I'm on my way to the front of the house when a familiar cry resounds in the clouded sky. I hear Talon before he circles overhead and soars down to my arm.
The black raven lifts his beak for a scratch and coos happily when I comply. "You have a message for me?" I ask him.
He mercilessly bites my finger, showing his discontent. I snort, and keep scratching him. Needy little thing. Only after the royal pet is fussed over to his liking does he allow me to take the parchment tied to his leg.
He sets off in the air as I read the short note.
I sigh. I could have brought Helyn back to Five, after all. "Change of plan," I tell Varen. "I'm wanted back at Five."
We're but a few short streets away from Five, and I still make my driver drop me off. The temperature is slightly cooler than it had been when I left yesterday, but the air is thick with moisture. It must have rained. The only thing I hate more than a warm summer day is a warm, humid summer day.
Five minutes later, I'm strolling inside the dorm, making straight for my apartment on the first floor.
"Should I be concerned that you're calling a meeting inmydorm, Reiks?" I ask, ignoring the other three students carelessly lounging on my furniture.
I know he's the one who called the meeting, and selected its location.
The giant-blooded prince smirks. "I didn't want to leave the dorms yet, and my room was occupied until now."
I'll bet.
I join him next to the window overlooking the courtyard between the dorms and the main building, and watch the tall, slender figure retreat as fast as her feet can carry her. "Ah, the future queen of Anderkan." I chuckle. So he’s finally managed to catch his prey. "Is she aware of the fact that she’s replaced dear Blythe yet?"
"Kinda," Reiks replies, amused. "She thinks it's temporary."
Unlike me, my old friend likes games and the thrill of the chase. Admittedly, underplaying his interest in Alis Frejr might be the smarter course of action. The girl doesn't like to make waves."She'll figure it out at the wedding, with a bit of luck."
Natheran Reiks always gets what he wants. He makes sure of it, manipulating everyone with ease until they're exactly where he wants them. At his mercy.
The poor Frejr never had a chance.
"How aboutyourfuture queen?" Now, Reiks smirks at me. "Still in denial?"
The fact that I know exactly to whom he's referring is alarming. "Don't be ridiculous. She'scommon."
I contacted Reiks for his opinion on whether a common ought to have Helyn's abilities. Anderkan has rejected magiks for centuries and though his blood is as full of power as mine, Reiks knows more than I do about their kind.
He told me nothing that I wouldn't have guessed myself. Commons are individuals, and no two are typically alike. Yes, it's entirely unusual for one of them to best one of us in any discipline, but there are plenty of dumb, weak demis, while others rise above the masses. The same can be said for their kind.
I'm not one to pretend false modesty; I know I am one of the strongest things in this part of the world, and I'm certainly not of average intellect. Itshouldn'tbe possible for a common girl to bestme.
Talking it out with Reiks won't shed any light on the matter, so I decide a change of subject is in order. "How is Blythe, by the way? Recovering well?"
Blythe Ostra, Reiks's former fiancée, used to be part of our little get-togethers before she faked her death to get out of marrying him, thereby also rejecting a crown and a life of luxury.
"Still designing clothes," he tells me. "Flaur agrees with her. There's even talk of a girl she’s gone out with more than a couple of times."
I smile, glad for our old friend.
"Sometimes I envy her," Rovan Briar interjects from the settee, though I thought him focused on his conversation with the second princess of Vanemir and the first prince of Dorath.
"Alis?" Reiks asks, his mind clearly focused on his lover.
The Flauran prince snorts. "Not everyone wants to blow your dick, Nath.Blythe. I envy her. She got out. No more political circus for her. No more attempts on her life based on who she is, what she could become. She's free."
Reiks grimaces, the concept of freedom eluding him, unsurprisingly.
I understand why Rovan feels that way. His twin will wear the crown after their vapid mother croaks, but he's expected to act like a royal, reaping all of the duty and none of the benefits.