Rakarthen Academy

by Clara Hartley

  “If I go home, it means that they’ve won. I’m showing them that it’s right for them to throw their weight around, treating a guest as they have. I’d be backing down.”

  “So what?”

  “Are you saying that for real?” I asked, scowling. “So they win. I don’t want to let them win.”

  “You’ll be happier if you go home, Ly. Your siblings are there. Your parents, too. You’ll be the same princess you were born as. Treated well, with a big bed to sleep on. None of the trouble and bullying. You’ll have that on top of giving the fae what they want. I don’t see this as anything other than a win-win.”

  “I’d be losing.” I turned my eyes to the ground.

  “But the comfort—”

  “That’s not what I want.” Kaji stiffened at the hardness of my voice. I sensed Mayhem tensing, too. “I don’t care about the comfy beds. If I go home now, I won’t be able to live with myself. I’ll be the girl who was being bullied into submission. I’d have suffered the last month of insults and torment for nothing. I’m just looking for an opening, Kaj. A chance for me to get back at them. Can’t you see?”

  Kaji gave me a long, lingering look. “Your intentions are coming from the wrong place.”

  I frowned.

  “You need a better why. Right now, how I see it, you’re just fighting to win.”

  “What other reason can there be?”

  “There are plenty of reasons for fighting. I can’t stop you. If you want to do it, you’re my princess, and I’ll be with you every step of the way.”

  As if in agreement, Mayhem blew a breath through his nose. I felt the ingoria’s chest rise and fall quickly before settling. “I don’t understand.”

  “You’re still young. You’ve got a way to go.”

  I huffed. “And you always want to back out from a fight.”

  “It’s the right answer.”

  “What kind of dragon-kind are you?”

  “The type who knows how to keep his teeth sharpened but tucked inside his mouth anyway. It’s the safer solution. Everybody wins. Peace is kept.”

  “Again with that line of thought.”

  “It’s the line of reason.”

  Kaji’s insistence that I give up wasn’t making me feel any better. In fact, it got me riled, and the stubbornness in me made me push back. I wanted—no, needed—to prove myself to the fae. Hearing the words “give up” was like poison to me, and I refused to relent.

  The bell chimed, indicating it was time for dinner. Dinner was usually the biggest meal of the day. My stomach grumbled in response, trained to be fed during this time. Kaji blinked at me when I pushed myself from Mayhem’s fur and to my feet. “Going to eat?” he asked. “I’m peckish, too.”

  “You still haven’t finished up lunch.” He’d missed a spot even after I’d given him the napkin to wipe his mouth earlier.

  Kaji pressed his mouth together, displeased. He didn’t bother wiping that spot, however. “There, maybe later.”

  “Apathy isn’t one of the traits I love about you.”

  “What do you love about me?” Kaji puffed his chest out, readying himself for the compliments.

  “You’re not getting any nice words from me. Not after you told me to back down.”

  “Pity,” Kaji said, not even trying to feign disappointment. “I’ll meet you at the mess hall, princess.”

  “I’m not going there.”

  “Then where?”

  “To clear my mind.” I unfurled my black wings. “I want to fly around alone for a bit, so leave me be.”

  “Are you going to get into any trouble?” Kaji asked, pushing himself to his feet.

  I didn’t answer. My blood still boiled every time I thought about how Nemreth had made a fool of me. He’d shown me that I was brash. Thoughtless.

  A loser.

  My competitive spirit wouldn’t take that lying down.

  “I’ll see you in a bit,” I replied, then lifted to the skies, leaving Kaji behind. My hunger could wait. I didn’t want to go to the mess hall to meet the triad.

  I flew until I found a quiet spot to shift into my dragon. It was away from Rakarthen, a rocky outcrop that stuck out from the greenery of Cardell. I remembered that when I was younger, one of my fathers, Gaius, would take me to Gaean’s pits to practice flying. The mountains there were jagged and intimidating. He’d force to me make the most difficult of turns, and when I tried to back out, he told me that if I did, I’d lose. Princesses didn’t lose. They conquered. They rose above everyone else, bathed in glory and victory. That was what it took to inspire and command the awe of others. My fathers had trained me to think that way.

