My blood ran cold, my body numb to all outside influence as Ivy’s words taunted me. I fought against them, not wanting to believe that my brother had been dragged to the Palace Prison. My knees locked and my body soon lost its will to stand, my body tilting to the side as Ivy held me, stopping me from hitting the floor.
“I need to see him.” I muttered, brushing past her and towards the doors.
She had to pull me back and remind me that I was in nothing but a nightgown, urging me to take deep breaths before I started getting ready. I tried doing what she said, tried to fill my lungs with air as she scampered around the room, pulling out pieces of my outfit. Still in a heavy fog of disbelief, I followed her orders, not really seeing what I was stepping into or what she had done to my hair. But when she was finished I shook the heaviness away from
After crying in front of Arden and finally calming myself, I left the Palace Prison and made my way back to my room, my mind and body numb to the world around me. As I neared the Queeness Palace, I ran into Prince Dorian who seemed to be upset about something. When he spotted me he stopped, turning his body towards me before walking up to me.“Amara.” He breathed, his eyes filled with worry as they searched my face. “Did you go see your brother?”I nodded, still feeling numb and overwhelmed with everything.“I’m sorry Amara.” He muttered, surprising me as I looked at his crestfallen face. “If I could have done anything to help Arden and you, I would have… but my father is watching everything that the Commander does with this investigation… it could make t
The next few days passed by in a blur, with Dorian and I meeting up nearly every night and exploring a new piece of the Fafner Palace as well as getting the announcement of the next challenge.On the first night we agreed to meet in front of The All Mothers statue that was at the center of a grand fountain behind the Central Palace. I had gotten there before him and turned to look at the Goddess while I waited. She was in a flowing gown that looked like a river of stone with a crown of flowers and stars in her eyes. On her right shoulder was a small dragon with lavender eyes and its tail wrapped around the All Mothers neck. Another small little dragon with teal eyes was encircling her left ankle. And two little dragons were nestled in her arms in front of her with one nearly standing on its sibling. The one beneath the other had icy blue eyes and the other had red eyes. Each one of the dragons not only rep
The fight felt endless as I let go of my burning bow and unsheathed the sword, my amethyst flames consuming the blade. I had raced out and ended those that were cutting into the dragon as he fought those that Shifted. But their numbers were large and a dragon could only move so quickly in his massive size. He was bleeding deeply on his back after a handful of Shifters managed to get onto him, hanging on after he’d shook off a few others. So I raced up his wing and drew the sword, slicing, cutting and shoving anyone that dared to attack from behind.Some managed to dig their claws into me. Some managed to knock me to my knees. But every single one of the Shifters that fought to climb up the dragon was cut down. I swing and slice and cut into each one of them no matter how much I bled or the pain I felt. I knew that I had to get them off of Dorian because they would manage to gravely hurt him if they l
*Prince Dorian*After the fighting I became consumed in the investigation, my desk overflowing with paperwork as my father and the Commander joined me in my office.Many files, names and backgrounds were pulled from those that had been arrested, revealing that a small number of the Royal Knights had been involved with the poisonings. Most of the other men looked to be Unbound to any Noble family or had a history of working for mercenaries, which left us at another dead end. This frustrated the Commander who was determined beyond normal means to capture the culprit that corrupted his men.We also found a few letters that had an unknown sender among the belongings of one of the dead men. In these letters there were clear instructions on who to frame at what time, what evidence to plant and who to target with the poiso
*Amara* I was still struggling with the glaring truth when I heard a knock at my door. Ivy walked over to answer it as I continued to pretend to read the book in my hands, my mind still fighting against my heart while my body remained restless. I had struggled to sleep after the chaotic realizations hit me, the emotions taking over and leaving me in a confused pile of tears and shallow breaths on my bed. “My Lady…” I turned as Ivy cautiously walked over to me, a worried look on her face as I managed to focus on her. “Who is it Ivy?” I asked her, closing the book and glancing at the partially opened door. But she didn’t get a chance to answer as the door was pushed aside and
A few days passed by after that tense and incredibly embarrassing day and I was once again dressing up for a challenge.Ivy had woken me up early and started getting everything ready for me, rushing around the room as she talked to herself. I bathed in a flower and oil infused tub. Had my arms and legs massaged while I lay in bed with a mask of leaves and oils on my face. My hair was treated and washed twice then combed and styled while I sat in my robe. A full hour was spent going back and forth between dresses and then another thirty minutes choosing accessories.By the time I was all dressed and stepping into my sitting room, I found Queen Avelia already waiting for me.She was sitting on the corner of the room on one of the seats to my dinette with a steaming cup of tea in front of her and breakfast already set
The next day I spent most of my morning in the garden with Ivy. Enjoying a nice calm walk through the flowers before returning to my room for some tea and sweets. But when I got to my sitting room I found my brother standing behind one of my loveseats and our father facing him on the opposite loveseat.Ivy quickly rushed around the room as she prepared our tea and called out for sweets while I took a seat across from my father. Arden quickly walked around the loveseat I sat on and took a seat beside me, never once moving his gaze away from our father.“Thank you for the sudden visit Father.” I said calmly, feeling the pure anger emanating from my brother beside me. “To what do we owe this… surprise?”“I just wanted to see how my children were doing.” He said, smiling softly
Later that night I struggled to sleep and decided to take a walk in the garden. I had only a shawl over my shoulders to protect me from the wind and the scent of the flowers helped calm me as I wove in and out of the different paths. I was so lost in thought that I didn’t notice someone in front of me until I completely crashed into them.“Oh! I’m sorry I was--” My words trailed off into nothingness as I looked up into a pair of ruby red eyes.“Couldn’t sleep?” Dorian asked, smiling down at me as I took another step back.“Uh, yes, I’ve been feeling rather restless and thought a nice walk beneath the night sky would help me.” I was suddenly nervous to be around him after I had decided to just let things be as they may and not fight it. “What about you