Chapter Six
CHAPTER SIX
The banquet hall opened on to a terrace, half of it exposed to the balmy evening air. It was surrounded by a cream-coloured veranda, the sound of birds trilling through the night. Long tables graced the length of the space, with a raised table made of oak for the more distinguished members of the court, looking out over a lush garden blooming with exotic flowers.
Although, as Elara was coming to realize, the sky never fully darkened to the blue-black she was accustomed to back home. Here, late into the evening, the sky was painted a deep red, streaked with vivid orange.
She noticed other guests, dressed in the finer clothes of Helion courtiers, sat around lower tables, chatting and laughing. King Idris was seated at the head of the raised table, his crown gleaming in the flickering lantern light. Further down that same table, she saw Leonardo. He’d swapped his golden armour for umber-brown linens, though she didn’t miss the knives lined upon a strap slung across his chest. His face lit up as he spoke to the woman next to him. She was stunning, with tan skin and chestnut curls. There was something odd about how high she seemed to be sitting, and as Elara neared the raucous tables, she saw why. She was perched in someone’s lap, and as Elara saw the jewelled hand teasing up and down her waist, she saw that the owner of that lap and hand was Prince Lorenzo.
All three were laughing, the pretty woman tipping her head back and flushing girlishly at something the prince was whispering in her ear as she leaned in. Elara looked away quickly.
Merissa yanked her arm as they stuck to the outer edges of the room, and Elara saw that she had reached the high table by the king. The raucous laughter and upbeat music mercifully didn’t halt, though the king noticed her presence immediately.
He looked over her appraisingly. ‘Helios suits you,’ he said with a serpent’s grin, his stare greasy. His eyes flicked to Merissa. ‘Good work, glamourer.’
Merissa curtsied, and Elara tried not to curl her lip at the king’s words, instead raising her chin. You are a queen now , she reminded herself.
She heard a yelp and turned. Prince Lorenzo had pushed the brunette off his lap, and his gaze was piercing Elara’s.
She matched his stare, making sure to look down her nose at him. His eyes dragged over her body, pausing on her exposed midriff. She clenched her hands by her sides to stop herself from covering the bare skin with her arms. Tilting her head, she stared back defiantly. King Idris followed her gaze as the brunette girl who’d been on Lorenzo’s lap sidled away, her cheeks flushed.
‘Ah yes, you will sit by my son,’ he said, raising his voice over the music that had jumped into a boisterous, loud tune. Elara’s stomach dropped as she saw the seat next to Lorenzo was vacant. Merissa left a moment later, and Elara debated calling after her. Glowering, she made her way to the table, slotting in to her appointed seat. She stared straight ahead as she waited for her food to be served, unwilling to acknowledge the prince who sat next to her.
‘I think we’ve met before,’ a low voice rumbled, and she turned finally. She smiled coldly, ignoring how up close, the prince was somehow even more handsome than when she’d seen him in the throne room.
‘Elara,’ she said quietly with a tight nod. ‘Although you already know that, don’t you?’
‘Elara.’ He rolled her name off his tongue, under his breath, the word sounding lyrical with his accent. ‘I’m sure you already know who I am.’
‘Your reputation precedes you,’ she said in a bored tone, looking away.
‘Does it now? All good things, I hope.’
‘Quite the opposite.’ She turned back to him, and her smile was razor sharp. ‘Unless you count the stories of you burning, whoring and killing your way through my kingdom as “good things”. Your reputation is that of a wicked rake. Nothing more.’
He turned in his seat so he was fully facing her, elbow on the table, leaning his fist against his temple as though he had all the time in the world to look at her. She bristled at his arrogance. Already she could see the entitlement etched into every line of his face. But still, she did not break from his gaze.
‘I’m flattered that you already know so much about me when I hardly know a thing about you,’ he said. A grin slowly formed, along with a dangerous light in his golden eyes. Elara’s attention caught on them, noticing that they were flecked with bronze.
‘If you ever want to pay homage to the man who you’re clearly so fascinated by,’ he continued, ‘my room is across the garden from yours.’
‘What did you just say?’ She was unable to keep the bite out of her voice.
