I pop up from my bed, and her smile alone pulls my lips into a big grin.
“Tell me!” I demand.
“Benton kissed me!” She blurts it out with a smile that could rival the stars.
She grabs her pillow and hugs it to herself as she curls up on her bed with a dreamy look passing across her face. It fades though. That dazed happiness slips right away as she looks up at me with too much seriousness for a thirteen-year-old girl who just got her first kiss.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Of course!” I tell her, waiting to give her the best guy advice I’ve got. Which according to my past shitty dating history, it’s not going to be great.
“The other girls in my class, they think they’re going to marry King Leavon.” Her blue eyes look away from me for a moment. “They say one of us is capable of great darkness. That the king wants to find that magic within us and help us grow.”
Acid burns at the back of my throat. Help them grow. He won’t help them grow. He’ll destroy them, one by one.
Until there’s none of them left.
Discreetly, I peer up at Malace, but he’s watching me closely. Does he tell Leavon everything I say? Why did I let myself get close to him when I know he holds so much power over my life?
“Tell her the truth,” Malace whispers, his gaze fixed on me.
A sharp breath hits my lungs.
“The king is looking for his future queen. For decades, there have been claims great power is coming to the Kingdom of Carnal. Which can only mean that it’s a newcomer. Like you. Like the other girls.” I try to phrase it as nicely as I can for fear of what Malace relays to his king. “Men like Leavon, they don’t wait for someone to come in and take what’s theirs. They’ll claim that power as their own. And they’ll use it.”
“Careful,” Malace says under his breath, warning me of what he must do.
But I don’t care anymore. I’m running out of time to care, and I won’t fucking tread lightly when it comes to my little sister.
“He’ll use his queen like a pawn, Ivy. Always remember that.”
She nods quickly, her eyes filled with understanding as a silence crawls into the room for several passing moments.
“We can leave, you know?” I glance at her, ignoring the prying stare that Malace gives me from across the room.
Will he tell?
“No. No, I don’t want to leave.” She doesn’t look at me, and something inside my chest crumbles. I understand her feelings.
I hate that we share that dark loathing for reality. She’s growing up just like I did. I just didn’t see it before now.
“Tomorrow, our physical training classes begin.” Her voice is small. Breakable. “Will you go with me?”
“Yes,” I tell her without hesitation.
The memory of what those classes actually are presses into me with suffocating pressure. He named it like it’s PE instead of what it truly is:a Death Match.
Chapter Sixteen
“Welcome, my Chosen,”Leavon calls out to the crowd of not just the ten Chosen women, but all of the elite royals who linger in his kingdom, devouring the drama that unfolds. “This morning starts a new dawn of classes. Your magic will blossom beneath my watch and grow within my wisdom.” Ivy peers nervously to me through the veil of her long blonde hair. My arm wraps around her side, and I pull her toward me for a half hug. Just like I used to. “Today is a physical training. Tonight, the real fun begins!” Leavon beams out to us, soaking in the manic applause.
Tonight?
My stomach twists. Physical training should last months. Nothing new should be happening so fast. Why is he rushing it?
About fifty to sixty people fill the enormous sprawling Great Hall. The single table and chairs that were set out last night have been swept away. Probably to the upstairs, but honestly, who fucking knows. They could be stored in Leavon’s arrogant asshole for all I know or care.
“So let us begin! And let your elders guide you and help you!” he adds with a dramatic sweep of his hand.