Chapter 7

H is hand shot to the spot where Avalynn Stromm had touched him. The connection sent a wave of something inside of him he hadn't felt before and wasn't expecting. But anger quickly erased all that.

Rubbing her away, he squeezed his hands together as he marched out of the receiving room. Her father had challenged him, his witch had compelled him, and the princess had warned him.

He sensed a pressure so strong it might have shattered every bone in his hands. Stinging pulses shot through his arms. He would have sent those pulses into the king's face if he could've.

How dare his Highness! In front of everyone, the king ordered that witch to spell him and drag him to the back of the line. And how dare that wretched Princess Avalynn! She threatened him ? Please. As if she or her father could have kept him down. And to think that Rhyka thought he would in any way be linked to her. Never in an eon would that happen.

He swung his arms as he crossed the vestibule floor. The widened eyes of the doormen spotted him. They scrambled into place. Uh-uh-uh… With a series of grunts, they heaved the thick and dense palace doors open.

Verona hissed behind him. "Mateo, stop." Her padded boots struck the floor in short strides. "Now."

He wasn't stopping. If she had the key to victory in the hunt, he would have kept going. He needed to exit that cursed place no matter who or what followed.

The cool night air soothed his face like a refreshing splash after a hard run. The comforting scents of earth and fauna erased the palace's garish and powdery perfumes. Where the crushed granite met the grass, he stopped. The nearly full orange moon filled the night sky and lit up the grounds with a radiant glow.

Verona caught up to him. "Have you lost your mind?" Quick bursts of vapor billowed from her mouth. "Challenging the king like that?"

"He had it coming." The High King had no right to order his witch to compel him like that.

"Maybe so. But we are who we are—Sublanders." She rubbed her forehead as if they had no choice. "We have to play our role until you get in that hunt." She leaned in and whispered, "They will remove you before it starts if you pull a trick like that again." Her eyebrows raised the length of her forehead. "Or send you to the dungeons. You are lucky that witch did not end you on the spot."

Rhyka drew near, her presence adding another level of frustration. "Foolish boy."

"I am no fool. I am mad. You are afraid of them, but I am not." Lady Verona had her limitations as the steward of the Sublands, but he did not have those same binds. "They have no power over me except that which I give them." As long as Mateo drew breath, no Stromm would ever wield power over any child of Manny Vela.

"Enough with that," Rhyka warned. "What did Princess Avalynn say to you?"

"Nothing important." Her perfectly formed lips, the color of red rose petals, sprang to mind. He pushed the visual aside.

Rhyka clutched his arm. "What did she say?" The witch shook him as if he were a child.

He jerked his arm away. "All the princess said was ‘you will not win anything.'"

Lady Verona exchanged glances with Rhyka. She squinted and then whispered, "The Stromms are up to something."

"With Raelor's aid, no less," Rhyka replied.

Mateo opened his palms. "Of course, they are up to something. First, Engrendorn was the hunter, and now the Stromm heir is? How does that even make sense?" The Stromms played by their own rules.

Lady Verona looked at Rhyka. "We will find out."

He shook his head. "It doesn't even matter." His father and sister needed those healing seeds, so did little Poppy, and so did the rest of the Sublands. He was not going to let them down. "They can cheat all they want. But they still have to release those foxes. And when they do, they will figure out a thing or two about me…like I do not lose."

"Ahem, excuse me, honored guests?" It was the petite woman who had ushered them into the receiving room.

Lady Verona faced the maidservant while Mateo composed himself.

The maiden tipped her head. "I am Maid Nia, your assigned attendant while you are at the palace. I would be honored to show you to your rooms. That is, if you are finished with the evening's festivities. Your things have already been delivered."

"That would be splendid." Lady Verona nodded. "Thank you."

Maid Nia motioned with her arm. "I will lead you around the exterior of the palace to the guest rooms at the rear. It is a shorter walk this way." She took a step. "Please, follow me."

Despite the bright moon illuminating the gravel pathway, lighted orbs dotted the path. Round. Shimmery. Hazy around the edges. "We don't have these in the Sublands," Mateo muttered, as if the glowing spheres could hear him. "How do they work?"

"The magic of our gnomes," Maid Nia explained. "They maintain the grounds and the orbs, both outside and inside the palace."

Mateo studied the shrubs and trees lining the path. "Are the gnomes here now?"

"They keep hidden." Her soft steps kept a steady pace. "I have never seen one myself."

The obscene luxuries of this place…while back home, Sublanders struggled. His family and so many others could benefit from this type of wealth. They could have plenty of healing seeds, food, fabric, and building materials. Winning the hunt would elevate the Sublands in countless ways. With this level of wealth, his mother might even have still been alive today.

The maid stopped at the palace's rear and presented a simple door. No carvings, no adornments, only plain thick wood—perfect for a Sublander. The hinges creaked as a doorman opened the entrance. Maid Nia started up the winding staircase. "This wing of the palace is perfect for privacy and relaxation." Her flowing white dress settled as she reached the second-floor landing. "On this floor, we have a library along with three bedchambers. Each has a washroom. On the third floor, you will find a fourth chamber, also with its own washroom. All meals will be provided in the receiving room, where we were earlier, and?—"

"I will take the third floor." Mateo did not need to hear any more. His foot hit the step, and he turned to the maid. "What is my schedule for tomorrow?"

