Rakarthen Academy

by Clara Hartley

  “What do you think happened that day,” I said, “when I gained that power to knock Nemreth out?”

  Aland responded with a silence. I thought he might be mad that I’d brought up how I bested his friend. He eventually answered with a steady voice, “You synced with the fae energy, and so it blessed you with a gift. It’s not uncommon amongst the fae. But you are not fae.”

  “I’m still wondering why Cendri says I have fae magic.” My attention was focused on the essence. The pixies surrounding it guarded it, and yet I wanted to go to it.

  “Do you want some?”

  “Hm?”

  “Of the energy. To test it out.”

  My breath halted. “Am I allowed to take it?”

  Aland looked around. “I don’t see anyone here to stop you.”

  I eyed him and cocked a brow.

  “I’ll help you.”

  “I don’t get it. Why? You’re supposed to be on Cendri and Nemreth’s team.”

  “I’m on nobody’s team. I do what I want.”

  I let out a breath. “And what do you want right now?”

  “To see what you’re capable of.”

  I pursed my lips, still confused about why Aland had taken my side. He’d told me about the history of the fae with dragon-kind, hadn’t he? He’d made it clear to me that, as a fae, he shouldn’t trust my people. His attentions were so unclear, and I couldn’t read him at all. Everything about him made me uneasy. But perhaps his mysterious aura drew me to him, and I wished to dive into his mind. To figure him out. My curious side couldn’t resist it.

  Aland shook his head, as if losing his patience at my hesitance. He moved down the steps and walked toward the pixies, which fluttered, making way for him as he neared. He kneeled by the well of essence and picked some up, as if he were scooping water from a lake. The magic swirled after he lifted it into his hands, forming a ball that pulsed with power.

  Aland strode toward me, offering the magic as a prize. “Take it,” he said.

  I searched his cold eyes. Questions burned through my mind. Aland was offering me magic. The essence of fae itself. I shouldn’t reject such a gift. I accepted the ball from Aland, slipping it into my bag of jerky. I wasn’t sure where else to hide it. I noticed Aland curling up his nose when I untied my satchel.

  “You should really stop carrying that around,” he said. “There’s a smell…”

  “My ingoria needs his daily supply of treats.”

  “Hm.”

  Aland didn’t press the issue and continued back toward the stairwell.

  “Wait,” I said. “You still haven’t explained yourself. Why are you helping me?”

  “You’re struggling a lot against prejudice,” Aland answered as he moved upward. “I admire the fight in you. And maybe it’s because I can no longer stand to see you like this. Cendri has a warped view of the world. It’s time he learns a thing or two about where he stands.”

  “You… you want me to beat Cendri?”

  “He’s too full of himself and hasn’t faced enough hardship.” Aland paused. “He has a good heart, though.”

  Good heart? The notion was laughable. Cendri was a bully through and through.

  “You’re laughing,” Aland noted.

  “I can’t see an ounce of good in him.”

  Aland shrugged. “Maybe you’ll see it one day. Maybe you won’t. It doesn’t matter.”

  He led me upward, until we were back at the pixie lake. The bell chimed, signaling the next lesson. I’d missed my meal and was hungry, but I had my dagger and new magic to show for it. I considered that a fair exchange.

  Sixteen

  I rubbed my forehead as I raked my comb through Mayhem’s fur. Mayhem made a contented sound as I brushed him.

  While working with my ingoria, I couldn’t stop thinking about yesterday. Aland had kissed me. I’d never been kissed before. Not unless you counted the short kiss I’d had with a servant boy when I was younger. I made sure none of my fathers ever found out about that. Otherwise, I wasn’t certain if the servant boy would survive.

  I had never been kissed in a sensual way. And the way Aland brushed his lips over my skin…

  Aereala’s teats. It was just a peck on my forehead. Why couldn’t I get it out of my mind? Every time I thought about it, my toes curled and my stomach fluttered.

