CHAPTER EIGHT
Jaren was waiting for Kiva and Caldon at the end of the corridor, the others now slightly ahead. He remained quiet as they headed down to the ground floor, continuing until they were underground.
With the palace split in half by the Serin, Kiva had questioned its defensibility upon her arrival, but Jaren had claimed it would be nearly impossible for an enemy to take. If one side was invaded, the royal family need only flee to the other using their private bridge. Were that to become compromised, there was an entire network of underground passageways spanning beneath the river to connect the eastern and western residences — which was also how the servants and guards traveled between the two sides at all hours of the day.
Kiva had felt mildly ill at learning how well the palace was fortified, having been forced to acknowledge yet another challenge in the way of her family taking the throne. Until today, she hadn’t set foot in the tunnels, merely assuming they would be similar to what lay beneath Zalindov: a dark, claustrophobic spiderweb of passages, many of which were at least partially submerged. But she soon discovered that wasn’t the case, instead finding a marble-pillared thoroughfare with a paved stone pathway wide enough to fit three carriages side by side. The tunnel was dry, it was clean, and the countless luminium beacons affixed to the pillars flooded the space with a bright, welcoming light.
“Impressive, huh?” Caldon said, reading Kiva’s expression.
She nodded mutely in return, following their small group along the path, mentally mapping every doorway and bylane they passed and intending to return later for further exploration.
When they reached a point near to where Kiva guessed the bank of the river sat above them, they turned off down a narrower passageway, this one much more reminiscent of those at Zalindov. Goose bumps rose on Kiva’s flesh as the memories assailed her mind, but she pushed them back and breathed deeply, not allowing fear to take root.
The passage ended at a wooden door with an iron keyhole, but rather than producing a key, Mirryn flicked her fingers in an upward direction. A whoosh of wind preceded the rattling sound of a lock turning, before the door sprang open on creaky hinges.
“A-Awesome,” Tipp whispered, grinning widely.
Beyond the door lay a staircase cut out of the ground itself, this one again traveling downward, but at a much steeper incline. There were no luminium beacons ahead, the path swallowed into blackness, but no one seemed the slightest bit perturbed, with Mirryn, Jaren, and Caldon all reaching for wooden torches that rested in a basket next to the door. At a wave of Jaren’s hand, the torches ignited into three bright flames, flooding the staircase with light.
Kiva repressed her apprehension and followed the group downward. Her thighs were screaming by the time they reached the bottom and entered a damp, earthy-smelling chamber, the burn from her morning exercise making itself known all over again. It only vanished when, with another wave of Jaren’s hand, fire shot around the chamber and ignited multiple sconces affixed to the stone walls, revealing a space that took Kiva’s breath away.
Before her lay a massive underground river cavern. Rich limestone walls rose high above her head, with long stalactites drooping lazily downward and chubby stalagmites climbing upward from the rocky ground. In the middle of the hollow expanse rested a pool of turquoise water that snaked around a bend and out of sight, the surface still but for a gentle lapping at the craggy edges.
“Whoa!” Tipp breathed as he looked around the cave.
“Welcome to our training space,” Caldon said, with a flourishing wave of his arm.
“Training for what?” Kiva asked, though she was beginning to guess.
“For our magic,” Princess Mirryn answered, confirming Kiva’s suspicions.
Jaren placed his flaming torch into an empty sconce and approached Kiva. Making a visible effort to shake off his feelings about the upcoming council meeting, he explained, “Most people assume that since we were born with magic, we automatically know how to use it. And that’s partly true. I told you last night that it’s like another limb, wholly ingrained into who we are. But in that same way, it’s also like a muscle. And like any muscle, we need to strengthen it.” He indicated the cavern and went on, “To do that, we
need a safe space, hidden from the public.” He shuffled his feet. “Or I do, anyway.”
Kiva’s eyes widened with understanding. Only a handful of people knew that Jaren could control all four elements, so of course he would have to practice in secret. A quiet voice in the back of her mind reminded her that she, too, had magic that worked like a muscle, something she needed to use, stretch, grow, but she ignored the voice, refocusing on Jaren when he turned to Tipp and leaned down until they were eye to eye.
“You’re about to see some things, and I need to know you won’t tell anyone,” he said seriously. “I said earlier that I trust you. Was I right?”
More solemn than Kiva had ever seen him, Tipp nodded and said, “I swear it, J-Jaren. You can c-c-count on me.”
