“What is it like to be the prince of Hesstia?” I asked. Most of what I knew was the worst of his kingdom, the history. My grandfather, imprisoned for ten years for the use of magic, where he was nearly starved to death after being forced to kill others in a fighting arena for sport. Zyacus’s uncle, who was king at the time, nearly executed my mother, Madison and Papa in front of the kingdom; my father saved them.
Silence filled the air between us for a long few moments. I thought he wouldn’t answer.
“My father made sure I was the best I could be.” His throat bobbed. “When it was apparent I didn’t have an affinity for magic right away, he took away my toys so I would focus. Most of my free time was filled with lessons of some kind. He forced my tutors to make sure I was well ahead of what anyone would expect. If that meant I was hit or burned with a hot poker then healed or went without food for the day for messing up then that is what the tutors did.” He paused and I felt sick to my stomach. “‘You are the first prince of Hesstia to use magic,’ Father said, ‘you must be the best. You must never let them take our land.’ Of course he wasn’t there when the tutors hurt me. I don’t think he meant for that to happen. I don’t know why I never told on them.”
“I—’’ I stammered, unsure what to say. I wanted to take his hand, to comfort him but I didn’t. “I never knew. I’m sorry they were cruel to you.” I also never knew that King Enden was worried we Delhoon wanted to take his land. There has never been talk of invading Hesstia to my knowledge.
He shrugged and finally looked at me. “I suppose I should thank them. I have excelled because of it.”
I dug my toes into the soft soil and gritted my teeth. “There are much better ways to motivate someone. Especially a child.”
“Well, when Porthos raised his hand against me when I was fourteen, I blasted him across the room and held a dagger to his throat, he never tried again. I think he was waiting for me to do that.”
“I’m glad you did.” I only wished he’d done so sooner. When I thought back to a time when our parents met up for a few days on kingdom affairs, he being a ten-year-old boy pulling my hair, or putting a dead frog in my soup, or throwing mud at me, perhaps he was only doing what he had learned. To be mean. Maybe then he didn’t know better.
He went on. “My mother is kind. She used to sing me to sleep when I was a young boy. We’d dance together at parties. I’d stand on her toes because I didn’t know the steps.” He smiled at the memory. “She always called me her savior.”
“Savior?” I asked. It seemed like a strange name for a child.
He licked his lips. “She didn’t tell me why until last year. My mother was taken from her family and sold into slavery. My father found her at a brothel and brought her to the castle. But he... wasn’t kind. He treated her as what she was to him, a slave, even when he knew she was a princess from Collweya. But once she told him I was in her belly, he never hit her again, and they married. Of course I think the only reason he married her was to secure an alliance with Collweya and get an advantage over Delhoon for the war. I think she married him to escape the perpetual cold of Collweya and become a queen.” He paused waiting for my reaction, watching me.
“Is he kind to her now?”
Zyacus shrugged. “He never hurts her. I think he cares for her. But he doesn’t look at her the way King Boaden looks at Queen Daelyn.”
My parents loved each other deeply. They always had, and I never knew how much I should appreciate that until now.
“I will not marry for political gain,” Zyacus said firmly. He picked up a rock and threw it. “If I marry it will be for love or not at all.”
My fingers dug in the dirt to find a pebble to throw. “When your kingdom depends on you, it makes choices more difficult. Aside from the abuse, I understand why your father did what he did.” Even if I wasn’t sure why Zyacus opened up to me, it made my stomach flutter. It made me… wonder. “Despite his faults, I, for one, am glad he made the choice to allow magic in Hesstia. Look where we are now.”
Those winter-blue eyes of Zyacus fell to mine. “In an academy that should not exist. A prince and princess of rival kingdoms sitting by a lake together throwing rocks. Who would have thought?”
The way he gazed at me, it warmed my belly and my heart beat harder like the thundering hooves of a galloping horse. “Why does your father worry about Delhoon still? We are allies now.”
He shook his head. “Oh, it’s probably the trash that his father put in his head. That magic-born would one day take over, become the ruling power and then enslave those who couldn’t use magic just like we’d done to them.” His fingers pulled at the chain around his neck and from underneath his collar spilled out a wolf pendant. The silver animal curled around a light blue stone the size of my thumbnail. “Magic stones are incredibly rare. As much as I hate to admit it, if this was ever taken from me, I’d be weak. I hope my father’s fears are unwarranted. You magic-born are the superior beings. I wish I was born with your gifts, Visteal.”
Never once had he ever hinted that I or anyone was superior to him in any way. It was uncharacteristic of him to admit something like that. “Of course that fear is unwarranted. And even if you are not born with magic in your blood it doesn’t make you any less. You are wickedly talented, Tournament Champion.”
He flashed white teeth. “I like that description. Wickedly talented.” He stood and wiped dirt and grass from his pants. Then held a hand out to me. “It’s getting dark. We should go inside.”
I placed my palm in his and with ease he pulled me up. I slid on my boots then we started back. On the walk he told me more about his father and mother. About his siblings and their antics, the ups and downs. I told him of my brothers and how much I loved them despite their constant pestering. He asked about my life, which was much more carefree than his in some ways. My parents made sure I had fun. We’d race horses through fields of fireflies. Soar through the sky on my father’s dragon Cobalt. One of my favorite memories was visiting the beach and swimming in the ocean where my parents were married.
Zyacus and I had more in common than not, with structured days and lessons all growing up, except for I was never hit or punished for not doing magic correctly and he never did dishes or had visions. He asked how many people I’d seen die, then he asked how he could help me.
“I don’t know,” I said softly. “If sending Aric away saves him, then that will help me. If it doesn’t save him...”
He paused and turned to me. With a husky voice, he said, “Then I’ll be there to wipe your tears, if you’ll be there to wipe mine.”
I think that was the moment I realized I wanted him more than I wanted anything.
∞∞∞
When I got to my room I pulled out a book to study for a test the next day. Although Zyacus besieged my thoughts, I hoped I could focus. I lit all the candles in the room and read from Murdocks Magical Mysteries. The test was going to be on how to solve problems with magic. I read the same line five times before I even comprehended what was written. A long night was ahead of me if I had to keep rereading things.