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My father’s deep brown eyes turn to me, tinged with…sadness?

“I would help you if I still had the moon stone. But I’m afraid it was taken long ago. Bargained by two humans that have likely since passed.”

The room tilts. My jaw hangs open.

“Do you remember their names?” Ramona takes over because I’ve lost all function.

“I do not make a habit of learning the names of humans,” he scolds back.

The forest turns red. I stand abruptly, pushing the chair back so hard it shatters on the wooden railing of the pavilion.

I risked everything for this. My freedom.

And he doesn’t fucking have it.

I’ve failed in the worst possible way.

“You fucking asshole,” I seethe. My jaw is clenched so hard a tooth could crack. “I came back here, reclaimed my place as Heir, dealt with your stupid little three-dinner rule, and now you’re telling me it was for… nothing?”

“What fun would that have been if you left right away? The people miss you, Son! They wanted to see you.”

“FUN? WHAT FUN WOULD THAT HAVE BEEN?”

Ramona places a hand on my lower back. “Leaf, come on, let’s just go.”

I glare at my father, my rage so palpable that the heat of my body is rising to an almost unbearable level. “I will not forget this, father. I will never forgive you.”

There is nothing more to say. This was a fucking waste of time. I pull Ramona toward the planks that lead out of the dining pavilion.

We’re practically half way across the first bridge when father roars, “Remember your duty, Son!”

Duty? Oh trust me, I’ve never forgotten my beloved duty.

The Source energy I had been keeping at bay bursts in a ball of blinding light. I scream in frustration. I gave up my fucking freedom for this duty.

For nothing.

34

The Prince Returns

The Watch and its ivory towers nestled along the mountainside are bustling with the return of cadets from their winter solstice breaks. Last year, I stayed behind with Leaf, having nowhere else to go.

So much has changed since then.

There are always a handful of students that remain within the castle grounds during break. You can tell because they aren’t pulling luggage and kissing their siblings goodbye.

Now, as I return, Esther is sitting alone under a tree with a strange full-body fur outfit and reading a book casually as if it weren’t arctic temperatures and snowing. Leaf is tossing a practice flare back and forth with Ramona, both of them in a pissing contest as to who can hold the flare longer without burning off all their clothes.

Leaf’s coat already smolders on the snowy ground, steam still wafting off of the singed edges.

Ramona sees me first. “Akemi!” She tosses the flare to Leaf and runs toward me. Leaf follows suit. “You’re back!”

I pull her into a hug, pinning her arms to the side. She stands there stiff as a board. Ever the hugger. “Damn, missed you too.”

Leaf slams the flare into the snow with a level of aggression unfitting to the moment. “We need to talk.”

I wipe my palms on the side of my cloak. “Let’s talk about this somewhere private.”