Chapter 14
Asprinkle of rain peppered my hand, and I watched in amazement as my magic flowed through me. Using this power was exhilarating, made me feel alive in a way I’d never felt before. Like I’d found a part of myself that was always missing. I could only do small amounts. The prince told me that he’d seen sky people who could bring a storm upon an entire city. That kind of magic would take time. For now, I was happy with this little bit I’d accomplished over the last few days of practice. I couldn’t help but look over my shoulder for Gran’s disapproving stare, still remembering my ten-year-old self begging her to teach me to use my magic.
“I rescued you, girl. Saved your life and have kept you safe from those who would do us harm. Is that not enough?”
She’d also made the argument that she didn’t know sky magic, that it might be irresponsible for her to teach me how to use a power that she knew nothing about. Obviously that wasn’t an issue, not when my companions had no problem giving me lessons.
Leoni squealed from next to me. “You’re doing it, Poppy. You’ve come so far in just a few days. And just in time for Day of the Storms.” Her blue eyes lit up with excitement like she was the one performing this magic.
We walked through the rocky hills of Feathered, the second isle of Valoris. A little valley sat low in the middle of the hills, filled with sky elementals, everyone here to celebrate Day of the Storms. Legend said that this was Spirit Sky’s favorite day, where he’d gather all of his followers, and they’d bring rain, thunder, lightning, and wind down upon the land. The dark skies rumbled above, rain sprinkling over us. Driscoll was none too pleased about getting wet, but the prince had agreed to let us stop and enjoy the festivities, to celebrate the power of Spirit Sky and the sky elementals.
I let the rain in my hand dissipate. “Thank you,” I said. “You, Prince Lochlan, and Driscoll have been good teachers.”
Well, Driscoll had mainly spent his time telling me all the gossip in the earth court. The prince mainly spent his time flirting with me.
Leoni beamed as we walked, Prince Lochlan and Driscoll up ahead of us.
A single road connected all three territories, so it wasn’t like we had a lot of choices in the path we took, and it had been a fascinating surprise stumbling upon this celebration. Sheep and goats grazed around us, and I marveled at the beauty of this world. A beauty I’d been robbed of for so long.
I’d seen the world through the mirror, through Gran’s words, through pictures, and stories, but looking at it with my own eyes made me realize how much I’d been missing. I’d always questioned if it was worth it, if us staying safe and hidden was worth letting life pass me by. I’d come to the conclusion that it was. That we’d stay hidden until one day Gran would announce the threat was gone and that we could leave the tower. Now, being surrounded by the wind, the greenery, the blue skies, I wasn’t so sure. I had no idea how Gran gave all this up to live in that tower with me.
“You’ve made a lot of progress,” Leoni said. “Most of us have been learning magic since we could walk. Everyone has to attend Academy to learn about our powers and other subjects. We’re in Academy for six years before we graduate to take more specialized classes in our areas of interest. It takes months to learn what you’ve done in days.”
I worried at my bottom lip, staring ahead at the prince and Driscoll, who both had stopped at a booth and accepted tankards of ale. They clinked their glasses together and took deep drinks.
“Did I say something wrong?” Leoni asked.
“No.” I sighed, mind still on Gran, on all my conflicting feelings surrounding her and this mission. Over the last few days, I regularly flipped between wanting to shake Gran and hug her when I finally found her. “I’m mad at my gran,” I admitted, “I’m mad at her for keeping so many secrets from me. And I feel guilty that I’m mad. Because I know she kept those secrets to protect me, to protect both of us. Even if it was misguided and wrong of her, she had my best interest at heart.”
“Do you know the identity of your parents?” Leoni sent me a curious glance.
“No,” I said simply.
“And you were never tempted to find them? To find out who you really are?”
“I know who I am.”
We passed a booth full of fresh flowers, a woman with wings handing them out to small children in exchange for coins.
