“Don’t put words into my mouth,” I said.
The conversation diverted to other topics—Gisiroth’s orders, battle tactics, more intricacies about soul magic. I listened to their discussions, which often morphed into light bickering.
I liked being a part of their group. It felt like being in a huge family. I probably didn’t deserve any of this warmth, but I was happy to take it. Watching the four brothers was probably one of the most eventful things in the world. And most of all, it felt comfortable. I probably shouldn’t be feeling this sense of belonging and enjoyment, but those emotions took over anyway, and they sucked me in.
With the princes, I didn’t have to cover myself. I could have my gloves off and be free.
“Who’s taking Sera to the council?” Micah said.
I checked my watch. I was late. I muttered a curse. The princes had distracted me so much I hadn’t kept track of the time. Smoothing a hand over my hair, I pushed myself to my feet and grabbed my satchel. “I have to go. Like, now.”
“Why don’t we all take her?” Kael suggested. “Together.” His lip curled up a bit too much at the mention of that, and I wasn’t quite sure what he was insinuating.
“No,” I snapped, gripping the strap of my bag. “If the council sees more than one prince, much less three of you, swooping along just to send me to work, I’ll have huge trouble.” I shot a pleading glance to Rylan. “Can you take me, please?”
“Him?” Micah said, scooping a second dish from the spread we had in front of us. The men could eat. “He fetched you the last time.”
I couldn’t look at Kael or Micah without thinking about their kisses, which threw my insides out of order. “Let’s make it consistent. I’m sorry, Rylan, I know you’re busy—”
The legs of his chair creaked as he slid to a stand. “I’ll take you.” He wore a haughty grin as he strode over. He walked past me, but not before grabbing my hand and pulling me toward him.
“Not fair!” Kael said.
“Shut it, Kael,” Gaius snapped.
“You’re just jealous you don’t stand a chance.”
I let myself get tugged along by Rylan, and tried to keep up with his long, graceful strides.
The day at the council went on without any bumps. Frederick had gone on with his usual questions about the princes, and I managed to smoothly dodge every single one of them. There was gossip, but mostly, more people warmed up to me, perhaps wanting to get some of the glory of being associated to the princes.
Rylan had indeed told Tindyll that our arrangement was of a work-related nature, although it was starting to seem less so. That had calmed a lot of the tension in the council and, in fact, made its members view me more favorably.
Everything was going well. It almost seemed like bliss. I was still tired from overworking myself and trying to bite off more than I could chew, but I’d learned how to deal with that kind of stress. It was a constant companion I could get along with.
After the council meeting was over, Rylan came to pick me up, to watch the brothers spar again in the training grounds.
I sat on one of the benches there and was flipping through a report.
“Kael, do you know you can be quite heavy?” I said to him.
He was starting to get a habit of lying on my lap. The first instances had made me want to squeal, but my body eventually protested to his weight, which made my legs fall asleep on me.
I moved my report, so I could look down at him. A cheeky grin and electrifying blue eyes greeted me. His white hair splayed out from behind him, framing his gorgeous face. “Heavily interested in you, that is.”
I quickly moved the report back, to cover my view of him. Too much of a good thing could be bad. Especially for my heart.
“You’re starting to get clingy,” Gaius said, sitting next to me. He’d stopped his insults, which actually made me warier of him. Why was he acting so strangely?
“Am I?” Kael asked.
“It’s not pretty,” Gaius said.
I actually thought it was, but I wouldn’t say that out loud.
As I read through my work, I took glances at Rylan and Micah, who were sparring in the middle of the arena. They’d been going at it for a good ten minutes. They had decided to make it a bit of a tournament, and for the silliest reason. Kael had suggested the winner could steal another kiss from me, which I pretended to object to. Gaius had been brought in by default, though I believed neither of us wanted to spend any time kissing each other. The thought made me want to puke.
