Seeing that he was waiting for a response, Alex carefully said, “What right do I have to make you believe anything? At the end of the day, your values are your own. No one should tell you how to feel.” She meant every word she’d said, despite wishing for the opposite.
Aven closed his eyes in what looked like relief. “It means a lot to hear you say that.”
To lighten the suddenly heavy moment, she offered a quirky grin and said, “Well, you may think so now, but watch out, princeling. By the time I’m done subtly schooling you in the ways of mortals, you’ll be so in love with humans that you’ll want to ride off into the sunset with them.”
Aven let out a surprised laugh, which was thankfully the reaction she was going for, rather than the opposite, which could have happened just as easily. “Is that so?”
“It sure is,” Alex said with joking confidence.
“I could be wrong, but I think subtlety flies out the window when your declaration comes as a warning.”
“Well, darn,” Alex said, playing dumb. “And here I thought I was being oh-so-sneaky.”
Aven laughed again and gave Alex a nudge towards her door. “You need to leave me before your mortal infatuation becomes contagious.”
“Meyarins can’t get deathly ill,” Alex reminded him smugly. “So that leads to the conclusion that whatever you catch will only make you better. Like a new and improved version of yourself. Aven Two-Point-O.”
Rolling his eyes, he firmly said, “Goodnight, Aeylia.”
“Don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll have plenty of time to talk about this again tomorrow,” Alex told him with a jaunty grin. “And the day after, and the day after, and the day after, and the—”
“Star’s light, make it stop,” Aven muttered, interrupting her unending diatribe. He nudged her forward again, this time not so gently, and pushed her through the opened door. After making sure she was clear, he promptly closed it in her face.
It was then that Alex did something she never thought she’d be capable of doing after an encounter with Aven.
She laughed.
Twenty-Two
The next day, Alex was in the palace library studying the extensive but monotonous history of the Seven Houses when she closed her book with a loud snap.
“I just don’t get it,” she said to Kyia, whose brows rose in question. “It’s Roka. What can you possibly not like about him?”
“Everyone else may be willing to coddle you by speaking your language, but that doesn’t mean I am. You need to practise your Meyarin,” Kyia replied.
Alex made a frustrated sound. “Come on, Kyia. You now know the common tongue as well as anyone.”
When Kyia remained silent, Alex rolled her eyes and switched languages.
“Fine,” she said, somewhat belligerently in her now fluent Meyarin. “But if that was your attempt to get out of answering my question, think again.”
“And what question is that?”
Alex pinned her with a knowing look. “Roka, Kyia. I don’t understand your problem with him.”
Kyia stood to her feet and moved to the nearest bookcase, absentmindedly perusing the shelves. “Why are you so insistent about this? It feels like every day I have to argue my case all over again.”
“Because your case doesn’t make sense!” Alex cried. “Let me repeat, it’s Roka!”
Kyia turned and glared in irritation. “If you think he’s so perfect, why don’t you chase after him?”
Alex made a spluttering noise, not sure if she was more amused or disturbed by the idea. Aside from their absurdly incompatible age differences, there was also the huge fact that they weren’t even of the same race. It would be like… like pairing up a dairy cow with a prize stallion. The idea of Alex thinking of any Meyarin in the way Kyia was suggesting was just plain wrong.
Being unable to properly explain her reasoning, all Alex could do was grin and say, “Trust me, he’s not my type.”
Throwing her arms up in a rare display of emotion, Kyia said, “Then why can’t you accept the same for me?”
“Because you two are made for each other!” Alex returned, slightly desperate in her matchmaking attempt. “You just need to give him a chance, that’s all.”
Kyia stalked over to where Alex was sitting and slumped back down beside her. “Why would I do that when he’s nothing but an arrogant, conceited, overconfident, cocky, puffed up, bigheaded kregon?”
By the end of her speech she was on a roll, nearly yelling the words as they blended from one into the next.
“You know,” Alex said thoughtfully, “aside from kregon, I’m pretty sure most of those words all mean the same thing, give or take.”
