Chapter 9: Friendship with the Prince

If the prince didn’t look aggravated when I accidentally knocked him down, he certainly did now. He got up and shot ahead of me, leaving me in the dust.

My lungs burned. My thighs burned. My feet were killing me. Five miles in, the prince slowed down and let me catch up.

“Are you mad at me?” I asked between breaths.

“No, but Master Carleton is right. You can’t treat me like the Prince of Berwick.”

“But you ~are~ the Prince of Berwick,” I reminded him.

“It doesn’t matter. I don’t want people to take it easy on me. Next time we spar, you can’t hesitate. I would hate to see something bad happen to you just because you held back and didn’t learn how to fight properly. Hunter would hate me for it too.”

His last sentence made me stop. “What does Hunter have to do with anything?”

He waved me off. “Never mind.”

A few more students who disobeyed Master Carleton ran past us.

I didn’t have a problem with Tanner, but wherever he went, Hunter followed. I was getting tired of the fact that any time I was around that guy, I couldn’t control what I said, did, or thought. I’d never felt that way before, and to be honest, I didn’t like it.

I had to focus on school and figuring out why I didn’t know about my powers. Hunter was only going to steal my focus and waste my time.

When combat class was finally over, we gathered our books, and all the women piled into the bathing room. There was marble everywhere I looked. The moment I removed my shoes and put my bare feet on the floor, the floor warmed up. Loofahs and bottles of bodywash floated in the air and landed in our outstretched palms.

At home, I wasn’t allowed to take long baths. Not that I would’ve wanted to anyway, since the water was always cold and the soap we bought at the market smelled terrible. I’d be in and out in two minutes.

This bath was nothing like that. Warm water dripped from the ceiling as soon as I finished lathering up my skin. By the time I forced myself out, my skin had pruned up.

Clean clothes appeared outside the bathing stall. Oswalda seemed to read our minds and give us whatever we needed, whenever we needed it. It was so different from home where I’d spend hours cleaning, cooking, and mending my own clothes.

“Let’s head to the library. We need some peace and quiet so we can study,” Celestria said.

Just like the rest of the academy, the library was beautiful. The walls were decorated with moving ornaments. Chandeliers swung from the ceiling and made the entire place glow. Enchanted birds fluttered above our heads, dropping snacks, pens, and erasers in the hands of those who needed them. There were tables covered in colorful tablecloths and bookshelves filled with books. There were sofas and comfy chairs too, but most of them were occupied.

“Over here.”

Celestria, Kenley, and I turned to find the prince standing right behind us. “You girls can study with us. We don’t mind.”

~Who is us, exactly?~ I wanted to ask, but there was no need, because when we got to a long table cluttered with books, Hunter already had his nose in one of them.

I wanted to find an excuse to go study somewhere else, but my friends were already taking their seats. Besides, the place was extremely packed, and I didn’t want to go back to the dorm. Since I found out that I had powers, and that my parents likely kept them from me, the last thing I wanted was to be alone.

“This is Weston, Sterling, and Hunter,” the prince introduced everyone at the table. “And I’m Tanner.”

The one named Weston had pale skin, dark brown hair, and hazel eyes. It made for a handsome combination. Sterling had rich, dark skin, dark twinkling eyes, and black hair. Even though he was sitting, he seemed to be the tallest of the group.

“I’m Hollis. This is Kenley and Celestria,” I said, keeping my eyes locked on Tanner.

What game was he playing? He might’ve been stuck with me during class because of our test scores, but that didn’t mean that we had to spend our free time together too. Besides, he was a royal and based on what I saw back in the arena, Weston and Sterling were ruthless, mean, and very skilled. Why did they want us to hang out with them?

Not knowing what it all meant, I played along. I didn’t bother looking at Hunter at all. He had stared at me all day and I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction by letting him know that I noticed.

We studied in silence for about an hour and a half. Then, the bell rang.

“Dinner!” Weston said and closed his book with a thud. “It’s about time. I’m starving.”

“Will you ladies be joining us?” Sterling asked, standing up from his chair.

Kenley flashed Sterling a smile. “We’d love to!”

“I don’t think so,” I said at the same time.

“Please, eat with us,” the prince said.

My friends looked at me with puppy-dog eyes until I gave in.

As I watched my friends follow Tanner, Sterling, and Weston out of the library, a shoulder brushed mine. When I looked up and my eyes locked with Hunter’s gray ones, my feet got tangled. I would’ve fallen on my face if he hadn’t caught me at the perfect time.

“Careful,” he said in his rich, low voice.

“I think this is the least dangerous thing to happen to me today.”

His beautiful face grew tense. “Did Tanner hurt you in the arena?”

He sounded angry, which made no sense. Tanner hadn’t done anything he wasn’t supposed to, and even if he had, I was a stranger, and Hunter had no reason to care about my well-being.

“We hurt each other. That was the whole point of the lesson. Didn’t you pay attention to a thing Master Carleton said?”

He made sure I was steady on my feet. Then, he brought his eyes back to my face.

“Maybe I did, or maybe I had other things on my mind,” he said, and just like that, he walked out of the library, leaving me dazed and confused.