Page 29 of The Gilded Cage

Beyond the door lay a staircase cut out of the ground itself, this one again traveling downward, but at a much steeper incline. There were no luminium beacons ahead, the path swallowed into blackness, but no one seemed the slightest bit perturbed, with Mirryn, Jaren, and Caldon all reaching for wooden torches that rested in a basket next to the door. At a wave of Jaren’s hand, the torches ignited into three bright flames, flooding the staircase with light.

Kiva repressed her apprehension and followed the group downward. Her thighs were screaming by the time they reached the bottom and entered a damp, earthy-smelling chamber, the burn from her morning exercise making itself known all over again. It only vanished when, with another wave of Jaren’s hand, fire shot around the chamber and ignited multiple sconces affixed to the stone walls, revealing a space that took Kiva’s breath away.

Before her lay a massive underground river cavern. Rich limestone walls rose high above her head, with long stalactites drooping lazily downward and chubby stalagmites climbing upward from the rocky ground. In the middle of the hollow expanse rested a pool of turquoise water that snaked around a bend and out of sight, the surface still but for a gentle lapping at the craggy edges.

“Whoa!” Tipp breathed as he looked around the cave.

“Welcome to our training space,” Caldon said, with a flourishing wave of his arm.

“Training forwhat?” Kiva asked, though she was beginning to guess.

“For our magic,” Princess Mirryn answered, confirming Kiva’s suspicions.

Jaren placed his flaming torch into an empty sconce and approached Kiva. Making a visible effort to shake off his feelings about the upcoming council meeting, he explained, “Most people assume that since we were born with magic, we automatically know how to use it. And that’s partly true. I told you last night that it’s like another limb, wholly ingrained into who we are. But in that same way, it’s also like a muscle. And like any muscle, we need to strengthen it.” He indicated the cavern and went on, “To do that, we need a safe space, hidden from the public.” He shuffled his feet. “Or I do, anyway.”

Kiva’s eyes widened with understanding. Only a handful of people knew that Jaren could control all four elements, so of course he would have to practice in secret. A quiet voice in the back of her mind reminded her that she, too, had magic that worked like a muscle, something she needed to use, stretch, grow, but she ignored the voice, refocusing on Jaren when he turned to Tipp and leaned down until they were eye to eye.

“You’re about to see some things, and I need to know you won’t tell anyone,” he said seriously. “I said earlier that I trust you. Was I right?”

More solemn than Kiva had ever seen him, Tipp nodded and said, “I swear it, J-Jaren. You can c-c-count on me.”

“Good man,” Jaren said, squeezing Tipp’s shoulder. He then stepped closer to Kiva and removed the snowblossom from behind his ear, gently transferring it to hers and saying, “Mind this for me, will you? It’s precious.”

The way he looked at her made her think he wasn’t talking about the flower. His thumb brushed her cheek in the softest of touches — just enough to make her legs wobble — and then he turned and strode deeper into the cavern toward the water’s edge.

Without a word, Mirryn, Ariana, and Caldon set off after him, Oriel doing the same but only once he’d shifted the still dozing Flox into Kiva’s arms.

Looking down at the softly snoring creature, Kiva shook her head with confusion and moved to follow the royals, but Naari held her back.

“Best we keep our distance,” the guard said, motioning to a large flat stone that jutted out in a slight overhang and looked straight down the mild slope to the river.

Taking a seat between Naari and Tipp, Kiva remained silent as she waited to see what was about to unfold. Even Tipp was unusually quiet, though Kiva could feel him buzzing with excitement beside her.

Combing her fingers through Flox’s soft coat — and earning a sleepy sound of contentment in response — Kiva found that her pulse was picking up speed, anticipation flooding her veins. She had no idea what she was about to witness, but she had a feeling it was something very few people would ever get to experience.

Down at the riverbank, Jaren’s back was to the water, his mother, sister, brother, and cousin all facing him, but keeping a large distance from each other. It was only seeing them standing in such a way that prompted Kiva to realize what they represented. Ariana had control over water magic, Mirryn’s strongest power was wind, Oriel was an earth elemental, and Caldon, being born to the Vallentis line through his mother’s side, had an affinity toward fire magic.

And then there was Jaren, who held sway over all four of the elements.

“What a-are they —” Tipp’s whispered question was cut short when, from one second to the next, the cavern exploded with light.

But not just any light.

Caldon’s arms were outstretched like a conductor directing an orchestra as he pointed to the wall sconces spaced around the cave, the flames growing higher until they shot away from the limestone, numerous fireballs soaring through the air — and straight toward Jaren.

The crown prince raised his own hands, the water at his back surging out of the river and enveloping him, snuffing out the inferno as the flames struck.

But then the queen stepped forward and wiggled her fingers, causing even more river water to rise and surround Jaren, pushing what was already there inward until he could barely be seen behind the mountain of liquid.

Kiva clutched Flox tight enough for the creature to give a disgruntled squeak, but she couldn’t soothe him, too afraid that she was watching Jaren drown inside the body of water.

It soon became clear, however, that Jaren knew what he was doing. With an outward thrust of his hands, the water erupted, bursting into millions of droplets that splattered his family, all the while revealing that he’d remained untouched by the attack, not a hint of dampness on his body.

And that was when the real battle began.

Mirryn flung out a hand, and Jaren made anoomphsound as he was flung violently backwards into the air, but he used his own wind magic to come to a stop over the middle of the river. An ear-splitting sound echoed around the cave before he could return to the bank: a stalactite ripping from high above them at Oriel’s command and plummeting like a deadly spear. It didn’t faze the still-hovering Jaren, who clapped his hands together, causing it to shatter into limestone dust that fell harmlessly into the water below. But he then saw it for the distraction it was, since at the same time, Caldon shot another round of fireballs his way, while Mirryn made a circling motion with her hands and Jaren became caught in a mini tornado, spinning uncontrollably.

Kiva was certain that Caldon’s fire was going to scorch Jaren, especially since the crown prince seemed to reach for his water magic but the river didn’t rise to his command — instead, it was buckling under the weight of whatever the queen was doing, as if she was pressing it into the earth, keeping it from coming to Jaren’s defense.

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