  “What are you daydreaming about?” Kaji asked, perched on a nearby bench. We’d just finished lessons on fae creatures. We’d gone over the dark fae today, and the images shown reminded me of the girl I’d stumbled across in the pixie pit. The dark fae had bluish skin, just like her, and they were said to use their glass earrings to channel their magic.

  I blinked, distracted by Kaji’s question. “I’m not daydreaming.” I put on my best scowl. My comb caught a knot. I grunted, pulling hard at Mayhem’s fur. His contented sound turned into a growl. “Sorry.” I stroked my pet’s torso and offered it a piece of jerky as an apology. Mayhem scowled, but the lovable little wolf calmed right after. I kissed his snout. “You’ve been getting more knots lately. Have I not been combing you enough?”

  “You were obviously daydreaming,” Kaji said. The weather was cooling today. It was usually hotter around the stables, too. “Staring off into space, mouth slightly agape. You look like a lost girl in love.” He flicked hair off his face. “Then again, you also look like that when you’re hungry.”

  “It’s almost dinner. They really don’t serve enough food around here. Dragon fae eat so little.”

  “Their dragons are a result of magic.”

  “We’re magic, too.”

  “Our forms are more physical.” Kaji crossed his legs. “I’m not sure about the specifics, but my guess is that they’re less in tune with their animal side than we are. Fae are strange.”

  “Micah would be interested in studying them.” My father had perfect memory, and he loved swallowing up information.

  “He would. Not sure how the fae would take to him, however. Judging from the death threats stuck to your door this morning, they still hate your guts.”

  I tried not to think about the bullying. It happened so often that, to cope, I numbed myself to it. Just yesterday, I’d almost jabbed myself with a glass blade someone put in my shoe. If not for Kaji reminding me to check my clothes, I would have gotten injured. I’d heal immediately, of course, but it would’ve been painful.

  Damn fae and their inability to let go of the past.

  All that was going to change soon. I still had my stolen magic ball with me, and I’d gotten my iron dagger back. With it, I was certain I’d be able to defeat Cendri. Maybe if they saw me take down the big guy, they’d learn to not cross me.

  Then again, hadn’t Charmingface said I had to get on their good side? Win them over?

  The simpler tactic appealed to me more.

  “I was thinking of stealing some food later,” Kaji said absent-mindedly.

  “Steal?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Do you know where to steal the food from?”

  “When you went missing yesterday, I scouted the area. They keep the food stores right beneath the mess hall, where the soul beads are—”

  A figure dropped next to us, interrupting our conversation. It was the dragon fae king, or the mage meister, as people liked to call him here. He was wearing his huge coat again. The coat that announced to everyone that he ruled the fae. He was the asshole who had invited me here, to Cardell. Couldn’t he just ask everyone to leave me alone? Back in Constanria, it wasn’t polite to bully guests.

  I eyed him, keeping my thoughts to myself. Why was he here and what did he want with me?

  “Can I have a word, princess?” the fae king asked. He was tall and imposing, but there was an undercurrent of playfulness in the way he carried himself. I wondered how he was like away from the eyes of the public. Maybe he was just as playful as Mayhem.

  “Oh,” I said, “so now you show up.”

  The king lifted a brow. “Were we supposed to meet?�
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  “I have a ton of complaints. I was hoping I’d get treated better, but it seems like I have to deal with most of my problems myself. A fair warning of the shitty fae hospitality would have been nice before you left me with the triad.”

  “Ah, you’re pissed.”

  “Labelling my emotions isn’t helping.”

  “Care to talk?”

  “Why now?”

  “The Flower Trials are coming soon. I’d like to give you more information on them before you begin.”

  I glanced at Kaji, who seemed mildly piqued.

  “Sure, we can talk,” I said, almost haughtily. I plucked my comb from Mayhem’s fur and tossed it to Kaji so he could put it away. Kaji caught it and placed it on the bench.

  The king spread his wings, indicating that I should summon mine, too, so I could follow him. As he rose into the air, he said, “Just you, Lyra. Kaji can stay with the ingoria.”