“Good man,” Jaren said, squeezing Tipp’s shoulder. He then stepped closer to Kiva and removed the snowblossom from behind his ear, gently transferring it to hers and saying, “Mind this for me, will you? It’s precious.”
The way he looked at her made her think he wasn’t talking about the flower. His thumb brushed her cheek in the softest of touches — just enough to make her legs wobble — and then he turned and strode deeper into the cavern toward the water’s edge.
Without a word, Mirryn, Ariana, and Caldon set off after him, Oriel doing the same but only once he’d shifted the still dozing Flox into Kiva’s arms.
Looking down at the softly snoring creature, Kiva shook her head with confusion and moved to follow the royals, but Naari held her back.
“Best we keep our distance,” the guard said, motioning to a large flat stone that jutted out in a slight overhang and looked straight down the mild slope to the river.
Taking a seat between Naari and Tipp, Kiva remained silent as she waited to see what was about to unfold. Even Tipp was unusually quiet, though Kiva could feel him buzzing with excitement beside her.
Combing her fingers through Flox’s soft coat — and earning a sleepy sound of contentment in response — Kiva found that her pulse was picking up speed, anticipation flooding her veins. She had no idea what she was about to witness, but she had a feeling it was something very few people would ever get to experience.
Down at the riverbank, Jaren’s back was to the water, his mother, sister, brother, and cousin all facing him, but keeping a large distance from each
other. It was only seeing them standing in such a way that prompted Kiva to realize what they represented. Ariana had control over water magic, Mirryn’s strongest power was wind, Oriel was an earth elemental, and Caldon, being born to the Vallentis line through his mother’s side, had an affinity toward fire magic.
And then there was Jaren, who held sway over all four of the elements.
“What a-are they —” Tipp’s whispered question was cut short when, from one second to the next, the cavern exploded with light.
But not just any light.
Caldon’s arms were outstretched like a conductor directing an orchestra as he pointed to the wall sconces spaced around the cave, the flames growing higher until they shot away from the limestone, numerous fireballs soaring through the air — and straight toward Jaren.
The crown prince raised his own hands, the water at his back surging out of the river and enveloping him, snuffing out the inferno as the flames struck.
But then the queen stepped forward and wiggled her fingers, causing even more river water to rise and surround Jaren, pushing what was already there inward until he could barely be seen behind the mountain of liquid.
Kiva clutched Flox tight enough for the creature to give a disgruntled squeak, but she couldn’t soothe him, too afraid that she was watching Jaren drown inside the body of water.
It soon became clear, however, that Jaren knew what he was doing. With an outward thrust of his hands, the water erupted, bursting into millions of droplets that splattered his family, all the while revealing that he’d remained untouched by the attack, not a hint of dampness on his body.
And that was when the real battle began.
Mirryn flung out a hand, and Jaren made an oomph sound as he was flung violently backwards into the air, but he used his own wind magic to come to a stop over the middle of the river. An ear-splitting sound echoed around the cave before he could return to the bank: a stalactite ripping from high above them at Oriel’s command and plummeting like a deadly spear. It didn’t faze the still-hovering Jaren, who clapped his hands together, causing it to shatter into limestone dust that fell harmlessly into the water below. But he then saw it for the distraction it was, since at the same time, Caldon shot another round of fireballs his way, while Mirryn made a circling motion with her hands and Jaren became caught in a mini tornado, spinning uncontrollably.
Kiva was certain that Caldon’s fire was going to scorch Jaren, especially
since the crown prince seemed to reach for his water magic but the river didn’t rise to his command — instead, it was buckling under the weight of whatever the queen was doing, as if she was pressing it into the earth, keeping it from coming to Jaren’s defense.
Suddenly, Kiva couldn’t breathe. She thought it was from being so anxious over what she was seeing that her lungs had stalled, but then all the fires in the room spluttered into pitch-blackness, and she realized that Jaren had caused this — that he’d purged all the air from the room to free himself from his sister’s tornado while also snuffing out Caldon’s flames before they could strike him.
It was clever — so very clever. But Kiva couldn’t fully admire his strategy. Blind, suffocating, and alarmed by the same choking sounds from Tipp and Naari beside her, along with the distressed Flox, she was only keeping from full-blown panic because she knew Jaren would never allow any harm to come to his family — or to her.
Sure enough, within seconds, she was sucking in fresh air again, and with it, fire burst back into existence — not only along the walls, but also at Jaren’s fingertips, remaining there just long enough for him to thrust it like a javelin toward his cousin.
