Chapter 30
Chapter Thirty
Rankor
“So, what are the princesses like?” Elaijah asked from beside me.
I snorted, glancing at him from my periphery.
Bruises painted his skin, dark blue around his eyes and black across his knuckles.
I’d opted for a tough-love approach to teaching him how to fight, but he hadn’t seemed to mind.
He was rather hardy, in fact, much to my surprise.
It usually took him a few tries to learn new skills, but he was remarkably determined.
He never gave up or complained about exhaustion or pain.
Even when I’d knocked against the back of his head when he’d failed the master a sideways dodge, he’d only cursed once before demanding we go again.
I had to admit, his resolve was impressive.
“He wants to know what the princesses are like,” I yelled over my shoulder to Kent, who chuckled softly.
“Oh, they’re lovely,” Kent said sarcastically.
The princesses had rarely spent time at court; their mother had insisted on sending them away to school rather than have an in-house governess like Clay had had.
It might have been her attempt to shield the girls from the Dragon’s cruelty.
When they visited, they’d been doted on by everyone from nobles to staff.
Clay’s stepmother had been clear that their every wish should be granted, and since neither of them was the heir, the Dragon barely interacted with them at all.
“Myla is still very young,” I explained. “And energetic. Ezmie is...”
I trailed off, entirely unsure how to describe Ezmie.
The words that came to mind were not appropriate ways to describe a princess. Especially not one who was now, technically, the heir to the crown.
“She’s what?” Elaijah asked, glancing between Kent and me.
I met Kent’s gaze, finding the same discomfort on his features. He shrugged at Elaijah, kicking his heel into his horse to bring it to a trot. “Well, you’ll meet her.”
Throwing my head back, I laughed. “Yes, we’ll let you figure her out for yourself.”
His brows pinched with skepticism, but he didn’t push the issue, choosing instead to stare out at the large school in the distance, which seemed to grow larger and larger as we approached.
The National Institute of Athenia was a massive structure.
The pale-faced bricks of the main building stretched into towering spires that kissed the grey sky.
Surrounding the primary wing were several additional buildings, each lined with tall shrubs, which I could only assume were additional housing, libraries, or educational rooms. Young men and women hurried through the courtyards, rushing back and forth with books in their arms.
It was breathtaking.
I’d never been much of a student. I’d always been more inclined to be active and moving than locked away in a classroom, but even I could appreciate the devotion these students all had to their studies.
“Do you have the missive?” Kent asked as he and I dismounted our horses and handed off our reins.
We’d decided it would be best for the others to stay at the front gates of the institute. This would be a quick trip after all; we’d simply send for the princesses and be on our way. The faster we got back to the camp at Nikolai’s, the better.
I pulled out the sealed parchment from the inner breast pocket of my jacket. “Signed, sealed and soon-to-be delivered.”
Kent nodded and ushered me forward, allowing me to lead the way towards the large doors that led to the primary campus. Wrapping my fingers around the golden handle, I pushed forward, savoring the rush of warm air that fell over us as we stepped inside.
Next to me, Kent whistled under his breath, rocking back on his heels as he glanced around. Bookshelves lined every inch of the rotunda, stretching from our feet to the tops of the eighteen-foot ceilings.
“This is something,” I admired, spinning in a slow circle so I could take in the posts before the grand staircase that led to even more shelves of books.
The shelves stretched as far as the eye could see. I wouldn’t have believed that there were this many unique books in the world if I weren’t seeing it with my own eyes. Who in all of creation had the time to read that many books?
Clicking heels sounded against the floor. “Can I help you?”
We turned to the woman stepping out of a darkened alcove.
She wore the simple robes of an Institute educator.
Pale grey, cinched at the hips with a belt.
Blue fabric stitched the hem of her robes, marking her as a Novice instructor.
Senior instructors wore orange-lined robes while High Instructors, the most senior and renowned scholars, had robes lined in red.
It was well known that the instructors of the institute were rather simple creatures, devoted to their studies and profession above all else. Many remained celibate, in fact, choosing to commit only to their students.