“Argh!” Kyia cried, throwing her weight back in her chair and shaking her head in annoyance.
“But let no one say she lacks an extensive vocabulary,” came the highly amused voice of Roka as he strolled out from behind one of the shelves. “I particularly liked the combination of puffed up and bigheaded. Poetry for the ages.”
Alex was horrified on Kyia’s behalf but she couldn’t repress her totally inappropriate snort of laughter. In her defence, the prince’s timing was atrociously hilarious, as was his light-hearted reaction to the vicious slander.
“Please don’t hold back next time, sweet Kyia,” Roka finished, his lips twitching while his eyes sparkled with mirth. “Otherwise Aeylia might continue believing that we are, ahem, ‘made for each other’.”
Poor Kyia looked like she was at a loss as to how to react. If it were Alex, she’d be wishing for the power to spontaneously combust, but Kyia had more backbone than most. That, and she’d grown up with Roka, so this wasn’t their first experience trading insults.
“You didn’t hear anything I wouldn’t have said to your face,” Kyia said, crossing her arms and folding one leg over the other, her position casually apathetic.
“But so rarely do you favour me with your undivided attention,” Roka replied, not missing a beat. “I thought I was beneath your regard, but I now see that you’ve thought long and hard about your passionate feelings towards me. I’m touched, Kyia. Truly.”
Alex bit down hard to keep from laughing again at Roka’s unbridled sarcasm. But she still must have made a squeak of noise, since Kyia turned narrowed eyes in her direction.
“I can see exactly why you think so highly of him, Aeylia,” she said, her sarcasm just as clear. “He’s a real charmer.”
“You can add that to my long list of virtues,” Roka said with a wink. “Slot it in before ‘kregon’.”
Must not laugh, must not laugh, Alex chanted, with little success. She only half managed to turn her amusement into a cough and quickly spoke before Kyia could throw a book at her head.
“I thought you were busy with the king until later tonight?” Alex questioned Roka, switching over to the common tongue out of habit.
“It turns out Father has no need of me for the rest of the day, after all,” Roka answered. “I thought perhaps you both might like to take the afternoon off as well.”
Alex perked up at that, happy for any excuse to set aside the never-ending lessons about the Meyarin High Court.
“Aven sought me out earlier,” Roka went on. “He suggested we could all benefit from a break and that we should spend some time together away from the palace. Get away from it all.”
“This is Aven’s idea?” Alex asked. When Roka nodded, she said, “Are you, um, okay with that? With spending time with him, I mean. After everything that went down last week when—”
“I know what you’re speaking of, Aeylia,” Roka interrupted gently. “I may struggle to understand his fervent opposition towards mortals, but no matter what grievances Aven and I hold, he’ll always be my brother, my closest confidant.”
Alex had to turn away so that he wouldn’t be able to read the look in her eyes. Oh, Roka. If only you knew.
“Besides,” the prince continued excitedly, “cliff jumping is the perfect way to bring people together.”
r /> “Cliff jumping?” Kyia repeated, and even she sounded uncharacteristically eager. “Why didn’t you say so sooner?”
“If I’d led with that, I would have missed out on your ebullient recitation of my vastly underrated personality traits.”
Kyia opened her mouth but Alex got in first.
“At the risk of cutting off what I’m sure would be a perfect example of scathing wit,” Alex said, tipping her head with mock respect towards Kyia, “can I just say, Roka, that I’ve known this language my whole life and not once have I heard anyone use the word ‘ebullient’ in a sentence. I’m not sure if I should applaud you or to tell you to stop reading the common tongue dictionary in your spare time and get a life.”
Kyia burst out laughing, and even Roka let out a chuckle, proving yet again that he truly was the perfect prince by not taking her words to heart.
“I’ll keep that in mind, Aeylia,” he said in a humour-filled voice. “Perhaps right when I’m about to push you off the Golden Cliffs.”
“Actually, I’m glad you’ve come back to that,” Alex said, standing to her feet. “What exactly did you mean by ‘cliff jumping’?”
