Chapter: 35: Hidden Tunnels

Lying had already become as natural to me as breathing.

I hadn’t even broken a sweat when I’d told Piper and Calla that I’d coincidentally come across Caiden on my way to the healers—that he’d offered to heal me and helped me to my room afterward.

It had hurt to the deepest void of my mind when they’d looked at me, naively trusting every word I’d told them.

I just couldn’t make myself admit how close I’d been to hurting their beloved crown prince.

Besides, the ancient spirits may not have heard my pleas for salvation, but they had undoubtedly heard the untruth of my tale. Their punishment was almost as brutal as Alia’s fists.

“Again!” Art shouted and hit me with his staff when I was about to lose control again, breaking my concentration.

I breathed sharply through my gritted teeth, trying to ignore the stinging pain from his abusive whacks.

The sound of his voice alone hadn’t been enough to prevent my powers from growing beyond my control, so he had resorted to a slightly more violent approach.

It was working but had already left some nasty bruising on my delicate skin.

“Again!”

“It’s not working, Art!” I shouted when he hit me with his staff for the tenth time.

I grunted and hid my face in the palms of my hands. “It isn’t working,” I mumbled, on the verge of giving up on myself.

“You must manage the power flowing through you before you can control it. Feel it shift inside you,” Art recited for the fifth time.

I rolled my eyes to the back of my head and leaned back. “I know,” I said, rubbing the bridge of my nose. “I feel the power; I just can’t make it do what I want it to.”

Art sighed heavily, pushing himself away from the table he was leaning against. “Sit,” he said, pointing toward one of the only chairs still standing.

I pulled myself up and walked to the chair where I sat down, not giving a damn about proper etiquette.

Training with Art was exhausting, and I didn’t want to continue this hopeless session. Art just refused to let me quit yet.

“You are more powerful than you think,” he said, kneeling before my chair as I crossed my arms. “This is just a taste of what you have yet to achieve, but I need to make sure you can control your powers, so you don’t destroy everything in your path, Willow.

“My nephew told me what happened the other day, and—”

“I never asked for any of this,” I muttered, interrupting him without a second thought.

Art stood up, and his face pulled into an angry frown with flaring nostrils.

“None of us asks for it,” he roared so loudly that my shoulders jumped to my ears.

“It’s a gift, not a curse, and you need to accept that it’s part of you. Whether you want to or not. Until then, your powers will control you and not the other way around.”

I pouted, my soul more bruised by those words than the current state of my body. I knew he was right, but it felt like I’d tried everything by now.

“Homework until next time,” Art said, hitting me with his staff again to regain my attention. “Meditation.”

“I already tried that, Art,” I said, sighing and slumping back into my chair. “It didn’t—”

“Not that kind of meditation,” he quickly added. “Instead of focusing on maintaining your destructive power, I want you to focus on the good times when the air has been your friend.”

~When the air had been my friend?~

I didn’t have a lot of those memories. My powers had been a burden for as long as I could remember.

Art quirked his brow when I sighed despondently. “I will have my nephew accompany you to ensure you execute your assignment properly.”

A sharp tingle rushed across my chest when my Art mentioned Caiden. “What?” I whispered as I thought about yesterday. “But—”

Art shut me up by raising his palm to face me.

“I will hear no excuses. The general rules of the Crown Trials do not apply to you if I believe it makes sense to break them,” he explained, turning his back to me.

Right. I seem to remember that was one of the terms in my contract.

“Why do you think Caiden can help me?” I asked instead of trying to argue against the rules. “Or if he would even want to?”

“Firstly,” Art said, not even caring to turn around to face me. “You are calling my nephew by his chosen name, which not many do.”

My cheeks began burning as Art pointed out my careless mistake.

“Second,” he continued, raising two fingers from his clenched fist behind him.

“Caiden is one of the few Iridis of this generation who has fully mastered control of his powers. I cannot think of anyone better to help you when I’m not around.”

I pressed my lips into a thin line.

Caiden demonstrated incredible control yesterday, both in the parlor and the battle arena.

“How are we going to avoid being seen?” I muttered when nothing better came to me.

“I’ll let you know when it’s time for the two of you to meet in the battle arena. It’s a better location if accidents should happen, and there are no fixed cameras to see you.”

“What about the king?” I asked, leaning forward on the chair. “Won’t he—”

“Let me take care of my brother,” Art said, turning around with a weary smile. “His ego is easy to manipulate.”

Art swiped his hand in the empty air, and my chair began to hover above the ground as a wind surrounded it.

“Art!” I exclaimed when the chair began moving. “Put me down!”