Caldon ducked the attack, the fire slamming into the limestone behind him in a roar of sparks. A second javelin from Jaren had Caldon scrambling to summon a shield of fire to absorb the flames, which he managed just in time.
“You’ll have to try harder than that!” the rakish prince goaded.
Jaren didn’t have a chance to respond, because his other family members were still sending their own attacks his way. Wind was buffeting his clothes and hair, but it didn’t lift him off the ground, making Kiva realize he was nullifying whatever Mirryn was trying to do. At the same time, water was rising again, forming the shape of a serpent similar to the one from the River Festival last night. The snake moved to strike at Jaren, and he pointed a finger not at the beast, but at the ground near where he stood, an almighty crack sounding as a section broke away and rose to shield him from the brunt of the attack. But what Jaren didn’t see was Oriel’s sneaky move, the young prince directing camouflaged vines to crawl along the ground and wrap around his brother’s ankles. With one quick hand gesture from Oriel, Jaren’s feet were yanked out from beneath him, his earth shield all that kept the queen’s snake from engulfing him as he wrestled now with the creeping
plants that were moving swiftly up his body, trapping his limbs and squeezing the air from his lungs.
A flash of light had Kiva flinching backwards as Jaren summoned a sword made of flames, using it to cut through the vines. Freed from their grip, he somersaulted back up to his feet, shooting a proud look at his younger brother for his effort. But the moment was only brief, with Caldon, Mirryn, and Ariana all launching new attacks against Jaren, and Oriel jumping right back into the fight.
Kiva didn’t know how long they kept at it, earth, fire, air, and water moving around the cavern in ways she’d never imagined possible. Ice shards were thrown like daggers, a crevasse opened beneath Jaren’s feet, a horse and rider made of flames charged him and nearly sent him toppling into the river, and on it went. The attacks grew in creativity and difficulty the longer they continued, prompting Kiva’s stomach to tighten with the realization that this was what it meant to be a Vallentis — and this was what her family would face if they dared challenge them for the crown.
No wonder Caldon had been wary of having witnesses. This kind of magic . . . it was beyond what Kiva had ever envisioned. She’d known the royal family could control the elements, and she’d seen examples from both Jaren and Mirryn over the last few months, but she’d never truly realized what that meant. Not once had she considered that the queen could drown someone with a flick of her fingers, that the princess could force all the air from someone’s lungs, that young Oriel could bury someone alive, that Caldon could set someone alight with a thought. And Jaren . . . he could do all of that and, as Kiva was seeing, much, much more.
He was unstoppable. No matter how his family attacked, he found a way to defend himself, whether by using their own element against them or one of the other three powers he had at his disposal.
He was magnificent.
And he was terrifying.
Watching him, there was no doubt in Kiva’s mind why the Royal Council had chosen him as the heir in Mirryn’s place. As long as Jaren ruled the kingdom, his people would be safe, no enemy force standing a chance at
defeating him.
And that presented a problem for Kiva.
For her family.
For the rebels.
Nervous sweat was trickling down her back by the time Jaren finally called a halt to the magical attacks. He was breathing heavily, but the weight that had been hanging over him earlier was gone, his face glowing with contentment as he shared grins with his family, all of whom seemed equally revitalized by their training session. Kiva couldn’t hear what they were saying to each other, but she watched as Jaren threw back his head and laughed at something Caldon said, the sight and sound so carefree that her heart clutched in her chest.
Was it the magic that had done that? To all of them? If so, Kiva didn’t understand. Her own magic wasn’t something she’d ever been able to rejoice in. She’d barely discovered she even had it before she’d been carted away to Zalindov, after which she’d promised her father never to use it. She couldn’t fathom the lightness emanating from the royals in the wake of their training, the joy they were radiating. But she also couldn’t deny that she felt a prickle of envy — and a hint of curiosity. If she trained like they did, would her own power grow like a muscle? Would she stop seeing it as a burden and embrace it as a blessing? She didn’t know. And as long as she was living at the palace, she wouldn’t have a chance to find out, so she slammed the door shut on her thoughts, resolved to think on it no further.
After the royals shared a few more words among themselves, Jaren led the group over to where Kiva, Naari, and Tipp waited, with Oriel hurrying forward to reclaim the wide awake and mildly agitated Flox.
“He didn’t like not being able to breathe,” Kiva explained, standing and shooting a pointed look at Jaren, who offered a contrite grimace in return, fully aware that she wasn’t talking only about the fluffball.
