All that energy churning inside me had returned to my attacker. No wonder she had recovered so quickly and escaped. What did she think had happened? Whatever she thought, it had unnerved her enough to flee instead of continuing to fight. My only consolation was that I didn’t see how she could possibly guess the truth. I had been too far away for her to hear my words, and my ability was totally unique.
We rumbled through the entrance of the Academy, Captain Vincent calling out muffled instructions to unseen guards. The gates creaked shut behind us, closing with a thunderous clang.
Weary after the unexpected battle and the struggle with the stolen energy, I stumbled down the carriage steps and into the Academy courtyard. Layna swung down from her mount and gestured for me to head straight inside the building. I complied without protest, shivering slightly in my still wet clothes.
The wooden doors at the top of the gray stone stairs already stood open, so I hurried inside, Bryony on my heels. Inside the echoing entrance hall, I halted. Water dripped down to form a small puddle at my feet.
Several people had been walking through the large space, and all of them stopped to stare at us in surprise. But only one caught my attention. Darius.
Chapter 6
The prince had also paused, the slightest expression of surprise creasing his face at the picture we must create. But then he resumed walking, coming to stand a short distance in front of me. He gave a small, impersonal half-bow.
“Welcome back to Kallorway, Princess Verene. I hope you haven’t met with some accident within our borders.”
His cold tone made me shiver more than the moisture coating me.
“Only if you consider an outright attack in broad daylight to be an accident,” Bryony said tartly.
For a moment, I could have sworn something sparked and flashed in Darius’s eyes, but it might have been my imagination willing the emotion there.
“I heard Captain Vincent was called out with a squad of guards,” he said, in the same detached voice. “I didn’t realize you were involved. I trust he assisted your own guards in dealing with the brigands.”
Bryony opened her mouth, no doubt to say they hadn’t been robbers, but I jumped in before she could.
“I will leave the captain to give you the full report.” I called on all my training as I tried to match my tone to his. “As you can see, we are unharmed.”
“The crown has full trust in Captain Vincent to keep the Academy and the trainees safe,” Darius said.
Bryony snorted quietly behind me, but my focus remained on the prince’s face. What did he mean by that? Was there a warning in his words?
But his face gave nothing away, his impassive mask impenetrable.
Bryony shivered theatrically. “I, for one, would like to get to my room and get dry. If you’ll excuse us, Your Highness.”
Darius didn’t flinch at her contemptuous tone, merely standing aside and gesturing for us to pass. As we stepped onto the grand staircase, I couldn’t stop myself from throwing a single glance over my shoulder. But Darius had already moved on out of sight, whether out the still-open doors or into one of the corridors, I didn’t know. He had certainly not lingered for any last glances.
I shook myself and began to climb. Captain Layna had also entered the building and now shadowed us, several lengths behind. We reached the second landing, and I hesitated. Last year, I would have turned right here for one of the royal suites, and at the end of the year, Bryony had been staying with me. But I didn’t actually know if I had been assigned the same rooms this year.
The head of the Academy’s servants, Zora, appeared from down the corridor, bowing low at the sight of me and making no mention of my wet and bedraggled state. Her calm didn’t surprise me—she had always seemed capable of taking any situation in stride.
“Princess Verene, welcome back. Your old suite has been prepared for your arrival.”
“Thank you,” I said, aware the words sounded wooden.
She turned to Bryony. “I’m afraid you still have four more flights of stairs to climb, Bryony.”
My friend hesitated, glancing at me, so I shooed her upward.
“Go! Get dry.”
She took off, almost running up the stairs in her haste, and I turned toward my own suite. Zora kept pace beside me.
“If it pleases Your Highness, I have once again assigned Ida to your care.”
I nodded. “Of course. I had no complaints with her efforts last year.”
The head of the servants continued to walk with me, although I had no difficulty remembering where I was going. I had trod this path countless times before.
When I stopped at the right door, she handed me a key. I turned it in the lock, resisting the impulse to hold my breath. After an attack outside the Academy walls, the welcome left in my room the year before seemed inconsequential.
When I pushed the door open, however, no sign of any disturbance greeted me. Everything looked neat and clean, all the furniture in its correct places.
Zora, entering behind me, relaxed slightly, and I realized why she had led me all the way here. I wasn’t the only one who remembered the year before.
I had never told my personal guard about the incidents of the year before, but Layna brushed past us both anyway, poking into every corner of the room and disappearing through the doorway on the right wall that led into my bedchamber.
She reappeared a few moments later.
“Everything is clear,” she said. “I sense no power lingering anywhere.”
I nodded my thanks.
“And these are for you.” She handed me a tall stack of parchments. “As we discussed.”
I thanked her more warmly as my hand curled around the precious gift. As soon as I had reached Corrin, I had expressed my appreciation of the compositions she had left me the year before to guard my door. And although I hadn’t told her of the assassin who made it into my bedchamber, I did confess to being careless enough to let one of my year mates get their hands on one.
Guiltily, I had asked if it would be possible for her to make a modified version for this year—one whose secrets weren’t compromised. She had agreed with enthusiasm, especially after I promised to let her superiors know how effective her work had been.
She watched with a slightly raised eyebrow as I immediately tore two, directing one toward the external door of my suite and another toward my bedchamber door. I carefully refrained from glancing at the tapestry on the left wall and the concealed door I knew lay behind it. Let Layna wonder why I felt the need for a double layer of protection. I wasn’t going to tell her. Just as I wasn’t going to shield the door that connected my sitting room with Darius’s. Despite his cold greeting, a kernel of hope had lodged in my heart and refused to die.
Thankfully my captain’s caution extended to all parts of her role, and she had supplied me with an ample number of compositions to guard two doors. No doubt she had been allowing for the protection to need frequent refreshing in case the power was drained from challenges. Thankfully my doors had been largely undisturbed the year before, just the presence of the guarding composition apparently enough to keep any unwanted guests away. With only the occasional refresh needed after the natural drain of power over the passage of time, I had managed to make last year’s compositions last. This year should be even easier.