Chapter 36
Aiden
nothing more than my God and my King,
and heaven as my prize.
I was not prepared when Agni suddenly marched into the dining hall this morning and declared, “I’m coming to your class today.”
My first instinct was to tell her to throw herself off a Cinder Cliff, but I bit my retort, schooling my expression into something more appropriate. “Meet me at the front gates in thirty minutes. And if you will not bathe, at the very least, wear shoes.”
For weeks, I have watched her enter the dining hall each morning.
She would stride in, scan the room, and stalk out again without so much as a word.
It has become a boring, predictable ritual now.
You would think for someone who has been here for over a month, she would have adopted some of our manners.
I had always wondered what my half-sister from The Above might be like.
What was her name? Did she resemble me? Did we share the same affinity for knowledge?
Even long after the news of her death broke, I had imagined every possibility, but nothing could have prepared me for reality.
She looks nothing like the ethereal figure woven into our tapestries.
She is disheveled to say the least. Her hair is in a tangled ponytail, her clothes stained and stiff, and the smell, by the gods, the smell.
I cringe at the thought of introducing her to my students in this state.
Oblivious to my discomfort, or anyone else’s it seems, she struts with her head high.
Agni gapes at the wonderful halls lined with art and accolades as we enter.
A sense of pride sparks through me, my goodness I simply cannot help myself.
“This is the Mordain School. I studied within these halls, as did Rhory and Eira, your Captain and his lieutenants, and many you now see serving at court.
Her brows shoot up, lips pulling apart. “Oh wow, so you do know how to speak to me like a human?”
“I am not a human.” I cannot hide my sneer, but in all honesty, I am not trying to. That shall teach me to throw a dog a bone.
“You know what I mean, it’s a figure of speech. It doesn’t even matter.” She sighs.
“It does matter. I am fae, and you should call me such. You might like to read one of the books launching themselves at your bedroom door and learn, instead of assuming we will shape ourselves around your ignorance. Your kind is infamous for this. Do you know how I know that? Because I took the time to learn.” Insolence.
“You keep calling me Agni, when I’ve told you to call me Ashley.” I ignore her glare.
“Because that is your name. It matters not how you feel about it. It is fact. Just like I am fae. Fact.”
“Yeah, but you told me to call you something that I don’t think is important. It’s the same thing. Fact. And you are an asshole. Fact.”
“Perhaps we should agree to disagree. Quietly, please.”
We walk in a delightful silence for a moment that is gone too soon.
She glances at me an unnerving number of times before something in her unfortunately resolves.
“Did you like school?” It is as if she is actively trying to get to know me.
How irritating. I do not wish to engage with another blood relative about to die.
Something in my stomach drops at the thought, taking me by surprise but I adjust my crown and put the feeling to the side.
I sift through my etiquette training for a rule that might justify pushing her into one of the empty classrooms we pass and locking the door but come up blank.
What does surface, however, is: Be a little kinder than you have to be.
“I hated school.” I say with an exaggerated sigh. “My main aim each day was to set everything on fire.”
“I bet you didn’t get in trouble though, perks of being the Prince of the world or whatever,” she says, a small teasing note in her voice that strikes something unfamiliar in me.
We turn a corner, and the hall narrows into a steep flight of stairs made of blueish rock. “It was worse for me. My grandfather ensured it.”
We reach my classroom, the murmur of conversation vanishing as the students rise to their feet. Beautiful obedience. I force a polite smile.
“You may be seated. This is Princess Agnimitra,” I say over the scraping chairs, gesturing toward her. “Daughter of the former Prince Joash and heir to the throne, for now.”
Her jaw is tight, and her green eyes burn with annoyance. But I ignore it, my smile a little more genuine now. My hand lifts toward an empty seat at the back of the room.
“She is here to observe our lesson today. I expect you to make her feel welcome during her very, very brief time with us.”
Some flinch as she walks past, as if the black flames will jump from her hands without warning.
We had reassured them multiple times over the weeks that the wards were strong enough to suppress it until help came, but teenagers like to make up their own ideas.
The sentries at the door must have had the same thoughts; a few taking up positions at the back of the room.
“Right.” A snap of my fingers sends the workbooks marching across the floor, each one floating up to settle neatly onto its desk.
Agni’s catapults toward her and slams into her table with a deliciously loud thud.
She jerks back, hand flying out to stop it from skidding.
I swallow my grin. “You all did well on your recent evaluations,” I continue, “but there were a few recurring errors in your answers about the royal mating bond that need addressing before your finals.” With another snap, pages flutter and come to a stop at the same page.
Agni’s eyes narrow as she leans over the hefty volume, which chomps at her fingers when she tries to open it.
I may or may not have given her the rogue edition.
“Let us start simple. You were all correct that only those within Feye’s bloodline experience the mating bond, in order to continue the royal line.
But you struggled with the complexities of it.
So, riddle me this. The first kiss activates it on the male’s side, afterwards, what type of things might he be feeling? ” Hands shoot up. “Go ahead, Alastor.”
“Protective.”
“Good. What else?” I say, pacing a little as more hands fly into the air. I nod at Posy.
“Jealous, maybe angry eventually, if the bond stays unrequited for too long.”
My heart warms with pride. “Brilliant, more of this please. But actually, it is so intense that his rage could very well become uncontrollable, especially if sparked by jealousy. And what about physically? Remember, we might have a bonding ceremony coming up very soon, perhaps the final one we will ever see in Sheyole, so it is good to be aware of the customs.”
My eyes are pulled towards Agnis’ grating voice.
“Are you talking about me and Kaed, Aiden?” Indeed, I am.
But not in the way she thinks. Let us see if she can put two and two together and realise what he has ignited.
What burns beneath his skin. I fold my arms, as if to squeeze out the irritation that has risen in my chest. “Anyone?”
The students exchange hesitant glances.
“Wren Junior, what about you?”
His sniper gaze meets Agni’s, those pale blue eyes that run in his family full of mischief.
“As far as I’m aware, the male’s body will only work for his betrothed.
So, the honourable Captain Kaed wouldn’t be able to, you know, with anyone but you, Princess.
You, however, can have all the dalliances you like. Though he might kill them after.”
Agnis’ lips part as though to ask yet another question she could have the answer to if she simply picked up a book or had a meaningful conversation, so I step in because her voice agitates me.
“Although a tad crass, you are correct. It is not something one enters lightly. And it is why we usually wait until the ceremony before the couple first kiss, to avoid all of this.”
Frustration is evident in the tightness of her shoulders, as is the fact she really has no idea Kaed kissed her. Hopeless. Perhaps she will have to learn the hard way.
“So, it forces you to love someone? That’s so— how is that fair?” Her voice carries a hint of desperation. I wonder how desperate my father’s screams were in that house, perhaps as desperate as my mother’s as she used her last breath to cry for me.
“No, dear sister.” I lean against the edge of my desk. “It does not force anyone to love. Just to protect, but it can turn obsessive. It ensures the safety and continuity of the bloodline. But you need not worry about the last part.”