Not at all liking the gleam that entered Roka’s eyes, Alex didn’t have the chance to retreat as he reached out to pull her closer to him. Kyia took that as her cue and jumped up as well, moving alongside them. One of the two—presumably Roka— activated the Valispath and it took off from beneath them.
“I’m not entirely sure I’m comfortable with whatever is going on here!” Alex called over the howling wind, but all she received in response were matching grins full of anticipation.
When the Valispath soared to an end atop the cliffs at the place where Aven had taken Alex sightseeing, she tried to steady her breathing so as to not give away just how apprehensive she was. Like her first visit, the view offered the perfect panorama of the city. But looking at it in removed appreciation was much, much different to looking at it and wondering if ‘cliff jumping’ meant exactly what Alex presumed it meant.
“I thought you’d never get here, brother,” Aven said approaching them from behind.
When Alex turned, she saw he wasn’t alone; Niyx was with him as well. Both of them, like Roka, were the most casual Alex had seen them, wearing lightweight pants and shirts, their feet bare. They wore no armour, held no weapons. They appeared almost exactly how Alex would imagine Jordan and Bear to be like in the future. Minus the jeans, of course, but she couldn’t imagine any Meyarin wearing something as common as denim. It would be as odd as seeing a draekon sporting a polka dot onesie.
Kyia and Alex, on the other hand, were both clothed in summery dresses that Alex had become used to wearing over the week. Dainty, pretty material most definitely not suited to jumping off cliffs.
“Lovely Aeylia,” Niyx greeted in a singsong voice, boldly slinging his arm across her shoulders. “I was hoping you wouldn’t wiggle out of coming this afternoon. My day just turned even brighter.”
She tried to slide out from underneath his heavy limb, but he just tightened his grip and drew her closer, so she resorted to frowning pointedly. He sent her a cheeky grin—an expression Alex was used to seeing given the relentless cat-and-mouse game he so loved to play.
“Do you have a quota you have to reach?” Alex asked him, placing her hands on his hard torso and giving a hefty push, for all the good it did. He barely even jolted.
“A quota?” he repeated in question, looking down at her with sparkling amethyst eyes.
“You know, like a specific number of girls you have to hit on each day before you call it quits.”
His eyes brightened all the more. “Don’t worry, kitten. Quota or not, I’ll always have time for you. I know seeing me is the highlight of your day and I’d never deprive you of that.”
“Eugh, gag,” Alex said, making a face. She ignored the laughter of those around them and shoved against him again, only succeeding because Aven stepped in to help.
“Points for punching above your station, Ny,” the younger prince said, effortlessly prying Alex away from his friend. “But I’m guessing from the unnecessarily detailed reports you’ve given me of her spurning your advances this past week that perhaps you might be better off looking for your next fling elsewhere.”
Niyx sent a wicked grin in Alex’s direction. “She’ll cave to my charm. It’s only a matter of time.”
“Seriously,” Alex said, “I think I just threw up a little in my mouth.”
If anything, everyone just laughed louder—Niyx included.
“Come on,” Aven said, leading her by the hand closer towards the edge of the cliff.
She dug in her heels and tugged against him. “Actually, can someone please explain to me why we’re up here? Roka said cliff jumping, but surely we’re not…” She trailed off at seeing the excited expressions the four of them wore. Casting her gaze outwards, she took in just how impossibly high they were above the city. “Hands down, you’re all crazy if you’re thinking of jumping off this cliff.”
Niyx snorted. “Don’t be ridiculous, Aeylia, that would be suicide.” She felt her muscles relax, at least until he finished with, “We’re jumping from over there.”
Following the line of where he was pointing, Alex felt her heart leap into her throat at the sight of the massive waterfall.
A tremor of fear ran through her body. “Uh-uh. No way.”
But before she could put up any further argument, everyone stepped close and the Valispath activated, transporting them to a boulder smack bang in the middle of the raging cascade. The force of the wind was so strong that it sprayed water straight back up the cliffs, soaking Alex within seconds. The sound thundered in her ears and the rocky platform beneath her feet rumbled with the violence of nature at its most terrifying.
