Chapter: 30: The Golden Family

“That should do it,” Adriel said, fastening the last pin to keep my braided bun in place.

“Are you sure this dress is appropriate for tomorrow?” I asked, glancing at the plunging V-neck exposing my cleavage.

The dress was otherwise beautiful. It was white with long, transparent sleeves that left my shoulders bare.

The torso was skin-tight like most of my dresses, but the material was surprisingly soft and flexible.

The skirt felt light, but the fabric was somehow heavy enough to fall beautifully around my waist.

“You need to widen your horizon, Willow,” Adriel said, placing a small tiara on my head. “You won’t impress Heliac or the prince if you keep hiding.”

A cough concealed the snort escaping my throat.

“How would you like to have your chest exposed in front of the entire world?” I said, caving my chest inward in an attempt to hide it.

The crystal made me feel less naked, but I would still much prefer a halter-neck dress.

“It’s fashionable, Will,” Adriel said, chuckling through his thin lips. “And it will be unexpected enough to surprise.”

I sighed when he aided me to the door.

“Are you ready, Miss Aldwyn?” Adriel said, dusting off my shoulders one last time.

“As ready as I can be, Adriel,” I said, exhaling as if the day had been long enough already.

“How come you’re always marginally late, Miss Aldwyn?” Evie said as Adriel surrendered me to her cold hands.

I looked at Adriel one last time, my eyes begging him not to leave me. “That might be my mistake, Miss Evelyn,” Adriel said, winking at me. “I tend to forget time when I work.”

Evie looked me over and shifted her gaze to Adriel. “Well… Your work is astonishing as always, Mr. Friedmann, so I suppose I can overlook this one miscalculated blunder.

“However, I will caution you to remember the rules next time, as I might not be able to turn a blind eye again.”

“Thank you, Miss Evelyn,” Adriel said, kissing the back of her hand before retreating.

We stood there for a few minutes, watching as Adriel disappeared behind the next corner.

“Now, Willow,” she suddenly exclaimed, making the hairs on my body rise. “Time is short, and tomorrow will arrive sooner than we think. Please find your seat beside Miss Young.”

I gasped as Evie opened the door.

Every suitor in that room was dressed like royalty. Colors and beautiful dresses swayed like a brook of peaceful water as they moved in the line Evie had referred me to.

If it hadn’t been because of Alia’s signature ponytail, she’d have blended right in for once.

I couldn’t imagine the prince and the king being less than satisfied with Evie’s hard work tomorrow.

Scanning the line, I quickly found Calla and the open spot beside her.

“I was starting to think you wouldn’t show,” Calla whispered as I placed myself on the cross designed for me.

“My stylist likes to talk,” I said and gestured at my gown, “and he had to talk quite a lot to convince me to wear this dress.”

Calla chuckled just before Evie clapped her hands.

“Settle down, suitors, and listen.”

Voices faded until the hall was completely silent.

“This hall will be empty when you arrive at nine o’clock sharp tomorrow, so we can repeat the thing I tell you today one more time.

“At ten, the cameras will arrive to arrange their systems before the royal family enters fifteen minutes later. So, be wary of your expressions and your behavior.

“Those cameras are designed to catch everything down to the most insignificant detail.”

I gulped as Evie lifted her index finger.

“The prince has already witnessed most of you practice your talents at the academies, so this introduction will test you differently.

“Once the king has formally introduced his family and welcomed you to the castle, you will be brought into the room next door,” Evie said, pointing at the closed door to our left.

“This is where you will spend five to ten minutes with the crown prince alone.”

Whispers spread among us.

Arawn had explicitly told us that we weren’t allowed to spend time alone with the prince before at least ten of us had been eliminated. Was that going to change now?

“Settle down, girls, settle down,” Evie said, sighing as if she’d expected us to react like this.

“I have received no information regarding the intention behind these personal interactions, but I do know that the prince will be discussing his impressions of you with the king afterward.”

I struggled to keep my features deceptively composed, but I could hardly swallow the worry strangling me.

The others were smiling, pleased at the opportunity to make a good first impression on the prince before the first round of eliminations. I wasn’t.

This meeting was likely to ~be~ the first round of the eliminations.

I’d be safe depending on whether there were cameras in the private room.

