temper then if they didn’t even question it.

  I wasn't about to bring the Temper Tantrum Prince and his black eyes up again though, because after they had discussed the plans to have the students rebuild the amphitheater as a lesson in magic the queen turned to me and spoke a truth so plainly that if I had been able to eat anything at lunch would have had me throwing up all over her.

  "So, I am being told that the Vilỳ who bit you is alive."

  I shouldn't be surprised she knew; Patrice had come along on that little mission after all. But still, hearing her say it felt like a betrayal somehow. Especially knowing where Patrice came from. She should be on my side. I had clearly lifted her up on some pedestal she didn’t deserve, she wasn't an Undermortal anymore.

  "Yes." I nodded, it really wasn't worth it to lie at that point. "But the guy, Adrian--"

  "A real peach," Wynifred cut in with a wicked grin, probably replaying her last interaction with him, the one where she had thrown him into a wall and made him smell his own junk. "Seems to think that being made of pure muscle is enough to take me on."

  She and Thomas chuckled. I would have joined in if the Queen wasn't giving me her mumbo jumbo scowl. I shifted, maybe if I didn't look at her she couldn't see straight into my soul like she did last time.

  "Yeah, well, he has the Vilỳ. He's biting everyone in my community with it, at least that's what Patrice said," I looked to the lady and she gave me a nod.