Chapter 9
K alliah and Ian were in the heat of their duel, flawlessly using wooden training swords.
She blocked every move Ian made. His smile grew wider each time she accomplished another.
Leif sat on the edge of the pit, his arms crossed as he studied the pair. Kalliah had learned quickly these past few months. She already perfected nearly everything Ian had taught me in my first year.
I sat next to Leif, nudging him with my shoulder. “Don’t think I don’t see that look,” I teased.
He arched an eyebrow. When I wiggled mine, he scoffed. “If I wanted to bed a tiger, yes, I’d go after your lady. But I like my bits intact, thank you very much.”
My laughter caught Kalliah’s attention, and she and Ian looked our way. “Shouldn’t you be off brooding or are we finally going to put everything behind us?” she asked.
I responded with a tight smile. “Nothing like going round for round in the sparring ring to settle the score,” I insisted.
Despite wearing a dress, I bunched it up in my hands and jumped into the pit. Misjudging slightly, I stumbled, stubbing my toe on a rock. “Tits and daggers!” I hissed.
“Bleeding hell, Lan, you’re a damn princess. You can’t run your mouth like a drunk in a tavern.” Ian’s expression contorted with disgust while Leif choked back laughter.
Ian pointed at Leif. “Don’t encourage her,” he said. “Go on, you two.” He motioned between me and Kalliah. “Show me I’ve at least taught you something.”
“You two are the ones who have stuff to work out,” Kalliah said, leaning on her training sword.
Ian shook his head, stepping out of the ring. “She looks like she’d kill me at any moment. You can wear her down a bit first.”
I stuck my tongue out before I curtsied to him, obnoxiously low, before assuming my position in front of Kalliah. I retrieved the extra wooden sword from the dirt floor as Leif returned to his duties in the palace.
Kalliah and I circled each other before she dove into a relentless barrage of attacks. I barely had time to block half of her blows, and she managed to get in a few hits right off the bat.
“You’re sloppy today, Lana,” Ian chastised.
“I’m doing fine ,” I snipped. Anger welled inside of me, waiting to explode like a volcano.
“You’re not fine. You’ve missed the last three parries we’ve been practicing for weeks. It’s unlike you.”
I slashed my wooden sword against Kalliah’s harder than I meant to. “I’m fine ,” I screeched as Kalliah retaliated and knocked the practice weapon from my hand. “Agh!”
Ian strode toward me as my head hung in defeat. Neither of my friends spoke, but the longer silence grew, the more fury raged inside of me. My body shook, trembling at the unfairness of everything, my breath coming harder and faster than I could manage.
I’d be bartered away through a trial, as though my life were unworthy of choosing who I spent it with, forcing me to choose between men I did not know nor care for.
Bartered away to a stranger who would put more restrictions on me than Ian already did. Depending on his character, my being magicless could be a prison sentence. I would be hidden away from embarrassment alone.
This new “King” could mean losing what little I had left of my own voice.
Ian stood in front of me, placing a hand on my shoulder. He said nothing, but the manner in which he purposefully slowed his breathing, as he’d done beside me so many times before, had me matching his breaths to regain control. As always, his gentle aid, even when I didn’t ask for it, helped.
“What’s going on in that head of yours? Talk to us.” The gentleness of his tone allowed me to take another deep breath and pause, forgetting the words still needing to be exchanged from our earlier fight.
I slowly lifted my head, meeting his worried gaze before shifting to Kalliah, who held the same expression.
Although out of my control, I didn’t want to explain this to them. To admit what lay ahead of us. I’d be peddled as a prize for some egotistical prick in a competition.
Depending upon who won, the man serving as the new king could change everything. Kalliah, born with limited magic and a lesser Fae, could be deemed unworthy to interact with Fae royalty at all, and certainly not to the status she was now.
And Ian. Ian , who had grown up alongside me. Ian, who held me if my nightmares were too much. Our relationship would be forever changed after this.
No husband would allow a Royal Guard into his wife’s bed chambers with or without their presence. No King would allow their wife, their Queen, to go off to the training grounds to practice swordplay and archery with guards, staff, and a lesser Fae.