It felt like they were fighting with more tricks than the first time I’d watched them. Rylan tripped Micah up, but Micah recovered quickly. A crackle of fire and electricity blitzed around them, making their figures hard to follow. How were they so fast?
Kael slapped my report away.
“Hey!” I said. “I was reading that.”
He sat up. Finally, I thought. “I’d rather you talk to me instead.” He narrowed his eyes at me and leaned closer. “Let me take you to someplace nice after this. The view is gorgeous. Then we can forget about the others, and it’ll just be you and me. I’d even let you take a look at my dragon.” He swung his hand to the back of my neck and drew me in.
“I have work to do.” As usual. Something thwacked Kael across the head and sent him sprawling across the ground.
Kael let out a yell and made an impressive maneuver to lift himself to his feet. “Who did that?”
It was Rylan. Kael stormed toward Rylan, but the crown prince ignored him. “You’re up next,” he said to Gaius.
“You lost?” Gaius asked.
“Micah managed to flank me from the right. I’ll get him back.”
“When’s my turn?” Kael asked, rubbing his temple.
Gaius stood up, and Rylan took his place. Rylan glanced at Kael. “Be patient.”
As Gaius stepped to take up position, Micah studied his brother. Gaius still hadn’t apologized to Micah for his “bastard” comment. Now that I knew their history, this duel seemed to have greater stakes than the silly prize of stealing a kiss from me.
They circled each other. Gaius drew his axe, while Micah gave his dagger and short sword a light spin.
“Gaius always beats Micah,” Rylan said. “Gaius and Kael have always been the better fighters.” He leaned forward and rested his chin on his fist, studying the match. “I tell myself it’s all right. Micah and I often have a tighter rein over our emotions and thoughts. Then again, Gaius’s knowledge of soul magic and its workings is unparalleled, even with Micah’s memory.”
Kael strode up to me, and then he was back on my lap. “I think—”
“Which is surprising in itself,” Rylan cut in.
“Asshole,” Kael said.
I set my report down, getting too distracted by the fight.
They both had their wings out and were clashing in the skies. There wasn’t the brotherly camaraderie I’d sensed from the other fights. Instead, the tension of enemies and anger sparked between them.
I was actually worried that they might hurt each other, and wondered if they should call off the match.
I tried my best to follow. Gaius, like Rylan said, seemed to have the upper hand. Micah was edging the arena and was almost getting knocked off.
And then Micah let out a roar that startled me. His crimson hair whipped in the wind, despite how humid it could be in Raynea, and he lunged with all his might. He kicked Gaius in the stomach and pressed his half-brother down. They both fell toward the ground in a blur. They jostled, and a huge yell of pain shot to my ears. I saw blood spraying from Gaius’s arm.
My breath hitched and I abruptly stood up. “Gaius!”
“It’s all right,” Rylan said, pulling me back down. “He’ll heal quickly.”
Micah emerged the victor. He had his sword and dagger in a crisscross around Gaius’s neck. He was pinning Gaius down with his knee. He smirked, stood up, then twirled his weapons before sheathing them.
Micah strolled toward us, al
l smiles. He wore the confidence of a man who’d just proven himself. I was proud of him. It felt like Gaius was part of his demons, and overcoming the brother who shot him down countless times meant a lot to him. But he didn’t have to make Gaius bleed…
“Good job,” I said.
“You bloody won,” Kael said, grinning. “Hey, Gaius! Micah beat your ass.” Kael turned to Micah. “Does that mean if I beat you next, I’ll win Gaius by default?”
“It doesn’t work like that,” Rylan said.
The tournament went by simple rules. They’d all take turns at each other. Two strikes and they were out. So far, only Rylan and Gaius had lost.
Micah hooked an arm around me and rubbed me on my head, messing up my hair. “Thanks, Sera.”
“For what?” I said.
“Making me want to win.”
“You didn’t need me as a reason.”
“Yes, but it helped.”
“My baby brother’s grown up,” Rylan said with a bemused grin.
“Yeah,” Micah said.
