Chapter 27
A knock at the bedroom door pulled me from my sleep, the grogginess encouraging me to fall back asleep against the hard chest I slept upon.
“Um…Your Highness?” Reneah called in a sing-song voice from the other side of the door. “You’ll be late for your lesson if you don’t wake up. And I have it on good authority that Myles gets very moody if everything doesn’t happen according to schedule.”
I groaned and lifted my head to the amused face of my Guardian, his sleepy eyes at half-mast. My gaze traveled down his body, and I found his eyes weren’t the only thing at half-mast. “I’m up,” I called.
“So am I,” Draevyn murmured. He pulled me fully on top of him.
I groaned. “Not helping.”
“I heard all of that!” Reneah called. “Ugh. I’ll be in your father’s quarters preparing for his arrival. Please don’t be late!” A few moments later, we heard the front door close.
Draevyn brushed my hair back from my face with a smile that could melt metal. “Good morning.”
It was truly unfair that he had that mouth-watering chiseled chin and long velvety hair and looked like a god. And was so incredibly naked underneath me. “Morning.”
“I want to stay here all day,” he confessed as he pushed his hardening length into my belly.
I bit my lower lip. “Me too.”
He leaned up and kissed me ever so gently, his warm lips lightly pressing into mine. “Reneah’s not wrong.”
“About?” Another kiss stolen.
“Myles. He does get moody when people aren’t on time.”
I sighed against his lips. “Well, you’re not giving his moodiness a reason to win here, are you?” I shifted my hips, pressing into him.
The most delicious moan sounded from the back of his throat as his hands came to still my hips. “I will take you in every way possible. But later. I promised Dax I wouldn’t let our relationship interfere with your duties. Time to get up.” He smacked me on the ass, causing me to yelp, and I reluctantly got into motion.
Within thirty minutes, I hurried down the hallway to my classroom, Draevyn scurrying behind me to keep up. My heart sank into my stomach when we reached the doorway. Kane Ruema—lap dog extraordinaire—stood sentry just outside my classroom.
“This can’t be good,” Draevyn murmured.
With each step, Kane’s evil smile grew on his face. “Ah. If it isn’t the happy couple come to grace us with their presence.”
“What’s this about, Ruema?” Draevyn bit out.
He peeled his creepy gaze away from me. “I’ve come to relieve you. Dax has summoned you. Something urgent.”
Draevyn’s forehead creased. “What’s it about?”
Kane lifted a shoulder in a lazy shrug. “How am I supposed to know? That’s none of my business.”
Draevyn sighed, turning to me. “I’ll be back before you’re done with your lesson.” He squeezed my arm and strode down the hall. My eyes held to his retreating form, an uneasy feeling spreading throughout my body.
“Don’t worry, Eliron,” Kane called after him. “I’ll take great care of her.”
I wheeled around to face Kane. I could feel the heat rising off my head as that infuriating smirk returned. “I don’t think I’ll be needing your care.”
“That’s okay. I wasn’t really going to protect you anyway. Those fancy words were just for show.” I reared back as he leaned into my ear, his hot breath against the shell of my ear, causing me to cringe. “Have fun in your…lesson.” Glaring at me indignantly, he pulled back and resumed his stance by the doorway.
I’d had about enough of this asshole. I pushed him in his chest, his back slamming into the wall. “Stay away from me.”
His mocking laughter carried after me as I dashed into the classroom, but my stomach plummeted further.
“You’re late,” Melysah said from the desk at the head of the classroom, her arms folded against her scaled middle.
My fingernails bit into my palms as I clenched my fists. “What are you doing here?”
Melysah’s pale blonde brow lifted. “Teaching, if one would get here on time. Sit.”
I swiftly took my usual chair, glaring at her. “Where is Myles?”
“Obviously not here.”
A sense of uneasiness cemented itself inside. “Seems a little coincidental; Draevyn and Myles, gone at exactly the same time?”
Without taking her gaze off me, Melysah lifted her delicate hand and flicked her wrist. The door slammed shut with a loud thud—the bookshelves behind me rattling from the impact. “You will learn to curve your temper and respect me.”
“In my world, respect is earned.”
“This isn’t your world, Asherah.”
“The fuck it’s not.”
“Language.”
“Manners.”
Melysah stood leaning on the desk, her frigid eyes boring into me. “You’re an arrogant little thing, aren’t you?”
“I don’t know about arrogant, but I’m certainly not going to put up with your shit.”
It was then that I saw it, the fire that brimmed in Melysah’s irises. She held up her hand, and a deafening crack sounded from the classroom door. My eyes went wide as a solid wall of ice formed within the doorjamb. With every instinct screaming for me to run, I leapt from my chair, but was immediately thrown back when a thick chain of ice wrapped around my torso—the tail ends winding tightly around my wrists and binding me to the chair. “What do you think you’re doing?” I bellowed, part in anger and part in genuine fear.
“What? Scared of a little ice, Princess? You’re expected to rule this queendom, yet you have no idea how to melt it and save yourself? Do you think you’re ready because you can form a few ice daggers and send them through a Fae male’s face? You silly, little amateur.” Melysah casually strolled in front of my desk. She leaned in and inhaled. “Silly little slut, too, from the smell of it. Draevyn’s scent is all over you.”
It was my turn to smirk. “Jealous?”
Melysah’s face flushed. “We’re going to play a little game, you and I.”
“That’s funny. I’m not in the mood for games right now.”
