This boy could get under my skin better than anyone I’d ever met. I clenched my teeth together, his mocking tone ruined the words that could have been interpreted as protective. He was really trying to goad me into breaking the rules. I knew it. I knew it and I still almost blurted out, “Fine, see you there,” but Bindy seemed to appear out of nowhere.
“Prince Zyacus,” she said in a sickly sweet voice. “How are you? You’ll remember me I’m sure. Visteal’s attendant and protector.”
His arrogant demeanor changed as fast as a burst of lightning. Flashing white teeth he said, “How could I forget? You made me the best chocolate cake I’ve ever had.”
He came to Delhoon for his thirteenth birthday and the cake was delicious, I even remembered it.
“Good, then you may also recall what happened when I caught you stealing wine. Don’t think I won’t punish you just the same for trying to put Visteal in danger.”
I glared at her, how would she know what we had planned? I was also dying to know what she did to the prince as punishment.
Zyacus grinned. “It was just a bit of fun, that’s all, and I would never intentionally put her in harm’s way. You have my word.”
“I hope your word is good.” Bindy gave me a light tap on my arm. “Let’s get you and Taz to the dormitories. It’s almost curfew.”
I locked eyes with Zyacus; the crystal-blue color could make anyone marvel but what I wanted to know was, could I believe him when he said he wouldn’t intentionally put me in harm’s way? Even if our parents stopped the wars and killing, our people, his and mine, were enemies for a thousand years before. It ran in our very blood. Perhaps that’s why deep down we distrusted one another and I wondered if we’d ever really be allies.
Chapter 8
I slipped into the classroom of Fifth Year Spells and slid into an empty black table in the middle. I was one of the first students to arrive thanks to Legacy waking me up early so she could talk about Aric and how much she already liked him. I heard every detail from his dreamy eyes, his muscular arms that she wanted to latch onto, to how funny and smart he was.
My hair was braided intricately because of Legacy’s talents, and I even put on a little lip and cheek color. My cousin had mastered the art of using magic to paint her face beautifully with splashes of color, and used magic to make her lashes thick and long every morning, but I didn’t care to unless it was a special occasion.
I observed the style of the room while waiting for others to arrive. It was fairly plain, with a few paintings here and there. A large, pristine desk at the head of the room belonging to the professor. Only a small stack of papers, a book, and an ink bottle with a quill sat upon it. A sleeping orange cat snuggled on a fluffy gray cushion in the corner. Three banners from each Kingdom hung from beams above. This ceiling was enchanted too as most were but this one made me marvel at the artist’s work. It portrayed something I wished I could go back in time to watch. The former Queen of Delhoon, Kyria dressed for battle, and my mother with big crimson wings protruding from her back. The likeness of it made me feel as if my mother stood in the room with us. They faced one another and their hair moved as if in a breeze, blue sparks erupted from my mother’s fingertips, and Kyria slowly morphed into three. Then the image’s motion would start over. A depiction from the Queens Challenge.
Footsteps drew my attention and Professor Tessam, a woman from Delhoon by the badge on her robe, walked toward me. The curly hair of gray and silver and the fair but wrinkled face told me that she was old. Very old. She’d probably lived hundreds of years, and oh the stories she had to have. Even though magic-born aged slower and had a longer lifespan than illcasts, not many had lived to their full potential because of the wars and the killing of our kind for so long.
Professor Tessam approached my table with a warm smile. “Hello, Princess Visteal. It’s wonderful to have you in my classroom. Given who your parents are, I expect great things.” She paused for a moment giving me a long look. I wondered what she was about to say. “I’ve heard from some of your past professors that you’re rather gifted with magic but you lack the drive to be the best.”
My cheeks burned and I looked down at the gold lettering on the book in front of me. None of my professors had ever told me that straight out. And it wasn’t that I didn’t try, I was good at most things but the best? My father never once pushed me to be Nerandae, the title given only to those who truly were the best at everything, now I wondered if it was because he didn’t think I could be. Or did he too think I lacked drive? My eyes lifted from the book to her face not knowing what to say.
She filled in the silence, “I’ve lived four hundred and seventy years, Visteal and I’ve never seen magic like your mothers. Not once. Your father is almost as rare, given how strong his magic is especially for a man. I don’t expect a response, but I want you to consider what I’ve said and consider the potential power that runs through you. I’d hate to see you not live up to what you could be because you want to fool about and not take your
