I sort of thought Sin would drop to his knees and beg forgiveness while my father called for someone to chop off histraitorous head for daring to touch the princess but nope. They looked like old drinking buddies.
Dey took his place across from me, and Sin claimed the seat beside him.
“Would someone care to loop me in on what the hell is going on?” I demanded.
My father patted my hand like I was a toddler who missed their noontime nappy. “All is well, Raynella. Cennux Dreisin was explaining how last night was all merely a misunderstanding.”
I glanced over to Sin, who just shrugged.
What kind of game was he playing?
“It was dark in the hallway,” my father explained, “and all he saw was a stranger fleeing the room of my comatose daughter. He reacted on instinct. While I do not appreciate him laying hands on you, I cannot fault him for his trained reaction to a potential threat.”
Sin took a sip of the kinna juice and held my gaze over the rim.
Okay, I’ll play your little game.
“Of course, that all makes so much sense.” I gave Sin a syrupy sweet fake grin. “I can’t blame him for making a mistake, now can I?”
“Excellent,” my father said, settling back in his chair. “Now we can move on to more important matters. Raynella has agreed to work with us in restoring the ley lines.”
Two sets of eyes flashed toward me. Dey looked pleased. Sin looked… pissed.
“I knew the princess would never abandon her people,” Dey said, pride gleaming in his eyes.
Sin mumbled something under his breath, and Dey elbowed him in the ribs.
“Of course she would not,” my father chimed in, unaware of whatever passed between the guys. “We must now move forwardwith our established plan to prepare Raynella for her journey through the dark forest.”
“Plan?” I nearly choked on my juice. “I just agreed, like, five minutes ago. How do you have a plan already?”
“Raynella, we have been preparing for this for many years now. We were simply waiting for you to arrive.”
Right. Because everyone was so convinced that I would jump at the chance to travel through a damn forest of monsters to restore some ancient magic while having no pertinent skills or knowledge to accomplish said task. Who wouldn’t sign on for that?
Resigned, I said “Ok, let's hear the plan.”
He smiled brightly. “As I mentioned before, the most important thing is that we awaken your magic. Deylan will work with you on this front. There are a few things that have been known to accelerate the process.”
I shot an inquisitive look over to Dey who winked in response.
“Generals Camden and Ramset will handle your education. It will be important that you learn as much as possible about Rivella and the creatures you may encounter in the dark forest, as well as what it means to be Vitaean. I believe you will find the generals to be excellent tutors.”
I took another drink to hide the laugh that threatened to escape. The two drunken jokers I met yesterday were going to be my teachers? At least it wouldn’t be boring.
“And Cennux Dreisin will handle you physically.”
“What?!” I shouted, spewing the liquid all over the table. My head shot toward Sin. He glared but said nothing as he picked up a napkin and overemphasized wiping my spit from his face.
I whirled on my father. “He’s going to do what to me?”
“He’s going to handle your physical training,” he replied, as if that explained everything. He snapped his fingers, and twoservants rushed over to the table. One cleaned the mess while the other poured me another glass of juice.
“My physical training? Do you mean working out and stuff because I’m not sure I’ve ever seen the inside of a gym. I thought this was just about magic.”
“Vitaeans cannot hold their magic once separated from the Source,” my father said in a placating tone. “Your abilities will return as you move closer to the Onyx Palace. On the outer edges of the dark forest, however, you will find yourself to be little more than human. My men will accompany you of course and protect you with their lives, but we cannot know what you will encounter. So you will be trained in combat as best we can in the short time we have. Cennux Dreisin is a very skilled warrior. You will learn much from working with him.”
I didn’t know what was more ludicrous. The fact that I signed up for a potentially dangerous stroll through the woods or the fact that my underfed, scrawny body was somehow supposed to become a honed weapon. “I’m sorry, but let's be realistic. This is moving past ridiculous into pure insanity. How much can I possibly learn in a few weeks?”