What worried me the most was that neither Piper nor Oakley was safe. If they didn’t perform as expected, they could be eliminated.

I hardly spoke the rest of the day while Evie instructed us on behavior and listed certain moments for us to remember.

Then the night put the sun to sleep, but I remained wide awake in my dark chambers.

I probably wasn’t the only one whose mind couldn’t seem to find peace. However, I wasn’t awake because I was nervous about being alone with the prince.

Tomorrow, the Crown Trials would officially begin.

Cameras would record everything we did, meaning that even the smallest mistake would be noticed. I couldn’t afford to make those mistakes.

***

“It’s a beautiful morning, Miss Aldwyn.”

I groaned when Adriel pulled the sheets off my warm body.

“Where is Faye?” I mumbled into my pillow.

It was so early that the sun hadn’t even started peeking through my windows. I’d probably gotten less than two hours’ worth of sleep.

“The valets were required to attend a meeting today where they will be briefed about the first phase of the Crown Trials. So, I’m afraid you’re stuck with me today.”

“Oh, the horror,” I moaned as Adriel pulled my arms to help me sit up.

Adriel’s deep chuckle rattled my bones. “Pull yourself up, Willow,” he said, unpacking his styling bag.

“I doubt Miss Evelyn will be pleased if we’re late today, and we barely have time enough as it is, based on your current appearance.”

I sneered at his comment, but I understood what he meant when I looked at myself in the mirror.

My eyes appeared hollow due to the dark-blue circles under them. My lips nearly matched the shade of my skin, and pronounced lines stretched across my face.

I looked like a wandering corpse.

Adriel had truly performed a miracle once he’d worked his magic on me. I looked even better than yesterday, which I didn’t think was possible.

“You look nervous,” Adriel said as he guided me to the room where the Crown Trials would be initiated. I’d had nightmares about that room all night.

“I think that might be the understatement of the century, Adriel,” I said, exhaling the words to ease my restless body.

My eyes were glued to the path ahead, and each time we rounded a corner that brought us closer to our destination, my heart stopped for merely a second.

The only thing occupying my mind was the cameras—eyes that would see everything.

“Unfortunately, today’s event is not something I can shield you from,” Adriel said, his dark eyes smiling wider than his face, “but I’m sure there is nothing you can’t do if you simply keep your head held high.”

I shivered when we stopped in front of the massive white door and heard Evie’s piercing voice shout instructions.

“How do I look?” I whispered, clenching Adriel’s warm hands harder.

A faint smile crossed Adriel’s chiseled face. “More beautiful than Adeena herself.”

I snorted. “You don’t have to exaggerate,” I said, slapping his chest lightly with the back of my hand.

“I’m not,” Adriel said, making me blush till my face was as blue as the sky. “Now, get in there and show the world who the mysterious wildcard really is.”

Adriel opened the door and pushed me inside before I could protest.

“Good, Willow. You’re here.”

Evie grabbed my wrist the second her eyes caught me standing in front of the entryway, pulling me to my place beside Calla.

“She’s even worse than yesterday,” Calla whispered when Evie turned around to welcome another suitor entering the fiery pit of stress. “I think she might have a mental breakdown soon.”

“Do you think they’ll push the—”

“Hush, girls!” Evie exclaimed, her eyes staring daggers at us. “The cameras will be here in half an hour, so straighten your backs and raise those chins. I will not tolerate sloppiness today!”

Calla and I both held our breaths and did as told. I didn’t dare move until the cameras arrived unless Evie told me to.

Then the trumpets started playing the anthem of Heliac.

Cameras were turned on, and Evie hurried to her designated spot beside the raised platform.

Two uniformed guards opened the door, giving us access to the first clear view of the golden family.

King Alaric entered first, the mighty crown shining in the sunlight. Prince Atlas’s younger brother and sister followed shortly after, but Prince Atlas didn’t appear to be among them.

Calla’s hand lightly grazed mine.

I looked back at her, and she gestured for me to straighten my back.

I realized that I’d leaned forward to get a better view of the golden family. Evie would probably prefer to have my head served on a silver platter than see me deviate from her perfected plan.

So, I straightened my back, praying to the ancient spirits that no one but Calla had seen me.

