Page 26 of The Royal Flame
Silence stretches between us.
“My mom said a war might be coming,” River says. “What if this is the start of it?”
“I—” My phone vibrates from inside the pocket of my pajama shorts. I startle but quickly fish it out only to wish I hadn’t.
The text message is from an unknown number, and what it says makes fear flood my body more potently than when I woke up in the woods.
Unknown: I know who you are, Maddison. I know what royal blood runs through your veins. The war has started and let the hunt begin.
“What is it?” River asks me.
I almost don’t want to show him the message out of fear he’ll freak out. But secrets have a way of biting their way out, so I hand him my phone. When he reads the message, he visibly pales.
“We need to find out who this is,” he says in a low tone.
Easier said than done.
I must have a panicked look on my face because he sets the phone down and cups my face between his hands.
“Hey.” He levels his gaze with mine. “Everything will be okay. I won’t let anything happen to you.” His voice rings with so much passion that I almost believe him.
But coming from where I am, I know nothing is as simply as a mere promise.
And whether we like it or not, we don’t have complete control over the situation.
Not until we figure out who’s hunting me.
I swallow hard at the reality.
I’m being hunted.
Part of me wishes I could just go back to being a nother sider, because I’m starting to learn that royal blood comes with a lot of danger.
7
MADDISON
The wind is gusting through my hair as I run as fast as my legs will allow me to. My sneakers thud against the pavement, matching the accelerating rhythm of my heart. The chilly air has a nip to it, but my skin is so sweaty and overheated that I barely feel it. I know I need to slow down soon, that I’m pushing myself to hard, but the longer I run, the more worn out I become, and the less my mind races with thoughts of where my aunt Ellie—or well, my real mom anyway—is.
It's been three days since River and I discovered The Royal Flame, a secret vigilante society that both his mother and mine are in, and both of whom are currently MIA. We have no idea where they are, and we haven’t been able to figure anything out other than that. While I don’t have any real leads, River’s sister Lily has a bit of knowledge about their mother, but she’s remained pretty tight-lipped.
River’s father has been relatively quiet as well. But mine has contacted me a few times over the last handful of days. He checked in this morning with me via text after my first night of being back at the academy. His text basically reminded me that one of his bodyguards is living in a house close to campus and that he’ll be keeping an eye on me.
But the thing that’s really plaguing me is that text message I got from the unknown, telling me I’m being hunted.
Freaking hunted.
How is this even my life?
The real annoying thing is nothing has happened. That might be worse than if something would. As scary as it is to be hunted, at least I’d know what’s coming. Right now, I don’t know what these people are going to do to me or who they even are. My real father is looking into it, but so far, he hasn’t found anything out.
Or he has and is lying to me.
As I sprint around the track, I glance at the trees in the distance, wondering if this bodyguard is out there, watching me attempt to see how fast my heart can beat without giving out on me. I can’t spot anyone through the tree branches, but I’m not alone. Someone else is watching me from the sidelines.
“Maddy!” River calls out as I round the corner of the track. “That’s enough for now1”
Instead of listening, I quicken my pace, sprinting faster as I round the next corner.