  Then again, Daara, my eldest sister, didn’t end up like that. Maybe I just had a bigger competitive spirit.

  I called to my dragon, preparing to feel my bones clicking, morphing so I may become a beast.

  “Neremin sent me,” someone said from behind me.

  I flipped around, reaching for my scabbard. My hands met empty air. I’d already thrown my weapon to the ground. I lengthened my claws at the threat.

  “Don’t attack,” Aland said, showing himself from behind a tree. His autumn hair, long, unlike the new short hairstyle that had been forced upon me, fell to his waist. “I’m here to help.”

  I relaxed. The last time Aland had a conversation with me a month ago, it was only to warn me of why the fae hated me. He might seem cold and distant, but amongst the triad, he had been the most useful.

  Still, I knew he had the power to stop the bullying. The rest of the students respected him, just as they did Cendri and Nemreth. A word from him would likely turn things around. He hadn’t stopped the bullying. Instead, he stood by and did nothing. Hadn’t I just told Kaji that apathy wasn’t attractive?

  Aland closed the distance between us, seemingly unbothered by my nakedness. His milky eyes always threw me off my guard. They looked so empty. In contrast to me, Aland hardly showed emotions. Maybe I admired him for that, since I couldn’t help tossing my emotions at any and everything.

  “You’re interrupting me,” I said. “I was about to fly.” With my thumb, I pointed toward the sky.

  “Uh huh,” Aland responded, raking his eyes down my bare body. A tingle traveled up and down my spine. I was usually unfazed by my own nudity. The way Aland looked at me, however, made me feel smaller than I was.

  I swallowed thickly, fishing around my mind for words, but they seemed to have escaped me. “What do you want?”

  Why was he staring so hard? He didn’t seem eager to respond. He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and softly sighed. I was so thrown off by the strange way he acted that I hadn’t noticed how close he’d come. He raked his finger down my neck. My toes curled. My heart raced in my chest.

  And I pushed him from me.

  The heat that gathered between us was impossible to ignore. Desire shot through my veins, and I couldn’t help but feel as if Aland had forced that upon me.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” I asked. Panic flared. It was the first time since coming to Cardell that anyone had touched me so tenderly. It felt strange. Wrong. I hadn’t expected that from Aland, and I didn’t want it.

  Aland lifted his eyes to me, andI saw a glint. It was like he’d woken from a trance. “I’m sorry. I was… distracted. It’s quite unlike me.”

  I felt the need to cover my breasts, to reach for my clothes on the ground and pull them over myself.

  “I’ve grown… attracted to you during your stay here,” he said, narrowing his eyes. He looked at me like I was a puzzle. “Most people would have chosen to return home after what Cendri ordered done to you. It’s a lot to take. But you remained steadfast. I admire that quality in people. Resilience is a rare trait.”

  “Many just call me stubborn.”

  Aland shook his head. “It’s grit. It’s something I find highly uncommon amongst fae folk. Our kind likes the transient, having miserably short attention spans.”

  “Tell that t
o those who have been tormenting me. They’re relentless.”

  “If you persevere long enough, they will grow used to your presence. I’m hearing their tunes change. There are others who are beginning to hold you in higher regard. They hated dragon-kind for going back on their promises. But you’re staying strong. You’re proving to them that there are dragon-kind who stick to their principles and won’t give up.”

  “Thank you for your praise,” I said, trying to use my most unenthusiastic tone. I didn’t want to let Aland know how much he’d affected me, but my heavier breathing betrayed me. “But you still haven’t let me know why you’re here.”

  I had flown to a quiet, out-of-the-way spot, so it couldn’t be that Aland had bumped into me here. He definitely had followed me here for a reason.

  Aland answered my curiosity by making a circular gesture. He summoned an object wrapped in cloth. It hovered in the air. “For you,” he said. “An apology from our mage meister.”

