“What in Constanria’s name was that!” Kael shouted, lunging back inside. He was apparently fine. He leapt at Micah and elbowed Micah’s shoulder.
Micah groaned before countering by pulling Kael’s hair. They rolled around the floor of my bedroom, groping at each other. Micah’s hat fell off. I was worried they might hurt each other, but there was a feverish smile on each of their faces, so I figured everything was in good fun.
Kael gripped Micah’s neck and pulled his brother up into a standing position. He winked at me. “Sorry about this inconvenience, Sera. If you would excuse us.” Kael summoned his wings and flew Micah through the balcony’s entrance.
“Gaius! Help!” Micah cried.
Gaius shrugged. “I guess I’ll have to. No other way for Micah to win otherwise.” He too called to his wings, and exited my room via the balcony, but not before flying into the door on the way, spinning out of control. He somersaulted and made a perfect landing. Then he glanced back and pointed at me. “I meant to do that.” He leapt to the first floor.
I ambled up to the railing, which was crumbling at the top on one side due to Micah’s punch, to watch them wrestle in the courtyard. They reminded me of the inca cubs I used to see back in the town when they were play-fighting—an exaggerated form of play-fighting, at least. I doubted I’d survive the skirmish if I stepped anywhere near them. There was fire and electricity sparking between the three of them. Kael was trying to escape by flying away, but his brothers caught him and threw him back down on the ground.
“Aren’t you going to join in?” I asked Rylan, who had stridden up beside me.
“They’re being idiots.”
“You didn’t play like this with them before?”
A smile inched up the side of Rylan’s lips. “When we were teens, maybe. Micah didn’t. He was born too late.”
“That long ago?”
“I don’t think we’ve done anything like this since Josephine. Gaius and Micah weren’t on good terms, and Kael always ran off to have his own fun.”
Laughing echoed its way to the balcony.
“Looks like they’re having a blast,” I said.
“Hey, Sera!” Gaius shouted. “Take a look at this!” He and Micah had gotten Kael in a lock. Kael’s butt was sticking out, and Micah pulled his pants down.
My brows lifted. That was a nice-looking butt.
Kael shoved them away and quickly pulled his pants up. “Two against one! Not fair! Rylan, you’ve got to help.”
“Good luck!” Rylan yelled back. He chuckled.
“Seems like you’re missing out on a lot,” I said.
“You just want to see my behind.”
“I won’t disagree with that.” I smiled and leaned against the railing, resting my cheek on my palm. This was more interesting to watch than any play.
“Who do you think is going to win?” I asked Rylan.
“Not sure. Anything goes when it’s like this, and since its two against—”
A rock flew out of nowhere and hit Rylan squarely in the head. At the speed that went, it would have killed any human, darmar, or perhaps even a drerkyn, but it bounced off Rylan’s temple as if it’d hit a concrete wall.
A wide grin split Rylan’s face. “They’re asking for it.” He cracked his knuckles and stretched.
“I thought you said you weren’t going to join?”
“That was before. I lied.” Black wings spread out his back, then Rylan jumped off the railing and joined his brothers.
I kept my eyes locked on their fight, hoping someone else had their pants down. Sadly, nothing of the sort happened.
At one point, Kael walked around with a bucket over his head. Where in Raynea did they get a bucket? He was trying to fight despite being blinded. Micah used the opportunity to pin him down and taunt him.
Kael finally managed to get the bucket off, and the odds turned in his favor. They weren’t all trying to get at him then. Their fight had morphed into a mess of limbs everywhere, playful growls, and random jabs at each other. Rylan disappeared for a couple minutes and came back with a carton of pastries. He threw them at his brothers.
“Oy!” Kael yelled.
Micah bit off the edge of a sweet bun before throwing it in Gaius’s face.
At the end of it all, Gaius, Micah, and Rylan were on the ground, panting, while Kael came out victorious.
They all looked like they’d just crashed into a caravan of goods, covered in dirt and food.
Kael flew up to where I was and perched himself on the railing. He winked at me. “Guess I’m giving you a lift today. I won. Again.”
“Only after you take a shower,” I replied.
“Deal.”
He stole another kiss from me. A thud sounded, and I thought I saw a rock falling from the back of his head. He tugged away, yelling, “Ow!” He turned around. “Who did that? You wanna have another go?”
“Too tired!” Rylan shouted, lifting an arm in defeat, before slumping back down onto the ground.
Sixteen
The brothers flew next to Kael, who was holding me as he beat his wings against Raynea’s warm atmosphere.
“You’ll have to share Sera eventually,” Micah said. His hat was gone, but the image had been imprinted in my mind. “It’s immature to keep your playthings all to yourself.”
“All right, baby brother,” Kael replied. “Weren’t you the one who just pulled down my pants in an entirely childish fashion?”
“Do you still see me as such?” I asked Kael.
He peered down at me. “As?”
“A plaything.”
“No.” He hugged me tighter to his chest. “At least, I don’t think so. You’re foreign to me.”
I curled my fingers into a fist and pressed on his chest.
“I’m taking Sera to the council tomorrow,” Rylan said.
