Chapter Thirty-Nine
Valeris
My blood pumped within me, pushing my legs faster as they pounded against stone.
I was already behind, which shouldn’t be possible, but I was.
I had to be the first one in the throne room, the first one to hand my father a prize.
I could swallow my pride and live with it if Zandyr beat me, but Ezrielle was another story entirely.
My lungs and muscles burned as I ran. Guests parted before me like a sea, making way for me. Most of them already carried a participation prize, signaling the ball was coming to a close.
I plowed through the doors of the throne room, every eye turning to fix me with a judgmental stare. There had to still be time, there had to be—
My father sat on his massive throne, an unfamiliar woman standing behind him, Zandyr to the right—
And Ezrielle before him.
I stumbled to a stop, my ragged breaths filling the silence of the court.
My father peered down at me, his bushy eyebrows pulling together as his condescending gaze bore into me. “My son, have you brought something for me?”
I swallowed, my heart racing as I climbed the steps of the dais and handed him the jewel.
He offered a stiff smile and dipped his head in acknowledgment of the gift, but disapproval waged in his eyes.
He kept an amicable expression on his face for the audience as he lowered his voice so only I could hear.
“You’re too late. You disappoint me, Valeris.
I should have known better than to think more of you than you really are, which is nothing.
Always careless. Always foolish. No responsibility.
Do not ever come before me again when you know you have already lost. When you have absolutely nothing to offer me.
It’s pathetic.” His attention shifted to his daughter.
“Ezrielle brought us the prize first tonight, Zandyr behind her. He took second, but at least he did better than you.”
He turned up his nose, looking down on me as if I wasn’t even worthy to be the dirt crusted beneath his shoes. “Leave us. We will discuss this later.”
I dipped my head in acknowledgment, backing off the dais and keeping my face void of any emotion. I knew better than to show fear. Defeat. We were the royal family of Paravellia. We were strong. We did not show weakness.
Vulnerability was a disease to be eradicated.
I marched out through the same doors I had stormed in, heat blooming on my cheeks. Ashamed.
“Valeris?”
I turned at her voice, her bright blue eyes questioning, curious. Concerned.
Don’t pretend like you care, Valeris. It’s beneath you.
Her words from the tunnel echoed in my head, and she was right. It was beneath me. I could hear her, lost in her nightmare, calling for her mother, begging for her to come with her. What must it be like to know that kind of unconditional love. To have a mother that cared for you.
But the world had shifted.
We were no longer sitting in a stone tunnel, the apology whispered from her lips. The acknowledgment, understanding. For a moment I’d thought, I’d thought—
But the world has shifted, Valeris.
“The game is over, Analleia.” An icy chill coated my tone. “Go home.”
I didn’t wait for her reaction. I left, leaving her standing in the graveyard of my words.