Page 6 of Kingdom of Today
This was fine. I was fine.Breathe. Just breathe.
A bell rang, signaling the end of warm-up. Well. Looked like I’d start with Realms and Travel, the second class of the day, taught by Archduke Heta himself.
I soared through the open door just as the bell rang. Hmm. A mere fourteen lords- and ladies-in-training occupied the seats, and I recognized only four of them. Roman, a friend, plus Miller, Cash, and a girl named Merlot, mere acquaintances. They sat with lords- and ladies-in-training I’d never met, whispering together. If CURED had split Cyrus’s class down the middle, giving an equal number to both Heta and Duchess Mimidae, the other instructor, I should see three other familiar faces in here. Either the powers that be had brought in a new instructor, or something had happened to my former teammates.
Someone noticed me and alerted others. All conversations tapered to silence as every eye swung my way. Expressions shifted to display one of four emotions in various degrees. Curiosity, confusion, envy, and disdain. What had they heard?
Heart thudding, I claimed the lone available seat. Front row center, with a direct sight line to the archduke’s desk, where the man in question currently sat, organizing his notes. At least Roman was my neighbor. But, um, what was the strange sensation currently uncoiling beneath my sternum?
It wasn’t unpleasant but warm, sweet, and strong enough to dissolve a new rush of foreboding. Nerve endings whirred, igniting a sense that a long-lost friend waited nearby, eager to speak with me.
The sensation disbanded when I noticed my guards. They remained at the door, one on each side. Uh ...
The archduke extended his arm and made a shooing motion without glancing in their direction. “Wait in the hall.” A little person in his late forties, he exuded strict control and unwavering assurance.
Though the soldiers were of a lower rank, neither obeyed him. “We come with a message from Emperor Dolion, sir,” the one with a buzz cut stated.
Heta worked his jaw, clearly irritated, but he also offered a clipped nod. Rather than invite the men closer, he stood and strode over, using a cane he hadn’t needed three days ago. He exited the room, and the guards followed, shutting the door behind them, leaving me alone with my classmates.
I sank down in my seat, wondering if anyone suspected that a traitor lurked in their midst. A glower, at that. Their greatest enemy. Someone they would kill without hesitation or remorse.
Roman gripped the side of his desk and leaned my way to quietly say, “Did you hear? King Tagin is dead.” More anger than sadness lit his eyes. “An entire unit got mowed down with him.” He listed a bunch of names, more than the number of soldiers I’d watched Tagin murder.
A loudboom! boom! boom!of gunfire echoed inside my head. In a flash of vivid color, I relived the executions as if I stood in the clearing once again, bordered by a road and old, dead trees. The bodies of my friends and those with them jerked as bullets sliced into their brains.Their knees buckled, and they crashed into the dirt, motionless, staring at nothing.
“I’d known about Titus, Juniper, Lark, and only a handful of others,” I croaked. Tears stung my eyes, and I tried to blink them away. It didn’t work. Using mental gardening shears, I snipped the blooms now growing from one of many bushes in the Grief and Despair section of my memory garden. Finally, success. The moisture dried. This wasn’t the time or place to mourn.
Roman reached over to pat my hand. “People die in this world, Ardie. You’ll get used to it.”
“I really hope I don’t.” The bulk of my life, I’d kept people at a distance, afraid to make friends, certain they’d all break with Madness. I spent years lonely and isolated, counseled strictly by anxiety. With Cyrus and the Soalians, I’d experienced the joys of relationship. I cared now, and there was no going back.
Roman nudged my shoulder. “Whatever you do, get your mind right fast. Things are about to get wild. From what I’ve heard, only two high princes opted not to go for the title of king. The remaining five will converge at Fort Bala soon. Word is, the emperor favors Cyrus’s half brother, High Prince Felix, as well as High Princess Lolli.”
I’d heard of both royals, of course. Who hadn’t? The princess was Cyrus’s sister-in-law, a widow once married to another of his half brothers, a high prince who’d died in battle. Many called her a force of nature. HP Felix was famous for his merciless infiltration of glower strongholds. If they could be recruited to our cause, great. But if not ... we must deal with them.
“What about Cyrus?” I asked. “His capture-kill rates can’t be beat.”
Roman leaned closer still. “My source says his chances are low. That the emperor—”
“Quiet down,” Archduke Heta commanded as he reentered the room.
Argh! The emperorwhat?
To my dismay, the barons followed the archduke inside and repositioned at the door.
“Ignore Lady Roosa’s bodyguards,” Heta announced. “They were assigned by Emperor Piven himself.”
My eyes widened. No, impossible. Except, Mr. Vyle. The one who currently wielded the same authority as the emperor. He wouldn’t hesitate to do this.
A barbed lump congealed in my throat as everyone but Heta and the guards reassessed me. No doubt they speculated about how someone like me had garnered such keen interest from our illustrious leader. Because there was no way Emperor Dolion would ever concern himself with a random, low-ranking girlfriend of a royal high prince, even if said high prince was his grandson.
Roman frowned at me as I slinked lower still in my seat. So. One question had an answer, at least. They were surveilling me. An intimidation tactic meant to scare me into a confession of guilt.
Miller gave me a look of disgust and muttered, “The high prince wasn’t good enough for you, eh? You had to go and sleep your way to the very tippity top.”
My cheeks heated. For the most part, he’d ignored me before this. The emperor’s guards must have put me on his radar.
I held his gaze and followed Cyrus’s example for dealing with unruly trainees. “Are you sure you want to travel this route with me, Mills? Right or not, I obviously have connections you don’t.”
