I wasn’t about to quit and forced myself to haul my body higher. At this point, my arms were shaking. My energy had nearly given out. I was nearly going to let myself fall until the memory of Lucien’s determined words kept me going. I forced myself to climb until I had reached my bedroom window, and pulled myself in. A Marked’s searchlight passed by the window just as I slid safely inside.
I laid on the rug in my room, spread out on the floor and panting for breath. Not having wings was really getting in the way of my life. I hoped I’d be blessed with them soon.
I remained on the floor, too nervous to even breathe. Eventually, an hour passed and the search was called off. I let out a sigh of relief. My identity was safe. The true name of the vigilante the city called the Phantom would remain a mystery.
My back cracked as I got off the hard floor, and I groaned. I removed the mask and cloak, shoved them into a drawer, and fell on my bed face-first. Dawn was in a few hours. I only had a little time to get some sleep before I’d have to report to Arcanea University in the morning.
But a bit of lost sleep was well worth the city’s safety. If I couldn’t be king right at this moment, I’d do what I could to protect the Arcanea in the meantime. This was the only way I could restore my honor, and fix what I’d done by killing the king. While the city slept and the throne was still uncertain, the Phantom would guard the streets, and keep the people free from danger until the King’s Contest was done.
I just hoped I could keep my identity safe until then.
Chapter Six
Emma
If I expected Lady Magdalina to escort me to Arcanea University, I was sorely mistaken. She rode with me and my mom in the car to Detroit Metropolitan Airport before handing me my flight ticket and wishing me farewell, saying she had more business to do in America before the semester at the university began.
I’d never ridden in a plane by myself before, but I had no choice, and Lady Magdalina made it obvious she expected me to handle it. I said a tearful goodbye to my mom at airport security, then proceeded forward, dragging my suitcase behind me and feeling like all the world was ahead of me.
My heartbeat was pounding in my chest. I felt like I was walking on air. Even though I was leaving everything I knew behind, it was to experience a brand-new world. Who knew what waited for me on the other side?
When the airplane came in, I found myself staring slack-jawed at the biggest and fanciest jetliner I’d ever seen. The side of it readMalovian Airlines.When I stepped inside the plane, I was greeted with velvet red carpet and private drink coolers for every reclining seat. The plane even had a bar. It was very different from the rickety planes me and Mom usually took on vacation.
I was shocked when the airline hostess led me to a very cushy seat right up front in First Class, one that extended to become a bed. I was given a sparkling water and a fancy dinner of slow-braised steak and asparagus. Hot towels were distributed at my request. The seat came with a TV that had unlimited movies. Apparently, Lady Magdalina only flew in style. Hell, if all Arcanea lived like this, I could get used to it. Lady Magdalina had hinted they only liked the best of the best.
The red-eye from Detroit to Malovia was pretty quiet, and due to the swanky seats in First Class, I slept through most of the twelve-hour flight. I woke up well-rested when the plane landed at eight in the morning. Longing for a bath, I grabbed my suitcase and made my way off the plane, thankful I’d managed to avoid baggage claim.
The airport was directly connected to the train station that would take me the rest of the way to the school. I momentarily panicked for a moment when I closed my passport and made my way out of international arrivals— I was in a foreign country, by myself, with no knowledge of the language or people. Arrivals and departures were announced heavily over the loudspeakers in words I didn’t understand. I was way out of my element.
Dozens of well-dressed people passed me by, but no one stopped to offer me directions. They mostly moved around me like I wasn’t even there. I wanted to ask for help, but I didn’t know if anyone in Malovia knew English.
I felt like my red hair put me out of place. Most people around here had either brunette or black hair, and dark eyes, not green ones. I took a look at all the women dressed in long wool coats, mink hats, and high-heeled fall boots. I wished I had worn something a little more formal than designer sweats, fur boots, leg warmers, and a grey parka.
I was totally out of place here. Magdalina had told me that Malovia would be my home. How could it be? This was a nice place to vacation, but not to stay. I didn’t belong here.
I told myself to snap out of it. Magdalina said I was an Arcanea. I was one of them. I belonged here just as much as any of them did. Time to buck up.
Thankfully, most of the boards that showed directions to the different trains were written in Malovian and English. I read my directions to my train, Railway 5, and felt relieved when I approached the boarding site and saw a sign stating that the train was headed to Arcanea University.
I waited on the platform anxiously. I expected some official to come out of nowhere and say that I wasn’t supposed to be here— that I was an American and I needed to go back home— but no one did.
After ten minutes or so, I heard a loud train whistle. I turned, and my mouth dropped open as I watched a massive modern train proceed toward me. The train was made of glass, and edged with gold trim. It blew back my hair as it came rushing into the station and made an abrupt stop. On the side of the train were the words,The Malovian Railway.
I took a look at the map. The Malovian Railway had multiple tracks running all around Europe, but only one took you to Arcanea University. I gave them my pass and was directed to the back of the train, where the students usually sat.
Damn. This train was swanky. The walls were made of dark hardwood, the floors a carpet that was an intricate pattern of red and gold. Paintings hung on the hallway walls in silver frames, and miniature chandeliers lit the way down the long hallway to my cabin. Beautiful women with curled hair and painted faces carried trays of champagne and caviar up and down the aisles.
I was handed another glass of champagne by a smiling assistant. I didn’t know what else to do, so I sipped at it politely. Growing up in figure skating, I’d grown used to being around people who had a lot of money, but this was a bit over the top, even for me.
I sighed with relief when I collapsed into my cabin and shut the glass door behind me. I sat on the velvet seats and opened the Malovian travel guide that Magdalina had given me. I shuffled through the pages. My destination was a little over an hour away. The train would eventually stop in a city called Dolinska, Malovia’s capital. From there, it was only a short walk to the university.
Thank God. I really didn’t want to drag my bag all the way there.
I looked out the window, watching Malovia’s green hills and white mountains roll by. The landscape here was certainly breathtaking— the trees a mixture of dark green coniferous pines and deciduous trees that were already showing off a vibrant display of orange, yellow, and red leaves. Everywhere I looked there were beautiful, cascading waterfalls and crystal streams that glistened like sapphires as the water rolled down over the sharp rocks that coated the valleys. The skies were mostly gray overhead, coated in clouds, though shimmering yellow sunlight broke through patches every now and then and lit up the landscape in a beautiful halo, like a blessing straight from the heavens. It was the kind of place that seemed like it was always dawn, or always sunset. Eventually, the valleys changed into tall mountains with icy caps that spread in both directions as far as the eye could see.
Malovia looked like a fairy-tale land. Even though I lived here now, it still seemed like my arrival here was a dream.
I was surprised it wasn’t snowing. It was only early September, but there was already a chill that permeated the air. Bits of frost were starting to fog around my train window, creating intricate patterns that I brushed my finger over. I was glad I’d packed an extra jacket. Malovia was the kind of place where it stayed cold all year round.
