∞∞∞
Once I got to my room, I dressed in a fresh academy uniform. Both the long-sleeved top and pants were black with a splash of crimson in the phoenix on my chest. I combed through my straight, dark-honey colored hair. My mother always complained about her beautiful golden curls but I wished I had them. Flat and sleek wasn’t nearly as alluring. A knock on my bedroom door told me it was time to go so I pulled the brush through the last of my tangles and set it down on my vanity.
“Visteal, dinner!” shouted Bindy, my attendant and guardian. After slipping on knee-high boots, I threw the door open and Bindy stood with her arms folded atop her voluptuous belly. She thought no one noticed her sneaking treats but anyone with eyes could see the truth. Although, no one should be fooled by her out-of-shape appearance, Bindy was as deadly as they came with a blade and magic.
She reached for my head. “Why isn’t your hair braided for supper?”
Ducking out of her grasp, I said, “Because I didn’t want to braid it,” and brushed past her.
Bindy took a black pair of gloves from her apron and fell into step beside me. “Do you want your gloves?”
I glanced at them, eyes lingering for a beat too long. “No. You know if I wear them often people wonder why. Then I’m the strange girl who won’t take off her gloves.”
Contact with skin triggered my curse. If I wore the gloves then I didn’t have to see anything. Usually I just avoided touching people even if they thought I was rude for being closed off.
She tucked them away and patted my back. “Don’t be too upset today.”
I paused and turned to her, staring into her friendly face. By that statement, she was hiding something and it had nothing to do with the gloves. “Upset about what?”
“You’ll see soon enough.”
“Bindy,” I chided. “Tell me. You know I hate surprises.”
“I’m not even supposed to know. Just overheard the Queen and King talking. Don’t get me in trouble now. You’ll find out.” We descended the steps. My heart hammered with anticipation. What could they possibly want to talk to me about that would make me upset? Did someone get hurt?
Bindy pulled the door open to the small dining chambers for the royal family and went on her way. Inside my parents already sat at the long rectangular table, but my two brothers hadn’t been brought in by their guardians. At least dinner would be less annoying tonight.
The smell of honeyed ham and some sort of fruity pie filled the room, making my mouth water. Training always made me ravenously hungry.
Mother looked up at me with a smile. Her curly hair was pulled up to show off her dangling gold earrings, adorned in small rubies. Her sharp blue eyes gave nothing away.
Father stood and pulled out a chair for me. “Good evening, my little darling. How was your day?”
I forced a smile, not wanting to talk about Finnick. I also didn’t want to snitch on Bindy for giving me a heads up so I gave him a hug without mentioning it. “Oh, it was a typical day.” I sat as if I knew nothing was amiss. As I reached for a biscuit, my mother set her fork down, and it clinked loud enough to draw my attention.
“The new academy in the Gap of Freeole is finally ready,” she said.
“Yeah, I know, everyone keeps talking about it. All three kingdoms going to school together in no man’s land, yippee.” I rolled my eyes. “I’m sure the Hesstian illcasts are thrilled.”
My father batted my arm with the back of his hand. “Enough of your sarcasm.”
“And stop calling the non magic-born illcasts. It’s derogatory,” Mother said. “Some of them are better fighters than you. They don’t have magic to fall back on so they try harder.” She grew up thinking she didn’t have magic—it was a long story—so I understood her sympathies but we all knew the ability was better. And if it weren’t for her powerful magic, she wouldn’t be Queen Daelyn. She won the title in a Queens Challenge before I was born.
I took the large, warm biscuit into hand and chomped into it. “I didn’t make up the term ‘illcasts’. It’s what everyone at academy says. And there are few better fighters than me at my age.” The statement made me think of how I lost today, which led me to think of the person I lost to and his fate.
“Don’t speak with your mouth full of food,” Father said and took his glass of honey mead into his hand. “I hope your manners are better in public.”
Heat rose into my cheeks. Being scolded by my father was always worse than when my mother did. Although he was a caring man, he had a way of making anyone feel half-witted. He was good at pretty much everything.
I cleared my throat, made sure there was no more food in my mouth, and said, “Is there a reason I’m not downstairs eating dinner with my friends?”
My parents exchanged a look, a look I knew all too well. Whatever this was, I wouldn’t like it. “Your mother didn’t bring up the new academy for you to make fun of it, you’re going there,” Father said. “In two days.”
My mouth dropped and I looked back and forth between them. “You can’t be serious.”
Mother nodded. “We spoke with the other three royal houses and it’s been decided that the royal children should set the example and go to the new academy.”
“It will make the unity between our kingdoms stronger,” Father said tapping his fingers on the table.
I threw my biscuit on my plate and shot to my feet. “There is nothing wrong with our unity now! I don’t want to go there. I want to stay here with
