“Have you seen Cailis?” I asked instead as we rounded the corner toward the prince’s private wing.
“She’s waiting in the Exorbiant Chamber for you.”
When we arrived back at my chambers, Cailis was pacing by the courtyard doors. The second I closed the door behind me, she ran to me with wide eyes and grabbed both of my hands. “How did you do?”
I shook my head.
“You lost?”
I nodded. “Second place. Meegana and Beatrice have been removed from the Trial. The final test will be between Georgyanna and me.” I briefly explained what had happened and how Georgyanna had tricked me.
“What a cunning witch.” Cailis seethed, and the look was so protective and reminiscent of our childhood that I couldn’t help but laugh.
“This is one fight you can’t shield me from, Cailis.”
“But you’re stronger than her. You can beat her.”
I forced a smile, then rubbed my temples as I tried to stave off the headache that was brewing because it wasn’t just the final test I had looming over me. “Have you heard about the Isalee field?”
She cocked her head. “No, is something wrong?”
I told her about the black crops. “That’s what the prince came to tell me about, before my test.” Sighing, I sat on my bed and hung my head. I’d been so consumed with the second test that I hadn’t properly considered what the dead crops in Isalee meant. “Do you think everything I’ve been doing is for naught? If all of the crops are eventually going to lose their orem once more, what’s the point of me trying?”
She sat at my side. “You’re certain the field is truly dead again?”
“It is. When I touched the soil, it felt just as devoid of life as it had the first time I visited it.” I stood and went to the courtyard door.
Outside, my private garden shone brightly. Vivid colors burst from every plant and flower. Scented blossoms perfumed the air. Warmth kissed my skin when I opened the door, and the breeze flowed in.
“I just don’t understand it, Cailis. How can this courtyard still be alive but that field dead? I did the exact same thing there as I did here. My affinity, if anything, is stronger now, so I don’t understand why the crops died.”
My sister came up behind me and wrapped me in a hug. She shrugged. “I wish I knew the answer.”
I encircled her forearms with my hands, gripping her tightly as fear dashed through me. “If it’s true that my affinity can’t save the fields, and if the celestial bodies don’t replenish our continent’s orem at the next major event, then our entire race—”
I couldn’t say it.
Cailis squeezed me harder. “We’ll all starve,” she finished. “Unless everyone leaves this continent, and we abandon our frozen home.”
“Just like some of the council members want us to do.” I pulled from her embrace and frowned as I turned to face her. “Just like some of the council members want us to do,” I repeated as my frown deepened.
A flash of what I’d felt in the field this morning hit me like a thunderclap. That feeling that something had been . . .
I spun toward the door, my mind racing. “Cailis, I need to go. I need to find the crown prince and visit that field again.”
Sandus led me to the training room, telling me along the way, “The prince needed to blow off some steam after telling the queen what happened at the second Trial.”
I frowned. “What do you mean? What’s he doing?”
“You’ll see.”
Scents from food baking in the nearby kitchens wafted in the air when we stopped just outside of one of the large training rooms. My eyes popped open when I spotted the prince, Haxil, Nish, and Ryder sparring.
The urgency I’d felt at returning to Isalee came to a sudden halt. All four males were shirtless, their wings tucked tightly to their backs as they rolled, struck one another, and fought. Their sparring made a tingle grow deep in my belly, and it wasn’t just from the glistening sweat beaded on the prince’s chest or the way his muscles bunched and moved every time he dodged a blow. It was more because something about their dance called to me.
I brought a hand to my stomach, to where my magic resided. It pulsed stronger and more fervently than it normally did, and a memory of what Queen Lissandra had revealed surfaced, about how her affinities had manifested slowly over time. I couldn’t help but wonder if a warrior affinity truly was still sleeping within me. Matron Olsander had sensed more in me, but nothing had yet shown itself.
Grinning, Sandus called out, “Don’t look now, Nori, but a beautiful young female is watching you.”
Norivun’s head whipped in my direction, allowing Haxil to land an easy uppercut to his jaw.
The prince’s head snapped back, and my eyes widened when his lip split, but the prince only grinned and let loose a huge gust of his air element.
Haxil flew from his feet, his wings spreading wide as he tried to stop the wind magic from pinning him to the wall.
Nish laughed and tackled Norivun from behind, but the prince spun and landed a kick to his guard’s stomach. Ryder howled in amusement when he joined Nish, and the two of them wrestled the prince to the mat.
All of them were panting, and victorious howls came from Nish and Ryder as Haxil finally broke through the prince’s air affinity. He joined the guards and piled on top of the prince.
Norivun sputtered a breath when Haxil knocked the wind from him with an easy punch.
“Cheating bastards!” the crown prince choked out as he wheezed and laughed.
The guards chortled.
A devilish grin split Norivun’s face. “Don’t say you didn’t deserve this.”
In a flash of magic so strong that I felt it in my bones, the prince’s form abruptly vanished. A second later, a roaring dragon stood in his place. My eyes turned into saucers, and I blinked, then blinked again.
The dragon was still there.
“That is the most realistic looking illusion I’ve ever seen,” I breathed.
Sandus crossed his arms, smirking. “It’s not an illusion.”
“What?” I backed up, but Sandus stopped me.
“Just watch. He’ll want you to see.”
“He? That’s Norivun?”
Sandus grinned.
Black scales covered the dragon’s . . . no, Norivun’s entire body as puffs of smoke blew from his nostrils. Huge, leathery wings tipped in talons lay against his body as a long tail swung along the floor, knocking all of the guards from their feet.
“Oh, fuck,” Sandus said from beside me as he huffed a laugh. “He hasn’t pulled that stunt in a while.”
The guard leaned against the door, an amused smile on his face as we watched the chaos that was being unleashed.
My eyes widened more as I took in the sheer size of Norivun, who apparently had a dragon shapeshifting affinity—an extremely rare affinity that the prince never told me about because he liked seeing me curious. Since dragons were only normally found in the underworld, guarding the gates to Lucifer’s kingdom, it was unheard of for a Solis fairy to acquire their form when a shapeshifting affinity manifested. I’d read in a history book that it’d only happened once and that had been centuries ago.
“He’s truly unique, isn’t he?” I said in amazement.