Page 2 of Insurrection
Pura, Kingdom of the Six Houses, was built upon preserving purity of bloodlines. Of course, you can imagine how popular that made me, right? Not.
I was pretty sure the only reason I was still in the House of Death was because my father was king. As the very literal Grim Reaper, not many people were willing to go against him.
Lily’s normally high-pitched voice dropped low as she stated in a deadly calm voice, “No one wants you here, Amare. Your daddy can’t protect you forever.”
Anger fueled me as I spat back at her, tired of her acting like I should be afraid of her, “I don’t need him to protect me.Youneed him to protect you fromme.” I put out my hands as I turned my back on her fully, preparing for the magic she would no doubt try to send my way after that insult. The minute I turned, I heard it soaring through the space between us and turned, my wing defensively batting the pulsating red orb of power away, sending it crashing into one of her friends.
“Oops.” I smirked once more and used my wings to propel me into the safety of the castle. She wouldn’t dare harass me inside, where watching eyes could report back to my father. She wasn’t that ballsy, preferring instead to harass me in private.
I didn’t want a war with Lily. In fact, I would have been perfectly happy if the woman never spoke to me again. However, if she continued to escalate this war, I’d have no problem finishing it. There was only so much hostility and abuse I could take before I snapped on her—or anyone else, for that matter. After eighteen years of being treated poorly, I was reaching my limit.
Muttering under my breath about rude people, I strode further into the castle as I squeezed out my dark, long hair, which was naturally highlighted with a faint crimson color. Water dripped onto the black marble flooring of the castle as I passed antique mirror after antique mirror. The dim lighting of the space only added to the dark and moody nature of the castle.
Would it kill to have some bright lights around here? Hell, maybe even a vase of bright flowers? Something that didn’t scream impending doom and gloom.
As if the universe were mocking me, I spotted several vases of black roses, my eyes narrowing on the dark petals.
I passed one of the castle servants, and she offered me a hesitant smile, which I returned. I knew my friendliness towards the individuals who worked here always surprised people, especially considering my position as princess.
When they asked why I didn’t act like a typical royal, as in treating the individuals who worked here with distaste, I made it pretty simple for them…I wasn’t a dick. Unless someone deserved it, of course.
Was it that hard to be nice to people? The answer was yes, if you were dealing with literally anyone in this damn kingdom.
Dramatic? No. Okay, it was possible I was currently more than a little bitter after being battered in the storm and harassed.
To be fair, it wasn’t just Lily who was a problem. No. The problem was much larger than a single person, and as I entered the main foyer, I was reminded of why exactly that was. Besides attracting attention for currently looking like a drowned rat, I also physically looked very different from the other citizens of the House of Death. Mainly because of the massive, dark, leathery wings and horns I was sporting, which no one else in this house had.
I was also shorter and curvier than most of the women here—House of Death was known for having tall and lithe citizens. Top it all off with my crimson-highlighted ebony hair and pink and silver eyes, and I had exactly zero chance of blending in amongst the silver-haired, black-eyed House of Death members.
Now that I thought about it, maybethatwas why I’d been yearning for a bit more color around here: I was tired of being the only color in an otherwise almost oppressively dark setting. I wanted something else to stand out, other than me.
“Ama!” A friendly voice had me smiling almost immediately as Zurie appeared at my side, her silver head of lavender-streaked curls bouncing along with her as she offered me a massive smile. Alright, I wasn’t the only one who stood out a bit here. Zurie, with her natural lavender highlights—a match to her Reaper power—and silver eyes that almost blended with her pale skin, stood out like me. But unlike me, she was more than accepted here. She was more ‘dead’ than she was alive, and that was prized here in the House of Death. Shocking, right?
Apparently, her mother—a Reaper who was currently part of the court here—had screwed a ghost. No, I have absolutely no idea how that was possible. Yes, I totally wanted an explanation.
Unfortunately, her mother was fairly intimidating, so I couldn’t just walk up to her and ask how she’d managed to fuck a ghost and get pregnant with my friend. I also had a feeling that Zurie didn’t want to think much on the matter of her conception. Plus, it was just nice to have someone around who wanted to be my friend in the first place. I probably shouldn’t scare her off with my questions.
“Hey.” I offered her a head nod as I squeezed more water out of my hair, trying to untangle it from my horns. They were twisted at the top, so it was a pain in the ass when my hair was dry and a nightmare when it was wet. Don’t even get me started on what happened when I ran out of conditioner. I usually considered just shaving my head at that point.
“Got caught in the storm?” Zurie asked curiously, her eyes reflecting a hint of suspicion that there was more to the story than that.
“No, it was totally on purpose. I figured I’d just bathe in the sky to save some hot water in the castle,” I answered sarcastically, a fake smile plastered on my face.
She pinned me with a stare, quietly demanding the real answer.
“I wish it was that simple,” I grumbled, finally relenting under the power of her laser eyes. “Lily realized I was out flying and was waiting for me on the ledge with her stupid cronies when I got back.”
“What a bitch.” Zurie scowled as if she was plotting Lily’s death as we spoke, her protectiveness of me bringing a true smile to my face. “You know, you could probably get her kicked out of court along with the rest of her family if you told your father.”
I sighed wistfully at her suggestion and then shook my head, “That would make it look like I couldn’t handle her myself. She’s really just an annoying gnat that I have to swat down occasionally.”
“You’re too easy on her and everyone else who bullies you. Tell your father,” she advised, but while I didn’t completely disagree with her, I wanted to handle it myself. My father was already aware of it, and I’d continued to refuse his help.
As we made our way up another set of stairs, I felt my cheeks heat slightly as I met the intense gaze of theonlyman in this damn territory, literally the only one, that I purposefully avoided at all costs. But because I’m me—and completely unlucky—I happened to not only run into him on an already shitty day, but while looking like an angry wet cat.
Drayven. Fucking Drayven.
The man was walking down the steps—towards the throne room, if I had to guess—with all of the dangerous predatory energy you would expect from a man that large. No wonder everyone seemed to love him. The man just looked like a leader and someone you didn’t want to mess with. Plus, it was no secret that the rest of the royals in our territory were grooming him to take over the throne if my father died. There was no way they would allow me to claim my birthright of the throne if my father wasn’t around to back me up.
