Chapter 4
I leave my rooms with my head held high and my twin canteens sloshing against my hips.
Guards are waiting just outside the door, of course—three, rather than the usual two—and after a split second of shock at my walking brazenly by them, they leap into action.
“Your Highness,” the first one to spring in front of me begins, but his voice dwindles away as he takes in my appearance.
Instead of hiding the band of bruising beneath bulky fabric or a high-necked gown, Hiln draped me in a clingy silk dress that hangs off the shoulders by delicate golden chains.
With my hair pulled into a severe knot atop my head, she made no attempt to minimize or disguise my injuries—she flaunted them.
At a time when the kingdom will expect me to hide, it’s perfect.
“Yes?” I say when the guard doesn’t continue.
Another guard steps in beside him, this one a bit older and his expression kind. “Can we fetch you something, Princess Serah? Perhaps some entertainment?”
He likely thinks me disoriented after my ordeal and hopes to pacify me. “No, thank you.”
When I move to walk around him, the youngest and most severe-looking of the group blocks my path. “I’m afraid His Majesty has requested you remain in your chambers.”
I level a cool look at him. “And I’m afraid His Majesty has overstepped his authority.”
I’ve never seen a man look so surprised. He squints at me.
“His Majesty is king of Tirenth,” he says as if I’m daft.
“Indeed he is, and I am a princess of Vasna. Excuse me.” Again, I try walking around him.
And again, he cuts me off.
“All of Tirenth falls under His Majesty’s rule, Princess, and that includes you.”
“Now, Boyd, let’s calm down,” the older guard says, setting a hand on the shoulder of the younger man. He shakes it off.
The water at my side hums as I meet Boyd’s narrowed eye.
“When His Majesty and I are properly married, it’s true that I will fall under his rule, but until then, as fellow royalty, I will come and go as I please.
Right now, I am on my way to see the fight.
You may either accompany me or I will restrain you. ”
Boyd’s face is shocked, amused, and insulted all at once. “I think a human should remember her place here,” he hisses, and reaches for my arm.
I want my water drawing to be a gift Tirenth will cherish, not a weapon its people will fear. Mother wanted me to hide my power as long as I could, to use it as leverage to protect myself or control the king.
That’s all to say, I wanted this to go differently.
I thrust a palm outward and, without touching him, slam Boyd into the wall behind him. His eyes bulge as he hits the stone hard enough to knock the breath from his lungs.
Water drawing is a bit of a misnomer. I can repel water as easily as I can attract it, and dragon or not, there’s plenty of water in Boyd’s body to do so. I hold him there with ease.
As expected, the other guards whip out their swords with varying degrees of confidence and begin edging into a circular formation.
They’ll try to cut off my exits and knock me unconscious, injuring me as little as possible.
With my other hand, I make a pinching motion, banging the three of them into each other.
“I don’t want to hurt any of you,” I say as they struggle, and when one tries lunging out of my grasp, I direct both flattened palms downward and force them all to fall flat on the floor like stranded starfish.
There are limitations to this power, of course. Water drawing takes significant energy and mental focus; I can’t do this indefinitely. But they don’t know that, and I’m certainly not telling them while they stare up at me like I’m the one who’s suddenly grown scales and fangs.
“Please, Princess,” the older guard gasps. “We didn’t mean to offend. We have our orders, and the king will show no mercy if we fail.”
My lips purse. “Is he really that harsh with you?”
Puzzlement is my answer. “You’re his mate, Your Highness.”
“I see.” At least one of them believes that. I suppose it’s a win. “If you’ll come with me peaceably, I will speak to the king on your behalf.”
“I would be grateful,” he says after the briefest of hesitations.
“As would I,” the first guard adds quickly.
I turn my attention to Boyd, who looks marginally humbler than he did before. “Are you in the habit of insulting humans?”
Cora mentioned some not being used to humans, but I honestly didn’t expect to meet with such hostility right outside my door.
Boyd glances away like a boy caught with his hand in the sweets. “No, Your Highness.”
“I’m not sure I believe that. Is your mother well?”
His eyes dart back to me. “She—she is.”
“And would she approve of such talk?”
The way he shrinks down tells me she would not. “No, Your Highness.”
I aim a single, upraised finger at him. “If I hear such talk from you again, I will bypass your superior and His Majesty and go directly to her. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
With that, I release them and pray there will be more trouble, because beneath my gown, my legs have begun trembling from the strain.
The guards rise, and after some collective embarrassment as they straighten their gear, the first guard clears his throat.
“Would you like to travel by carriage or litter, Your Highness?”
***
I lean my head against the carriage wall and try to think as we rumble down the road leading to The Pit.
Part of me is a little in awe of myself. I was so confident and clearheaded. I handled myself as well as any of my older sisters.
No, I don’t know that even Cassandra would manhandle her own guards, and when I think of that, the more cautious part of me rises up to wonder if I’ve lost my mind.
Who wouldn’t with an arrogant king demanding you stay in your room like a child?
I sigh. No, I must remove my emotions from this.
I need to think clearly. I just revealed my power in the worst possible way to three of the king’s guards.
That’s…not good. What would Mother say? She would look at me in that stern way of hers and tell me to take the bad and make something good of it.
At least Tilly didn’t see, I suppose. That’s good. She wisely opted to stay where she was told.
What am I saying? I can’t just stay where I’m told and trust my freedom to a fight.
I let out a groan and rub my forehead. Water isn’t meant to be wielded as a weapon.
Water is peace; water is life. Using it otherwise has muddied my thoughts and given me a splitting headache.
I take a long drink from one of my canteens.
While I hadn’t needed the contents of either, additional water to wield is always comforting.
I wince as the carriage comes to a stop, jostling my pounding head. From outside comes a cheer loud enough to rattle my teeth.
The first guard, whom I’ve learned is called Fuller, appears at the open window. “My apologies,” he shouts over the din, “but I’m afraid we’ll have to walk from here, Your Highness.”
Boyd springs to the door and offers his hand. “Would you like us to fetch a sedan, Your Highness?”
I suspect his mother is a formidable woman.
“No, thank you,” I say before being forced to answer with a small shake of my head instead when another deafening cry goes up. Taking Boyd’s hand, I step down and look ahead.
We’re at the bottom of a great swell of sand, and swarming the top in both directions are hundreds—no, thousands—of people. Tents and merchant carts surround the throng, though everyone seems to be watching the fight right now. I have to stop myself from gaping like a yokel.
“They’ve all come to see the challenge?” I ask.
“Yes, Your Highness,” Boyd says before either of the other two can answer. He steadies me as the ground quakes beneath our feet.
“Please take me closer.”
He shoots a look at the older guard, the one they call Yarl. He’s frowning.
“Are you sure, Your Highness?” Yarl asks.
I nod. “Yes, why?”
Boyd leans closer as the shouts become a frenzy. “Your presence is likely to cause quite a stir.”
I lift a brow at him. “Because I’m human?”
“Because you are to be queen.”
Stir or not, I didn’t come here to observe people’s backs. I gesture for them to take me, and the guards start forward without further argument.
Even if I weren’t to be queen, my bruises would be striking, and it doesn’t take long to attract notice. First a whisper, then a stunned silence ripples through the crowd as we climb higher and the people part, the guards flashing their teeth at anyone who doesn’t move quickly enough.
Half the crowd has quieted by the time we reach the rim of The Pit and I’m able to see the fight myself.
I’m just in time to watch my future husband throw his head back and loose a blazing roar into the sky.