by J. M. Kearl
“I’ve tried it before,” I said. “I have yet to accomplish it.”
“One day you will.” He kissed my cheek. “And then you’ll have to teach me so we can fly together.”
“I’d like that.” As we soared between the academy and the town of Henalae, I found myself peering below, looking for signs of vampires. I didn’t want to ruin this moment but my memories slipped to the attack, to Freya screaming, to the blood drinker on me with savage teeth and inhuman strength. I shuddered and pushed that thought from my mind, but I couldn’t help wonder if there were more down there, waiting in the shadows. If my vision came to pass, they would come. I hoped sending Aric away changed that but I worried that it didn’t matter.
“Are you still cold?” Zyacus asked, holding me even tighter.
“No.” I placed my hands on his and squeezed them. I didn’t want to bring down the mood by talking of vampires and death so I asked, “Do you want a dragon of your own one day?” To claim one would mean venturing into the cave of wild dragons and hoping one would claim him in return. A human does not choose a dragon, the dragon chooses the human. Many have died in the attempt. I hadn’t decided if I wanted one myself. The risk—my life—might be more than I was willing to bargain for.
“Yes,” he answered. “One day I will get a dragon.”
“And a dragon will choose him,” Magnus said. “I sense great strength in you as well, little princess.”
“How do you know for sure the dragons won’t kill him?” I asked. Even if I knew Zyacus was powerful and fierce, he wasn’t magic-born and dragons loved magic and might.
“Because I would claim him,” Magnus answered. “And protect him from the others just as I did with his uncle Ekarius.”
If the Mighty Magnus would choose Zyacus, another was bound to someday. Enjoying the ride, we flew until the stars became visible in the evening twilight.
“I need a drink,” Magnus said and with a quick downturn we dipped toward the ground. My stomach flipped and I squealed at the speed of our descent. Zyacus laughed and held up his arms until we slowed and braced ourselves for landing.
After a few earth-shaking steps, Magnus lowered and lapped up river water. Zyacus slid onto the dragon’s arm then to the ground. I peeked around for danger, although I don’t know who or what would try to attack us with Magnus around, then glided down the smooth scales.
The rushing of the water created a peaceful environment. Zyacus stood at the river’s edge and put his hands on his hips. Looking up at the stars he asked, “If you could forfeit your crown, would you?”
I watched him, wondering why he would ask me that. I’d never thought about it before, being a princess was a part of me. Even if I hated the attention sometimes I liked my status. But from the question, did he like his? “I don’t know why I would.”
He turned to me. “For freedom.”
I understood what he meant. We weren’t truly free. A crown had chains connected to it. Every decision carried a weight. Days demanded schedules and tasks. Choices were not always our own. But much good could be done by an honorable and sensible ruler. It also came with privileges most would never see. “Would you?”
“There have been many days I wanted to run away.” Looking at the water, he said, “But I know I won’t. Porthos, one of my tutors, told me one day we’d have to fight against a terrible force and I’d have to stop it.” He shrugged. “Maybe the old man’s crazy.”
“You will be a good king whether you want to be a king or not.” I didn’t know what force his tutor could have meant but there were many terrible things in this world.
He took my hand, pulled me against him then wrapped me in his arms. “I hope so.” Squeezing me tighter, he lifted me up and nibbled on my earlobe.
I giggled and wrapped my arms around his neck. He set me on my feet then tugged his shirt off. In the pale light of the moon and stars I could see his body’s perfection. As my eyes roamed over every curve of muscle, he laughed then splashed into the water and dove under. When he popped up through the surface, he wiped his face. “Damn this is cold.”
“What are you doing?” I called, going nowhere near that water myself.
He vanished and appeared beside me, dripping wet. “Fulfilling my end of our bet. I know it’s a little late and a river and not a lake but better than never.”
The sudden mischievous look in his eye had me backstepping. I pointed at him. “Don’t.”
“Oh come on, Princess I just want a hug.”
“You’re wet!” I squealed when he chased after me.
