Chapter 7
My body’s trembling. Rage, shame for being so gullible, I don’t even know what I’m feeling. All I know is that the thunderous applause is poking my head from the inside.
“Clap, Mayara,” Celine whispers.
I blink, waking from my temporary daze, and force my hands to slap each other. I do need some slaps, so this is a great opportunity. Below me, on the dais, Alayel smiles and bows to the audience, pretending to be touched and humbled, then presses a hand to his chest.
“I’ll do everything in my power to strengthen and protect Dracolius. To me, this recognition means much more than a noble title. It means a family. A father. Two sisters.” He gestures toward the princesses sitting behind him. “I’ll make sure to support and honor them.”
Cassiana stares at him with curiosity, while Ledeia has her head tilted, a pleasant smile on her face, as if the news was delightful. Considering the evil glare she was giving Alayel only a few seconds ago, I’m assuming this is a schooled, practiced expression.
“It makes sense,” Celine mutters beside me.
“What?”
“He’s in my year, but he’s older than most recruits. And he was on something called instructor track. They claimed that he brought special skills and knowledge from the Sorensen Kingdom.”
“So he was never a normal recruit.”
“Far from that.” She lets out a small laugh.
“What’s he like?”
She pauses, then shrugs. “I don’t know him well. Standoffish, I’d say.” Celine then grunts. “Ew. She’s going to be insufferable.”
“Who?”
“Silvia. She’s also a second year recruit. His lover.”
“Oh.”
My already battered heart shrivels, as if it made any difference whether Alayel had anyone or not. As if he would ever look at me, with the gigantic chasm between us. As if I would even want him, when he betrayed me like that.
Celine snorts. “Silvia’s worse than Ledeia. One would think she’s a queen or something. I guess she’s on her way to becoming one.”
“Not necessarily. The king could pick one of the princesses for the throne.” It’s what I’m hoping, at least.
She tilts her head. “Maybe.”
A guard dismisses the assembly, and we head to the door from which we came.
Celine shrinks her shoulders, back to that same gloomy mood of when I first saw her. “Thanks for the help. See you some time.”
It sounds like she hopes never to see me again, and I don’t blame her.
“See you,” I say, but she’s already rushing toward the stairs.
And I’m here, realizing that I should have paid a whole lot more attention to directions. The cleaning crew’s dormitory is upstairs, but on what floor?
I descend to the entrance of the auditorium and head to the hallway leading to it.
There, a plain wooden door draws my eye, as if it was the direction I needed to go, but it doesn’t make any sense, as it’s too small and doesn’t seem to lead upstairs.
Maybe the reason it’s calling me is that it looks like a nice place to hide.
I don’t want Alayel seeing me in this uniform, even if it’s his fault that I’m wearing it. In any case, what I need to do is find that dormitory and figure out where to get some dinner, as my stomach is threatening to rumble like the sky outside.
There are still people leaving the auditorium, and I rush away from it. Thankfully, I come across the entrance leading to the discreet stairs I descended with Celine, and then I climb four flights. When I come out, I realize I’m on the wrong floor.
I go up again, wondering if the tower climbing test is for the castle and the academy as much as for the watchtowers.
Wrong floor, and I hate being so lost, so directionless, a clear outsider in a building where even the walls scream that I don’t belong.
After going up and down more times than I would like, then finally mustering the courage to ask some guards, I eventually find the hallway where the cleaning crew’s dormitory is located.
Hopefully someone will let me know where I can get some dinner, considering I’m so hungry that I could even eat poorly seasoned gallonfish stew.
As I approach the dormitory, I notice someone leaning on the wall. My chest clenches. It can’t be. I wish I could turn around and run, but if anything, my brief experience in this castle has told me that I won’t get anywhere. And it’s too late to try to hide.
Alayel steps away from the wall and prowls toward me, still wearing his fine suit, but no circlet on his head, allowing his dark curls to fall on the sharp lines of his jaw. He’s so impossibly good looking that my heart races, and I hate feeling like that.
I stand my ground and cross my arms. “What do you want?”
He stops walking. “Are you angry?”
“Do you need to ask?”
“I couldn’t see you today.” He approaches me slowly, his voice soft, as if he was really sorry. “Couldn’t come to the restaurant this morning, like I promised, but I wanted to.”
“Don’t you have more important things to do now?”
He blinks, his long eyelashes fanning his face, his eyes focused on me. “Not more important than this, no.”
