Chapter Twenty-Three
The warmth of the sun-soaked wooden railing of the balcony seeped through my clothing and into my skin as I sat. I’d watched as the sun had made its descent in the sky, the moon taking far too long to arrive in its place.
Though my hatred for what the sun represented to me persisted throughout my life and into adulthood, I couldn’t see the moon as an escape as I once had. Now, it reminded me of the promise I’d made to who I’d thought was my better half, all those months ago.
I’d promised Aviva that so long as we were both looking at the moon at night, we’d be connected through it. That she’d never truly be alone because of it.
How foolish of me, I chastised myself.
I could hear the last of the servants behind me placing the final few dinner dishes on the solid onyx table.
Tonight, I had a purpose.
As the sun kissed the horizon, I realized it was almost time.
This evening, I wanted to see the extent of my new Right Hand’s training. Her calluses gave her away as not being nobility, but were they from manual labor or something more interesting?
It was up to me to find out.
With that thought in mind, I spread my wings and jumped into the air. A moment later, I found myself perched on the edge of the roof, which overlooked the balcony I’d just been sitting on.
Valenia and I had come to the Heartshire’s Neokell Estate right after visiting Mother. I still had yet to tell Valenia why I’d needed space from the encampments—or more specifically, who I’d found to be there—but she’d quietly obeyed, following me to the Estate.
The Heartshire royal family had an estate in each city in the North.
Apparently, those of my lineage used to travel between the different cities quite often.
For what, I wasn’t sure. Father had simply selected different advisors to oversee each Northern city instead, obtaining the majority of his intel from them.
He rarely left Hollis, and when he did, it was purely for business.
At the thought of Father, I felt a void in my chest. I ran a hand through my hair, pushing each strand out of my face in an effort to distract myself.
The estate we were currently at was crafted mostly of a desaturated, dark wood blend, along with onyx accents scattered throughout where necessary, such as to make up certain floors or staircases or supports.
Stained glass windows lined the walls, made up of hues of blue, gray, black, and some purples.
Those had become my favorite part of the Neokell Estate, especially with how the moonlight lit them up at night.
As the sun finally disappeared from sight, and the sky began to rapidly darken, I lifted the hood of my black cloak over my head. I secured it in place the best I could, though it was oversized enough that I wasn’t exactly worried.
Before the sun had begun its final stretch below the horizon, I’d taken ground-up charcoal and smeared it all over my feathers, making sure to thoroughly cover up the white and gray-silver colors I’d been born with.
I’d given myself a small scare when I’d walked past a mirror inside; the charcoal had made my wings resemble my father’s exactly.
The idea of disguising my wing color was, unfortunately, not one that I could take credit for.
Before I could finish that thought, I noticed a shadow stretching across the balcony, approaching from inside the estate.
I tugged my hood forward a final time, mostly to reassure myself it was still where I’d placed it. With my features obscured, I then bent my knees slightly as I prepared to jump from where I’d placed myself above the balcony.
I held my breath as I waited for my target.
And the moment she was directly beneath me, I stepped off the edge of the roof.
Landing directly behind my Right Hand, I allowed myself to continue my descent as I dropped into a crouch.
Though I hadn’t made a sound, Val was good—she’d felt something shift.
But despite how quickly she turned on her heels to face me, it only worked in my favor as I kicked out her legs from under her.
To my surprise, instead of falling, she arched. Stretching herself backwards, she got her feet back under herself swiftly and pushed, flipping herself over and farther away from me.
It was a smart move, I had to admit.
Unfortunately for her, I’d prepared for everything.
It only took a few long strides to reach her before she could fully gather her bearings.
Before she could orient herself, I threw a solid hit to her stomach, causing her to double over and gasp for breath.
I made sure to use a flat hand and not a fist, though.
I couldn’t have her in too horrible of a condition.
Pathetic, I thought as I looked down at her.
I took a step back, somewhat disappointed. I had thought she’d put up more of a fight than that.