Magnus’s laugh rumbled the ground. I sprinted for the dragon but Zyacus caught my wrist from behind and spun me around. “Kiss me and I won’t hug you.”
“Fine.” Smiling but keeping my hand against his chest so he couldn’t hug me, I leaned forward, and pressed my lips to his. When he wrapped his arms around me and pressed his wet body against mine, icy-cold river water soaked into my clothes but I laughed. “Liar! You said no hug.”
“Oh, did I?” he said squeezing harder.
After a moment I realized I was pressed against a shirtless, dangerously sexy boy and pulled away. “Now that I’m soaked and it’s late, we should head back.” Ugh I couldn’t stop staring at him.
He glanced at the night sky. “Yes, if we’re lucky we’ll make it in time for curfew.” When he picked his shirt up and finally slipped it on, he said, “Don’t be too disappointed now. I know you like looking at all this bare skin.”
My cheeks burned. “Oh, hush up. Could your ego be any bigger?”
Smirking, he said, “I think it grew a little more when I noticed the Princess of Delhoon couldn’t keep her eyes off me.”
I gave him a soft, playful shove. “Bastard.”
He laughed. “Back to name calling are we?”
“Only when you deserve it.”
Chapter 30
The time up to the winter formal went by quickly. As if time itself sped up since Zyacus first kissed me. He and I could barely stay away from each other. When we had to be apart, I felt a pull, a yearning to be near him. I think if we hadn’t known each other for years, and hadn’t been bantering, and fighting and flirting for months, I’d have been much more shy with my first kiss, my first real feelings with a boy. And Zyacus made it easy. We didn’t do the hot and cold game anymore. He didn’t hide his feelings for me. It was like once we both admitted our feelings, a snap of the fingers and we were in it.
Every morning he waited at the bottom of my stairs, and every evening after classes and sparring lessons or whatever activity we had, we found each other. We spent hours laughing, talking, or stealing kisses in a darkened alcove. He made my heart race and distracted my thoughts, and if it weren’t for my classes really upping the brutality and how sore I was from the week, I would go to him straight after my last class today.
But I was limping after the lesson in Advanced Swords. Madison put us on two teams for an open battle, somehow Zyacus, Lora, and I ended up on the same team and we destroyed the other side but it took a lot out of me. I still got hit and bruised and was exhausted. I told Zyacus I would meet him in the dining hall for dinner but a nap was in order.
I crashed on my bed and snuggled in my blankets, pulling them up to my neck and was out in minutes. When I woke up it was dark. I waved a hand and my bedside candle lit up. Setting my feet on the floor, I felt a piece of paper crinkle under my toes. Someone had sent me a note while I’d slept. I smiled thinking it was probably from Zyacus. I grabbed it and pulled at the corners. It was folded several times which I thought was strange. When it finally opened, I read:
I haven’t forgotten the delicious aroma of your blood, Princess. I can’t wait to taste it.
At the bottom of the page was a bloody set of lips imprinted. I crumpled the paper. That sick bastard Senica wasn’t gone after all. With everything that happened with Zyacus, and talk of the winter formal, I’d almost let the danger of him slip my mind.
Jumping at a knock on my d
oor, I hurried to open it. Bindy stood on the other side. “You’re late for dinner, and Prince Zyacus is waiting at the bottom of the stairs. I caught him trying to sneak up here.”
“I hadn’t realized I’d slept so long.”
Bindy looked at the crumpled paper in my hand. “What’s that?”
The blood was showing on the outside. “It’s…” I trailed off and handed it to her.
Her face was stone after she read it. “It’s possible this is just to scare you but we can’t take that risk. You are not to go anywhere alone. Go to the prince, I need to speak with Madison.”
Zyacus is going to lose his mind over this.
When I hit the bottom step Zyacus turned and pushed off the wall. “Hey sleepy,” he said casually. “Hungry?”
I’d made sure to at least fix my hair before I came down but I still had a pillow crease imprint on the side of my face. “Famished actually.”
