Chapter 298
“You are late p>
I didn’t bother greeting the matron in charge of the Institute of magic learning, nor did I explain myself or apologize. I brushed past her, past the gates, and started toward the wing designated to me and a few others.
Even though it was an institution of learning—one that produced state-of-the-art magic wielders, famous and feared—most parents still wouldn’t send their children here. Not because of the prestige but because of the price.
Many who entered didn’t leave with their sanity intact. Some didn’t leave at all. The training conditions weren’t proper or humane, and the methods used could never be called legalistic.
“Sage, you don’t get to walk over everyone here!” the matron shouted, heels clicking as she hurried after me. Her voice cracked with anger. “It doesn’t matter if you are of royal blood. In here, you are nothing. You are nothing p>
I turned then, eyes flashing with contempt, my stare slicing into her like a blade. For original chapters go to.net
She faltered, stumbling, and fell to her knees, clutching her chest as though an invisible hand had squeezed the life out of her.
“I don’t think I will ever get used to this p>
The voice drifted from behind me. Duke.
I let the loquacious woman go, her gasps still echoing faintly, and turned to the Queen’s first son.
He hadn’t been banished to the Shadow Wastes. No, he’d been placed here. This wasn’t hell, not quite, not as the Shadow wastes, but it was enough to silence the wagging tongues of the people.
And because I was indebted to their family—because the enemy of your enemy was, for now, your friend—I didn’t speak of it. I didn’t argue with the lie. I understood the Queen’s need to shield her son from true damnation.
Sorry, Zande.
Not really sorry. You made your choice, and you lived with it. Or rather—you died with it.
“What are you thinking about again?” Duke tapped my shoulder, pulling me back to the present.
“How to skin you alive p>
His eyes widened briefly before his mouth curved into laughter, rich and full, echoing in the courtyard.
“You get crazier by the year,” he said. “Come on. Let’s go in. You have a visitor p>
I frowned. A visitor?
I hadn’t had one in three years. I had stopped asking for visits long ago.
“Who is it p>
Duke only shrugged, that infuriatingly casual shrug. “You’ll know when we get there p>
He slung his arm around my shoulders. And no matter how hard I tried to shrug him off, he wouldn’t budge. He was solid, bulkier than when I’d first known him, his body hardened by the brutal regimens here. A hulk in flesh and presence.
We weren’t best friends, not even close, but we were something—battle-forged companions.
Once, there had been hostility. His glares sharp with blame, my boredom a wall he couldn’t climb. But tasks and punishments had chained us together.
We bled together, trained together, endured the madness of this place together. Somewhere in that torment, a strange friendship had rooted.
“You are strong, Sage,” he said smugly. “But you can’t put me away p>
“You want to bet on it p>
“Gods, no.” He laughed again, the sound carrying warmth that was rare in this place. “You always fight like a demon when bets are involved p>
I chuckled, barely. A sound so faint it nearly dismerited itself from being a chuckle. I had even forgotten what my laugh used to feel like, used to sound like—the carefree one, light and easy.
Happiness had long fled from me. But when has happiness ever made things easier? Safer?
“So, where were you this time?” Duke asked as we approached the porch. “At this rate, you’ll kill that woman before her time p>
“She’s already living on borrowed time if she dares to call me nothing,” I said coldly. “And tonight? I only went out for air p>
Duke wasn’t part of his mother’s games, at least not directly. He knew of her treaties with vampires, perhaps, but he wasn’t her blade. That was me. I was her weapon, molded and sharpened. And I had accepted it—as long as our goals aligned.
“There’s not enough air here for you?” he teased.
“Your big nose won’t let me have a full breath,” I shot back.
He laughed, shaking his head as he pushed the door open.
In the common sitting room, which was like a junction, with four routes to four rooms inhabited by magic wielders, I saw Raul sitting on the sofa, listening like he was paying attention to Isla; a blushing Isla, who kept talking and gesturing with her hands as she talked about our last assignment at the government house of a human country, where we facilitated a coup d’état.
At our entrance though, Raul stopped listening, taking cognizance of my presence. He turned sharply, lips breaking into a smile when he saw me, when he saw the smile mirrored on my lips.
He rose swiftly, crossing the room with a speed that made Isla’s words falter. He didn’t hesitate. His arms wrapped around me, pulling me into him, holding me as though he could erase the years apart in a single embrace.
For a heartbeat, I stood frozen. Then my arms lifted, circling him, answering his touch with one of my own.
Three years. I hadn’t seen him in three years. Hadn’t felt this warmth, this familiarity. Hadn’t hugged another too.
When he drew back, it wasn’t to create distance but to claim me further. His lips pressed against mine, firm and hungry, and I melted into him, into the familiar scent that was Raul.
Raul, my boyfriend, and heir to his mother’s throne. I wasn’t sure how the woman had convinced Duke to let go, but I believed it’s because I had the white hair, and that I was dating Raul.
Rachel had had no problem either, since all the years had never been good to her hair, had never drawn a single strand of white hair on her head.
But really, I was the heir to the throne, the one with the control, as the Queen had hammered in my head the last time she had visited. Raul was just a symbol, a figurative head. A breeding partner.
“I’ve missed you so much,” Raul whispered against my lips, before kissing me again, deeper, like he feared I’d vanish if he let go, hands tightening around my waist.
“I’ve missed you too, Raul I murmured, my eyes tracing the lines of his face, wishing we were alone, wishing we were naked, so that I could love this man who had helped me heal.
He seemed to read the thought, his hand sliding into mine, firm, leading. He tugged me toward the rooms, ignoring Duke’s low whistle and Isla’s shock.
Poor Isla. She couldn’t have known of my relationship with Raul. She’d joined us only two years ago.
Yet I couldn’t resist. I turned over Raul’s shoulder, while being led to be ravished, and threw her a wink, smiling devilishly when she blanched.