Blood Bond

As we walked down a long cloistered hallway, Meris hesitated for just a step before continuing. I sent her a questioning glance, and she gave my hand a firm squeeze.

I kept my gaze forward, but reached back through the molecular view. There was movement in the air—the imprint of an unseen figure.

We are being followed.

I was surprised that we weren't from the start, but I trust Meris's senses.

A bell sounded and students poured into the hall from various arches; a class period must have just ended. Their crisscrossing paths stirred the air into a mess of chaotic swirls, so I gave up trying to keep track of our shadow.

Doubt they'd try anything here.

"Roderic was right. You sure do know how to draw trouble." A voice sliced through the crowd. Tamas appeared, stepping forward in his dark robe and tassels. The sun lit up his spiky hair and a warm smile. "I should have known based on the crowd that it was you. I'm glad to see you looking well, your highness."

"As do I, Tamas. Is Roderic really ok? It was looking rather dire the last time I saw him."

"He's fine. But it was a close call. Thank you, from all of us." In a surprise gesture, he knelt down and bowed to me.

I wasn't sure how to respond. 'You are welcome' felt off at this moment. My lips were glued together. I stood there watching him as more joined the crowd that had gathered around us. It's not really my fault this time.

Tamas rose slowly. "We tried to search for you afterwards. But we thought no one could have survived that explosion when we saw the rubble." He exchanged gazes with Kael behind me. "We shouldn't have given up."

I waved my hands trying to ward off the guilt on his face. "Oh, no, it's fine. I was… umm… buried deep. Would've been really hard to find."

Actually, it was probably a really good thing I wasn't dug up earlier. Based on what Saleic had said and my mess of a bed this morning, it would've been a truly gruesome sight.

"So it seems," Tamas murmured. A silver-haired boy also in dark scholar robes elbowed him from the side, stirring him. "Oh, this is Paroc of Antioce, a friend of mine at the Academy."

"It's an honor, Your Highness. I'm the president of the student council. We'd love to welcome you to the Academy. Are you here on official, perhaps Regent business?" the lanky teen asked with a bright smile as he stepped forward followed by several other students in uniform.

"You all… were at the dance. The ones who spoke up for me."

Paroc along with several of the other boys beamed proudly at my comment. "Yes, you were such a peerless beauty that night. And now as well!" He hurried to correct himself. "But your movement, your grace that night. The way you danced for Aethelgard, stirred all our hearts."

The chorus of muttered agreement rippled through the crowd. A light-haired girl jumped in front of Paroc. "Your Highness, I'm Shelia of Longshire, the student council vice-president. Would you tell us why you decided to become a Regent? I saw you out at the Arena. The figure you cut back then, standing there defiantly. It gave me hope. What changed?"

I held my breath steady and coolly met her fierce gaze. She shrank back. "I did what I had to do, to survive, and for those I love, that includes Aethelgard." My eyes roamed over the now quiet crowd. "And I will continue to do so."

"Shelia, you're being unfair," Paroc whispered to her, a little too loudly. She made a face at him, but when she looked back at me there was something unreadable on her face that looked almost like pity.

"Forgive her, Your Highness, but we are all behind you no matter what course you take. Just give us the word if you need anything from us."

"There's nothing to forgive. These are trying times. Nothing is for sure. So it warms my heart to know I'm at least on your minds." I shot a glance toward Tamas. "If I do have a need, I assume I can pass the word?"

"Of course," Paroc snapped back reverently.

Tamas chuckled dryly. "Really, Princess. More trouble, huh?"

I shrugged as innocently as I could manage. "Will you be visiting anytime soon? With Lord Stonehand?"

"How about this evening? I was meaning to bring flowers to wish you well, but you are already up and about."

"I've stopped breaking these days." I nodded and turned to the rest of the crowd. "Now, anyone care to tell me the way to 'Intermediate Sword Arts'? I wish to thank Master Steffan for his dance lesson."

—

'Intermediate Sword Arts' was held in a lecture room that could probably fit a hundred students. Concentric rows of long, curved desks rose away from the open area in the center. Master Steffan stood in the central area with several block-shaped semi-transparent displays floating in the air behind him. They looked a bit like the jumbotron-like displays that popped up in the Arena.