It wasn’t until I gained a different perspective that I noticed her hands weren’t clutching her stomach like I thought they were.
She was working through a series of movements I wasn’t sure I had seen previously.
Before I could stop her or let her know I wasn’t a true threat, I heard a cup from the table not too far off clatter to the ground.
My head snapped up just in time to see what Valenia had been focusing on.
An attack.
The spear of water hit me square in the chest, causing me to stumble backwards. I grunted at the pain, slowly standing straight again.
Valenia had gotten to her feet and was standing a healthy distance from me now. She began to move her hands again, this time in a sort of tugging motion—like she was pulling one end of a rope towards herself.
With that motion, I noticed the water at my feet—and the water that soaked me—was collecting together and rolling back towards her in large droplets. I watched in subtle awe as she did so, though envy nipped at me.
Wielding abilities like that were supposed to be mine.
Instead, I had been cursed.
But if I was cursed, I would make it my life’s mission to ensure that the Stars regretted even thinking of punishing me.
She finished drawing all the water to her, the streams of it flowing around her like a snake wrapping around its prey. She placed her feet firmly apart and looked toward my covered face.
“Let’s do this,” she said, raising her fists, which she’d coated in water as well.
A small smirk grew slowly across my face at her words.
I flicked my wrist once, causing a great ball of flames to come to life against my skin. The light from the fire lit up my features, and I could see the confusion written across Valenia’s face as she tried to process what she was seeing.
“Gladly,” I responded, then lunged for her.
Now that Valenia was more prepared—unlike when I’d snuck up on her—her skills weren’t bad at all.
Some moves she used reminded me of ones I’d learned while growing up in Gatlyn Castle and being taught by some of the highest ranking noblemales and warriors in the North.
On the other hand, though, there were a few moments when I could see her true nature coming out as we sparred.
She was scrappy—resilient. She wasn’t afraid to play a little dirty if it meant she could win.
I liked that very much.
As we flitted around the balcony, lunging and dodging and throwing punches, I continued to study her.
The way she kept her hair partially up at all times so it couldn’t be used against her, just in case she did find herself in a situation like her current one.
I enjoyed watching the way she moved, which was much like the water she wielded.
She ebbed and flowed just like it, always ready and willing to adapt to what she needed.
And her eyes—they were constantly so sharp, so attentive.
I felt like she could have seen right through me if she really wanted to.
Though I admired the way she presented herself, I was also greatly enthused by the way the two of us seemed to complement each other as we moved around the balcony in a dance of sorts.
But that was a thought for another time.
“Come on, little warrior, is that all you’ve got?” I taunted her, though my voice came out softer than I’d intended.
Valenia’s eyes met mine, and to my surprise, I thought I saw true fury resting there.
With that, she raised a hand and directed it at me.
Expecting another water spear to be thrown my way, I held my arms out, inviting her to do her worst.
The rage in her eyes remained as her hand began to produce sparks.
The surrounding air electrified in an instant, and that was when I realized just how much my Right Hand had truly been holding back.
Lightning wielder.
Despite the threat I was up against, I didn’t feel fear. If anything, the chaos of the situation made me feel more at peace than I had in a long while.
I kept my arms open and spread out, as if daring her to strike.
Though I could see her hesitation in her body language. Her eyes were still like two flames in her skull, alit with that fury she must have kept buried deep inside.
I knew what that was like, after all.
After a moment, I closed my eyes and waited for the pain of the strike to hit me. I heard the buildup of the lightning, the crackle as it split the air in such close quarters. My vision went white as it passed through the air between us. Though, to my surprise, the pain never came.
I slowly peeled my eyes open to look at Val. Her hand was still raised in my direction, but her aim had been adjusted so her lightning must have gone up and over my shoulder, off to the side.
Realization dawned on me as I thought of how she truly could have ruined all of my plans just then—but didn’t.
“Why?” I asked softly, letting my arms fall back to my sides after pushing the cloak hood back away from my face.
“I am vowed to you,” she said, though suddenly, she wouldn’t meet my gaze.