We were spending so much time congratulating Micah that I hadn’t realized how left out Gaius was. From the corner of my eye, I spotted him picking up his axe, which had been thrown aside during the fall. He stared at his weapon, then glared at me. He didn’t seem bothered by the large gash on the side of his shoulder, even though it was trickling with blood.
An ache shot through my chest.
“Gaius?” Kael shouted. “What are you doing? Come sit down.”
Perhaps I really was stealing his brothers away. Maybe all that tension between me and him had painted him as a villain, and now everyone was happy that he’d been defeated.
Gaius lifted his axe and tucked it away. It always impressed me how fluidly he could handle his large weapon. He sucked in a deep breath, then spread out his wings.
He took to the skies.
“Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed,” Kael said. “Guess he’s not playing anymore.”
Gaius continued to lift himself into the air, then flew off, until he was nothing but a speck in the blue sky.
“He’s upset,” I said.
“Being a sore loser,” Micah added.
I frowned. “Try and understand.”
“Since when were you on his side?” Kael asked. He stood up and drew his daggers. They made a slicing sound and reflected the bright glow from the sun. “My turn.” He walked to the center of the arena. “Better be ready for my kiss, Sera-kit.”
Micah trailed after his brother, still basking in the afterglow of defeating Gaius.
“Micah’s going to get his bum kicked,” Rylan said, chuckling to himself. “Only Gaius can beat Kael, and that’s with the help of soul magic.”
“Kael’s that good?” I asked.
“He’s a master of all weapons and anything combative. He’s a bit light in the head, but I have to give him that.”
“So…”
“He’s going to win. I’m going to lose, too, as much as I hate that.”
“Why’d you agree to the challenge?”
“A bit of motivation is good for a fight. Plus, I was hoping Gaius might win, and then nothing would happen. Guess he’s not helping with that.” Rylan turned to me, wearing a smoldering grin. “Shame, because I wanted those lips to be just mine.”
I tried to brush his comment off with laughter, but it sounded more awkward than humorous.
Just as Rylan had said, Micah found himself on his back and with Kael’s boot on his chest in just a few minutes. Kael winked at me.
And this time I laughed. Genuinely.
Who was I kidding? Watching the brothers fight over me was good fun. It was more than a girl could ask for.
I winked back at Kael, and that seemed to spur him on. He pointed his dagger at Rylan to taunt him.
“Wish me luck,” Rylan said.
I raised a brow. “Would that help?”
“No.”
Micah got to his feet and swept the dirt off his behind. He was wearing a scowl. I guessed the confidence from defeating Gaius had worn off quickly.
Anticipation built up in me for the next kiss, but my mind kept flitting back to Gaius and the way he’d flown off. A need to apologize rose in me. But he’d been mean all this while. Didn’t he deserve this?
I tried not to think about Gaius and redirected my attention to Kael’s tomfoolery, but to no avail.
Thirteen
The kiss between Kael and me was laughably short. His lips had barely grazed mine before his brothers pulled him away. It was almost as if it hadn’t happened at all. Kael had whined and complained, which only put a big grin on my face. He had to live with just that kiss, because I was biding my time trying to decide who would win the bet.
It probably made more sense to give it to Micah. I would like to see Kael try working for a month with Rylan, but would that be too evil?
I’d just finished dinner and was walking back to my room. I wanted to talk to Gaius after dinner and ask him how he felt. But he’d skipped it, avoiding us. I shouldn’t have been such a busybody, but recalling the way he’d left kept niggling and me.
I made a mental note to go look for him after I’d finished work. I hadn’t even had the chance to. When I opened my door, I saw him standing outside my room, leaning against the wall. My feet slowed down.
He heard me coming and lifted his head to look at me.
“I’ve been waiting for you,” he said.
“Why?”
“Come with me.” Without asking, he strode up to me and hooked a hand around my sleeved arm.
“Gaius, where are you taking me?”