  “I’m here to protect my princess,” Kaji said sternly.

  “This conversation only involves her.”

  I pursed my lips. “I’ll be fine, Kaj. If the fae king wanted me dead, he would have killed me long ago.”

  Kaji clearly saw sense in my statement. He backed down, slumping back onto the bench. “Come back soon.”

  “Why? You sound worried.”

  “Of course I’m worried, stupid.”

  “I love you too.”

  Kaji brushed off my comment with a wave of his hand. I rolled my eyes, both loving and hating the way he always acted distant, and turned back to the fae king. “Now, what’s this important thing?”

  The fae king still hadn’t started talking when we were amongst the clouds. I kept about five feet away from him. When I couldn’t stand the silence anymore, I had to say something. “You knew how your people would treat me before inviting me here.”

  “Yes.”

  “And yet you offered your invitation.”

  “Correct.”

  “Don’t you think that unfair? You promised my parents that I’d be taken care of.”

  “You’re not dead yet, are you?”

  “I could have been a few times. Your students want, to kill me. They’ve done a bunch of things that might have left me dead. Spikes on my bed. Poison in my food. Acid over my door. My arm got scalded by that. It hurt.”

  “Aland told me that you were given the choice to leave many times. You’ve stayed despite all the problems the fae have given you.”

  I pressed my mouth into a tight line.

  “I brought you here, princess, but the choice to stay was yours. You’re the crazy one. Not me.”

  “Crazy? You’re calling me crazy?”

  “How else would you describe someone such as you? One who would rather suffer than take the easy way out?” He chuckled. “Then again, we’re all crazy in our own way. As long as we have the right things to fight for. What are you fighting for?”

  Pride.

  It was the first answer that popped into my mind. My pride got in the way sometimes. It made it difficult to forgive, but it also gave me the resilience of a madman. “I’m worried about the teramarth and how it might affect my people.”

  The king faced me and raised a brow. “Interesting. I can’t seem to tell with you dragon-kind. Somehow, I sense that you’re lying, but that doesn’t happen very often around here.”

  “You’re speaking in circles,” I said, growing impatient. “You mentioned the Flower Trials.”

  “Mhm.” The king nodded. “Aland should have mentioned me wanting you to win. I’m sorry for all the trouble my invitation has given you, but you really must win the fae over. The Flower Trials are just one of my ploys for you to do so.”

  “I don’t understand.” I frowned. “Nobody wants me here.”

  “I do.”

  “And why?”

  “Have you not heard of the prophecy of the triad?”

  “It’s mentioned all the time around here.”

  “But have you listened to what the prophecy itself says?”

  I shook my head. Come to think of it, I had never heard anybody read it aloud.

  “This is what is commonly shared.” The king narrowed his eyes. He dipped into concentration, then began reciting the prophecy:

  When she comes and they turn

  Lands, lands they will burn!

  With the dead

  Down, down with their heads!

  Greats will fall and hope,

  Sweet hope shall die

  Thesnan, perish!

  For when she is here,

  The end is nigh

  Three they will come

  Born of the same

  Day, hour, second

  The triad

  Saviors of the fae land

  “It’s no wonder the three of them are so revered,” I said. “Where did those verses come from, anyway?”

  “The last mage meister saw it in the orb,” the king replied. “He uttered those words before he died, and I took over. The lines have been repeated so many times that now it’s a folk tune. But there is another part of the prophecy that is usually forgotten. It has been a long time since the prophecy was first shared. Messages do change over time.” The king continued:

  They are not to be trusted

  Without the unwanted

  From foreign lands she will come

  Or undead they will be

  For she is the key

  “Huh,” I responded, my shoulders sagging. I wasn’t sure what to think about that last part. The key?

  The king stopped moving forward. “You’re the key, Lyra. I was unsure at first, but when Cendri pointed out to me you had fae magic, my suspicions grew. My connection with the forest orb—my instrument of telling the future—is not as strong as before, so it took me some time to come to this conclusion. I had a sense in the beginning, and recent visions have confirmed it. I saw you in the orb, with the triad. You have to be here in Thesnan, or we’ll all perish.”