I sighed. “I’m a voracious reader, I love to paint, to garden. I’m curious and love learning lore and history. I’m strong but not in the physical way. My strength comes from my heart, from what I can endure. I like to give, to make others feel good.” I thought of Gran and all the ways I’d tried to please her over the years. “Probably to a fault. I’m not saying all of this to brag, but I’m just saying that I don’t need to know my parents to know who I am.”
Leoni stared at me with wide eyes. “Wow.”
“I do wonder, of course. Gran told me my father was a murderer, my mother someone who chose to give me up.”
One day, when I’d finally worked up the courage to ask for more details about how I’d come into Gran’s care, that’s what she’d said.
“I didn’t steal you if that’s what you’re wondering. Your mother gave you up. You were holding her back, and she wanted more for her life. Trust me when I say you’re better off without her and that murderer of a man who’s your father.”
“That’s all I know,” I continued. “My parents didn’t sound capable of caring for me, didn’t even want me. So why would I want to meet them?”
Sorrow shone in Leoni’s eyes. “I’m sorry.”
I looked up as sky elementals hung in the sky, holding out their arms and drawing lightning from its depths. “Don’t be. Gran said she didn’t really know much about them, other than those details. That my mother gave me to her, and that was it. She found a refuge for us, a place we could hide. Until I went and used the magic bean and brought the shadow upon us.”
“So you trust her, your gran?” Leoni asked as a few sky elementals soared over us.
“No.” I laughed quietly. “I trust that she loved me, that she wanted the best for me. I trust that she did the best she could. But do I trust that she was always completely honest with me? Do I trust that she gave me all the tools I needed to survive should whoever was after her come after me? No, I don’t.”
Leoni patted my arm. “It’s okay to love her but also to be angry with her. It’s okay to want answers, to expect her to be fully honest with you. That’s not asking too much.”
Then why did it feel like it was? All my life I’d tried to not be too curious, to not ask too many questions, even though I burned with them. To not imposition Gran when she’d sacrificed so much to save me, to raise me. She was on the run from someone, yes, but she’d been on the run for years before I was born, moving from place to place, free. She’d used the tower as an occasional home, but not a permanent one. When I came into the picture, she worried about moving around with me. She could’ve abandoned me, given me to an orphanage. Killed me, even. But she didn’t. I owed her everything for that, even if it meant staying silent and compliant.
I stuck out my hand and summoned little sparks of lightning that sizzled in the air, wondering what it would feel like to have enough power to draw lightning from the sky like the sky elementals who hung above us. Lightning split the sky with dazzling brilliance. I used to stand in my tower, watching this very spectacle from afar.
Gran never let me celebrate, of course. Told me that the spirits weren’t worth celebrating, though she never said why, and I couldn’t get her to divulge how she knew the spirits were so terrible when all the books I read said the opposite.
“Follow your gut,” Leoni said. “It won’t lead you astray.”
“Is that why you came with the prince?” I was more than ready to turn the conversation away from myself.
Leoni’s hand went to the sword sheathed at her side. “Yes. It was definitely a gut reaction.”
This time, I stayed silent, sensing she had more to say. Prince Lochlan and Driscoll were now gathered among a crowd of people watching as sky elementals sheared sheep in what looked like a competition to see who could shear their sheep the fastest. I squinted at a sign that read: Shear the Sheep the fastest, win a sheep for your family!
“My best friend was—is—Princess Gabrielle,” Leoni said. “We spent our entire lives sparring, training together, and I excelled at it. I knew with my whole heart I wanted to be in the royal guard.”
A breeze blew past us, and a few of the sheep being sheared baa’d loudly in protest as their fluffy wool fell into baskets on the ground. Driscoll let out a whoop, cheering as the person in the lead dropped their shears to the ground, then their sheep escaped and ran while he fumbled for the object.
“It seems like it worked out for you,” I offered.