“Poor Floxie,” Oriel cooed, stroking the critter until he made what sounded like a purring noise.
Naari and Tipp had risen beside Kiva, the latter staring at the royal family with stars in his eyes. “That was a-a-a-mazing,” he breathed.
“Nah, that was nothing. Barely a warm up,” Caldon said, dusting ash off his clothes and out of his golden hair. “You should see us when we really let loose.”
No one disagreed with him, which told Kiva that he wasn’t just boasting.
She schooled her features, inwardly horrified by what they might be able to do when really trying.
“If we’re done here,” Mirryn said, wringing water from her skirt, “I need to go and order my birthday cake.”
“I should leave, too,” said Queen Ariana. “I have a desk full of paperwork that I’ve been putting off for days.” Her eyes moved to Oriel and Tipp. “And you two need to get back to your studies with Tutor Edna.”
Tipp looked as if he might expire on the spot if he didn’t ask a million questions about what he’d just seen, but at the queen’s stern look, he exhaled loudly with resignation.
“Don’t worry, we can write notes to each other when Edna’s not looking,” Oriel whispered to him.
Ariana made a disapproving sound, and her young son sent her a sheepish look.
“Um, during our break,” Oriel quickly added.
Tipp snickered until the queen’s eyes came back to him, at which point he bit his lip and looked guiltily at the ground.
“Well, I for one am starving,” Caldon declared. Turning to Kiva, he said, “We need to get more protein into you, so you’re coming with me to the kitchens.”
He didn’t wait for her to agree before he took off after his family, with Tipp and Naari trailing them. Jaren remained behind, and Kiva hung back with him, sensing there was something on his mind.
Only when the others were out of sight did he clear his throat and say, “Tipp seemed to handle that well. The magic, I mean.”
Kiva snorted. “If he didn’t already idolize you, he would now.”
“And you?”
Her humor fled as she realized Jaren wasn’t worried about Tipp’s reaction — he was worried about hers.
“I already knew about your magic, Jaren,” she said slowly.
“Not to that extent.”
She eyed him carefully and agreed, “No. I suppose not.”
Jaren looked away and ran a hand agitatedly through his hair.
“Hey,” she said, reaching for him and pulling back at the last second, clenching her fingers to keep from taking his hand in her own. “What’s going on?”
“It’s just . . .” he said haltingly. “I don’t want you to be afraid of me.”
Kiva blinked. “Afraid?”
“Of what I can do,” he clarified. “Of whether I’ll hurt you.”
Taken aback, Kiva didn’t know how to respond. But then she saw the fear in this eyes and made herself say, “When you sucked all the air from the
room, I nearly panicked. But you know why I didn’t?”
Jaren shook his head.
“Because I knew you wouldn’t let anything bad happen to your family.”
Quietly, she added, “Or to me.”
His tension faded. “I wouldn’t. Not ever.”
Kiva was painfully aware that one day soon he might not be able to keep that promise. And yet, she hadn’t lied — she wasn’t afraid of him. Of his power, absolutely. But not of him. Never of him.
She was in so much trouble.
Biting her lip, Kiva made herself look away, but as she did, the air shifted between them, as if they both suddenly became aware of how close they were standing, how alone they were. Her eyes flicked back to his, warmth flooding her veins when she saw the look on his face.
“Kiva,” he whispered, moving closer. “I —”
“Excuse me,” came Caldon’s loud voice from the entrance to the cavern, causing Kiva to jump backwards, “but did you not hear me say I’m starving?”
Heart thumping, Kiva muttered, “Have I mentioned how much I hate your cousin? Not a little. A lot.” Despite the words, she was overwhelmingly grateful for the interruption, fearing what might have happened if Caldon hadn’t returned when he did.
Stupid. She was so, so stupid. She needed to be more careful, to be smarter. What had just happened with Jaren — or nearly happened — couldn’t happen again.
“Right now, I hate him a lot, too,” Jaren agreed under his breath.
“You know the acoustics in here mean I can hear you, right?” Caldon called. “Hurry your asses up!”
Both Jaren and Kiva sighed at the same time, then shared a look of amusement before heading toward the passageway and starting up the endless stairs toward the palace. Each new step made Kiva’s muscles scream with pain, offering a reminder of where she was, who she was with — and why she was there to begin with.
She had a role to play. She had a mission to fulfill.
And no matter what, she would not let her family down.