“You did that all last week!” Micah said. I didn’t want the brothers to bicker over it, so I decided to make Rylan’s fetching me a permanent thing. He agreed, so I didn’t argue. It made things simpler.
“We need to come up with a roster,” Gaius suggested. “And since Rylan’s been trying to keep Sera all to himself, I say I get the next turn.”
Micah growled. “Who let you decide?”
“Guys,” I said, “I appreciate your volunteering, but is it such a big deal? It’s giving me a lift—”
“It is!” they replied in unison.
And I couldn’t help but sense a bubble of happiness swell inside me.
“Why not we let Sera decide?” Rylan said.
Kael nodded. “Good idea.”
Four pairs of expectant blue eyes met mine. I clutched my right hand around my left gloved one—I’d made sure I had my gloves on before I left. I swallowed. I was afraid the wrong answer, or any at all, would hurt their feelings. “We’ll draw lots later. Or…”
“Or?” Gaius prompted.
“Next person to pull Kael’s pants down gets the turn.”
“Hey!” Kael said, as his brothers narrowed their eyes on him. They were seriously considering it.
“I’m joking!” I quickly said, in case they decided to get into a fight in midair. “We’ll draw lots. Paper ones, without having to swing any fists around.”
We reached the council shortly after, and Kael let me down. We didn’t bother to find an inconspicuous location to drop me off, since there were probably more than enough rumors about me already. I preferred to have them by my side.
I turned from the princes, looking at the imposing door of the Council of Intelligence. Suddenly Rylan’s suggestion to skip the meetings sounded more alluring. Could I simply stroll in and act like nothing happened?
“Do you want us to come along?” Gaius asked. “It might be better.”
I shook my head. “No, that’s all right. Pick me up at the day’s end?” I was getting too used to having the princes as my personal transport service. Previously, I’d had to walk all over the place, but they made things so much easier wit
h their wings.
Gaius raised a brow. “At five in the evening?”
“Yeah.” I nodded.
They spun and walked away. Micah gave me a little wave, and Kael blew me a kiss before they left. Nobody, except for a few maids, was watching. The meetings had already started, and most of the scholars were already inside.
Arriving late was probably a bad idea. I’d done so because I had been procrastinating about facing the consequences.
Without the brothers, loneliness hit me. I reminded myself they’d be back soon. Heaving in a deep sigh, I wrapped my fingers around the door handle and pulled the entrance open.
The council members had already broken up into teams. I strolled in, pretending nothing had happened during the ballroom event, ignoring the strange stares people gave me as I walked past.
I climbed up the stairs to find Frederick and my team.
My best friend was leafing through his papers, while the others sat around, looking lost without my direction.
Frederick jolted out of his seat when he saw me. “Sera!”
“What did Tindyll report this morning?” I asked. “I missed her announcements.”
“Forget that.” He hesitated before grabbing my hand and pulling me aside. My teammates’ eyes trailed after me as I was tugged along by Frederick. He directed me to an empty corridor.
I watched him and his panicky manner. “What is it?”
Frederick stopped and let me go. He rested a hand on the wall and placed one hand on his hips. “Yesterday.”
“What about it?”
“You can’t be acting as if it didn’t happen.”
“It did. And it was a wreck. But so far nothing’s gone wrong because of it, and—”
“Nothing’s gone wrong?” Frederick pressed his lips together. “Everything is out of order. You shouldn’t have left so early. You left your reputation defenseless and allowed Vancel Gavril to say whatever he wanted about you.”
“What did he say?”
“He let Mei give a long testimony about how your touch felt. He even brought out that maid—which I knew nothing about, by the way—who Gaius had made you touch, and he started calling you names like ‘demon-born’ and ‘Aereala’s hated one.’ It was a mess. The princes weren’t even there to speak in your favor because they rushed out the moment you left. Now everybody thinks badly of them, too.”
I stared at Frederick in silence, not knowing how to respond. The truth was out, and I’d messed up. What now? I wasn’t sure whether to be angry or scared. My feelings seemed to take the easiest route, settling for numbness instead.
“Tindyll’s probably going to have a word with you later,” Frederick said.
“You think… What do you think is going to happen?”
“I don’t know. I really don’t have a clue. But whatever happens, be prepared.”
I nodded solemnly.
One of the scholars came up to us. He stopped farther away than he needed to be, and said loudly, “Sera, Tindyll’s looking for you.”
My palms were becoming sweaty. I’d decided to let myself ride this current of turmoil, because as hard as I tried to think about ways to talk myself out of this, I knew how people could be. They enjoyed pointing fingers at a common enemy. And a girl who could hurt every single one of them with a touch? A person like me was easy to hate. After what Vancel had done, it seemed like there was no turning back.
“Bring me to her,” I told the scholar, and let him lead me to Tindyll. She was in her study, sitting at her desk and writing.
The scholar asked, “Can I go now?”
“You may leave.” Tindyll waved him away.
I walked closer to Tindyll’s desk, wanting to sit down on one of her chairs, as I often did.
Tindyll dropped her pen. “Don’t come any closer.”