I gasped when Melysah sprung forward, her fingers painfully digging into my cheeks. She procured a tiny bottle with a clear liquid I hadn’t noticed was sitting in her hand. I struggled against her hold as she uncorked the little bottle with her thumb and poured it into my mouth—the liquid burning a path down my throat like the most potent whiskey and causing me to gasp for air. She placed the empty bottle on the desk and watched with sick satisfaction as my scales suddenly retreated from my body. The ice chains bit into my naked skin. Her severe gaze appraised me from the black hair of my head to my bare toes. “I really don’t get what he sees in you. Pathetic.” My heart kicked in my chest. I was completely beholden to this mad woman, and I didn’t know what she was capable of.
But I was about to find out.
Melysah breathed out an annoyed sigh. “I’m going to quiz you on your Atlantian knowledge,” she continued, her lip curling in disgust as her gaze roamed over my naked form, “and you’re going to tell me the answer.” She came around my desk to stand at my side. “We’re only covering Atlantis, the very queendom you’re intended to rule over.” She mockingly patted my cheek. “This should be easy for you…Your Highness.” She twirled and strode toward the front of the room. “Question number one. Who was the first Queen of Atlantis?”
“Atabay.”
Melysah’s thin lips pulled up in a grin. “Wrong.” She lifted her hand—a thin pin of ice forming—and shot the pin forward. The sharp tip pierced the top of my foot. Before the pain could register, Melysah sent water down my throat, stifling my screams; my Water Fae form immediately fought to be released, but it was useless against whatever potion she gave me. “The first Queen of Atlantis was Siseree the Chosen. Let’s try again. Shall we?”
The water exited my throat, and I gulped a breath. “You are in so much trouble.”
“Because I’m threatening their precious little Princess? What are you going to do, Asherah? Run and tell them? Can’t handle this female-to-female, I suppose. Seems to be a family trait.”
I saw red as I straightened my spine. “Next. Question.”
Melysah tilted her head. “Huh. Well, perhaps I’m wrong. We’ll find out, won’t we?” She clasped her hands behind her back. “Who was the first Queen to negotiate a treaty with Airelandia?”
“Queen Huelema.”
“Wrong.” I cried out as Melysah sent the next pin into my other foot. “Queen Huelema negotiated the treaty with Earthos. Not Airelandia.”
And so it continued for the better part of a half-hour—Melysah peppered me with her questions. With each one, I fought to answer, fought to remember everything I’d learned with Myles or Roarvyn. Even when I knew the answer, it was a struggle to get the answers past my lips—the pain becoming too much to bear. Rivers of sweat dripped profusely from my brow and down my neck despite the cold, biting freeze of my chains, and my head lolled. Nearly eleven pins stuck through various spots in my feet. The pain throbbed down to my bones.
“Final question.” Melysah’s pearl-polished fingertips dug into my cheeks as she squeezed tightly. She leaned in within an inch of my face—an evil glint shining in her pale blue eyes. “I’ll remove every one of those pins in your pretty little feet if you can answer this one question. It will all be over.”
I spit in her face. “Fuck off.”
Melysah wiped the phlegm from her cheek and slapped me. Hard. That slap rang loudly in my ears—my cheek throbbing, the muscles in my neck pulling as my head whipped to the side. “You little wench.”
I slowly pulled my head back…and smirked. “I’m ready for my question,” I croaked.
Melysah’s nostrils flared. “Whose line is the rightful line to the throne of Atlantis?”
Roarvyn’s lesson came roaring back. I refused to utter the name Melysah wanted and opted for the truth. “Neleah Delmar.” A pin shot through my calf. I stifled a cry in my throat despite my wince and breathed through the pain.
Melysah’s glare was one of pure, unguarded evil. “I’ll keep asking the question until you get it right. So, you’d better get it right. Whose line is the rightful line to the throne of Atlantis?”
“Neleah Delmar.”
Another pin. The other calf. More pain.
Blinking stars blanketed my vision. I closed my eyes to ebb the tide. It wasn’t until my hair was pulled and my scalp burned that my eyes flew open—Melysah’s beet-red face inches from mine.
“Whose line is the rightful line to the throne of Atlantis?” Melysah seethed. “Say my line, Asherah. Say it!”
I didn’t care anymore. Even though it felt like the gravest betrayal, I didn’t care if I uttered Behuko’s name. I wanted this to be over.
But something within me remained resilient. I lifted my chin, my mouth sneering. “Neleah Delmar,” I whispered.
Melysah began to breathe heavily and screamed in my face—flecks of spit hitting my face as she bellowed, “It’s Behuko Velafyn! Behuko Velafyn is the rightful line to the throne, you entitled little bitch. And I will have my crown!”
My head snapped forward as she released the grip on my hair and stomped toward the exit, shattering the wall of ice with a flick. The scattered pieces slid across the stone floor. Before Melysah opened the door, she turned and flicked her wrist. All the pins of ice shot out of my feet and calves at once, and I screamed in excruciating pain.
Melysah folded her hands primly in front of her waist. “You failed today, Asherah Delmar. I’ll leave those ice chains around you until they melt or until you figure out how to melt them yourself. The potion will wear off within the hour. Nevertheless, it’ll give your feet time to heal. Draevyn won’t be back to find you. He’s been mysteriously called home. And your father is in the Above World. Myles, along with him. You’re all alone—your first true test. Let us see if you can keep this secret lesson between us. Let us see if you’re female enough to keep this all in the family.” A moment later, she threw open the door and slammed it behind her. And despite the pain, I treasured the silence.