“So the winter formal is in a couple days,” he said as we walked. “Have you gotten your dress?”
“Not yet.” Tell him about the note. I wanted to but I didn’t want to ruin his good mood or have him race off to find Kyan. I’ll tell him later.
“You’re not backing out are you? I know it’s a big event and our parents might be there. I was worried you didn’t want that—attention.”
I grabbed his hand and laced our fingers. “No, I mean I haven’t spoken to my parents about us dating yet but I’m sure they’ve heard. It’s not exactly a secret.”
“Good,” he said, bringing my hand to his mouth and kissing it.
As we walked to the dining hall my mind kept drifting back to the note. Could Senica be here? Kyan had said he went home and wouldn’t be a problem. It was possible that Senica came back without Kyan’s knowledge. Unless I’d been completely fooled by Kyan’s kindness, his story about being turned against his will, but my ring would have told me that was a lie. Senica could have sent that note from anywhere.
When we entered the dining room, we didn’t draw every eye like the first couple of times. Everyone had gotten used to it. Legacy stood and waved us over. “It’s our turn,” she said grinning when we got close. Since the first day we sat together, we’d switched back and forth between tables. Legacy didn’t like that I wasn’t there every time. It made me laugh.
After only getting a single bite, I noticed someone moving very fast out of the corner of my eye. I turned and ducked just in time to miss a fist. Instead of hitting me as she intended, Jennika cracked Zyacus in the jaw.
“How dare you try to attack our princess!” Taz roared. Good old Taz.
I sprang up before Jennika could recover from her shock of hitting Zyacus and tackled her. The whole room broke into chaos. Fights started everywhere. People flew through the air, magic exploded, bodies hit the floor with people wrestling or getting dropped from punches, screaming—I was wild with rage. My fists pelted her face over and over until they hurt. After I’d thought she’d gotten over it, moved on, she tried to cheap shot me, and hit my man.
When her face was good and bloody and she curled up rather than fight back, I stood. Zyacus knocked someone out cold with one blow, Legacy was on top of the table and kicked a girl in the face, one of Jennika’s friends, I noticed as she went down. Taz was at my side and we stood back to back, ready to take on anyone else.
“ENOUGH!” A voice boomed and the very walls shook. The fighting slowed and most of us turned toward Headmaster Jace. “Everyone report to your dorms immediately!”
Zyacus took my hand, Taz was on my other side and we made for the exit. Someone grabbed the back of my uniform and I turned ready to fight but it was Headmaster Jace. “Except for you two. Come with me.”
Escorted by several professors, Zyacus and I were taken to the headmaster’s office where Jennika waited, holding a cloth that covered most of her face.
“What the hell is going on?” Headmaster Jace shouted. “We’ve gone more than half the year without something like this happening then the entire dining hall erupts in a fight, starting with you three.”
Honestly I was surprised that this was the first big brawl at the academy. When no one spoke, he slammed his fist on his desk. “All three of you will be on stall mucking duty, together, and maybe you’ll learn to get along.”
“That’s not going to happen,” Zyacus said, matter of factly.
I shot to my feet. “I will not be punished for defending myself from her.” I jabbed my finger in Jennika’s direction for emphasis.
“Princess Visteal,” Jace’s voice cut through the room. “Sit down.”
With a drawn-out breath, I shook my head and did not sit. “I didn’t start this. She did. She tried to cheap shot me because she wants him.” My eyes flicked to Zyacus. “I want her expelled.” I stormed out and no one tried to stop me.
I waited down the hallway for Zyacus. Being in close proximity with that girl made me seethe with rage. Bindy came into view and leaned against the opposite wall. “Good job,” was all she said and we both grinned.
“Only you and Madison would be proud of that.”
She laughed. “Madison is a wise woman. I told her about the threatening note. Extra precautions are being put into place.”
When the doors opened, Zyacus was the first to emerge and I straightened up. “You’re going back to Hesstia,” he snapped. “End of discussion.”
