Page 20 of Iris of the Crowned Flame

She pulled me down for a kiss and then flipped me around to be under her.

We switched for what felt like hours until we passed out, a tangled mess of limbs holding each other.

CHAPTER 15

The next few days turned into a whirlwind of information gathering. Father and I spent time together planning the second challenge in the tournament. I collaborated with the event planners on the logistics of the two public tournaments. We planned the first tournament for the military’s training field. The planners agreed to construct bleachers and create a ring for the men to display their fighting skills. The military’s commandant talked with me, and we agreed that a timed combat would work best to show skills while minimizing injury. He had also set up a team to devise a way to challenge the princes fairly with his men. The military was also loaning use of their tactical field, which contained their obstacle courses for trainings. The space had a variety of walls, hills, small buildings, and trenches, making it the perfect place to navigate the ‘capture the flag’ challenge.

Once we sorted out the logistics of the event, we arranged a schedule for the princes to work with their teams in the mornings and early afternoons, and then to join me for either tea or dinner, or both. I created a schedule with Ethan where I could see each prince and still be able to dine with all of them together. I even looked forward to the larger dinner events. While I could tell that the princes were struggling to controltheir jealousy towards each other as time passed, they still had great camaraderie with each other, and it was entertaining to see them interact. Ivy and Amyra joined our dinners, allowing Ethan to spend these evenings with Katelle, since Ivy and Amyra prevented me from being alone with the men.

It was at one of these group dinners, a week before the first event, where the princes started to show off their temperaments. While Ivy always took the seat to my left and Amyra always took the seat to my right, the three of them seemed to prefer to rotate so that they would take turns sitting across from me each evening. On this evening, Spencer was across from me, Frederick had chosen the seat next to Ivy, and Egan was next to Amyra.

The conversation felt simple enough. We were talking about the events of the day, which had always been rather mundane. This time, there was tension on the training field that day, and they couldn’t leave it alone. It started with Frederick sharing a story about how the three of them were running through a warmup together and Egan had stumbled through a movement.

“It was so funny,” Frederick giggled through his words. “You should have seen how his foot twisted over the other, and then his arms just flailed as he fell.”

Egan’s face contorted in anger as he slammed his fist into the table. “I thought I told you to not bring this up this evening, Frederick.”

I tensed a bit, not used to the show of aggression. Spencer’s jaw tightened, eyes narrowing as his left arm shifted ever toward his side. I didn’t see any weapons on him, so he must have a hidden blade there. Amyra stiffened beside me, her breath hitching, while Ivy’s fingers curled against her skirts, both pressing closer, as if my presence alone could shield them from Egan’s outburst. Frederick’s giggles stopped and his face fell into shock.

“Whoa, whoa, Eeg, it doesn’t have to be that serious.” Frederick tried to soothe the tension in the air.

“No, Fred, it does. I’m so sick of you and Spencer showing me up during training. Then you bring it to dinner. Why would you do that? Idon’tneed to be embarrassed like that.” He didn’t just emphasize his words, he also slammed his hand on the table again, standing up with the last words like he intended to escalate.

Frederick and Spencer also jumped up, ready to square off with him. Egan’s jaw clenched; his eyes darkened.

I didn’t need Spencer’s gift of seeing the haze around a person to know that a storm was brewing. I signal the safety gesture to a waiter standing off to the side, and she nods and ducks through the doorway to the kitchen. We should have a handful of guards at the doors in just a few minutes, waiting for my command unless things escalated. Now we just need to keep things calm long enough for that security to be useful.

I stood up and motioned for Ivy and Amyra to stand and move behind me. I took a deep breath, then tapped into my training. “OK, Egan, let’s take a moment here. Can you look at me?”

I waited for him to look at me, and I smiled at him.

“Thank you. I know we have had some stressful few weeks, haven’t we?”

Egan nodded but then started ranting unintelligibly. His gaze shifted, and he seemed like he’s no longer focused on any of us. He turned from me, pacing while keeping behind Spencer and Frederick. He moved back and forth several times, all the while muttering, like he was talking to himself. I wasn't sure how to get his attention again, or what was upsetting him this much.

I watched in my peripherals as Ivy and Amyra inched closer to me. As soon as I could touch Amyra, I reached out to her, and we grasped each other by an elbow. Ivy’s hands reached for my back, leaving one of my hands free. Both were ready to duck or move me out of the way of Egan’s anger if he turned violent. Knowing that we were all on the same wavelength with no need to plan caused my love for them swelled despite the tension we all felt.

My training was just in de-escalation and diplomacy. Many arguments about politics often resulted in outbursts, and knowing how to diffuse the situation without violence could help to make a hard deal go through. I wasn’t sure this would work, because what Egan wanted—my hand in marriage—wasn’t something I would offer. I just needed him to think I might.

Unfortunately, Frederick didn’t know about my skills, so didn’t know to let me try to diffuse this. After several revolutions, when Egan’s back was to him, Frederick moved to tackle him. The two rolled on the floor into the wall. Egan shouted some type of Gods awful, inhuman sound, and a strange light seemed to flash, but Frederick got the upper hand and pinned him to the floor. As they crashed into the wall, several guards rushed in. They positioned themselves between the tousling men and the rest of us, pushing Spencer towards me.

“Stand down! It’s ok. Egan just had a moment, but he’s fine. We are fine. Right, Egan?”

I tried my best to avoid a diplomatic catastrophe. The last thing we needed was for Lord Denenbaum to write to the king of Scoria Bay about how we have jailed his son.

Egan nodded while muttering, and Frederick allowed him to stand up.

“Thank you, gentlemen, for responding. I think we are going to wrap things up with no fuss.” I nod at the guards, who didn’t seem to think it was over. One stayed in the room, posted at the same kitchen door the waiter had used earlier. The rest exited through the kitchen.

Egan was standing at this point and shook himself as if to loosen up from the scuffle.

“Thank you, Princess Lyla. I apologize. I’m not sure what happened there.”

He held his hand out to Frederick, as if to shake. “Are we alright here, Fred?”

Egan had a look of contrition, but it didn’t feel quite genuine. Something was off. I eyed Spencer, who was gazing at him with a strange look, too.

Frederick nodded in response to Egan. He seemed to think all was well.

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