A headache bloomed behind her eyes, and the cut on her hand began to throb. Both her palms had slashes now, one from her aunt and the other from this day that might have been the beginning of her life sentence. She could feel her Court’s attention on her, as one by one, the torches revived and the atmosphere seemed to settle once again.
Sol exhaled a shaky breath.
“Well.” King Semmena stood, eyes meeting Sol’s. “Welcome home, Crown Princess Yarrow.
Fourteen
PRINCE OF NOTHING
SOL WASTObegin her training immediately. After she mentioned her lack of magic and Samara remarked she was useless without it, the King ordered her court to at least grace her with basic history, since she couldn’t start her Wielder training.
Without palpable magic, she couldn’t claim her birthright. Not that she was in too much of a hurry. The Semmena Court also didn’t seem to care. The only thing that mattered to them was for her to seal the Jinn gate. That, and her attendance at a royal dinner in five days to formally announce her arrival in the South.
As Sol and her court stood in the great hall after an uninteresting dismissal, she couldn’t quite focus on what anyone was saying. Instead, she focused on a spec on the wall, tracing the edges of the dirt spot with a lazy gaze.
The people are in your hands now, and for that, I am so sorry, Soleil.
“Sol?” A hand on her shoulder made her return to her body.
“Hmm?” Sol looked at Nina who peered at her with a furrowed brow.
“Are you alright?” she asked. “You’ve been staring at the wall in silence for a while now.”
“Sorry,” Sol said, blinking away the haze.
Sawyer began to lead Sol down the hall as the rest of them fell in line, but a voice halted them. “Princess!”
Sol turned back toward the doors with a stifled eye roll at the title. She was going to have to get used to that.
Gaven, lead of the Semmena Kingsguard, emerged into the hall followed by Samara.
“What is it?” Sawyer asked, returning Samara’s nasty stare. Alix mumbled something that might’ve been a prayer to the gods.
“His Majesty has requested for me to take over the Princess’ personal protection,” Gaven said, removing his iron helmet. He had deep, golden skin, the kind of tone painted by evenings in the sun.
“That’s Cas's role. You’re not needed.” Nina crossed her arms, stepping between Sol and Gaven.
The man shrugged. “He has requested Prince Xanthos and yourself, Miss Amana, in the throne room. He is on his way there.” Nina stiffened.
Sol tugged at the sleeve of her blouse as Cas stepped forward, a trail of Shadows in his wake. She had to arch her head to look up at him, but as his jaw tensed and his eyes were shone, she averted her gaze and wished to never be on the receiving end of that expression.
“Why?” was all he said.
Gaven had the good sense to back up a step.
“I—I was not given the details.” He shifted his helmet to his other hand. “I’m just following orders, Prince.”
“Please don’t scare her,” Sawyer huffed. “She’s finally become tolerable.”
Samara scoffed and walked forward, placing a hand on Cas’s forearm. “I sure hope you haven’t already gotten into trouble, brother. You’ve just barely returned.”
Behind them, Alix cleared his throat. “I must return to the libraries.” He gave them a small bow. “I’m sure I have a lot of unopened correspondence. I will check on you during dinner, Sol.”
Nina looked at Sol, then gave her a small hug. “We will be back as soon as we can, Sol.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Cas said, continuing to stare at Gaven.
The idea of all of them leaving her alone, with no familiar faces, made her want to break into a sprint for the stables. Or at least tag along with one of them, but she wasn't about to ask.