  I plucked the object from the air and unwrapped it, then sighed with relief. It was my dagger. The one Micah had given to me when I was much younger. It looked brand new. Polished, even. Its blade was shining and its ivory hilt gleamed.

  But wasn’t it made of iron? The fae had made it clear to me that they hated iron.

  I failed to see why Aland would return the object to me. Was this a trap of some sort? He might have said that he felt attraction to me, but maybe some part of him still saw me as the enemy. I flipped the weapon around, running my fingers over its ivory hilt, and scanned the blade for any changes.

  Aland cocked his head. “You look worried.”

  “I don’t trust you. And I’m still wondering why you’re giving this to me. Can’t I hurt you with this?”

  “The mage meister wants you to use this during the Flower Trials. He wants you to win, and he thinks this will aid greatly in that endeavor.”

  “He wants me to beat up his own triad? Aren’t you three highly respected?”

  “They’ve been rather unfair to you. I think Cendri could lose once in a while.”

  “Wait. Aren’t you on their side?”

  “Me?” Aland shook his head. “I tolerate Cendri and Nemreth, but just because we were all born on the same hour, same second, doesn’t mean we have to be friends. They are in love, yes. But I share none of those sentiments. I try to stay out of that mess.”

  “You don’t like them?”

  Aland paused. “There is some level of concern for their well-being. My loyalties are my own, however.”

  I looked down at my blade. This was what I needed. The opening I’d been looking for. I thought I’d have to wait longer for it. I hadn’t expected it to be handed to me so easily, as if on a platter, by Aland. I steadied my breathing. “There is a well I must visit to join the trials. Show me how it works.”

  Aland nodded.

  I shrugged my clothes back on. It was a little strange to have such a conversation naked, but mostly, it was the desire I felt that stifled me. Aland was an attractive man. He treated me far nicer than the other two in the triad, too, which was probably why I found myself drawn to him.

  After I finished dressing myself, Aland led me toward the well. He told me it was close to the pixie pit. We flew there, and the entire time, I took in the sight of Aland’s flaming wings. They burned with a fiery rage, one that contrasted starkly with the cool expression plastered on his face.

  We landed in front of the pixie lake and went down the same stairwell as before.

  “There’s no going back after you make your decision,” Aland said, his boots clicking on the rocky stairwell. Greenery permeated every inch of Cardell. Even the walls underground had moss all over them. “Once you pluck the flower and place it into the well, you have to join the competition. It’s magic. You’ll have no choice but to stay in Cardell. If you try to leave, the oath you’ve made to the well will pull your body back. Are you clear about this?”

  “I’m staying. You told me the fae are warming up to me because I don’t back down.” I sucked in a deep breath. “So, I’m not going anywhere. I’m not a quitter.”

  Aland slowly nodded. “I like that.”

  I glanced to my left. There, the energy ball I’d stolen from pulsed, dimmer than I remembered it. It looked smaller when not surrounded by an audience. The pit looked more dead. Even the pixies no longer fluttered their wings. They were asleep, gathering around the energy ball in little groups. Nearby, the sound of water dripping made a steady rhythm that matched the beating of my heart.

  “Here,” Aland said. He pulled a lever, one I hadn’t noticed because of the darkness. The wall beside us groaned, sliding upward to reveal an entrance. I was having second thoughts. What was going on with me? I’d been so sure about joining the trials less than five minutes ago. Why were my feet turning cold now?

  I was about to enter when another fae ran out of the opening. I noticed her hand bleeding.

  The fae halted when she saw me. We were both the same height, and so we were eye level. Her hair was a deep, dark blue, like night, and her entire face was painted. Her skin was almost the same color as her hair. Blue? I’d never seen anything of the sort. What stood out most were the piercings. She had a ton of them. Some over her eye, most through her ears, and three through her nose. The piercings were made of glass painted black.

  “Sorry,” she said meekly. She scurried away, her head dipped low, as if she was apologetic for existing. What a curious girl.

  “Are you coming?” Aland asked. He’d walked through the opening without me.

