I stepped toward Zara, gently grabbing her hand. “Thank you for speaking with me, Zara. Get home safe.”
The two women took their leave and headed down the street together. Watching them walk away, I couldn’t get over how weird a conversation that was. Did the people of this town really believe the goddesses had come and taken their women and girls? Or did Zara have some psychosis?
*
By the time the sun began to set in the late afternoon, the oil lanterns had been lit, providing a warm orange glow that illuminated the town. I had wandered onto what felt like the last street when I noticed a crudely drawn outline of a pregnant woman hanging above a doorway. Just below was scrawled the wordHealer. I had finally found the healer. Hopefully, now I could get some actual answers about the missing posters and the pregnant woman.
I was making my way up to the steps of the healer’s shop when a large hand grabbed me by the arm and yanked me back violently.
“Are you trying to get fucking killed, Aurelia?” Everett hissed at me.
I tried to free my arm from the guardian’s firm grip, but he was unyielding. “Let go of me. You’re hurting me!” Looking at Everett’s face, I could tell he was equal parts scared and pissed off.
People began to gather on the street, watching our heated interaction.
“Everett, stop!” I pleaded, his grip on my arm tightening.
Everett turned to the gathering crowd. “Everyone, get inside! Now!” he bellowed.
Like scared little creatures, they all scattered into their homes at the screaming guardian’s command.
Everett dragged me away from the healer’s shop and toward a carriage.
“Please don’t make me go back. Please, Everett,” I begged.
I tried digging my heels into the soft dirt road but was unable to get any traction. My foot caught in some mud, and I tripped, falling into the dirt. Undeterred, Everett hauled me up by my arm and continued to drag me to the carriage waiting nearby. By the time we made it to the carriage, I was fully sobbing from the pain and humiliation Everett was making me endure.
Everett threw open the carriage door and shoved me onto one of the plush emerald seats. He hit the carriage roof three times, and then we were in motion. I stared out of the window, refusing to look at Everett.
“Aurelia, I am really sorry for doing that. We have to keep up certain appearances in the human quarter.”
I turned to the guardian. “What appearances? That you’re fucking monsters?” I shrieked, tears and snot running down my face. I wiped my face with the arm of my cloak, trying to regain whatever shred of dignity I had left.
“You took off, Aurelia! I am charged with keeping an eye on you. King Julian explicitly said you had to stay on the palace grounds until your testing was done. You clearly mistake him for someone you can push boundaries with. Had he found out you’d left the grounds, it would have been Captain Evergreen hunting you down and not me. And I know that you’re aware of how that would have ended.”
I sniffled. “What about the guardians who let me out?”
Everett smiled. “Trust me, they like their hearts where they currently reside. They won’t be saying a thing.”
I sank back into the bench seat. “I just wanted a break from this place. I wanted to feel like I belonged and I was normal. Not a hilariously inept, stupid human.”
Everett sighed, his elbows planted on his legs as he leaned forward. “I’m sorry about what happened today with Prince Sterling. He did all of that on purpose, just to hurt and get a rise out of you. I wasn’t exaggerating when I said he was a prick.”
I looked down at the floor, unable to make eye contact with the guardian. “I regret saving him and letting him into my life. I regret bringing him back here, and I hate giving him the pleasure of getting underneath my skin.”
Everett reached over and patted my knee reassuringly just as we passed through the palace gates. I took a deep breath and let out a long sigh as I willingly went back into my gilded cage, like the good little pet that I was.
Chapter 25
The morning following my escape from the royal palace was uneventful, which I was thankful for. I had asked Everett to give me some space so I could have some time to myself and sort through my feelings. Really, what I wanted was some uninterrupted time so I could write down what I had seen in the human quarter, so I could try to make some sense of what the pregnant woman, Zara, had said to me. I was still frustrated that I hadn’t had the opportunity to speak with the human healer. I was certain that whatever questions I had could be answered by them.
My focus at present was getting through these tests so I could leave the Citrine Court. Then I could approach the healer on my own without having to escape again. I felt confident that I could get out again if I wanted to, but I wasn’t eager to have Everett hunting me down and embarrassing me publicly—or worse, incurring King Julian’s wrath administered by the hands of Thalos. This new-found purpose was what led me to spend the latter part of my day reading the children’s arcana book that the arcana master had thrown at me. I couldn’t control when I would be meeting them next, but I could control how prepared I was. Not that it would have any effect on how the arcana master viewed me. They would probably still see me as some insignificant human who could not possibly possess any arcanal abilities.
Everett knocked on my suite door shortly after mid-morning to let me know that the arcana master was summoning me again.After escorting me to the arcana chamber, Everett let me know that he would hang around in the gardens in case my session with the master was cut short again. It was comforting to know that someone found this whole ordeal amusing.
I knocked on the door and waited for permission to enter. Several moments later I heard the sound of the door unlocking, giving me the all-clear to enter. I walked in and found the arcana master sitting at their desk. In front of them were four large silver cubes that looked similar to the ones I had read about in the children’s summoning book. If I was correct, these containers carried the essences of the four elements: water, air, earth, and fire.
They were the basic arcanal elements that would help determine what area of arcana someone would be most proficient in. Earth arcana was associated with stability, resilience, defence, physical strength, and protection. Air arcana was associated with speed, agility, communication, and intellect. Fire arcana was associated with transformation, passion, destruction, and power. Lastly, water arcana was associated with adaptability, emotional intellect, intuition, and healing. Of all of them, my preference was water arcana, for obvious reasons. I would feel like a fraud for calling myself a healer if that was not the element my arcana drew power from.
