Chapter: 34: Qigong

My entire body ached.

Muscles I didn’t know existed screamed every time I moved, and my skin was covered in more bruises than a painted canvas.

Watching Caiden and Prince Calix demonstrate the strength of the powers had been an experience beyond words.

I’d been so eager to learn this breathtaking art that I’d forgotten how each of the suitors surrounding me had been among the absolute top of their respective academies.

Then Master Cadoc assigned Alia to teach me the fundamentals.

She knocked me down with a single punch, reminding me how naive I’d been and how inexperienced I still was compared to her.

Surprisingly, I think I did learn a few things through her brutal attempt to mentor me.

She did briefly make me worry that I might not be able to walk after the session. I could still walk, but running was out of the question until I’d been to see a healer.

The only problem was that my appointment with the healers was an entire hour away. I would have to settle for a soothing shower instead.

I opened the door to our dressing room and was met by a cloud of blinding steam.

Could I really have limped so badly that Piper had finished chatting and beat me to the showers?

Then I rounded the wall, ready to apologize for my delay, when I froze, my eyes widening to globes and confusion snaking around my tightening throat.

It wasn’t Piper who’d beat me to the shower or any of the other suitors.

An abstract illusion of two peaceful koi fish circling each other decorated his broad, muscular back.

He’d changed from his official uniform into nothing but a pair of black, baggy pants and was moving like the shifting waters of a calm brook.

Art had mentioned this exercise technique during our last session. He’d advised me to practice something similar to optimize the energies within my body or whatever.

~Qigong~, I think he called it.

Despite the suffocating heat surrounding me, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up when I realized I was still quietly observing Caiden’s half-naked body amid a very intimate process.

I stepped back in an attempt to flee the scene unnoticed, forgetting how sore my body still was. My heart stumbled over its rhythm when I accidentally inhaled sharply through clenched teeth.

Caiden stopped moving as if he’d heard me.

I bit down the pain to rush back behind the wall, closing my eyes and praying to the ancient spirits that he’d shrug off his curiosity and continue his practice.

I’d never been that lucky, and the spirits seemed to have better things to do than listen to my desperate prayers today.

“Willow?”

My breath caught in my throat when I heard Caiden’s voice whisper my name.

Slowly, I opened my eyes and saw his body beside me, peeking around the corner I was hiding behind.

His hair was damp and dripping onto his shoulders, where the drops raced each other across his defined collarbone and down his bulky chest.

“Caiden!” I exclaimed, turning my head to look in the opposite direction. “Wh-what are you doing in here?”

Caiden chuckled, the sound making my bones tremble. “I’m relaxing after a training session… In the men’s locker room.”

~The men’s locker room.~ ~How much bad luck could a woman be allowed to have?~

“I-I’m sorry,” I said, biting my lips as I bowed before him. “I-I must have misread the sign. I was supposed to meet Piper. It was never my intention to—”

His chuckle turned into a chortle, and I stopped talking, embarrassed beyond words.

“I don’t mind, Willow,” he said, guiding my body back up with a gentle hand. “I often exercise like this. The hot steam improves circulation by dilating the blood vessels.

“You’re acting as if you have never seen a man dressed like this before.”

My hands trembled anxiously as Caiden gently pushed me inside the room, my cheeks burning brighter than the sky.

I may have seen Koa and Dad like that before, but they were family.

Milo had been the most recent man to expose his skin in front of me, but his torso hadn’t been completely exposed like Caiden’s currently was.

“Have you tried Qigong before?” Caiden asked as if he was completely okay with me being in here.

I hesitantly shook my head, making sure not to look at his skin. “No, but Master Art told me to become familiar with it the last time I saw him.”

Caiden smiled, grabbed my hand, and pulled me closer. “Then let me teach you.”

His touch set my skin on fire as he took the bag from my shoulder and helped me position my limbs correctly.

Art would probably kill me if he found out I’d passed up this opportunity.

So, I did my best to ignore the throbbing pain from my injuries and didn’t argue when Caiden began explaining the practice of Qigong.

“Now, breathe through your nose and feel how your abdomen rises and falls,” Caiden said, stepping in front of me so I could mirror him.

“Let your breathing determine when you move. Feel the energy in your body shift, and try closing your eyes when you feel ready.”

It took a few attempts to grasp what Caiden meant, but once I started listening to my body rather than attempting to force it, something clicked.

“Move like water, flow like water. Be the water…”

Caiden’s voice seemed to weaken each time I stroked the humid air. Before long, I’d been inspired to start whispering my own chanting and closed my eyes.

~Move like air, feel the air, be the air. Move like air, feel the air, be the air…~

I did feel the air surrounding me. I sensed how heavy and warm it felt against my skin.

I was aware of the pearls forming on my brow, running down my nose and toward my chin. I made a swift move and exhaled, allowing the air to wipe the drops away.

I felt the air moving around me—as if it was part of me, or like I was part of it. I felt confirmed in my element until I was ripped out of my peaceful paradise.

~“—illow.”~

“Willow! Can you hear me?”

Caiden’s voice became gradually louder until I could hear him shouting. “Will! Wake up!”

I fluttered my eyes and found myself only inches away from his face, my wrists caught in his hands.

“Caiden?” I whispered, my head slightly groggy. “What are you…?”

Then my eyes caught sight of the background, and I realized that the entire room had been turned upside down.

Benches had been smashed into the walls, and the metal of the locker doors had been bent inward.

“Are you okay?” Caiden asked, cupping my face when my eyes widened.

