by Nina Walker
All the while, I could sense that Jessa was still mad at me. I touched her arm. “Can I talk to you in private?” She shrugged as I took her elbow and led her to the least populated corner of the large ballroom. “Listen, I know we’ve had our differences, but we need to put them behind us.” I wanted to sound sympathetic, but even I could admit every word felt forced.
“Fine.”
Fine? That was all I was going to get? “Look, about Reed.” I glanced over to Reed and Sasha. He was making her laugh, too. How was that possible? The guy wasn’t funny!
“What about him?”
“He’s working with Faulk, remember? Don’t let him get too close. I don’t think we can trust him.”
She laughed. “Are you serious?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Aren’t you supposed to be on the same side as Faulk? Why do you care what I do? Anyway, what I do with my free time is none of your business. I can be friends with whomever I want.”
“I’m just trying to watch out for you,” I said, and then I bit my tongue to keep from screaming out that Faulk and I were definitely not on the same side.
“I can take care of myself.”
“Really? Because from the looks of it, you can’t. Reed has been all over you tonight. You don’t even know him. You don’t know what his true intentions are. He spied on us just a few nights ago, remember?”
“I know what I’m doing. And anyway, you have no room to talk. You and Sasha were the ones making out in front of everyone. Or have you already forgotten about your girlfriend? You seemed to have forgotten about her last night.”
She stepped back, folding her arms and taking me in. She was right. I wasn’t being fair. But she didn’t know the whole story about who Sasha really was to me. She couldn’t know.
“Fine. Do what you want. But remember that I am in charge of overseeing your training. Reed is involved with it, too. It’s a conflict of interest to get close to him.”
“Are you kidding me? You are such a hypocrite! And like I said, Reed and I are just friends. I’m not like you.”
“Like me?”
“I don’t go from one guy to the next overnight. It’s not so easy for me to play games,” she said, turning and stalking back to the table.
The image of last night at our garden picnic played through my head. She was right. I was unintentionally playing with her emotions, and it needed to stop. I wasn’t going to let Jessa get under my skin anymore. As far as she knew, Sasha and I were together. I had to keep it that way. For her sake, and for mine.
There wasn’t any point in following her. There was nothing left to say. I stayed where I was, hiding out in the corner of the room, unsure of what to do with myself. I was beginning to feel annoyed that my parents were no-shows. This morning, Richard had been insistent—so where was he now? Fashionably late? Maybe. Making a point? Likely. I was sure it would come to light soon enough.
I spotted Jasmine and wondered if she had any new insight. She wore a simple black gown. Her gray hair, no longer braided down her back, was brushed out in waves around her shoulders. Her brown-sugar eyes held a knowing glint.
“Good evening, guardian,” I said.
She turned to me and smiled. “Good evening to you as well, Prince Lucas.”
“I was wondering if you know where my parents are. Should I go look for them? They’re not being very gracious hosts, I’m afraid.”
Jasmine frowned and stepped in close. “Your mother’s headache got a little out of control today,” she said confidentially. “It’s the worst I’ve seen her. She won’t be coming. I was just with them. Your father should be here soon. Thomas, Faulk, and some of the others are going to stay with her until we’re sure she’s stable.”
“I should go to her.”
“No, Lucas, she’s sleeping now. There’s nothing you can do for her.”
I was tired of hearing that. I hated being so useless. I turned, finding myself looking for Jessa before I could catch myself. She’d gone back to the table where Reed and Sasha were bantering in light conversation. Apparently, my mother wasn’t the only one who didn’t seem to have any use for me.
11
Jessa
Oddly enough, I was enjoying the party. Reed and Sasha were entertainment enough as they bantered, explaining the inner workings of guardian training.
It turned out that most of the older guardians were out on assignments. The rest were here for training, which they did often. Guardians started out as novices when they were young children. Each alchemist was trained a little differently, depending on the abilities they had and how quickly they learned to control them. But most trained for several years before they were initiated into the GC and given actual assignments.
Initiation wasn’t something I would learn about until later, it seemed. But as it happened sometime during adolescence, I figured it couldn’t be too bad. After that point, some left the palace, but most didn’t get stationed elsewhere until age eighteen. It was similar to how job placement worked for citizens.
And yet, here I was. The sixteen-year-old newbie alchemist.
“You’d be surprised how seldom guardians actually get to use color alchemy while out on assignment,” Reed said. “It’s nice to come home and get some real work done. Training is the best.”
Home? I couldn’t even imagine calling this place home. With its endless hallways and ever-changing guest roster, the palace was anything but homey. Despite my best efforts to ignore him, I couldn’t seem to get Lucas out of my thoughts. After our argument, I’d gone back to the table with Sasha and Reed. Apparently, Lucas had decided to make himself scarce. The whole notion that I was supposed to be his date at this party was laughable. He had a girlfriend…who was charming and kind and beautiful. Despite my initial reaction to Sasha, I couldn’t help but like her.
