Page 171 of Hidden Kingdoms

“The block needs to be removed,today,” I informed him, knowing it would definitely not be a pleasure. His smile faltered as fast as his pipe had materialised between his fingers, pausing mid-air as his brow pulled into a crease before he spoke.

“We’ve discussed this, Bastian,” he stated warily, the echo of our previous discussions passing silently between us.

“I’m aware,” I said, unwilling to concede my wishes.

Arden’s hands dropped to his side as he stepped towards me, ash tipping carelessly onto the rug. “As you are aware of the risks here. That despiteyourvery obvious want, Elodie is still a person, someone whose mind deserves to stay whole.”

There was a part within me, somewhere deep beneath the flames, that registered that he was right, but it was so much easier to shove it aside in favour of what I wanted. A way to reach inside her mind. To take the answers that had long evaded me.

“I cannot remove it,” Arden warned when I voiced no objections. “Not completely.”

“Then remove what you can. There must be something useful in there.” I could feel Elodie’s eyes on me, their ire burning into my skin almost as fervently as the flames at my back. I didn’t need to look her way to know all traces of softness had been wiped from her features. I kept my eyes locked on Arden; he may have once been my teacher, but I wasn’t above pulling the prince card to get what I wanted if needed.

It was a struggle to keep from looking her way. Knowing that what I would see would have the flames within me writhing. Burning with an anger that hadn’t been present for so long.

And I despised her for it.

For how hard I had to work to keep my emotions in check whenever she was near.

Perhaps Suri had been listening to my prayers, sending her to me for this very reason, but not without the cruel twist that played out from the moment I’d seen her. Everything about her taking me back to a time before part of my future had been ripped from me. This infuriating being packaged exactly to my liking.

“Do you doubt your skills, Professor?” I kept the arrogance of my royal status in place.

“In this.” His arm swung back, pipe now used as a tool to point Elodie’s way. “Yes.”

My fingers pinched at the bridge of my nose. “Arden, I do not have the time to scour the kingdom for anyone else. You will do this.”

His mouth opened as he readied his refusal, one I would shut down immediately, yet Elodie piped up before either of us got the chance.

“It’s ok.” Her voice was gentle as she laid a hand on his arm. “I trust you to try, Arden.”

Arden went quiet as he looked at her, an annoying frown of worry on his face. I could almost see the thoughts whirring through his mind before he spoke again on a sigh. “I’ll remove what I can.”

“What do I need to do?” Elodie asked him, turning her back on me in what I was sure she thought was an insult. A laughable one considering I could take her out with the magik in my little finger. They began a conversation between themselves, Arden’s voice strained with a concern that grated on my nerves, so I turned away, towards the fire. Letting the dance of the flames claim me before I thought too hard about why she had so easily agreed to my demands.

As the activity behind me changed, I pulled myself from the comforting heat to stand beside an armchair as Elodie seated herself in a green, velvet chair while Arden walked towards the steps that circled his tower, obviously having figured out a way to get this done.

I studied Elodie, watching her movements; the slight crease to her brow, the way she ran her fingers across a jewelled ring that sat on her finger.

Eyes unfocused, lost in thought.

“Will it hurt?” I asked before Arden ascended the stairs, finding the words leaving my mouth before I could stop them. Elodie’s head whipped towards me, and I met her dark eyes with my own.

“What does it matter to you? You don’t care about me.” Her delicate eyebrow arched as she spoke.

“What makes you say that?” I crossed my arms over my chest. A glimmer of satisfaction lit that annoying part of me that seemed to care about her as the anxiety that had shown on her face made way for her frustration towards me.

“Many, many things, Bastian.”

I suppressed the shiver that rippled across my skin as she used my name, pushing her a little further. “Like?”

“Like trying to vaporise me more times than I’d like to count. Or trying to break into my mind. Or how about sending me to a library that would of fuckingkilled meif it hadn’t deemed me ‘worthy.’” Elodie’s voice rose with every accusation, her anger building.

They were all true, of course.

“Killed, unlikely. In indescribable pain that could have killed you? Yes,” I conceded.

“And that makes it better?” She practically growled, her white teeth slightly bared.

---