  “Yeah.” I tore my gaze from the girl. She disappeared quickly up the stairwell. As she’d just left the room, she was going to be another one of my competitors. She looked so… meek. How was she to stand a chance amongst the other vicious fae?

  I returned my attention to the room. Its emptiness made it seem larger. The room was open-aired, and the evening sun shone from up above, kissing the enclosure. Little bits of grass and moss grew in the cracks in the tiles. The sunlight landed on the well, which was situated in the middle of the room. It looked like a simple well. Circular and built from gray stone bricks.

  “You guys kept talking about throwing flowers in the well,” I said. “Where do I get these mystical flowers you speak of?”

  Aland pointed over his shoulder. I looked behind me, and a tree sprouting with flowers greeted me. They glowed an effervescent white. Bright sparkles flitted back and forth next to the petals. They were gorgeous. I stepped up to the flowers, mouth slightly open in wonder. “So do I just pluck one?” I asked.

  “Careful with the thorns,” Aland replied.

  I lifted a petal. He was right. The stems bore dozens of thorns, just like the stems of draeroses. I pinched the bottom of the flower closest to me and plucked it from its stem. Immediately, a bud grew in its place, pulsing with the same white glow of the last.

  “Dustpetals,” Aland explained. “That’s the name of the flower.”

  “I’ve never seen flowers glow like that.” I hadn’t, even though my mother, the queen of dragon-kind, worked in the agricultural department. The flora of the fae lands were on a whole other level. Mom was always talking about growing different kinds of plants. Only my brother Kylen had grown to share her love for them.

  Aland continued, “There are plenty of flowers that glow in Thesnan. There’s too much magic lying around, and so it imbues the plants with such properties.” Aland moved to the side of the well, peering down, then looked back to me. I thought I saw an emotion hiding behind those calm features. Lust. Or maybe I was projecting my own thoughts. This was the longest time I’d spent alone with him. The dragon inside me purred, egging me on, asking me to seduce him so she might rut. I had to ask my dragon to shut up. Rut? I had no experience with that. Aland turned away, seemingly bored, as he finished his explanation. “Dustpetals grow only once a year, and only in this very spot. They exist for the sole purpose of having students join the trials. Not all get accepted. Sometimes the flowers
reject you.”

  “It might reject me?” I asked, looking at my dustpetal.

  “It hasn’t yet. If you don’t qualify, the petals should disintegrate the moment you touch them.”

  “How do the flowers know who to select?”

  Aland shrugged. “I’m not certain about that. The way of the fae often doesn’t make sense.”

  “You’re telling me,” I muttered. “I really don’t get you guys. Inviting someone here as a guest and then putting her through all sorts of tests. I should go home.” Still, the stubborn part of me refused that. The glow of the dustpetal in my hands flickered. It was as if the flower judged me for wanting to back out.

  “So, are you changing your mind?”

  “Not a chance.” I stepped to the well and dropped the flower in it, but before it fell from my hands, dozens of stems grew from the bottom of the dustpetal. The thorns cut through my palm, drawing blood. My blood dripped into the well. I winced at the pain. Everything in Cardell, fae and objects alike, seemed to love stabbing me. Only after taking a sizable amount of blood did the dustpetal finally let go, its thorns pulling from my skin. The flower dropped, reaching the bottom of the well and sinking into the water.

  I waited for something to happen. Was I supposed to feel different? Where was the announcement that I’d joined the trials? Wasn’t there supposed to be a sign? Something? Anything? My wounds throbbed as they healed.

  “Is that it?” I asked.

  “You’re one of the trial’s participants now, princess. A brave decision. I wish you all the best and good luck.” Aland pulled me in and placed a kiss on my forehead.

  I gaped, stunned. But he moved toward the exit as quickly as the kiss came.

  Aland walked up the stairwell. He strolled slowly, almost as if he didn’t mind wasting time with me. I reminded myself to hate the fae, Aland included, but I had to admit that I enjoyed having him around. His cool demeanor complemented my raging one. Opposites attracted each other.

  I was more curious, however, about the ball of energy in the middle of the pit. Rakarth’s essence.

  “Are you coming?” Aland asked.