On these displays were figures with swords in various poses, probably paused magical recordings? Master Steffan was waving a wooden wand over the figures, highlighting each section as he lectured to the packed room.

There was a certain allure in this scene before me, of students listening in rapt attention to a lecturer who was thoroughly engrossed in his subject as he waved the wand furiously like a sword. I found myself stepping forward toward an empty seat in the front section before Meris stopped me with a hand upon my arm.

A bell sounded, signaling the end of class, and again, quite a few gazes noticed me standing by the entryway, including the one I came here to see. But I ignored him and made my way over to the lecture area.

As contradictory as it sounded, Anya told me that the best course of action was to avoid any eye contact with him. I was to just show up and leave. I know the whole 'playing hard to get' thing—I had seen enough cringy shows with it—but it felt wrong to me. Why can't I just go up and confront him directly? But Anya assured me this was for the best.

I noticed her out of the corner of my eyes as well. It's strange that they aren't sitting together.

We made our way over to my main excuse for coming to the classroom. This was something that needed to be done as well.

"Master Steffan, I'm here to thank you for your dance lesson." I gestured Meris forward and she handed him a sword pendant along with an envelope. "Here is a gift from me."

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"There's no need, Your Highness. The pleasure was all mine, like I had mentioned, you were truly inspiring and I'd be honored to have you continue as a student."

"What you taught me proved invaluable. This is but a mere token of my gratitude." The molecular view had opened so many new possibilities to me. One of those did lead to the explosion that nearly killed me, but I shuddered to think what would have happened if I didn't have it.

Master Steffan was reaching to open the envelope when I raised a hand to stop him. "For you to peruse later. I was a bit wordy."

—

"Elara!"

Cassian's voice echoed down the empty hallway. He really did skip class to chase after me! I turned to him, not quite believing how spot on Anya was. Does the Diviner rune let you see into the future?!

I stood straight, my hands clasped before me at my waist. "Yes, Prince Cassian?"

He was still huffing from chasing me down. "Please," he gasped. "I need to tell you how sorry I am."

"You've already apologized. What more is there to say?" I stepped into his personal space, my gaze fixed upon his amber eyes.

He faltered back a couple of steps. "I mean about the engagement. I never meant for you to find out that way."

"Really. Tell me why should I care?" I continued to advance on him until his back met the rough stone wall.

"I… thought you might have feelings for me," he sputtered, his eyes searching mine for some confirmation.

Laughter threatened to burst out of me. He can't be serious. After all that he and his father had done?

"What would give you that idea?"

"The way you looked at me with those eyes of yours. And I could feel this intense connection between us whenever we talked. You must feel it too!" He placed his hands dramatically over his chest.

Nope, just you. We talked only a handful of times. And one of those was him holding a blade to my throat. Intense, maybe, but definitely not in the way he meant. Still, I had a part to play. I leaned in closer—feeling glad that I wasn't short—and breathed my heated breath against his face. "So what if I do? You still never told me, what do you want?"

He squirmed against me, but my body held him pinned against the wall. "I… thought maybe something could… happen between… us," he said feebly.

Uh oh, his brain has officially been fried.

"But what of your betrothed?"

"I don't know… Father arranged it… I'm sure she'll understand," he stammered. His eyes were squeezed shut as he tried to push me away.

"Oh, will you really?" I turned to the brunette standing in the middle of the hallway, her hands balled into white-knuckled fists. Her entire body shook as her eyes blazed at us.

Cassian's eyes shot open. He glanced down at his hands on my chest and snapped them back as if burned. I remembered back at the barn: the hot, flustered embarrassment that had gripped me when Kael saw my chest, and the intimate warmth of his closeness.

Here, I felt nothing at all.

"Serine, wait!" Cassian called out, chasing after her down the hallway.

—

I took a seat on a bench beneath one of the arches lining the hallway and waited. Both Meris and Kael were giving me disapproving looks from a few steps back, but this was something I had to at least try. They were willing to go to extreme lengths to set up this invasion, then I should be willing to go to such lengths to counter them.

Besides, my dignity was a small price to pay.

