Chapter: 37: A Wistful Surprise

A few days had passed since the last time I’d set foot in the battle arena.

I’d spent a lot of my time in Art’s studio trying to master his obstacle course.

It was more difficult than I had anticipated, and I had hardly been able to focus on anything but trying to keep my eyes open.

“Do you think the prince is avoiding us on purpose?”

“What?” I said, my lazy eyes gazing emptily at her.

Calla poked me hard between my ribs. “Are you even here?” she asked. “We haven’t seen Prince Atlas all week. Why do you think that is?”

“Ouch,” I said, rubbing my sore skin. “Sorry, I’ve been a little preoccupied, but no, I haven’t seen him either.”

My mind suddenly stirred. Caiden had been to get me every evening the week before, yet, he hadn’t turned up since my last success.

Maybe I’d reasoned that he’d been satisfied with my progress. Perhaps I had mistakenly believed that he would now allow me to sleep at night, but something wasn’t right.

I may have achieved a greater sense of control, but I hadn’t mastered it—not yet. Caiden would never have let me sleep knowing that.

“Maybe he’s been busy,” I said as we exited the classroom. “I haven’t seen the king around either, so it would make sense if he’s preoccupied with some royal task.”

Piper shrugged. “You’re probably right,” she said. “It wouldn’t make sense if he was avoiding all of us.”

“Girls!” Evie shouted as she pushed to catch up with our group in her ridiculous heels. “The prince has requested your presence in the parlor. Come along. Quick!”

She walked past us and signaled us to follow her, books and supplies still in our arms.

“Speaking of the sun,” Calla whispered as we started following Evie and the other suitors, who appeared just as clueless as us.

“What do you think he wants?” Piper whispered, squeezing the books tighter against her body. “You don’t think he’s planning to eliminate someone?”

“In front of everyone?” I said, cocking my brow. “No.”

~He wouldn’t do that. Would he?~

Caiden wasn’t waiting for us in the parlor when we arrived. Many of the suitors decided to settle in the couches while we moved to the windows, allowing the fall sun to caress our exposed skin.

The leaves of the trees outside had changed color, painting the garden in shades of red, yellow, and orange. It wouldn’t be long before the time of the winter festivities arrived.

The doors suddenly opened, and Caiden stepped inside with two guards on each side.

“Good afternoon, suitors,” Caiden said, smiling politely at the group of girls blissfully watching him.

For once, I was one of them. I was curious to know what had kept Caiden.

“I hope you can all accept my sincerest apologies regarding my recent absence. I have spent the past week preoccupied with certain royal obligations, which has prevented me from delegating time to visit you.”

Royal obligations. I wondered which royal obligations had been so important that he couldn’t make time to see his future wife.

“You were right, Will,” Calla whispered, nudging my shoulder lightly. “He was busy.”

I returned her smile, but for some reason, I couldn’t make my eyes smile too.

There was something strange going on with my heart. It... stung, and its beat became more profound each time a new thump drummed in my chest.

“Sadly, I still won’t be able to join you again for the coming few days either.

“However, I have been informed that someone here has achieved something that every Iridis aspires to, and I believe it is only appropriate to commemorate this suitor properly.”

The whispering voices grew louder, everyone trying to guess which suitor had managed to achieve something great without any of us noticing.

“Miss Whitlock, congratulations on graduating from the Valley Academy,” Caiden said, stepping aside for carts of food and festive decorations to flood the room.

Servants made the parlor look like a party worthy of an Earth Iridis within minutes while everyone congratulated Payton.

Apparently, I was the only one in this room left speechless by this announcement.

I’d always thought that their examination for the Crown Trials was the final examination. Of course, I had no idea how the academies worked, so perhaps there could be more to it.

“A few presents will be waiting for you in your room; however, I have brought one with me already now.”

Caiden pulled out a brown envelope from the inner pocket of his blazer and stepped closer to Payton. She reluctantly accepted the decorated envelope and carefully pulled out the delicate note inside.

Her eyes widened as she read the curled letters. “I get to go home,” she whispered breathlessly.

My heart stopped.

Caiden nodded, folding his hands behind his back. “Only for twenty-four hours, but I hope it will give you enough time to—”

“Thank you, Prince Atlas!” she exclaimed before he could finish and jumped into his arms.

I think I could hear Alia growl from her seat as her brows furrowed. She was probably secretly plotting to set Payton on fire for touching Caiden so carelessly.

However, like a proper gentleman, Caiden allowed Payton to vent her overwhelming feelings until she was ready to let go.

“Enjoy the party, Miss Whitlock. I will have someone escort you home when the evening arrives,” Caiden said as Payton finally let him go.

Payton thanked him once more before she sat down again and was overwhelmed by suitors who wanted a glimpse of Payton’s handwritten letter.