“I expect to see more control next week,” he said before the chair rushed me out of his studio. “Have fun.”

Then he closed the door behind me.

I was almost angry enough to turn around and knock relentlessly on his door. He had some nerve to treat me like that, but he was my master. Technically, he was allowed to do what I needed to advance.

I wanted to hit something and scream as loud as my lungs would allow, but I knew I couldn’t. Not if I didn’t want to arouse the suspicions of every servant in this palace.

The light of the warming sun was soon replaced by the celestial body rising as the darkness approached. The month had passed so fast, and November was already upon us.

Faye had gone home for the evening, leaving me to enjoy the silence of this enormous room.

It was still too early to go to bed, so I grabbed a book instead and started scanning the ink on the cream-colored pages.

Then a knock disturbed the peaceful quiet.

I arched my brow and peered toward the door, waiting for another knock to confirm that someone was indeed waiting outside.

There was the sound of paper ripping under my hand as another knock rapped from the other side of my door.

We weren’t allowed in the halls at this time yet, and Faye had unlimited access to my room, so it would be strange if she felt the need to knock twice.

Reluctantly, I put down my book and went to open the door for my visitor.

A glimpse of gold briefly blinded me.

“Good evening, Willow.”

My breath hitched when I saw Caiden standing stiff in his royal uniform.

I immediately looked behind him to check for any curious eyes watching us. When I didn’t see any, I grabbed Caiden’s buttoned blazer and pulled him inside.

“What are you doing here, Caiden?” I whispered, closing the door as fast as I could. “You’re not supposed to be here at this time, or when I’m alone, for that matter!”

Caiden kept smiling as if he was trying to test my patience. “My uncle mentioned that you could use some help with your powers,” Caiden stated calmly. “I thought—”

“Is that why you’re here?” I said and interrupted him. “To teach me. Now?”

He nodded politely and continued to explain. “I didn’t think wasting time would be beneficial to any of us,” he stated as if he could wait for me to leave this castle.

Of course, it was likely not exactly what he intended to imply.

“And where are we supposed to practice?” I asked, too tired to care that he was the crown prince of Heliac. “The guards will catch us if we attempt to reach the battle arena.”

The crooked smirk on Caiden’s punchable face grew wider.

“What?” I sneered, crossing my arms.

“There is a way,” Caiden said, and a forbidden feeling of concern grazed my mind.

Then, without warning, he grabbed my hand and dragged me out of my room.

“Caiden!” I whispered, trying to pry his hand open as he pulled me into the cold hallway. “Caiden, we can’t!”

I’d never imagined myself speaking to a prince this way, but the face of fear had eclipsed every lesson about etiquette and titles I’d ever received.

He ignored me and continued down the hall until he stopped next to a painting of the mountains on the Dragon Islands.

Before I could hiss another warning, Caiden grabbed the corner of the golden frame and twisted the painting.

I heard a click, but nothing else happened.

“What did you do?” I whispered, constantly aware of my surroundings in case anyone should decide to break the rules like us.

Caiden didn’t answer me. Instead, he pushed me and sent me diving directly toward the wall.

The shock came so suddenly that my voice caught in my throat, and the scream desperately urging to be released was muffled by my own body.

I braced myself for the pain of having my head smashed against the walls meant to keep me safe, but it didn’t come. Instead, I tumbled forward until I could regain balance.

My heart thundered as I forced my eyes open to find myself standing in a hall of infinite darkness, torches illuminating the walls approximately two yards ahead.

I looked behind me but saw only a stone wall—no Caiden.

This place was foreign to my eyes. I had no idea where I was or how I’d gotten here. Could Caiden have sent me through some kind of portal?

Then Caiden appeared like a ghost through the solid wall, and it all made sense.

“A phantom wall,” I whispered, my eyes widening.

Illusions were a shared ability among both the Water Iridis and the light manipulators, although they approached the talent differently.

“This castle has many tunnels that can transport you to different places within the turrets.

“This one just happens to lead us directly to the battle arena—without anyone knowing,” he said, grabbed a torch, and started walking, oblivious to whether I followed him.

I couldn’t imagine the crown prince lying, but I’d rather not take the chance without Art’s direct approval.

I turned around to return to the air wing through the illusion, but it had reverted to an ordinary wall, and I had no idea how to reactivate it.

It suddenly made sense why Caiden had started walking, expecting me to tailgate him without consideration. I had no other choice.

We exited the tunnels via one of the shower rooms, and Caiden carelessly continued into the light until we reached the middle of the arena.

