A momentary thrill of fear went through me. Elijah had I had broken the law. We’d drawn blood and fought in the Sacred Gathering. Would I be prevented from entering the King’s Contest for such an act?
Steward Solomon glanced around, looking nervous. His eyes locked with Lord Zlodia’s, who was giving him a penetrating stare.
The steward cleared his throat. “Ethan, Elijah, if you two wish to have a Companion’s duel, now is not the time to do so. Another infraction will cause severe penalties for the both of you.”
Relief ran through me. It was a miracle that the Circle had let that pass. Lord Zlodia had to be pulling strings. He really wanted his son on that throne.
“This type of thing cannot be allowed. It’s been chaos ever since Lycus died. The Circle is in shambles,” Lord Tremaine announced.
“Our world will be back to normal once we have a proper king,” Lord Morgane insisted, and he raised a fist. “We must remain unified. The Contest will weed out the weak and determine who is our rightful king.”
“By the Seven Gods, it’ll be me,” I announced boldly. Lucien’s grip tightened on my shoulders, telling me to calm down.
Steward Soloman raised an eyebrow. “If you wish to take the crown, you need a mate. Companions aren’t allowed to take part in the King’s Contest unless they’ve bonded with a sorceress. You know this.”
He had me beat there. At my age, I was one of the few shifters at Arcanea University who hadn’t bonded yet. I knew I needed a mate… a sorceress… one calledMarked… to be my queen. I wouldn’t be able to compete in the Contest otherwise. It had been my father’s last worry that I’d never bond.
I didn’t want to before. But I’d changed my mind. Not for myself, but for my sense of duty and honor to the country. I’d promised my Da before he died I’d find a Marked to share the throne with, and I wouldn’t break that vow to him.
Elijah had a cocky grin on his face, and the steward noticed. “That goes for you too, young master. You are also unbonded. I suggest the pair of you spend your time searching for mates instead of bickering with each other on who’s going to earn the throne, for if you are both single by the time the Contest arrives, neither of you will be allowed to compete.”
The grin fell from his face. I couldn’t keep glee from running through my veins. I had Elijah beat in that department. What woman would want to be with a sniveling, sneaky coward like him?
“I’ll find a mate before the King’s Contest begins,” I announced. “At the Choosing ceremony before the trials, I’ll be bonded. You have my word.”
“I suggest you hurry, young prince. You have four months before the King’s Contest begins,” Lady Iris spoke. “Then we shall see how serious you are.”
It was clear that my declaration was over and that the council intended to return to other matters. I turned to leave. Lucien stayed behind, to conduct business with the rest of the Circle. Elijah followed me on the way out.
“You know, you’re a grown man now. You can stop being my shadow,” I told him under my breath. “It’s rather pathetic you keep trying to copy everything I do.”
“That crown is mine,” Elijah snarled. “I’ll spill blood before you get your hands on it.”
He slammed into my shoulder as he left the Circle. I avoided rolling my eyes. He could be so dramatic.
I passed the section of guards, then shifted. I ran on the way back to the castle, looking skyward at the stars and wondering what it would be like to fly… wondering what it’d feel like to finally gain my wings… if I ever did.
Four months to find a mate, the supposed love of my life. That wasn’t enough time. I didn’t even know where to start.
But I’d make it work. I had to. My kingdom, my country, depended on it.
Chapter Four
Emma
Nearly a month passed, and though I stayed on high-alert, nothing happened after the mysterious wolf attack. I went to work, went to the rink, and went home without being attacked or followed. Nothing suspicious or weird happened. It was quite boring. I was starting to think I’d somehow made the whole thing up in my head.
Except for the mark on my hand. It wouldn’t go away. I’d tried everything I could think of to get rid of it, but it never faded. If anything, it became more prominent, growing darker and darker with every day that passed. It looked like I’d gone to a tattoo shop and gotten an inky wolf print permanently embedded on my hand. I kind of hated it. It was messed up that a random-ass mark had appeared on my hand out of nowhere like magic. If the judges saw it during competitions, they’d mark me down for it, so I covered up the mark with makeup as much as I could and attempted to ignore it.
I also tried to do the light-thingy with my hand again. No go. It wouldn’t work. I felt really stupid walking around the woods with my hand raised, trying to summon some sort of blue light I wasn’t sure I had fabricated or not.
I tried not to think about it, but when I was working at the diner, the strange mark was all that was on my mind. It was either busy or boring at the diner, and that gave me far too much time to wonder about what the mark meant and why it had appeared. I was trying to figure out how many shifts I’d have to work to get this thing removed when I accidentally spilled a man’s drink all over him— for the second time.
“Dammit girl, can’t you watch what you’re doing?” he yelped as he jumped back. Brown pop dripped all over his white button-up and his pinstripe pants.
“Sorry, sorry.” I blotted his shirt with a napkin, but he shoved my hand away and sneered. I already knew I wasn’t getting a tip.
“If you’d focus more on your work instead of getting tattoos, maybe you’d be a better waitress,” he remarked, with a snobby glance down at the paw print. I cringed.