“What? I’ve been on this council for years. Nothing has changed.”
“You’ve been on this council under the guise of innocence. Now I know what you actually are.”
My chest constricted. All the trust I’d spent years building up—gone. “And what is that?”
Tindyll flicked her gaze down to the desk, considering her next words. “Dangerous.”
“I have my gloves on. I’d never hurt anyone my entire stay here. All I’ve been is hardworking, trying to help. I’ve never been late with any of my assignments. The people here like me—”
“Liked you, Sera. Now they’re just afraid.”
I attempted to steady my breathing, but my heart raced so quickly that I couldn’t. “I can’t stay anymore, can I?” I should have known this would happen. I’d bluffed myself, told myself that I could hide from my curse and live my life as if it wasn’t there.
Tindyll drew her lips into a thin line. She glanced down and pulled open one of her drawers, taking out a document tied with a string. She set it down on the edge of her table. “For you.”
I walked to it. Slowly, and behaving cautiously—because it looked like Tindyll would jump out of her seat if I made any abrupt movements—I picked up the document from her desk, stepped back, and unraveled it to read it.
We thank you for your service were the last words scribbled on it.
It was a letter of termination. I’d not only lost my chance at the secretarial position, but also my job at the council. With that, I had to leave the palace, because only personnel and the royal family were allowed in.
“Please,” I said, hating the way I was begging. I couldn’t go back to my family. People would talk about why I’d been kicked out of the palace, and soon they’d hear about my curse again. I’d lose everything. I thought about whether the princes could do anything about it, and held on to that hope. If I had to start cleaning the latrines again…
Tindyll hooked her fingers together and sat straighter. “On account of your service, I’m giving you a week to say your goodbyes and pack up your things.”
“I’ll need longer than that. I’ll need someone to take over my duties, teach Frederick at least—”
“You have to leave. Soon. A week is probably already too much.”
“Why?”
“It’s not safe for us, or you. I’m doing this because I care about you. There have been petitions to have you executed.”
“Executed?”
“The nobles see you as a bad omen. A threat to the nation. A sign, along with the famines, that everything is going wrong. Plenty of people want to eliminate you, but your elders and I have grown… fond of you over these past years, and we’ve been vehemently against the idea. Luckily, the Council of Intelligence has its fair share of power. But there are other threats to your safety. Assassins, for one.” Tindyll sighed and leaned back into her chair.
I was holding my letter so tightly that it crumpled in my hands. “What do I do now?”
“You can’t stay in the palace. I’m not even certain if you should return to your family. Leave as soon as you can. Go into hiding.”
“I can’t do that.”
“You have to.”
I stared at the ground. I had to talk to the princes. They’d have a better way to deal with this. Would they leave the palace with me if I asked them to? Probably not. My having to leave them scared me more than the thought of leaving the council, much to my surprise.
“Why the sudden hate? It was an accident.”
“You’ve shown your true colors.”
“I’ve always been like this. What did Vancel say about me exactly?”
“Nothing but the truth.”
I knew that there was no convincing her. “Thank you for everything, Tindyll.”
“You’re welcome.”
I walked out her study, trying to ignore how everyone gave me a wide berth when I approached.
Frederick waited outside. “How did it go?”
I showed him the letter.
He snatched it from me and skimmed through it, then his mouth hung open. “You’re going to be sent home?”
“Not even that, probably.”
“Then where?”
“I don’t know yet.” I could cry. I could break down where I stood before snapping at everyone, but I decided I’d done that enough during that night with my princes. I had to grow up and face what life was handing me.
I’d always known that power was needed to earn the respect I needed. I didn’t realize how easily it could be stripped away, despite how hard I fought for it.
“Come with me, Frederick. There’s a lot of things I’ll need to walk you through for when I’m gone. We still haven’t sorted out all the new reports from Jura—”
Frederick shot me an incredulous look. “You want to talk about work now?”
“What can I stay? I guess I’m a stickler for it.”
I spent the rest of the day going through all the current projects we were working on and the laws I had been assigned to draft. He was to make sure that everyone in the team knew exactly what to do once I left, and that he could cover for them should they make mistakes. It was too much to finish in one day, so I told Frederick I’d visit him every day for the next few days to go through it all.
I wasn’t sure how the princes would play into this. I hated being so needy, but I was counting on them as my lifeline.
At five, I walked out the council’s door for what I assumed to be the last time. I looked back at the large entrance I’d stepped through so many times. I hadn’t even thought twice when I did so before.
Kael, Gaius, and Micah were waiting for me, next to the some carved marble pillars.
“How was work?” Gaius asked, grabbing my hand.
“Not good. Where’s Rylan?”
“He’s busy. We’re going to meet him at the quarters. So, who do you want to take you back?”
“I’m too tired to think about that right now.”
Gaius shared a worried look with his brothers. He swept me into his arms, and the others didn’t quarrel over it, probably sensing that my energy had been too drained for me to deal with their antics.
I pressed my cheek against Gaius’s chest, letting the humming sensation between us soothe me.
“What happened?” Kael asked, swooping in next to his brother.
I handed him the letter. “Nothing good.”
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