Chapter 18 Beyond the Veil #4
“You weren’t dragged,” Lorik said, low and lethal. “You ran into it. To prove a point. To prove you’re worthy of Dragontail. To play rebel princess in your own head.” His eyes sharpened. “Stop chasing recognition. Get better. Learn to fight. Learn to control yourself.”
He read me as if I were nothing but an open book. He didn’t care that I was royal. He didn’t soften the truth. He carved it out.
So I fought back, childish, and vicious.
“What do you care if I die?” I snapped. “You’d love it. You hate the Solenhart throne.” Lorik exhaled, sharp and controlled, as if he were forcing himself back into command.
“You will be the end of me,” he said, shaking his head once. “You’re composed with everyone else. So royal.” His gaze locked on mine. “Except around me. Why is that, Princess? Ask yourself.”
He was going to be the end of me, too. Utterly infuriating. For someone who barely knew me, he saw too much.
I opened my mouth, ready to spit something worse but the drums sounded again, deeper this time, rolling through the towers like a warning.
“Hold your next insult,” Lorik said, suddenly calm. “And your emotions.”
“Time to go back. Before anyone realizes she was here.” Ugo said from behind Lorik, as if he’d been there longer than I wanted to know.
I tried to get loose one more time while Lorik was distracted by the voice of his friend. I tried wielding my faction magic to burn him and force him to let me go,
but no flames came out of it. Still. Lorik released my wrist, letting a low growl out.
“What was that, Princess?” Lorik asked, raising a brow. But I ignored him. In a swift motion, I pulled away from him, shooting him a hateful look.
Then, my gaze snapped to Ugo, standing beside Rory and Marla. A faint bruise circled Rory’s neck, already fading. She looked recovered, even healed.
As if the choke hadn’t nearly broken her.
A portal snapped open beside us.
I didn’t have time to see where it led before Rory grabbed my arm and shoved me through it. Ugo and Marla followed. Rory came last.
Then the portal sealed.
Lorik stayed behind.
We landed in Rionis by the King’s Forest near the courtyard. Sequoias towered over us, and through them I could see the Solphire Tower rising like a watchful spine against the sky.
“You got enough of a lecture from Lorik,” Rory said, eyes hard on mine. “So I hope you understood the message.”
Then her gaze drifted to Ugo, and something in her posture eased just a fraction.
“But I must admit, princess, you were bold. Negotiating with a wildweaver in the middle of a battle,” Rory added, still with a hard expression on her face.
“Thanks for guiding me out of the tower, and for standing up to the wildweaver,” I said to her and meant every word.
“How naive. Rory wasn’t protecting you from the wildweaver. None of that was for you,” Marla snapped. “Let’s go, Rory.”
Marla’s voice was cool, dismissive. Rory’s face was almost sad and defeated. She gave me a last glance without saying a word before facing her friend.
“Thanks for healing me, Marla,” Rory said to her friend as they turned around. They took the trail without looking back, dark hair ripped loose from their braids, uniforms filthy with soot and smoke, yet they walked as they’d never known fear.
They might be my enemies in the legion. But today I couldn’t deny it.
They were strong.
And fearless.
Rory had been choked from the inside out and still looked ready to go back and kill another wildweaver.
I faced Ugo. He watched them disappear, then looked back at me.
“I know they don’t love your presence,” he said carefully. “And they’re not… gentle. But they’re good people.”
“That’s a generous way to put it,” I muttered. “Rory and Marla hate me. So does Lorik. Let’s be honest.”
“But they helped you today,” Ugo said. “They’re not what you think.”
He paused, weighing his words.
“We won’t tell anyone you were there. We’d all get in trouble if a royal who hasn’t passed her Trials fought beyond the Veil without her protection heirloom.”
My stomach tightened again at the reminder.
“The wildweaver mind-bent Rory without touching her,” I said quietly. “He lifted both hands and commanded us both.” I swallowed. “But… I don’t think he did anything to me.”
“You would’ve known,” Ugo said. “Wildweaver magic is rough. Violent. It doesn’t slip in like Sunheart or Moonveil mind-work. It can’t hide its teeth.” His voice softened. “Trust me, you’re okay. He took nothing from you.”
His eyes sharpened.
“But people won’t know that. And your life gets harder the moment the wrong person hears you were beyond the veil without having passed the trials.”
“You’re too kind,” I said, and I meant it. “You’re not like them. No offense.” Ugo let out a quiet breath. “I’ve known them my whole life. They’re family to me.” He looked away for a moment, as if choosing what to reveal.
“If you knew the Lorik I know, you wouldn’t hate him.” His gaze slid back to mine. “He’s not who you think he is.” A beat. “You just… know how to push his buttons.”
I didn’t have an answer for that.
So I gave him the truth.
“He drives me crazy, too.”
Silence settled between us, heavy but not hostile.
Then I broke it.
“Thank you for helping me today, Ugo.”
He only nodded.
And let me walk away.