Then he took off his cape and blazer to free himself from the limitations of his suit. “Ready?” he asked, rolling up the sleeves of his clean, white dress shirt.

“I’m in my nightgown, Caiden! I’m not ready to fight!” I snapped, tired of being bossed around.

I’d looked forward to this evening of peace and quiet all day. I was not in the mood for games.

Yet, Caiden simply chuckled. “Nothing I haven’t seen before,” he said and fought to keep a straight face.

Heat rushed to my cheeks, and they burned even hotter than yesterday.

“Jerk,” I said, punching his hardened arm so hard my hand hurt. Unfortunately, I couldn’t hold back the smile peeking from the corner of my lips.

Caiden wasn’t wearing his royal mask anymore. I was now facing the real Caiden instead of the crown prince.

“Fine,” I said, sighing as I dropped my robe. “What do you want me to do?”

I had a feeling that I wasn’t going to be cold for very long.

“Sit,” he said and pushed me to a meditative position.

Meditation—just like Art had told me.

“I’m not sure what you hope to gain by this,” I said with another deep sigh. “I already tried meditating. It didn’t work. Everything I do only seems to make it worse.”

“Close your eyes,” he said, ignoring my warning.

“You sound like your uncle,” I mumbled, rolling my eyes at him.

Caiden snorted and rubbed his neck. “He has had a certain influence on me; that is true.”

Then he poked my brow with his finger. “Now, I want you to focus on your memories instead of your abilities,” he said, walking around me so I couldn’t see him.

“My memories?” I said, not quite sure what he hoped to achieve.

“Hush!” Caiden said, flicking the back of my head. “Close your eyes.”

I rubbed the new bruise on the back of my head without a sound. I would never have thought Caiden could be worse than Art, and he didn’t even have a staff.

“We need for you to associate your powers with something good. Right now, you’re afraid of yourself, which causes you to lose control.

“So, try to think of a good moment in your life,” Caiden continued, walking around me in circles.

I readjusted my position and began pulling random memories from my mind.

Unfortunately, separating the good elements from the bad proved to be more complicated than I thought.

It seems like every pleasant memory I had revolving around my powers always turned bad eventually.

“I can’t,” I said, opening my eyes as my hands started shaking. “I have no good memory of using my powers. Nothing.”

“Relax, Will,” Caiden said, kneeling before me and grabbing my hands. “This is not something I expect you to figure out during one session. It will take time, especially with powers as advanced as yours.”

“Tell me about the memories you find,” he said without leaving my eyes.

I sighed and started searching my mind again.

“I have good memories of my powers, but they always turn out bad one way or the other.

“I have a memory from when I was ten. Koa and I were running around by the river and having fun by testing what I could do. I broke his arm, which has never quite healed since.

“Another time, I nearly blew away our house because I wanted to show my brother something new I’d taught myself.”

“You love your family, right?” he asked, completely unrelated to the memories I’d just told him about.

I blinked a few times, then squeezed Caiden’s hands as I was reminded of them. “More than anything.”

“Then think of them. Not your powers. Just your family and how they make you feel,” he explained.

His suggestion didn’t make any sense. Why would I think of them when all my powers had done to my family was bring sorrow?

“I’ll be right here,” Caiden said when I wavered from his eyes. “Just close your eyes, and imagine your family.”

I nodded reluctantly, sniffling as I closed my eyes and recalled my family’s faces.

Mom, Dad, Tristan, and Koa.

Their memory made my nerves dance, and my emotions flowed like a steady river.

My powers arose as if I had summoned them on purpose.

However, compared to the usual chaos, they felt like a pleasant summer breeze waiting for someone to tell them what to do next—as if they were waiting for a master to command them.

I let go of Caiden’s hands and spread my fingers. I started slowly, feeling the way the wind wrapped around them like tiny serpents following the melody of a song.

Then the air vanished.

Opening my eyes was the next step, but I was terrified to see the destruction I’d left behind by tempting fate.

“It’s all right, Will,” Caiden whispered, gently touching my trembling hands.

He didn’t sound injured. Maybe it was because he’d healed himself already.

I reluctantly opened my eyes and was met by Caiden’s soft smile. He was all right.

Bewildered, I tossed my head around, checking if anything was even slightly out of place.

Had I done it? Had I used my powers and not destroyed everything within my reach?

“Good,” Caiden said. “A small step and an excellent beginning. Do you want to continue?”

I nodded eagerly and made him chuckle before he stood up to let me try again.

This was probably the first time I’d sensed some kind of purpose behind this sham since I’d arrived. Perhaps I really could do this and become as strong as the great air masters.

If fate would let me have it.