Page 30 of Immortal Origins
“If you do that, I’ll just tell Casimir it was you.” She shrugged.
Akadian smirked at the thought. “And what makes you think he’ll believeyouoverme?”
“I can be rather convincing,” Ambrose replied, crossing her own armsover her chest. “Who knows, maybe he’ll even cut your leash and let me go free.”
He stepped closer to her. “Or, maybe he’ll decide watching youhimselfwould be more advantageous for him.”
Ambrose tapped a pointed finger on his chest. “Maybe that wouldn’t be so bad. I’m sure he’d at least be more entertaining to talk to.”
Akadian leaned in so his mouth was next to her ear, sending a shiver down her spine that stopped at her toes. “Liar. You’re too afraid of him.”
“So are you,” she shot back, face flushed as she shoved him away. “I’ve never seen a royal afraid of anything and he has you terrified. Maybe you’re not so tough after all.”
Akadian stiffened intensely, but as quickly as he lost it, he regained his composure, and the fear she saw remained only in her memory. Though he plastered a smile on his face, his eyes gave him away so clearly. Hewasterrified. Ambrose teased and hoped she was wrong, but seeing his reaction confirmed her fears. Casimir was different. Nothing like the royals or nobles in the palace and might even be stronger than all of them together. His power vibrated through every inch of the palace constantly keeping it a chilly temperature as though to remind them all that he was always there. Somewhere. A chill of which many were ill-prepared for, the fireplaces in the palace kept burning in every room, regardless of the warmth outside.
“You’d be a fool not to be.” Ambrose surprised herself when she admitted, “He doesn’t seem like the rest of the nobility. I can’t imagine if that’s what the beings in Naenaros are like.” Something flashed across the prince’s face but vanished as quickly. No matter how much she studied him, his facial expressions, his body language, it seemed as though reading Akadian was like reading a book the author didn’t want to be read. When he didn’t respond, she continued, “What do you know about him? Why are you so afraid of him? Why iseveryoneso afraid of him?”
Akadian paused for a long time. “He’s old… I think he’s one of the First Kings.”
The confession hit her like a boulder, blood rushing to her face. A new level of fear gripped her that she didn’t know was possible and dug its clawsfirmly inside her.
“Casimir… is a First King?”
“It’s the only explanation. I’ve never felt a power like his,” Akadian spoke in such a hushed tone, his voice barely carried past his lips.
A First King.
In the palace.
One who held her trial.
One now personally invested inherfuture.
A First King.
Fuck.
A crack tore through the space around them, accompanied by a flash of purple-white light that burst the wall it connected with. Sharp and sudden enough to even send Akadian flying back multiple paces as he caught himself on his feet.
The energy inside of Ambrose clouded her vision and crackled as her channels surged and white hot pain ripped through her nerves.
A First King…
“Calm yourself, young mage.”The warning came stern and strong but Ambrose struggled to hear them over the rush pounding in her veins as strikes of electricity ripped through the hallway.“Before someone innocent is hurt.”
The servants that had been dutifully preparing for the Harvest Festival came flooding back to her. If she failed to control her magick, one of them could be killed and she would never forgive herself. She choked back the fear and reigned in her focus with everything she could until her channels flowed steadily once more. Her breathing no longer ragged as she forced deep breaths.
In. Out. In. Out.
Akadian stared at her with a mixture of shock and horror.
“What, did I hurt you?” The sarcasm she meant to add in her voice caught in her throat.
Akadian stared at her through cold, narrowed eyes. “That was Lightning.”
That was impossible.
Goosebumps still prickled her skin as Ambrose rubbed her arms. “That’s not funny.”