Dressed in an exquisite red mini dress, she was physically the complete opposite of me. She was curvy and sultry…in a word, womanly. I felt childlike and gawky. No wonder Lucas was dating her. They looked great together. Like they existed in the same world. And I wasn’t about to become one of those girls who hated another girl just because she had good things in her life.
Focusing on Reed, I allowed myself to feed off his infectious energy. His charisma helped ease my nerves. And of course, he was pretty good-looking. His sandy-blond hair, tanned skin, and brown eyes gave him that wholesome quality. Oh, did I mention the boy has dimples? Plus, he was definitely attractive in a suit. I didn’t mind his casual flirtation. I knew it wouldn’t go anywhere, though. I wouldn’t admit it to Lucas, but he was right. Reed wasn’t someone I trusted. Not yet.
“Are you having any fun?”
I decided to answer Reed’s question honestly. “Some. I mean, I guess I’m okay. This just isn’t my idea of fun. I guess I’m a little too introverted. ”
“This is your party,” Sasha said.
“You might as well have a little fun,” Reed added.
“You know what?” I said, looking around at all the people enjoying themselves. “You’re absolutely right.” And he was. This party was being held in my honor right?
“I know something that could help,” Reed said, turning to Sasha. “What do you think? A little orange bubbly for the party girl?”
Sasha laughed. “I guess a little wouldn’t hurt.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“You’ll see.” Reed smiled. “It just enhances your personality a bit. That’s all.”
I suspected it had something to do with color alchemy. Couldn’t I avoid alchemy for just one evening?
“This party is all white and lavender.” Sasha frowned. “Don’t they normally have orange accessible at stuff like this?”
Orange! I didn’t want to even think about orange right now. Not after my day with Eliza. Sasha got up, flagging down one of the servants laden with a large tray of drinks.
“What are those?” I asked, nervously.
“It’s not quite what yo
u think,” Reed said. “There’s no alcohol in the drinks at guardian events. No need for it.”
“I knew they had something.” Sasha brought a champagne flute back, holding it up for my inspection. It was filled with a clear, bubbly liquid. A single orange flower petal floated gently on the surface. It looked like it had once belonged to a tiger lily. Fire-bright and full of color.
“On second thought, maybe we shouldn’t have her do it,” Reed said. “She doesn’t have the best track record with alchemy. No offense.” He smiled apologetically at me.
“None taken,” I replied. Despite my better judgment, I was intrigued.
Sasha placed her hand over the glass, the tip of her finger barely touching the flower. She smirked as the color from the lily seeped into the liquid, turning the whole drink a glowing orange. “Drink it,” Sasha handed it to me. “But only half.”
“Don’t worry,” Reed added, “all you’re doing is enhancing your own orange energy center by drinking this. It’s a little trick alchemists have been using for quite some time. Consuming color right after manipulating it tends to draw out those attributes in ourselves.”
“And orange does what?”
“A number of things as it taps into base emotion and passion, but mainly, this is going to allow you to have fun.” He took his own drink, now orange as well, and drank it quickly.
This was surreal. Could this work? This was a flower petal. One measly, albeit lovely, flower petal.
I picked up the glass and took a few sips.
It was light, citrus. Just as I’d imagined orange would taste. It tingled as it slid down the back of my throat.
Immediately, my body warmed. Anxiety lifted from me. Something welcoming bubbled up inside. Joy. My eyes began to water. But a smile pulled at my cheeks. I hadn’t felt this since the night at the ballet, before the disaster.
I was light and effervescent, just like the bubbles in my glass. Looking around, I realized that I just wanted to dance! I jumped up as a loud, upbeat song blasted through the speakers that lined the ballroom.
“This is my song,” I yelled to my new friends, pulling them to the dance floor. This wasn’t ballet, not that kind of passion. I felt safe giving it a shot.
Ten minutes later, the three of us were dancing in the middle of the room. Most of the party guests had joined us, and the whole atmosphere had lightened up considerably. It was actually starting to feel like a party, not a stuffy palace event.
Sasha was becoming my friend. And Reed was handsome. He knew how to have a good time. He was arguably the best dancer on the floor. Maybe I could have fun with Reed? I could enjoy a fling. Honestly, I had only ever kissed a couple boys before. Nothing exceptional. I’d always been too focused on ballet to care about dating. But ballet was gone, and everything, including me, was changing.
I smiled as the music blared and the crowd danced. I wondered why Lucas had left. He’d been gone for at least an hour now. Where was he? And where were his parents?
I frowned. He could be having fun with us. He could be dancing with his beautiful girlfriend. But he wasn’t. He was avoiding me.
Ugh, why do I even care?
There was a hush among the crowd, and the blaring music scratched to a silent thud. The crowd stopped pulsing, and parted, everyone bowing low.
The king had just entered the room.
And he was coming straight toward me. Oh no! I’m not ready for this. I joined the others and fell into a low curtsy. My head felt light, and I willed the orange joyous energy to leave my system. I wanted to make a good impression. This is the king! Reed had said this was different from alcohol. He must be right. The second I wanted the orange haze of excitement to lift, it did. Thank goodness.