  “Oh,” I said. I blinked. What was I to think of this? I’d grown up thinking that I was important. But not this important. The fate of Constanria didn’t depend on my presence. If I died, I had three siblings to share the responsibility of ruling the country. Constanria would be fine without me. “To be honest,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck, “I’m not inclined to save the fae people. They haven’t been treating me well. Not at all.”

  “You want to protect your own people, yes?”

  I paused. Why was it that vengeance was a more powerful motivation for me? I felt guilt for not wanting to agree with the king right away. I parted my lips, then halfheartedly responded, “Uh huh.”

  “Then the best way is to ensure that Thesnan does not fall.” The king folded his arms across his chest. “Do win the Flower Trials. The petitions to have you banished are getting out of hand.”

  “People are petitioning for me to leave?”

  “Oh gods, yes. The paperwork is terrifying, and Alyxe refuses to help me with any of it.”

  The image of Alyxe Bellquaine, my physical combat teacher, came to mind. While the king did possess some royal qualities, Alyxe reminded me of a warrior. She was not regal in the least.

  I liked her.

  “The Flower Trials,” the king said, “are a bloodbath. Those courageous enough to join the trials are pitted against each other, then forced to face a series of obstacles. The last twenty of the group are deemed the best of the best, and are giving the title of Ves Velankuar. Ancient fae speak meaning ‘the champions.’”

  “Why are you telling me this?”

  “Because I want you to be a champion. You have to be ready for this. It is fae tradition to revere the Ves Velankuars. They are given beautiful homes and the best of weapons. They have access to the most lavish of lifestyles, and the job opportunities Velankuars have are fantastic.”

  “Sounds like a privilege. But you forget, I’m already a princess. Privilege is something I’m used to.” I circled back to what the king had said about a bloodb
ath. Could I survive that? I had faced down undead dragon fae, and that was terrifying, but I’d never been forced to let my companions die. I’d always wanted to be part of a team. To protect and be respected for that. That was why I’d spent so long watching the evaradraes. I wanted to be part of them.

  “You’ve dropped your flower in the well. You cannot back out of this.”

  “You didn’t give me a choice.”

  “I’m not leaving the fate of Thesnan to a choice. You have to win. If you do so, the fae will have to accept you. That is tradition.” The king released a heavy breath. “And now, I want your heart to be prepared. The Flower Trials might not sound intimidating, but they are deadly. I’ve heard of fae trying to kill other fae during the trials, just to bolster their chances of receiving the title.”

  “Thanks for the warning,” I said. “It would have been nice to have heard the disclaimer before I signed up for death.” I was afraid. But only a little bit. I was one of the strongest dragon-kind around. They couldn’t kill me.

  Could they?

  The king’s expression hardened. “The triad will be in the trials, too.”

  My stomach sank. Aland had indicated that Cendri might be there. He wanted me to defeat the blond bastard, after all. But I didn’t know that defeat also meant death. “All of them?”

  “All three.”

  “Nemreth and Cendri act like they want to kill me half the time.”

  “Oh, they don’t.”

  I cocked my head in question.

  “The triad are protected by the prophecy. They tease you—”

  “Tease? That’s how you put it? Cendri broke my kneecap.”

  “Did he, now? Cendri’s a child.” The king’s face fell. “It’s a wonder that the fate of Thesnan relies on him. His parents have always been nice, and they say that the best time for hardship is when you’re growing up. He’s had it too easy, was born with too much power, and there’s nobody to put him in his place.”

  “You could have.”

  “Oh, I’ve tried.” The king waved a puff of cloud away from his face. “The triad don’t want to kill you, even though that’s what you believe. They would have done so long ago if that were the case. Nobody would bat an eye if they took your head off. They have immunity, since the fate of the fae lands depend on them.”