He shrugged. ‘I can show you just how “wicked and rakish” I can be.’
She summoned every drop of disgust on to her face as she looked down her nose at him. Then, with a small smirk that she knew drove men mad with anger, she flicked her hair over her shoulder and ignored him.
She felt him shift in his seat.
‘You scrub up well, you know?’ he persisted. She exhaled loudly. He leaned back, taking a sip of peach wine. ‘Bedraggled, in that tattered undergown, you couldn’t have looked further from a princess.’ He chuckled low as her temper flared. ‘But now, I can see that you are royalty.’ His eyes remained on the starflowers of her hair.
‘My title is “Queen”, actually,’ she said yet again. ‘And do you always charm strangers with such compliments?’ His easy smile faltered. ‘Probably the same way you charm poor maidens by shoving them off your lap. I’d rather let a winged lion maul me to death than ever set foot in your bedroom.’
She heard a splutter and peered to see Leonardo coughing into his wine, his shoulders shaking.
‘I’m sorry,’ he said, when the two looked at him. ‘It’s just, I’ve never heard anyone talk to Enzo like that.’
‘Maybe if someone had already, he wouldn’t be such an egotistical bastard.’
Leonardo gaped as Lorenzo bent forwards, blocking the general from view.
‘Watch your tongue, darkwitch.’
‘Or what? You’ll burn me on a pyre? I thought you needed me for your father’s go at world domination.’
A nerve ticked in Lorenzo’s jaw, and Elara took it as a victory, settling back into her chair. She took a sip of wine, her nerves jangling. The honeyed sweetness of the wine dissolved on her tongue, as she waited for the prince’s fury to explode. But instead he said, in a voice lethally quiet, ‘Unfortunately, he does need you. Which means that I, by some terrible fate, am charged with training you. If you insult me again, our training together won’t be pleasant.’
‘I wasn’t under any illusion that it would be anyway,’ she replied to him. ‘And what could you possibly teach me ?’
He laughed then out of the side of his mouth, as a server started to lay plates filled with food before them. He waited until she had left, before replying. ‘I possess the Three, ignorant woman.’
Elara’s eyes flew to his.
‘Yes,’ he continued on, smiling with clear delight. ‘What are the chances? I am sure you know how rare it is to possess all three of your kingdom’s gifts. So it turns out, princess , that I’ll be able to help you quite a bit.’
It was said that when each Star had fallen to Celestia, they had gifted a drop of their magick to their patron kingdoms—enough to create three powers in each one.
She didn’t reply for a moment, instead yanking a platter of rice jewelled with pomegranates that had just been set down, to her. No wonder the prince had been able to dole out so much destruction to her kingdom. The thought of what he, his father and their entire sorry kingdom had done to Asteria reignited the fury within her.
‘What exactly are the Three in Helios?’ she asked tightly, vowing there and then that she would learn everything she could about this man, and then destroy him.
‘I can wield the Light,’ he replied, and the finger he had wrapped around his goblet began to glow. Elara winced, and Lorenzo’s eyes narrowed.
‘I abhor the Light,’ she snapped. ‘The Stars-damned entirety of Celestia revels in the Light and curses the Dark, thanks to you and your family.’
‘Good,’ he replied. ‘Then you probably won’t like my next power much either.’
He lifted his hand and, as his fingers danced, a small flame fluttered between them. This time, Elara didn’t wince. The flames, she did not fear. They weren’t what had shoved down her throat, cutting off her scream when—
She slammed the memory back into its box, irritated that it had escaped. Her cool demeanour gave nothing away as she slid her gaze over his hands. ‘Wielding fire. A little inelegant. But I’d expect nothing less from a Helion brute.’
The flames reflected in Lorenzo’s eyes as he leaned in. It took every ounce of her years of etiquette coaching for her not to lean back. But her mother had taught her well—queens did not make space. The people around them did. So she sat, her chin raised, her back straight.
‘I have one more gift,’ he said quietly. ‘You know of the seers of Helios, don’t you?’
A drumming picked up in Elara’s chest.