And then the worst of it dawned on me.
No husband would allow their wife to sneak off into the night and be the Hidden Henchman. Would whomever became King demand I stand to the side? Kept na?ve of the darkness troubling our lands, as my father hid from me.
Even knowing my father wouldn’t allow me to be the Hidden Henchman should he ever discover it was me either, I could keep it secret from him. How would I keep my comings and goings from a husband if he didn’t approve of making the changes I desired? My ability to enact such changes could be stifled by a man who didn’t believe in ruling the kingdom the way I wished to.
What would happen to the villagers in need if I could not keep providing aid? Would they starve? If I could not provide medical supplies, would someone die? More than one death had already bloodied my hands, and I did not wish to add more.
I stared at Ian’s face, his brows furrowed, clearly attempting to discern what could be so troublesome. “My father requested a meeting this morning about my future.”
“Let me guess—the prophecy, again ?” he questioned.
I sighed. “Worse.”
“Worse? What could be worse than that ridiculous prophecy Vivienne prattled off eons ago?” Ian stepped back a few paces, flourishing his hands by his temple as though he could see the future, as he always did when mocking Vivienne.
Normally, this would make me laugh, but my face remained neutral, and I mustered all the strength I had left in me. “The king has enacted the marriage trials.”
“The marriage trials?” Kalliah gasped. “Why? How? They’re practically legend.”
Ian ran his hands through his sweat-leaden hair, tousling the slight waves out of place. “There haven’t been marriage trials in, what, half a millennium?”
I nodded in confirmation. “They believe the prophecy references holding the marriage trials.”
“Well, it’s fucking stupid,” Ian said.
“Tell me something I don’t already know.” I wiped the sweat from my forehead.
“When?” Kalliah asked in a hushed tone. Her hands still hung by her side, the sword dangling from her fingertips.
I wondered briefly if either of them was making the connections I had earlier. A new King could mean all new rules, and we’d be expected to be separated even further.
Ian stared, just like Kalliah did, awaiting my response as hurt crept into his eyes.
“One week,” I said, choking on fresh tears. Air, I needed air. I gasped again, clutching at my chest as the all-too-familiar tightening spread, zinging down my arms.
Ian quickly wrapped me in an embrace as my knees buckled and I fell to the ground. He held me tight and ran his hands through my half-braided hair, not caring about the sweat clinging to me from our training session, or if we were out in the open. Anyone could see the embrace. Anyone could devise a new round of rumors to circulate.
Kalliah knelt on the other side of me, her hand moving around my waist.
“It’ll be okay, Lana,” Kalliah assured me.
Ian’s grip tightened. “We’ll get through this together, like we always do.”
I peered up at Ian, quietly asking, “What am I going to do? Everyone will find out I’m magicless.”
We remained sitting together until my legs started to cramp from the position. When I shifted, Ian rose first, holding out his hands to me and Kalliah.
He pushed a strand of loose hair behind my ear. “We’ll find a solution.”
“Even if I’m being stupid with how mad I am at you?” I asked.
Ian smiled at me, kissing my forehead. “Your anger at me is deserved, but it will not make me change my mind. We’ll work through it. And this, too.”
Tears streamed down my face, and I buried my head in the warmth of Ian’s chest, while Kalliah rubbed my back.
They let me cry, out in the open, without rushing me.
When I leaned back, lifting my chin, I looked at each of them. “We’ll get through it together,” I repeated Ian’s words.
“This calls for one more round,” Kalliah said.
Kalliah’s uncanny intuition made me believe she had a higher level of magical abilities, lesser Fae or not. She always succeeded in distracting me when the pressure of Court, or the fear of my lack of magic, overwhelmed me.
“I let you win before.” I grinned, willing a bit of strength back into my body.
We picked up the swords, practicing each position Ian had taught us. The movements were almost soothing as we circled each other, sparring and smiling.
While I may not have control over my future, one thing I knew for certain—I wouldn’t be going down without a fight.