“Why do you think?” I sighed. There was no way she had already forgotten about our conversation in the ocean.
She tapped a finger to her chin. “Hm. When was the last time you got laid?”
I scoffed. Ithadbeen a while. But that wasn't the problem.
“I know why,” Delani said before I could speak. “You're worried that you will be gifted abeautiful,shiningstone by the gods, and that you'll be forced to attend Caelestis Academy for two years. Which means that you're probably worrying about how you'll be mandated into a decade of soldier service and blah, blah, blah,” she taunted.
I came to a halt in the sand and scowled at her.
A knowing smirk planted along her lips. “Am I right?”
She was, but I didn't give her the satisfaction of saying so.
“I know you've been dreading your birthday this year,” she said softly, following behind me when I resumed walking.
Right again, but there was nothing she could say to change that. We’ve had this conversation before, and I always made my opinions very clear on how much I despised the idea of becoming another person for the king to control.
She called after me, “Oh, come on, Maeve. You're turning twenty-one tomorrow. Why aren't you excited?”
Because I was terrified that I would be one of the chosen.
If it weren't for the king's orders, I would have accepted being deemed worthy by the gods. But my soul longed for freedom, and the confines that came with being gifted struck no amount of desire in me.
It never used to be that way. Before the war, those gifted by the gods lived amongst the rest of the Caelestians as they pleased. Draemor, the southernmost kingdom of our continent and also the closest to us, has been our enemy for as far back as the manuscripts dated.
Two decades ago, the former King of Draemor greedily wanted to reign over some unclaimed territory by the eastern coast. A peaceful split of the land was never attempted before he tried to seize it. When Caelestis made efforts to stop him,claiming that the land should be left unscathed by mortals, he declared war over the terrain.
Caelestian soldiers were fairly scarce at the time of the war, and the lack of an army almost lost us our own land. Though outnumbered, our soldiers were ruthless, leading Caelestis to victory—but not without losing the vast majority of our troops. My father was one of the soldiers in this battle, losing his life to the blade of a Draemornian.
This war was one of the most horrific battles in Caelestis’ history, and was the reason that the rules regarding the gifted changed. From the moment the war ceased, King Hawthorne made the executive order that anyone gifted by the gods must attend Caelestis Soldiers Academy. Following graduation from the course, the individual was to provide the kingdom with at least a decade of mandatory soldier service.
In my personal opinion, this was asinine, and not how the gods intended their gifts to be used. But I didn't make the rules.
I had no issue when it came to defending my kingdom. The fact thatmy lifewould no longer be in my control was what I couldn't stand the thought of.
Delani tapped her foot in the sand, waiting for me to admit that her claim was correct.
"What if bysome chancethe gods have deemed me worthy?" I asked, giving into the intensity of her stare.
Her dainty figure slid by my side, our shadows showcasing the difference in our body types. She weaved her fingers between mine as I turned my gaze to the horizon, immersing myself in the colors that painted the sky—the same hues that always appeared just before the sunset.
“If that happens, then you fight like hell to become one of the best damn soldiers the king has ever had.” She squeezed my hand tighter. “You wield whatever power you are gifted, finish your time at the academy, and your ten years of service.” She turned to face me. “You stay alive.”
I swallowed the lump that formed in my throat from those words. There were always a handful of students who struggled to properly wield their magic. Those few usually ended up dead before the end of their first year, never even making it to the armoring ceremony.
My eyes dipped from the sky and accidentally skimmed the tip of the tower again. Another burst of anxiety claimed me, but I shoved it away, focusing my attention on Delani.
She pushed her forehead against mine. “Then, you bring your ass right back home to Mom and me. I’ll bake your favorite biscuits, and you can tell me about all of the hot soldiers you had drooling over you,” she finished with a grin.
I let out a snort of laughter, then looked back to the nearly set sun.
Before long, the exhaustion of the day caught up to me. I settled myself down into the sand and dug a hole with my toes, burying my feet under the cool earth.
Delani sat down beside me and we watched the sky until the warmth of the sun faded, and the violet stained horizon deepened into a pigment of blue.
The sun glistenedthrough the cloth of my curtains, the open crack of the window allowing for a mellow breeze to flow throughout the tight quarters of my room. I sat up in my bed, wiping the sleep from my eyes.
Daybreak indicated that the festival had already begun, and I groaned at the thought. Soon I would have no choice but to make the journey to the castle, where I would spend the entirety of my day including well into the evening hours.