‘At your naming ceremony, your future was foretold by a seer,’ her mother had wept, mere days before. ‘We did what we had to. We tried to keep you safe. We tried to rewrite fate, but—’
The darkness stole the memories away and she took a deep inhale.
‘In Asteria, we call you flaky quacks,’ she drawled back. ‘Speaking in riddles, able to see mere glimpses of the future. An impressive “gift” indeed.’
He laughed, cold and low. ‘Then how is this for impressive? My gift is a special kind of seering. Nothing hides from my light. I can see when someone is lying. I can see through glamours and tricks. I can see just what someone’s soul is made up of, whether they are good or bad at their core. And what I see when I try to look at you, is a shroud of shadows that reek of night-jasmine. I don’t yet know what it is you’re hiding behind them, princess. But I promise, I’ll find out.’
Elara blinked, and she pushed her chair back. But still, he leaned forwards until it felt like his body was blocking out the whole room.
‘My father may want you here for his plans. He may truly believe you can help us. Maybe you will. But if I discover that you pose a threat to my kingdom, I will kill you without a thought.’ He spoke the words so calmly that she almost wondered if she had imagined them. He reclined, taking a slow sip of wine. But the steely stare remained. She pushed down the fear as her lips curled into a sneer, fingers itching to hold her dagger, pressed in its home against her thigh.
‘Then I should warn you,’ she murmured, her hair brushing his cheek as she bent close, ‘that I don’t take kindly to threats. And if you make another, it might just be your last.’ She snatched the cup from his hands and took a sip of the wine. ‘I’d sleep with all your lanterns lit if I were you. Who knows what might come alive in the night.’
She set the cup between them, before leaning back in her chair, conjuring once more the image of regality. With poise, she speared a slice of meat from another platter laid before her, ignoring the dangerous smile that had crept upon the prince’s lips.
Though her heart pounded at his warning, she’d be damned if she would give Lorenzo the satisfaction of seeing any reaction. She turned her attention to the food. It was delicious, everything richly spiced. Steamed rice, mint-stewed lamb and hunks of crusted rosemary bread were all savoured until the plate was wiped clean. She ate in silence, her mind turning the prince’s words over and over, as she ignored his oppressive presence beside her.
She lounged back when she was done with a satisfied sigh, relieved to see that Lorenzo had turned away and was in deep conversation with his general. Her attention fell to the room as a drowsiness took over her, observing the Helion court as tea was served. She asked for honey—anything to sweeten the bitterness that swirled through her—and spooned two teaspoons into the fresh mint before taking a sip. As she looked around, she saw a few people who she guessed were from the kingdom of Aphrodea, based off the similar features they seemed to share with Merissa. Everything she had learned about them, about the different kingdoms, had been through books. It made her ache, to see the world she had been deprived of, the people. All because Asteria had been forced to shut themselves off from the world. All because of the D’Oros and their War on Darkness.
A loud laugh broke her reverie. She saw the chestnut-haired girl from before back by Lorenzo’s side, draped over him like a curtain. The girl jostled Elara, and Elara rolled her eyes. She watched as he whispered something in the girl’s ear, and her gaze snagged on his hand, which was making its way down the girl’s back. She thought of the flames that had danced between his fingers and drew her eyes back to his face. Her breath caught as she saw his eyes on hers, and he smiled lazily. Unable to stand the stare she knew was trying to find a way past her shadows, she stood.
Merissa was nowhere to be found, and so she stepped in front of the general, who had played escort once before.
‘Leonardo, I’d like to go to my rooms, please.’
He nodded, rose to his feet and stood at her back, waiting.
‘ Enzo ,’ she said mockingly, and the prince’s eyes narrowed. ‘It’s been…well, pleasure is a strong word.’
The chestnut-haired girl gawped at Elara’s insolence. Elara shot her a withering glance before turning away, Leonardo at her side. As she began to walk, a hand grabbed her wrist, the skin hot. She whirled in indignation.
‘We start training tomorrow,’ Enzo said, his voice low. Elara’s eyes flew to his hand as it gripped her tightly. ‘Meet me by the grand staircase. Leave your attitude at the door.’
She smiled sweetly, snatching her hand away from him. ‘I will if you do.’