Now, if I could extract some intel out of this…

The sharp click of boots on stone made me look up. Serine stood before me in her leather uniform jacket, her hair in disarray and her eyes puffy and red. She was practically steaming.

"You witch! How dare you try to break our betrothal! I challenge you to a duel!"

I rolled my eyes. "I forfeit. He isn't worth that much to me, and I suspect not to you, either." I scooted to one side and patted the empty space on the bench. "Come. I remember our dance being quite fun."

She hesitated, eyeing me warily, then sat. Her body remained tense, poised to bolt at any moment.

"You do know that I had no training in anything," I said with an easy smile. "So I'm the last person you should be afraid of."

"That's what everyone keeps telling me. But I sense something intimidating about you."

"Well, I can't help that. But I assure you, I'm harmless."

Well, I'm definitely not. I had thoughts about stabbing her when she got close. Even going as far as considering the fact that I could inject her with a little bit of blood and use her as a hostage against her mother. But these thoughts were enough to make my stomach twist.

I am not a monster, yet.

"So, if you don't think Prince Cassian is worth it. Then why did you do what you did back there?"

I kicked up my legs and balanced by leaning back on the bench. "A close friend once told me that it's fun to push a boy's buttons sometimes. And you know what? She was right." I sighed, plopping my feet back down. "I figure he deserved it after what he pulled."

"Aren't you angry at all of us?" Serine asked, her voice tight, her hands gripping the fabric of her trousers. "Especially after what our parents did?"

A weight pushed down upon my shoulders and my gaze drifted up toward the vaulted ceiling. "I've talked with Tamas, Saleic, Cassian, and now you. You all played a part, yes. But in the end, we're all just children, tossed about by the tides of fate."

Serine lowered her head, her voice barely a whisper. "You're nothing like what they said."

I turned to her. "Maybe it's because I've changed."

—

In the end, I wasn't sure what I had accomplished with Cassian and Serine. I doubted I had truly broken their betrothal—as if Quintus or Eris would ever allow it. And I certainly hadn't gotten any intel on the Serephos ships.

Instead, we had devolved into simply talking about our families and complaining about our lives. She told me about being the eldest with four brothers, and an overbearing mother who expects everything out of her. I told her about my own family and their complete lack of expectations for me. We even talked about boys, Cassian, and others, including Kael, whom I made stand far away. It was just girl talk, and it felt good.

The sun was nearing the horizon by the time Serine left, and I realized with a jolt that I had wasted the entire afternoon. With only three days left, time was a luxury I did not have.

As I got up, I sensed the air stirring in an awkward way. My eyes shot to Meris, whose own gaze was sweeping the empty hallway.

Was our shadow listening to my entire conversation with Serine?

A wave of frustration washed over me. I had allowed myself one moment of normalcy, to indulge in the illusion of talking with a friend, of sharing some light, inconsequential part of myself. And then you had to intrude and remind me of my powerlessness.

Show yourself! I wanted to scream. But I held my tongue and instead reached out with the molecular view, finding the faint imprint of a figure in the still air.

In the Arena tunnel, Roderic had thrown mist to uncover an invisible foe. I didn't know that spell, but I have something similar—just a little more crude.

I slowly pushed my palm-fang outwards until the tip tore through my skin. Pain radiated out from the wound as warm blood pooled in my hand. Then, I flung a spray of blood into the space where the imprint lay. Blood splattered against the air, revealing a figure outlined in dripping, crimson dots.

Its ears were sharp and pointed: an elf.

The sight of it staggered me—I was back in the construction site, when the elves had appeared, grabbing me, holding me down. My body acted on pure instinct using the movement Meris had drilled into it.

Fluidity!

My legs propelled me forward, my hip turned, my hand blurred through the air. The next instant my palm shot up under the outlined chin.

I didn't hesitate.

My fang erupted upwards, stabbing past soft flesh into the figure's brain. The elf's body spasmed as a face coalesced into view. His eyes bulged at me.

I stared back, the realization of what I had done catching up to me. But this was my chance.

"Lelian. Serephos Ships. Your orders," I whispered down at him as he struggled against my grip on his jaw and the fang lodged deep inside him.

My blood was rushing up into his brain.

That's right. Think. Think whatever you can about those words.

"Show me everything."