"When the sun is at its peak, all hunters will meet in the training circle in the rear of the garden. The gala follows in the evening." She raised a finger. "Oh, and please do not roam the grounds at night. It is strictly prohibited."

He bowed his head to her. "Thank you." He met Lady Verona's eyes. "See you tomorrow."

Despite the plain wooden door at the entry of the wing, the guest room was as grotesquely opulent as the rest of the palace. Gold flecks dotted the floor. Richly carved wood covered the walls. Mateo pressed his forehead against the door with a bang. Was there any place here that was not dripping in wealth? The Stromms did not deserve to even breathe.

Floral perfume wafted through the dense air. Like a ray of light, her image flashed in his mind. Avalynn Stromm. He pushed it away, then searched for the sweet aroma's source. He found an arrangement of roses and lilies on the stone table by the opened window. He strode over, snatched up the vase, and dumped it outside the window.

His hand moved to the spot where she'd touched him. It lingered like a hot metal brand, and her face sprang to his mind. Those ocean-blue eyes. That soft cream skin. Those tight-fitting?—

"Stop!" Mateo growled and rubbed that spot—her spot—off his arm. She was a Stromm, nothing more. An ice princess who only cared about her station. He must focus on winning the hunt, not her hand.

He quickly assessed the bedchamber. A fireplace, a sitting chair, a wardrobe, and an obscenely spacious four-poster bed. The attached washroom housed a wash basin mounted on a counter and a sizable tub, all with the same details as the rest of the space. His entire family and four others could've made their home inside this one room.

He tossed his bag on the cot, sifted through his stuff, and found nothing missing. He removed the onyx dagger his father gave him at age eleven, his mother's treasured scarf, and his father's cross. He sheathed the dagger at his waist, sat on the window seat's edge, and rubbed his forehead. Everything was on fire inside Mateo. He needed a quick run to clear his mind. Like his nightly jaunts to Spirit Butte in the Sublands, he needed to get away. He did not belong here in Stromm Palace.

His eyes adjusted to the moonlight. He studied the overly manicured bushes and the needlessly spraying fountains. His stare drifted beyond the bountiful grounds. It landed on the dark and wild forest of Summit Range and the base of the blue mountains.

The hunt.

His heart raced as he scanned the forest shadows. He spotted movement…a white creature. His eyes narrowed. A horse pranced and played alone. He smiled, having never seen such a magnificent creature. He needed a closer view. Maid Nia had declared roaming the grounds forbidden, so he would have to sneak out .

He peered over the window's edge. A vine-filled lattice reached his room. Easy. He scanned the path to the forest and identified several pockets of darkness. Again, easy. He rubbed his hands together in quiet anticipation. Time to have some fun. Maybe even gain an advantage from a secret hike through the Summit Range.

Nobody would ever know.

Avalynn gulped her gala wine and threw the glass into the fireplace. How dare he! The Sublander had challenged her and her father. Good thing he left early. Making sure he came in last would be her pleasure. And to think…she had begun feeling sympathetic toward him and his lowborn people.

Eiric, Finnian, and Selene approached. Eiric crossed his arms. He glanced in the direction the Sublander had gone. "Are we teaming up to make sure the Sublander scum comes in last place?"

Selene handed Avalynn a fresh drink and sipped her own. "Walking in and passing us up? As if he was not a dreaded lowborn?" She raised her glass and took another sip. "Nothing would please me more."

Finnian nodded. "Me too. The lowborn must go."

Form an alliance with her competition? The Sublander guaranteed last place? It would make her job much easier. She pictured his pretty yet defeated face—last place, death penalty, the end of him and the Sublands. She was game for such an endeavor. Her father would be pleased. "He has no idea what is coming."

Maid Nia tapped the back of her arm. "Excuse me, my lady. The attendants are escorting the hunters to their bedchambers now."

A team of maidservants approached. Selene leaned into the group and raised a glass. "Down with the Sublander."

Everyone nodded, then separated.

After the obligatory goodnight to her parents who were entertaining dignitaries, Avalynn followed Nia from the room and up the stairs. "Can you believe that Sublander?" She huffed with each step. "Mateo Vela. A horrid name for a horrid lowborn."

Nia shook her head. "Perhaps he reacts to removal from his element." She slowed her quick step. "Like a fawn that never leaves the den." Her tone softened to a feather's tickle. "His people suffer greatly."

The princess wrinkled her nose. "If they suffer, it is on them. They have violated too many laws to deserve leniency." Her sympathy failed as it applied to the Sublands. Especially now.

Nia reached for Avalynn's bedchamber door. "Your loyalty allows the king to speak through you." She tilted her head. "But what do you think?" She tucked a strand of Avalynn's hair behind her ear and then tapped her chest. "What is inside your heart?"

Her heart? As if that mattered. Her duty and her heart were two strange ships that passed in the black night. If she went to the bottom of the sea, it would be for duty. Especially after the Sublander's defiant display in front of everyone. She pulled her strand of hair back to where it was. "Duty is my only path."