He didn’t respond. He led me into my room and out onto the balcony. Abruptly, he cradled me in his arms, and I balked. “What in the world, Gaius? Wait!”
He summoned his wings and lifted himself off the ground. I bit my inner cheek, wondering what in Constanria was going on. Maybe Kael was right. Perhaps Gaius had hit his head really hard on something and lost it.
“Can I have an explanation? Please?” I asked, wrapping my arms around the back of his neck even though I didn’t want to. I was afraid I might fall. Gaius didn’t carry me with the same tenderness his brothers had. His grip was a bit too rough and hesitant, and I felt like I might slip and splatter on the ground.
“I’m taking you somewhere,” he replied.
“Where?”
“Someplace that means a lot to me.”
“I’m going to need more specifics.”
He looked at me with a tight-jawed expression. Then his expression slackened, and he actually smiled.
What in Aereala’s—
“You do feel nice to carry. My brothers weren’t lying.”
“Are you sick? Dying?” I asked. “You’re scaring me. Perhaps you need to get checked by the healers.”
He snorted a laugh, then batted his wings more quickly. The location he was bringing me to was far away, and ten minutes later, in this awkward position with Gaius, we still hadn’t reached it. He’d traveled out of the palace, to the mountains around the city, and wound his way past some rocky outcrops.
Cool air greeted us, completely unlike the stale heat of the city. I took off my gloves, resting them on my stomach, and reached out, letting the winds slip past my fingers. I could see the farmlands of the Mishram Plains in the far distance, and an intricate network of rivers and tributaries winding across the landscape.
The sun hadn’t set yet, and rays of it escaped through the evening’s orange clouds. The sights were breathtaking, and I was too awed to speak.
We landed on top a mountain. A pavilion stood out from its rocky ground, looming over the landscape.
“This is the place?” I asked Gaius.
He nodded. He hadn’t walked up to the pavilion, as I’d expected him to, but to the edge of the cliff. He sat next to it and swung his legs over the edge.
“Sit down,” he said, patting the grassy patch beside him.
“Are you going to push me off wh
en I do?” I asked, arching a brow. “Is this your grand scheme?”
He smirked. “Maybe.”
“I’ll stand over here.”
“Suit yourself.”
“Where is this place?” I asked. I peered out into the distance, looking over Raynea. The large palace, a network of pristine white buildings and domes, stood tall, protruding from the smaller buildings of the city. I could see the network of streams running through it.
“It’s been decades since I’ve been here,” Gaius said. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
“Yeah.”
“Josephine thought so, too. This was her favorite place.”
“The girl who left you?”
“Us.” He leaned back, resting on his weight on his hands. “She left all of us.”
He’d confirmed my suspicions. “You—all of you—shared her?”
“We did. But I loved her most of all. Micah was charmed by her, and saw her more as a friend. Kael just wanted another plaything, and Rylan entertained the idea.”
“But you?”
“She’d said so many sweet things to me. She was like… like the air I breathed. I was willing to give up the world for her. Then I found out she was trying to get close to us under her father’s instruction, for the power and fame. But she wasn’t that kind of person, and she chose her heart in the end. I didn’t belong in there. Maybe that’s why I liked her in the first place, because deep down, she’s a genuine person. Like you.”
I thought about the lies and manipulations I used to try and get to where I was today. “Not really. I’m nothing close to genuine.”
“If you’d been deceitful, you wouldn’t have said that. You wouldn’t have tried to convince me to change my ways. It was probably a lot of trouble.”
“I just wanted to tell you that you were an asshole.”
He laughed. “Guess so.” He pulled himself to his feet, nearing me. “I’ve been thinking about what you said. About my closing myself up.” He’d let his bangs grow a tad bit too long, and a strand fell between his eyes onto the bridge of his nose, between his blue eyes, which were now digging into me.
“And?”
“You’re right. It’s time I let Josephine, and the prejudices that came along with her, go. I’ve been making myself lonely for too long.”
Bane of Dragons Page 14