“I think it’s time we formally introduced ourselves, Jessa.” The king stopped in front of me as he spoke to my downturned head. He slowly said each syllable of my name, provoking a chilling sting to run down my spine.
Oh yes, the orange is definitely gone.
His black shoes were so reflective that I caught a glimpse of my startled expression. I imagined how I must look to him, bowed low. A rare bird, now captured and placed in her cage. What tricks could he teach me?
“Your Highness,” I said, standing back up. “It is an honor to meet you. Thank you for throwing this party.”
With a flick of his wrist, he motioned to the onlookers to go back to dancing. They obeyed, obviously. “Don’t mind me. I hope I didn’t interrupt too much fun.”
I reached for a smile that didn’t seem to come. This was the king, the most powerful person in the world. I couldn’t help the intimidation burning a hole through me.
I stepped away, hoping to excuse myself. Technically, it was my party, right? I’d be happy to get back to it.
“You and I need to have a discussion,” the king said, grabbing my arm before I could slip away. “Why don’t we have a dance and talk about…things.”
I didn’t know how to respond. He wanted me to dance with him? Reed was still standing by my side, but he nodded to the king and disappeared. Sasha was nowhere to be seen. And where was Lucas?
Laughing, the king said, “Don’t worry, it will be all business.”
The music returned, much more subdued than before.
I noticed Lucas was back, finally. He was standing rigid in the far corner of the room. I caught his eye.
What does your father want with me?
A flash of confusion crossed his face as his eyes narrowed. Sasha appeared next to him then and whispered in his ear. He nodded, and together, they watched us with blank expressions.
“Welcome to the palace, Jessa.” The king pulled me into a slow dance. It felt wrong to be touching him, even if we were at least a foot apart. He wasn’t just a royal, he was the royal. The leader of our country. And he was old. The father of Lucas, whom I’d been reluctantly crushing on all week.
I didn’t want to be near this man. But what choice did I have?
“How are you coming along with your studies here?”
“It’s going okay, Your Highness,” I replied. “It’s all so new. There’s a lot to learn. I’ve just barely scratched the surface. We’ve only had one lesson.”
He considered me, staring down. His gray eyes resembled Lucas’s so strongly, and yet…they were different. They lacked something. Kindness?
“No need for formalities. Call me Richard. And that’s good to hear. I can only hope we’ve barely scratched the surface with you.”
I gulped, unsure what to say to that.
“You’re old for a trainee. Especially for a novice. Normally, someone your age wouldn’t be given a chance. Late developers are usually not strong enough to control their abilities. Lost causes. But somehow, you seem to be different, don’t you? I think we can help you.”
“How am I different from any other alchemist? I don’t understand what’s so special about me.”
“Your power is strong, yes. But we have many strong guardians. We can do more with you. The alchemy you did with that purple the first time you were discovered was very different.”
“What do you mean?” I was unsure how I felt about his excited tone. Something about it was unnerving, darkness threatening to surface.
“You used alchemy on purple and separated the blue and the red. How did you do that?”
“I don’t know.” And that was the truth.
His large hand tightened on mine, squeezing my knuckles together in a painful vice. I bit my lip, holding in the pain.
“You must learn how to control it. We need the red.”
“Faulk told me…why red?”
“It’s because color alchemists haven’t been able to use it yet. You just focus on getting that color. Then we’ll see what we can do with you, shall we?”
I thought about Lacey and how I had been able to pull the red from her blood. I could tell him about that, but I’d vowed not to bring her into this. Just the thought of him implicating Lacey made my stomach drop. He wanted red. But I
would have to find another way to get to it. There had to be an alternative that didn’t involve blood. Something about the very idea gave me the creeps. I hoped separating colors was the way. I’d done it before. I’d just have to figure out how to do it again.
As if reading my thoughts, he continued, “You are the only one in quite some time who has shown any progress in this area. Without even trying, it seems. Lucky girl.”
“But why do you want red?”
He stopped and stared down at me.
“It’s very likely we can use it to help people. To advance this kingdom. We won’t know until we try. But we can’t try until we figure out how to get to it. Until you, Jessa, figure out how to get to it.”
“So you need my help?”
“Ah…that, my dear, is where you are wrong. You need my help.” His grin lightened his wrinkled face. It was a truly handsome face. A politician’s face. The older, weathered, mature version of Lucas’s. “I believe today was an example of just how much you need us,” he continued. “It was your maid, was it not?”
The image of young Eliza, lying under the broken chandelier, the shards of crystal and glass everywhere, snapped through my mind. Blood had poured from her head. Her cries had pierced the room before she’d lost consciousness.
How could I let myself forget, even for a moment, what I did to her?
“You’re dangerous. You need discipline, focus, and training. Before you kill someone.” Impossibly, his grip tightened on my hand.
He was right. I knew he was right.
“The guardians are the only ones who can provide that to you. So, you see, you need us. You need me.”
“Okay,” I whispered. It was all I could manage. The only word I had.
“You’d be smart to remember who is in charge here. Help me and I will help you.”