I frantically looked around for signs that someone else had been in there while my eyes had been closed. I didn’t want to believe that I’d done it again.

“Hey! Look at me,” Caiden ordered, aligning my eyes with his again.

“Calm down, Willow. This is not your fault. Your abilities are incredibly powerful. We just need to discover a way for you to tame them.”

A tear of fear trickled down my stiffened cheeks and more quickly followed when I realized I really had done it again. My powers were still out of control, and I had no idea how to manage them.

“Willow,” Caiden whispered, wiping my tears away with his thumbs. “You didn’t hurt me if that’s what you’re wondering. You only startled me a little, that’s all.”

He smiled as if he had seen worse before, but it didn’t calm me. Not in the slightest.

I flinched when his gentle fingers grazed the sensitive bruise on my face.

“But you do seem to have suffered quite a bit of bruising from the sparring session with Alia,” Caiden said, rolling up my sleeves to reveal my bruised arms.

Caiden sighed. “She may seem tough and a little scary at times, but she has a big heart, as I’m sure you’ll come to know once you get to know her.”

I twisted my lips, wrinkling my nose into a disapproving scowl. “It certainly doesn’t feel like she even has one,” I said, referring to her missing heart.

He hadn’t even seen how Alia had treated me during our sparring session. And why was he addressing her as if they were old friends?

Or could it have been a terribly misguided assumption he’d made based on Alia’s behavior in front of him?

Caiden chuckled, his smile crooked. “Let me take care of those bruises for you,” he said just before my skin began attracting the humid air.

I exhaled a sigh of relief when the ache and the swellings disappeared.

“Go change,” Caiden said, straightening his back as he let go of me. “I’ll be waiting for you right outside.”

A stab of anxiety cut through my chest. “Y-you don’t have to,” I said, terrified that someone may see us together. “I’ll be fine. You can go ahead without me.”

I was breaking several rules for simply being in this room with him.

“Not a chance,” Caiden said, his words strict.

“What about my contract?” I whispered, not daring to look into his eyes again. “I’m technically not allowed to spend time with you like this until the second phase begins.”

“Let me worry about that,” Caiden said, turning me around to guide me toward the exit. “At the moment, I worry about your well-being.

“I urged you to participate in my practice, so I feel responsible for ensuring that you return to your chamber safe and sound.”

~What is happening?~

“I expect to see you outside the battle arena in ten minutes. Otherwise, I will be waiting there for as long as it takes you to change,” he said, pushing me out of the men’s locker room.

I’d opened my mouth to repeat my rejection of his offer, but he closed the door before I could say the words.

I sighed and rubbed my sore eyes before I turned to approach the suitors’ locker room.

The cool water felt good on my heated face. I took out the dress and stuffed my used uniform into my bag so Faye wouldn’t have trouble bringing it to the cleaning hall.

My fingers twitched nervously when I stood in front of the only entrance to the battle arena.

Could Caiden really have been serious when he said he’d wait for me no matter how long it took me to change?

There was only one way to find out, so I took a deep breath and pushed the door open.

“Are you ready?”

My heart jumped to my throat when I saw Caiden dressed in his royal uniform, waiting for me.

He was not going to let me leave without him, so I nodded and accepted his arm. Then we started walking.

I had to remind myself several times that there were no official cameras here. Only the suitors or Evie would know that I’d broken a rule—not that it was necessarily better.

“Have you gotten used to the castle since our last conversation?” Caiden suddenly asked, breaking the deafening silence.

“A bit,” I said, which wasn’t exactly a lie. “I like the books you have here, and the garden is probably my favorite view. I look forward to the day we’re allowed to go down there.”

Caiden chuckled, and I tightened my hand around his arm. I didn’t know if his laugh was one of agreement or disapproval.

“The garden is my favorite place as well,” he said, and my shoulders relaxed.

“My mother used to take us there and play. You should look forward to seeing it during spring. The garden looks particularly beautiful there.”

Spring…

We’d barely entered the last month of fall. Spring was so far away that he could hardly be sure I would still be there by then.

“That sounds wonderful,” I said, forcing a smile.

The fog of silence enveloped us again, its cloudy wings making my heart beat faster.

“Prince Atla—I mean, Caiden,” I said, exhaling his name as I regretted ever starting this sentence.

“What bothers you?” Caiden said when I reluctantly slowed down.

I gritted my teeth, indecisiveness making my toes curl. “Could I… Could I please ask you not to mention the incident in the locker room to anyone?” I finally said.

“I have broken a lot of rules by simply being here with you, and I don’t want to put my family in danger.”

My heart thumped like the hooves of a galloping horse, terrified that I had been wrong to demand such a thing from the crown prince.

“I see,” Caiden finally said, a comforting smile spreading on his handsome face.

“I can promise you that none of the suitors, Miss Evelyn, or my father, will hear of this from my lips, but I will have to inform my uncle.

“He is your master, and your accident is relevant for him to know. However, my uncle is an understanding man, so I’m sure his lips will remain sealed as well.”

Caiden winked at me, and I chuckled. “Thank you,” I said before we stopped in front of the door to my room.

“I will see you later, Miss Aldwyn,” Caiden said and bowed. “Have a pleasant afternoon.”

“You too, Prince Atlas,” I replied, curtsying.

We separated, and I waited until he had rounded the corner before I pushed my door open, smiling merrily.

My smile quickly disappeared when I saw Piper and Calla sitting on my bed with their mouths wide open.

“Was that Prince Atlas with you?”

~Cursed blood. What are they doing here?~