My heart is stupid and wants to melt. It’s cooing, incredibly impressed: Look, he was just recognized as a prince and yet he came straight to see you. He likes you. Oh, he likes you.
But I know it’s a lie. It has to be a lie.
“What do you want?” I repeat, and to my horror, my voice sounds much gentler than before.
Alayel points to the dormitory. “Get your things and follow me. It’s important.”
“Is that an order, Your Highness?”
He smirks. “I love hearing you say my title. Can you repeat it?”
Asshole.
“I have to go.” I try to walk past him, but he holds my wrists.
“You’re not going anywhere before you talk to me.” He glances at his hands, frowns, releases my arms, then blinks slowly, his expression apologetic. “Please.” The worst is that he does look sweet and reminds me of our moments in the cave.
My stupid heart is again very much impressed, even if I’m trying to strangle it.
“We can talk here,” I say.
He sighs. “I’m supposed to lead you to your accommodations. It’s not this dormitory. And I need to explain more about your position in the academy. There was a mistake today. But the details are a little… special, let’s say, so our conversation needs to be in private.”
My chest untangles for the first time since I met the cleaning crew boss. A mistake, he said. It’s everything I wanted to hear. I’m not going to cheer and declare victory yet, but I can spare him some minutes.
I nod. “I’ll get my things and be right back.”
“And I’ll be waiting.” His smile is charming and would disarm me—if I wasn’t so guarded.
The dormitory is just as empty as before. Although I took note of the position of my part of the cabinet, by now I completely forgot it. After a few tries, I find my bag and clothes, pick them up, and leave the large room.
Alayel is waiting in the hallway and gestures for me to follow him.
We go to a different and even smaller staircase than the one I used before.
This time, I’m counting, and we climb six floors.
He then leads me to a narrow, dark hallway, and I almost turn back, but then he opens a door, revealing a closet with yet another door inside it. He opens that one—and my jaw drops.
It’s the most splendid room I have ever seen, and I’m not even sure if I can call it a room. I mean, it’s so huge that I think he could host a small ball here.
Fading sunlight peers through five enormous windows, illuminating a round table bigger than the ones at the restaurant, large sofas with velvet cushions, and a bed that looks as if it was made for a giant.
Gilded details adorn the wooden furniture, and a huge painting of the Claw Bay hangs behind the bed.
Beside it, three golden doors with intricate details lead to who knows where.
Fluffy rugs lie on the polished, decorated wooden floor, and six columns support lumos jars, except that jars sounds wrong for those fine glass containers.
Lightning strikes light up the room, as thunder cracks again and again, announcing the incoming storm.
“What do you think?” Alayel has a satisfied, boyish chuckle.
“It’s… wow.” I don’t even know what to say.
“I knew you’d like it.”
He pulls me toward one of those absurdly expensive sofas. I’m so stunned that I don’t resist, and find myself sitting beside him, his body close to mine, my fingers intertwined with his, heat climbing up my arm.
Rain starts to pour outside, and I pull my hand. “What’s this place?”
He grins. “Can’t you guess? It’s the royal suite.”
“The one meant for the king?”
Alayel grins. “It suits me, don’t you think?”
“Why would he…” I don’t even know what to ask or how to make sense of what I’m seeing. “Why are you here?”
“The king is … cautious, and prefers a room with sunholes instead of large windows that could be vulnerable to dragon attacks.”
“Don’t you fear dragons?”
“Nah.” He gets up and walks to one window, then pulls a cord, bringing down an external metal shutter. “I can close these if needed. It’s not like they attack every night. And it’s a beautiful room. Come, see the washroom, come.”
I follow him to one of the golden doors, which leads to a small corridor, and then a room bigger than the kitchen at the Grease & Spice, with a large bathtub.
He grins beside me. “You like it?”
I’m wondering how many buckets of water would be needed here, and then remember I could be the one bringing them, and my stupor and amazement evaporate at once.
“Was this your prize for completing your dangerous mission?”
“You’re angry.” He tilts his head and reaches out a hand.
I step back. “You think?”
He sighs. “I know. It didn’t… Things are not going the way you hoped. What I can say is I tried. I did, Mayara. But it’s not the end of the world. Think of it as a stepping stone. You’ll get where you want, but you need to be patient.”
An annoyed huff escapes my lips. “Why do I need to be patient? This was not our deal. I helped you. I risked my life. You agreed that I would enter the academy as a recruit.”
“That’s not what’s in the contract, and you know it.”