Page 59 of Daughter of the Drowned Empire
And just as I could feel him tense, unsure of my intentions, I gripped his shoulders, pressing them down.
“We’ll wait,” I said, biting his lower lip roughly, angrily, despite my words. He was already hard beneath me, straining through his pants, his breath heavy. “We’ll wait just a little while longer for it to be right. For her to agree. But tonight, I need to feel you. Just like this.”
He nodded, and his hips rose to meet mine, thrusting against me. I moved over him, closing my eyes, my body moving faster and faster, building to my release. Tristan pressed his hands into my hips, steadying me as I rocked over him, the friction of my clothes against his pushing me over the edge. I closed my eyes, biting my lip, tears welling in my eyes as I came in silence.
Tristan watched me wordlessly, his thrusts now rabid until he came as well beneath me.
Catching my breath, I crawled off of him, and curled up by his side. He got up silently and changed, offering me a fresh tunic to change into and a towel.
We didn’t speak as we prepared for bed. Only when I was in his arms, my head on his chest, his heart pounding against my ear, did he push my hair out of my face and ask if I was all right.
I didn’t answer, only closed my eyes, breathing steadily until I fell asleep.
I snuck out just before sunrise. Just before the Lady of Ka Grey awakened.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
ISPENTTHEfollowingday in meditation at the Temple of Dawn, sitting before Auriel’s Chamber with the novices and apprentices preparing to finalize their oaths. We were in nearly the exact same formation as we had been when the Revelation Ceremony began, but this time there was no audience.
Kolaya circled us, the crystal tip of her stave swelling with light. Her long white robes trailed behind, whispering with the soft steps of her bare feet. With each turn her light grew brighter, absorbing energy from us. Every so often her crystal reached its capacity, and she’d step up onto Auriel’s Chamber and deposit light from the crystal into a silver bowl full of glittering water that had been drawn from the Lumerian Ocean that morning.
Aunt Arianna, resplendent in her blue robes, stood off to the side with the Ready. The meditation offered insights into the creation of the lineages we’d join, sealed in blood with the oaths we’d take tonight. Though we’d attend lectures at the Mage and Soturion Academies, most of our training happened one on one with an apprentice. After the Oath Ceremony, we’d be magically linked to them and their lineage—connected to their apprentice, their apprentice’s apprentice, and so on.
Part of the recommendations for whom to match came from Kolaya and the work she performed here. But the recommendations of the Ready overseeing the soturi and Arianna observing the mages were also taken into account. They attempted to match novices and apprentices according to skill sets, but there was also an attempt to make assignments across country and Kavim. Mixing lineages united the tribes across the Empire and kept civil wars from breaking out. If relations flared, the cross-lineages often kept the peace.
As a novice, Tristan had been linked to a mage from Ka Elys. But since he’d become an apprentice, he now trained another mage from Ka Grey.
My knees and back ached from hours of sitting cross-legged, and the incense burned in my nose and eyes as the seven Watchers released fresh puffs of smoke. I could feel everyone’s eyes on me. I could feel their questions, their ridicule, and their glee over the fall of Lady Lyriana Batavia, daughter of theshekar arkasva. I sat taller; my chin lifted. I would control what they saw. I would not show fear or worry. I would not allow even a small slope of my back.
At last, we were dismissed to eat, bathe, and change into our ceremonial robes, black for the Oath Ceremony.
All around me were excited whispers and speculations of which apprentice they’d be assigned. Certain ones were highly sought after, known for their prowess, while others seemed desirable simply because of their Ka. I felt sorry for whomever was forced to pair with me.
A small group of apprentices from Ka Kormac rushed past me, catching up to Rhyan, who was nearly out the door. They surrounded him. A tall blonde boy shoved into Rhyan, and another pushed him to the side. But he kept his balance, staring ahead, until he reached the temple doors. The soturi snickered, jovially punching each other’s backs, and ran ahead.
Something tugged inside of me, a need to go to him, to see if he was all right, but Haleika and Galen caught me, excitedly chatting, intent on filling me in on every detail about training.
Haleika’s curly hair was the same exact shade of brown as Tristan’s. It bounced excitedly as she talked about her future lineage. Galen, quiet and stoic, just folded his arms and smiled, listening to her.
She eyed an apprentice soturion from Ka Daquataine while Galen wasn’t looking. He was almost as tall as Rhyan, was full of muscle, and had dirty blonde hair. His features weren’t necessarily attractive on their own, but he was so animated and expressive as he talked to his friends that he seemed to become more handsome the more he moved. Haleika bit her lip.
“Hoping to get him?” I asked.
She blushed. “Not as my apprentice…since, you know, it’s forbidden.”
I raised my eyebrows. “You have a crush on him? What about Galen?”
She smirked. “It’s that obvious?”
“Either Tristan or I will be coming into a large fortune over your decision soon.”
Haleika laughed, eyeing the apprentice one last time, and shook her head. “Keep betting.” She grabbed Galen’s arm and winked at me over her shoulder as they joined a group of novices from Kavim sworn to Ka Batavia. A few were distantly related to Aemon, belonging to Ka Melvik, and there were more of Tristan and Haleika’s Ka Grey cousins. Most weren’t noble, and none were on the mage track, so I’d paid little attention to them over the years as we grew up.
Naria joined the group, and I knew in that moment I’d made a grave error. I’d been so focused on who would be of benefit to me politically and on how to keep Meera and Morgana safe, I’d grown distant from my own people. I needed allies and friends in this new world.
I inched closer to the group, but their ranks closed in, their circle tightening. Heads turned rapidly as whispers rose through the crowd. They were talking about me, about my arrest.
I’d never been denied access to any social circles before. As Heir, I’d been the center of them whenever I’d chosen to be. Now it looked as if Naria was the most important Lady of Bamaria.
