Page 12 of House of Ydril

I turn to him. But he’s not even looking at me as he adds, “Until a month ago, theyoung ladyhasn’t spent any time around us.”

I feel myself start fuming. Where the fuck does he get off?

“That’s true, Your Majesty,” I say in the warmest yet most solemn tone possible, but I’m making sure I’m only looking at the uncle. “And it’s my own misfortune, to only now be acquainted with someone such as yourself.”

I notice the darling nephew’s eyes dart to me and linger, but the uncle lets out a delighted chuckle.

“Does that mean that you’ve been raised among humans?” he asks. To my surprise, the tone is perfectly normal. Welcoming even.

“Yes, she has,” the prince drawls as his eyes avoid mine, sweeping over the crowd instead. “And I know what you’re thinking, uncle, but there’s no chance you’ll see her fighting in the Trials. So there’s really no point in us wasting our time here.”

“Yes, make haste,” I reply flatly, with only a touch of mockery in my voice, even though I’m downright fuming as I watch him turn to keep walking.

But his uncle stops him with a glare. He turns to me and says in a warm but scolding voice, “I apologize for my nephew’s behavior. Despite all the effort I put into his education, I apparently failed to teach him basic manners.”

Faust Junior scoffs, turns back and looks straight into my eyes. For a second, I freeze, not knowing what to expect.

One corner of his lips curled into a sexy smirk, he dips his head and slowly bows with his hand sweeping forward in a single exaggerated, smooth movement. For a second, my heart stops beating entirely, until it starts again with a violent pounding.

“Now, was that so difficult?” I hear his uncle say as he turns to give me a smile and another curt bow himself.

I’m still breathless, dizzy from staring straight into his nephew’s eyes for so long, so I only manage to nod back before the two of them take their leave, the prince joining some of his groupies to the front of the line. Of course, no one bats an eye.

In the meantime, Faust Senior makes his way to the Tree. Now that I give it a closer look, I see that its bark has elaborate carvings in the shape of the crests of the three royal bloodlines.

The uncle nods to the Pied Piper and the rest of the professors, turns to the audience and clears his throat. Instantly, all the chatter dies down. I guess he’ll be the one giving the speech.

“I have always found it fitting…” He’s smiling, but his voice is carrying a touch of nostalgia. “For the Selection Day to be on the day of the Fall Equinox, a time when Darkness starts encroaching on the land of Light.”

He pauses for a second and all I hear is absolute silence. When he speaks again, his voice is filled with pride. “After all, that is what we Originals are. The Divine’s persistent struggle for life.”

Using his walking stick, he leans forward a little and raises his eyebrows at the people listening to him with bated breath. “And once a year, we get the opportunity to display our power to the world and convince it, once again, of our imminent victory against Darkness.”

I can feel he’s got everyone around me mesmerized. And I can’t blame them, the man has a presence.

“Therefore,” he says, raising his voice as he teases the anticipation, “there is only one thing I have to say to you on this grand, auspicious day…”

There’s a silence filled with excited tension.

“Bring your Academy, your bloodline and yourselfhonor.”

The crowd breaks into thunderous clapping.

“Wow,” I lean to whisper in Nuala’s ear. “So dramatic.”

But she just throws me a smile as she joins in, clapping just as furiously as everyone else. And I guess we’re no longer waiting for anything, because the student that’s first in line, a vampire girl with a pixie, moves and walks up to the Tree.

After a moment of hesitation, as the crowd draws in a breath, she places her hand on the carvings on the bark.

I stand on the tips of my toes to see what happens.

Nothing.

After a few moments of silence, the girl lets her hand drop to her side and turns on her heel with a devastated look on her face.

There’s no reaction from the crowd but a few sympathetic looks. “What’s going on?” I ask Nuala.

“She wasn’t chosen.”

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