“You’re all insane!” Alex screamed over the sound of the torrent, yanking fiercely at Aven’s hand. He wouldn’t let her go though, and she was pinned into place when Niyx, on her other side, reached for her free hand, his grip gentle but firm enough to keep her locked between them.
“We won’t jump until you’re ready,” Aven told her, leaning in close to her ear so she could hear him above the roar of the water.
“You don’t get it!” Alex yelled. “I’ve done this before! Waterfalls and me don’t mix well!”
Granted, Alex had never jumped from a cliff so high, but she had fallen off a huge waterfall inside one of the Library’s oil paintings during her first year at Akarnae. That had been one of the scariest moments of her life. This, however, went way beyond that.
“I can’t do this!” Alex cried, trying to pull away from both Aven and Niyx.
Aven, standing on her right, turned her away from Niyx until they were face to face, curling his free arm around her waist so he could lean in even closer. It was a mark of how scared she was that she didn’t even have the presence of mind to consider him her future enemy and put space between them.
“You have my word, Aeylia, nothing bad will happen,” he said into her ear, his hand at her waist giving a gentle squeeze. “You’re one of us now. Let go of your mortal fears and embrace this moment as a Meyarin. You’ll never feel more free.”
Seeing that she was still unconvinced, he said in a voice only for her, “Live in the moment, Aeylia. I promise you won’t regret it.”
Alex wasn’t sure if it was his gentle tone, his sincere eyes, or his absolute confidence, but something in her gave into his words, the same words the Library had said to her just last night. Live in the moment. It was a frightening thought, but maybe, just for one afternoon, that was exactly what she needed to do.
Xira? she called in her mind. Can you hear me?
It took barely a second for him to respond. Everything okay, Alex? You feel… anxious.
If I was to jump off this—she sent him a mental image of just how mammoth the falls were—what’s the chance I’ll survive?
Xiraxus’s rumbling chuckle echoed in her ears even above the sound of the torrent
ial cascade. That depends.
On what?
Whether you can swim.
Alex made an annoyed sound and somehow managed to translate it into her thoughts. If I understand correctly, when I die, you die. I’m sure I don’t have to remind you that it’s in your best interests to be honest with me right now.
The draekon just chuckled louder, but he thankfully also gave her a straight answer. Jump as a mortal and you’ll be in trouble. Jump as a Meyarin and you should have a blast. But jump either way, Alex. The flight will be good for you.
Alex instantly remembered soaring with him above the clouds around Draekora and the feeling of impossible freedom that came with the experience.
Soon, he said, reading her thoughts. We’ll fly together again soon. And with his promise, his presence fled her mind.
Mustering her courage, Alex looked down the line from Roka on her far right to Kyia then Aven, jumping over to Niyx on her left. She wondered how she had come to be hand in hand with such an unlikely group of friends. And she realised with startling clarity that that was exactly what they were. Niyx and his playful arrogance, Kyia and her cynical derision, Roka and his thoughtful intelligence, and the biggest surprise of all, Aven and his unexpected affability. They really were friends, as bizarre as it was. And Alex trusted them to keep her safe, mortal or not.
With an unexpected pang of emotion, she couldn’t help imagining what it would be like standing atop the falls with Jordan, D.C. and Bear beside her. Jordan and Bear would no doubt be grinning from ear to ear with the thrill of adventure while D.C. would likely share Alex’s concerns and say they were all mad if they were thinking about jumping. But Alex knew the truth—the princess would leap right alongside them, even if it meant she’d be screaming the whole way down.
Sudden homesickness slammed into Alex, a feeling that was as ridiculous as it was painful—ridiculous because she wasn’t technically missing anything. Her friends were all frozen in time, unaware they were even waiting for her return. But for Alex, time was still moving forward, and if she wanted to see them again, she’d first have to survive the next few harrowing minutes of her life.