“Zyacus you can’t do that,” Jennika whined. “How can you expect me to just sit by and watch you with her—I love you.”
Bindy and I exchanged glances, and that raging fire that had simmered down inside me, flared up again. She loves him? They must have been so much closer than he let on. Were they in a relationship before? He’d gotten by the last week without telling me but I had to know.
“Pack your bags,” he said and turned his back to her.
That was cold. A small part of me even felt sorry for her; she just said she loved him and he crushed her heart like a bug. But after trying to hit me, actually hitting her prince and therefore starting a massive brawl, she had to go.
Before Zyacus reached me, I said to Bindy, “Oh, before I forget. I need a dress for winter formal in a couple days. Think you can get me one?”
“Of course,” she answered. “Color preference?”
“Blue,” Zyacus said, with a cat-like grin. “My favorite color. It would make your blue-green eyes stand out too.”
“Red,” I said to Bindy. Then looked at Zyacus’s fake offended face. “We may be dating but blue is your kingdom’s color. People will read too much into it.”
“I’ll wear black,” he said, narrowing his eyes at me. “And that is a Delhoon color.”
“Black is universal,” I argued. “It would be different if you wore a red suit.”
“Fine,” he drawled. “She’s leaving by the way and we’re not going to be punished for the fight.”
Chapter 31
The day of the first fifth year tournament finally came. Legacy, Lora, Taz, and I were selected to compete. Freya didn’t make the cut but she was coming to watch.
Strapped with nearly every weapon I owned, I hurried down the steps and Zyacus waited at the bottom of the stairs. Of course he wouldn’t be competing with the rest of us because he was in the other tournament. Closer to the end of the year, the seventh years would fight against Wargon trolls, and it was life or death. I wasn’t sure if Zyacus would be included.
“Are you ready?” he asked, sliding his arm around my waist.
“I’ve been ready for months. Sparring in class is great but this is all fifth years and a competition. I like to win.”
Kissing my cheek, he chuckled. “You’re amazing, you know that?”
I squeezed my arms around him. “Thanks.”
“What if you’re against Legacy?” he asked.
“We’ve been against each other a few times,” I said, shrugging. “When it comes to the competitions, family and friendship come second.” I smirked. “But usually in Delhoon it’s boys versu
s girls.”
When we arrived at the arena, there were several small groups of students in the stands, maybe a hundred in total but the place wasn’t full like it would be the day after winter formal.
As far as the competitors, there were at least fifty of us which was more than usual. Madison stood in the center of the arena alongside Headmaster Jace and another professor I didn’t know.
“Since there are so many of you, this will be two against two,” said the Headmaster. “And there won’t be a championship round for winners until next week. You have five minutes to find your partner.”
Zyacus grinned like I imagined the king of the underworld would before slaughtering his prey. “Think they’ll let me compete? You and I would dominate this competition.”
“They might not think it’s fair with you in the seventh year tournaments and a championship, no less.”
“Since when was this academy ever about fairness?”
When we asked Madison, she grinned like it was the best thing she’d ever heard. “Why not?” She put our names on a list and then looked to the next pair.
After a few minutes, Legacy and Lora found us, as well as Taz and another girl from Collweya I didn’t know.
“This is going to be epic,” Lora said, rubbing her hands together.
Madison called forth teams and the battles began. Magic zipped through the air, swords and daggers rang, and I was buzzing with excitement. After several teams had gone, our names were called and we took the center along with a pair from Hesstia.
“Prince,” the boy across from Zyacus said curtly.
“Benjamin,” Zyacus returned.
Either they didn’t like each other or Benjamin was upset his prince teamed up with a Delhoon.
“Rules,” Madison said looking at each of us. “Go to submission or until the bout is called. Magic is allowed. Begin.”
Without even missing a beat, Zyacus launched a magical blast that threw Benjamin back several feet. The girl in front of me charged with enhanced speed. I blocked her sword then shoved her back. A quick whip of my hand and I sent out a blast of energy, she tumbled tripping over her own feet. This will be over fast.