“Not at first. No one would give me a chance.” She gestured to her wide hips and thick thighs. “I get it. I don’t have the typical body type of a warrior. But I’m good at what I do. Gabrielle begged to get me the position as captain of the guard. She was the only one who believed in me. Now, she’s sailing the world with her pirate lord, no longer a princess, no longer in need of a captain of the guard.”
“What?” I asked. That took a turn I hadn’t expected.
Leoni waved her hand. “It’s a long story. But I’m not a pirate. I’m definitely not cut out for a life at sea. So when Prince Lochlan said he was leaving on a mission to find you, I knew I had a chance, a chance to prove that I am good enough to be in the royal guard without the princess vouching for me.”
“And have you? Proven it?”
Her chest heaved with a sigh. “Not even a little bit. I haven’t had to fight once. Haven’t had a chance to show a single skill. At this point, I’ll be returning to Apolis jobless and with no future propositions.” Her hand lay across the hilt of her sword, twitching like she wanted to use it. “My mother will no doubt be harping on me to get married and be a proper woman like she was.”
I knew what that felt like all too much. I never got the sense that I disappointed Gran, more that I wasn’t enough. That I could never be enough no matter how hard I tried. The crowd erupted into cheers as a young woman raised her shears in triumph, her sheep completely sheared. Driscoll grumbled, reaching into his pocket and handing the prince some coins.
Females shot him looks of interest, and he must’ve noticed because he pulled the hood of his cloak over his head.
“So teach me,” I said, and Leoni shot me a wide-eyed stare. “I don’t just need to learn how to use my magic. I need to learn how to defend myself.” I thought of my attackers on the road to Winged who’d stolen all my gold. “Teach me how to fight using both weapons and my magic.”
A slow smile spread across Leoni’s face. “I’ve trained many guards. I can be a good tutor.”
I leaned over and whispered, “Maybe we can stage our practices in front of the prince and show him what you’re made of.”
Her grin grew wider. “Thank you,” she said.
I waved her words away. “You’re the one doing me the favor.”
The competition now over, Driscoll and the prince wandered to a fight taking place, two elementals summoning swords of lightning and readying themselves to spar with them.
I studied the prince’s broad back, a sapphire-blue cloak spread over it and flapping behind him, those auburn curls peeking out from under his hood. I scowled, realizing I was admiring him. That I’d been admiring him a lot these last few days. Not just how handsome he was, but how easy he made life. How fun he made it.
“It’s okay.” Leoni patted my arm.
“What’s okay?” I asked as we approached the sheep.
“If you’ve been taken by his charms.”
She didn’t have to say his name. I put a hand to my chest. “I haven’t been!”
She gave me a look like she didn’t believe me. “Everyone has.”
I scoffed. “Well, not me. I don’t even completely understand it. Yes, he’s handsome and charming and very good at flirting, but surely there are other men like him. Why is he so famous? Why do all those women work themselves up into a frenzy around him?”
Women flocked to him no matter where we went. It was truly amazing. Even now, women passed him by, studying him with interest, probably wondering if it was really him: the prince of the water court, here to celebrate Day of the Storms.
Leoni smirked. “You’re forgetting he’s also a prince. There aren’t many of those around.”
I ticked off my fingers. “Queen Seraphina of the fire court, Queen Liliath of the earth court.” I ticked another finger. “Princess Gabrielle.”
“Now a pirate,” Leoni said.
There was no princess of the sky court. The king and queen had a niece who Gran said would likely ascend to the throne. And the frost court, well, there was a prince, but he’d been very reclusive over the years, along with his parents. Gran had joked that maybe he had hideous boils all over his face and his parents were so ashamed they’d hidden him away. Every time the frost prince came up in conversation, I’d catch Gran’s eye and we’d both burst out in laughter.
Leoni was right. “So Prince Lochlan and Prince Mal are the only eligible bachelors.”
She grimaced. “Just Prince Lochlan. Prince Mal, soon to be King Maledonan, is in love with the sea princess.”