“I am, unfortunately, unable to stay and participate in this joyous event. My father and I still have many things to prepare, but I expect to return by the end of next week.

“Enjoy the festivities,” Caiden said and exited the room with his guards.

“Aren’t you coming?” Piper asked when I didn’t move as she and Calla began approaching the woman of honor.

I didn’t answer her.

I was curious about Payton’s letter like everyone else, but my body refused to move.

Everyone was swarming Payton, acting as if they were her best friends, just so they could get a glimpse of their prince’s handwriting.

Even Alia and her minions, who usually desired to crush anyone who dared come between them and the crown, were braiding Payton’s hair, laughing with her, and touching her shoulders supportively.

Looking at them made the air around me thicken to the point where I feared it might suffocate me.

My heart throbbed in my chest, sending bursts of tiny electrical charges through the complex highways of my central nervous system.

Then it spread like erratic wildfire to my fingers and lips, leaving only the pain to keep me from crumbling.

Payton had been granted permission to go home for twenty-four hours. She could see her family—something I would gladly sacrifice my right hand for.

I didn’t even need twenty-four hours. I only needed a few moments to know that they were okay.

I hadn’t seen or heard from them in over a month. I didn’t know if my mom was still working at the mansion. I didn’t know if Dad was still being treated the same.

I didn’t even know if they had enough money to survive the winter or if Lady Deveroux claimed it all.

I’d learned a lot since I first started working with Art, but I was far from ready to go home.

It could take months, possibly more, before I would be allowed to leave this place. And Payton was just allowed to…leave….

The stinging in my chest suddenly turned into a wave of anguish.

I was sitting in this warm castle, consuming all the food I could possibly eat, resting in a clean bed, wearing fancy clothes that my family would never be able to afford, and where were they?

Stuck at home in a crumbling house, surviving on leftovers and decaying blankets.

Tears pressed behind my eyelids, my lips trembling almost as badly as my hands.

I couldn’t just sit here and celebrate, eating this luxurious meal while my family could be suffering in the cold.

No matter how much the royals were paying my family, I doubted it could be more than what I could make as a hardworking Iridis.

I needed to finish my training as fast as possible, so I could get home and help my family.

“Where are you going?” Piper asked as I rushed past them, not even offering Payton as much as a congratulating nod.

“To Arthur’s studio,” I said right before I walked out.

I didn’t even bother looking back to see how she reacted. They would forget about me as soon as I left this lie behind anyway.

The faster I could master my body, the faster I could master my element, and the faster I could go home.

The cameras may have caught me leaving, but I didn’t care about Heliac’s opinion. I had a different mission than the one they knew about.

Evie would kill me if she saw me running through these halls. Instead, I walked as fast as my heels allowed until I finally stood in front of Art’s door.

“Art!” I shouted, banging my hand against the wooden facade.

No one answered, so I knocked again, naively hoping that it would miraculously change the outcome.

“Art!” I shouted again, trying to twist the golden handle, but the door was locked.

“Art, please! I need to use the obstacle course. I need to learn; I need to—”

I couldn’t hold back the tears.

Sobbing was pathetic. I wasn’t being brave like I’d promised my mom. I wasn’t strong as a warrior of air should be; I wasn’t even resilient to Alia’s bullying.

I just couldn’t help it.

Tears flooded my flushed cheeks as I turned my back to Art’s door, sliding down until I sat on the chilly marble tiles, surrendering to my torturous emotions.

The tears soaked my dress, but I didn’t care. This was the first time I’d felt genuinely homesick since I arrived, and I finally allowed myself to grieve.

I missed my family. I missed Koa. I even missed the angry old lady who lived right around the corner from our house. No matter how hard I tried to make the lie true, I would never fit in here.

“Homesick?”

I looked up from the drenched crook of my elbow and saw the blurry outline of Piper’s face through my tears.

She’d asked me a question that should’ve been easy to answer, but my words were drowned by my sobs every time my lips parted.

Piper sighed as she sat beside me without thinking about her beautiful dress.

“I don’t think it’s fair that Payton is allowed to go home either,” she said, resting her blonde head on my narrow shoulder. “But, I don’t think I would allow myself to come back here if I went home.”

I sniffled as I thought about her point and the emotions that would have swept over me if they first allowed me to visit my family.

They’d likely need to sedate me if they intended to bring me back here without a fight.

“What do you think has kept Prince Atlas and King Alaric so busy the past week?” Piper asked after a few minutes of complete silence.

I wiped a fresh tear away, giving myself time to find my voice.

“I don’t know. Royal planning is not necessarily something I’ve been studying.”

Piper chuckled. “Me neither, but it probably has something to do with the trials, don’t you think?”

I rested my cheek against her soft hair.

“I think it does,” she said when I didn’t answer. “Perhaps they’re planning to finally initiate the first trial.”