“Welcome, Your Majesty,” Evie said, curtsying when King Alaric stopped before her.

Evie placed her hand behind her back and circled her finger in the air, signaling us to mirror her.

The king smiled, seemingly pleased with our performance so far.

“Thank you, Miss Evelyn. You have truly outdone yourself,” he said before stepping onto the platform and turning toward us.

“Welcome, suitors,” the king began, raising his arms as if trying to hug all of us simultaneously. “I hope you all had a pleasant week, although I imagine it to have been busy.

“The Crown Trials are scheduled to officially begin today. I hope you are prepared to push the limits of your strengths as you now begin your training toward becoming a member of the royal family.”

Begin?

~What kind of torture had they planned for us if this nightmarish week hadn’t been part of our training?~

“However, before we begin, I would like to formally introduce my family,” the king continued, and the brother stepped forward. “My youngest son—Calix Tarkan Pavo—an Earth Iridis like myself.”

Prince Calix was two years younger than the crown prince and looked even more like his brother up close.

They had the same nose and the same wavy hair, but his was golden blond like his father’s and reached the peak of his ears.

His eyes were as blue as my blood, and right beneath the corner of his lips was the faintest trace of a scar.

Scars weren’t usually something the elite carried. Healers would either heal the wounds too fast for any scarring to appear, or they’d simply make the scar disappear if desired.

Why a golden royal would choose to keep a scar like that puzzled me, possibly even fascinated me.

I had a small scar on my thigh from an accident involving my powers, but we couldn’t afford to seek help—not just because of my blood, but because we couldn’t pay.

“And my daughter—Eos Pavo—a Light Iridis.”

Her hair was as golden as Prince Calix’s. It was straighter but still had a great deal of volume. Her pale-blue eyes shifted hastily to catch a glimpse of every suitor before her father stopped talking.

She was a true beauty, although her attitude didn’t match her appearance.

Her arms were folded across her chest, and a frown creased her otherwise smooth skin.

This generation of the golden family had been fortunate.

Not only was the heir an elemental, but the rest of the golden children had also been blessed with powers—even Princess Eos, who mutated very late.

Many believed she would never mutate, so it was a surprise when the king announced her new powers last year, two months after her fifteenth birthday.

“However, as you might have noticed,” the king said, hopefully addressing the absent member of his family, “my oldest son does not stand beside us here.”

A thought teased my mind as my eyes glanced at the shadow of the door to our right. Could he really be—

“The crown prince is already waiting for the first suitor to join him in the room next door.”

So, I had been right.

Could he have been in there this entire time, or could there be another way to enter that room?

“So, without further ado, let us begin.”

The king stepped aside and allowed Prince Calix to pass him.

Prince Calix bowed in front of Neith, who was the first suitor in our line. Neith smiled and accepted his arm before he showed her to the next room.

I think everyone itched to crane their necks to get a tiny glimpse of the prince waiting for us behind that door, but none of us dared. Evie was watching us like a hawk.

Five minutes later, the door opened again, but Prince Calix didn’t walk over to assist Neith or retrieve another suitor for his brother.

Instead, Neith came out, clinging to Prince Atlas’s arm, laughing as if they’d become the best of friends.

Prince Atlas was wearing the same dark-blue uniform I remembered from the mansion, but he was wearing a crown this time.

Neith curtsied when she reached her spot, and Atlas bowed. Then Prince Atlas moved to the next suitor in line without as much as offering the rest of us a greeting glance.

Five minutes later, they came out again.

Air was after fire, and I was the last air wielder to be brought behind the door. So it would be a good while before it was my turn to ~chat~ with the prince.

We weren’t allowed to talk, so I spent the time thinking of ways to approach the impending conversation.

Would he test me like he’d tested the rest, or would he simply ask me how my week had been? Maybe he’d confront me about my interview with Arawn.

Then a wind to my right brought me back to my senses.

Calla was beaming beside me, her eyes sparkling as she nodded at the person in front of her.

A hard knot constricted my throat, making it hard for me to breathe when Prince Atlas turned his ocean eyes to me.

“Miss Aldwyn,” he said, bringing forth his arm for me to accept. “May I escort you to the next room?”

I swallowed dryly.

Let the game of lies begin.