I came to an abrupt stop. “The sea princess? As in one of King Salazar’s daughters? The sea princess who lives in the ocean and has a tail and fins?”
She tipped her head forward, and I remembered we were supposed to be walking. “Yes, that is an apt description of the sea folk.”
Gran had always spoken highly of the sea folk. I think she liked them because they refused to fight in the Shadow War against Sorrengard, had opted to stay neutral, and that earned them a begrudging respect. But as far as I knew, elementals and sea folks didn’t mingle, definitely didn’t enter into relationships. And the future king of Apolis was in love with the sea princess? It was enough to make my head spin.
Leoni waved her hand through the air. “It’s causing a lot of tension between Prince Mal and his mother. There’s a fragile peace between the water court and the sea court, and she’s afraid Mal seeking the sea king’s approval to marry his daughter could break that peace.”
“I hope he gets to marry her,” I said.
“Why?” Leoni asked.
Two little girls danced in front of us, both wearing flower crowns that they’d just bought from a little booth, giggling and flapping their wings.
“Because it sounds like he loves her,” I continued, “and I assume she loves him. They shouldn’t be forced apart just because others don’t approve of their relationship.”
I shivered at the chilly breeze, once again thankful for the warm clothes the prince had bought me.
Leoni squinted at the prince. “It’s not just that, though.”
“Sorry?” I asked.
“About the prince.” She nodded toward him, his gaze still fixed on the fight still happening between the two sky elementals. “He’s charming and handsome, yes. But that’s not why he’s so popular. He has this way of navigating conflict, easing tensions, forging alliances between unlikely parties. Gabrielle and their father used to fight constantly.”
“Used to?” I asked.
“Their father died recently,” Leoni said, sorrow in her eyes.
I hadn’t known that, and it made me sad for the prince. Losing a parent like that couldn’t be easy.
“What did they fight about?” I asked. “Gabrielle and her father?”
“Everything,” Leoni said. “But mainly the fact that Gabrielle didn’t want to do things the way their father insisted. He was strict. Pious. Serious. The opposite of Gabrielle. She was always getting in trouble, sneaking out and going on adventures. Prince Lochlan was the mediator, the one who was always getting them to put aside their differences. He does that a lot.” Her expression grew thoughtful. “I don’t think he likes conflict, so he avoids it. Makes things fun. When he was trapped on that island for the last year, his shadow taken from him?—”
“Trapped on what island?” I interrupted.
Leoni looked away. “Sorry, I forget you don’t know everything that’s been happening. Well, that’s his story to tell, I suppose. I just know that the prince has this way of making everyone around him feel good. In a world that’s not always filled with happiness and joy, that’s something.”
I stared at the prince as he and Driscoll now cheered for one of the sky elementals, who had the other one pinned to the ground, sword of lightning pressed to his throat. I mulled over her words, wondering exactly what island he’d been trapped on and why.
“It is,” I agreed. “So why hasn’t he settled down if he’s so amazing?”
Leoni barked out a laugh. “Prince Lochlan settle down? That is not something that interests him.”
She sounded so resolute in her words.
“What about if he falls in love?”
She choked, and I patted her back as she coughed and sputtered, then finally said, “Prince Lochlan does not fall in love. Women fall in love with him. He falls in... like? Easiness? Anything that doesn’t require much on his part.” She shook her head, opening and closing her mouth several times. “Like I said, he avoids conflict, complications, and there’s nothing more complicated than falling in love.”
So that’s where the constant flirting, teasing, the easy nature, came from. It was second nature to him. I stared at the back of his head and wondered if that was why he was helping me. He’d said it would give him closure, but maybe that’s just what he did: helped people. It sounded lonely, a life spent trying to make everyone around you happy. A blast of wind shook me from my thoughts. Spirits knew I had enough of my own problems to deal with, and I would not add Prince Lochlan and his commitment issues to the growing list.