Just another reason I would never have lasted long as an academic.
The woman before us had a face bare of any cosmetics.
Her raven hair was combed and tucked behind her ears but lacked any of the intricate braids or curls I was used to seeing among the ladies of court.
She looked exactly how I’d picture the stuffy scholars here, and yet, she was so much younger than I would have thought possible.
Her features were sharp, cutting almost, but in a consuming kind of way.
Full lips. Arched brows. She had the kind of face that demanded attention.
Holding her delicate hands folded in front of her, she stared at us expectantly with vibrant green eyes. After a beat of silence, she lifted her brows impatiently.
Kent coughed before clearing his throat, obviously as struck by her as I was. “We’re here to speak to the Headmaster. It’s urgent.”
She quirked her head to the side, the motion sending dark locks tumbling over her shoulder. “What is this regarding?”
Glancing between the two of us, her eyes narrowed in suspicious assessment. When she met my gaze, I found only stubbornness looking back at me.
This woman was going to be a problem.
“That’s for the Headmaster to know,” I insisted, bristling against her tone. Kent placed a hand on my shoulder, brushing a foreign sensation of calmness over me before I shrugged him off.
The instructor shook her head. “Gentlemen, this is a sacred place of education. Surely, you understand why we cannot just let anyone disrupt the important work we are seeking to accomplish.”
Her voice was thick with dismissiveness, her chin held high in a jutted fashion as she gave us another one of those expectant looks, her posture rigidly straight.
“And we can’t just let anyone disrupt the work we’re seeking to do,” I countered.
Clay had been clear that he wanted us to be careful in removing the girls from the school. If word got out that we were traveling with them, then it made us bigger targets than we already were. We could be attacked on the road, or someone could follow us to determine his location.
Revealing our intentions to every Novice instructor who crossed our path was not part of our plan.
She pursed her lips, staring at me so intensely it was as if she was seeing through to the core of my very soul. “Well then, I’m afraid you’ll just have to be on your way.
Dear Gods. I fought against the growl working its way up my throat. This woman had absolutely no intention of bringing us to the headmaster.
I looked at Kent, finding that same realization on his face. He rolled his eyes before inclining his head towards her in silent agreement. We needed the princesses more than we needed to hold on to our secrets.
“We’re here on the orders of the king.”
Her lips twitched. Fingers tightened. She took a single, careful step backwards. “Which one?”
“There is only one king of Athenia,” I growled, marching towards her and shoving the parchment into her hands. Clay’s seal caught the light. “And we serve the Dragon, Clayton Vail.”
Swallowing, she ran her fingertips over the seal. She took a long moment to examine the hardened wax before she lifted her head, those deeply green eyes meeting my own. With a gentle toss of her head, she shook tendrils of darkened black hair away from her porcelain skin.
“Very well,” she said to me, voice laced with derision. “I am Ayanna, and you may follow me.”
Her heels began clicking once more as she turned and retreated down the darkened hallway she had come from. A faint cherry scent lingered in her wake. I watched her go, scoffing as the devilish little thing didn’t even bother to check if we were following after her.
“Can you please focus?” Kent whispered as he brushed past me.
I frowned, following after him. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“She told you her name, she didn’t invite you into her bed.” He threw me a sympathetic glance over his shoulder. “And trust me, she’s not going to.”
My movements halted, and I stared at his back as he trailed behind Ayanna, throwing my head back to breathe deeply.
My life would be so much nicer if my best friend weren’t aware of every single time I felt the smallest, fleeting pang of lust. It would also be much less embarrassing if he weren’t the one delivering me the rejection.
This building was impossibly large. It felt like we had been walking for nearly half an hour and still Ayanna’s pace had not slowed.
“You’ll have to forgive my abruptness,” she called over her shoulder, not even glancing back at us. “We’ve had to become cautious of strangers during these times. Especially ones that look like you.”
“What do you mean by that?” I huffed, not bothering to hide how offended I was by her phrasing.
“You haven’t heard?” Her pace slowed so she could turn back to look at us. She barely glanced my way before settling her attention on Kent.