Chapter 27

Nikolai

The door closed with a soft click but Nikolai did not turn in his chair. “Is it done?”

The moon had risen to its pinnacle, shining bright and ominous in the night. Nikolai felt it was mocking him, looking down at him and judging him for every wrong decision he had made that day. And there were plenty to choose from.

“We buried the wolf just thirty minutes away from the palace at the trunk of a world ash, Your Majesty. She insisted upon it,” Raphael said.

Nikolai’s lips twitched, of course, she did.

“Well, then you can take the night off, we have an early start tomorrow and I have no further use of your skills tonight.”

“Your Majesty—” Nikolai turned, shutting up Raphael pretty quickly, his shoulders straightening slightly now that the king was looking at him. “Yes?”

His royal guard took a step forward, the dark wooden oak desk the only thing standing between them. Urgency shined in his hazel eyes. “I fear that I have to tell you that Noora knows of the lands. She told me that a tree— a tree —told her that the kingdom was dying.”

Nikolai smiled lightly but it was devoid of humour. “Why would she not know? She is a witch, Raphael, the way she and her ancestors are connected to the kingdom’s lands is not different from the way the royal family is connected to it. Not the sole of her boots or armour made out of iron could cut the connection she has to these lands. It is what they draw energy from.”

“Why are you not more concerned by this?”

Nikolai shrugged. “There is nothing I can do about it, really. Our kingdom is dying, Noora is not the first one to notice and she will not be the last. As long as no one knows why the kingdom is dying, we still have time.”

Raphael still looked concerned and he was not afraid to voice that concern.

“Sir, with all due respect—”

“Starting a sentence like that and then still disrespecting me with your opinion does not save you of your sins, Raphael.” Despite his words, a slow smirk took place upon Nikolai’s lips.

Raphael put his fists down on his desk, making Nikolai raise a brow. “You are not grasping the seriousness of this, Kai. If Noora finds out the real reason why you are holding the tournament, she will be a great problem in our plans.”

Nikolai rounded the desk slowly and clasped Raphael’s shoulders, so he looked at him. Despite them being the same age there was still a barrier between the two men. Raphael was one of the only people the king trusted with his whole life, the sheer obedience and loyalty this man had to him was admirable and Nikolai did not take it for granted.

“Raphael, have I ever mistrusted your skills?”

“No, Your Majesty,” Raphal replied.

“Have I ever come forward with concerns that you are not fit for any task that I have given you?”

“No.” Raphael’s shoulders sagged under the weight of Nikolai’s penetrating gaze. A soft blush covered his olive skin, his lashes striking his high cheekbones.

“Then why, my dear friend, are you doubting yourself?”

“I am not doubting myself, I am calculating the threats that may obstruct our way.”

Nikolai nodded, finally letting go of his shoulders. “If there are threats in our way we will eliminate them.”

“Even if that threat is Noora?”

Nikolai looked at Raphael who was facing him head-on.

“Noora is not a threat.”

“What if she becomes a threat?”

“She is not and that is not up for debate,” Nikolai spoke and his word was final. He turned his back on Raphael, staring at the bookshelves filled to the brim with novels, he feared would collapse under the weight by time. “Go to sleep now. We have great plans tomorrow.”

“What happens tomorrow?”

“There will be an arrest of a matron in town and I have been asked to judge it.”

Noora

When Noora got up the next morning, her mind was still filled with great melancholy, she had strict rules regarding her hunting and to have wasted an innocent life reverberated inside her mind for hours. Though she tried not to give it much space and to swallow it. She succeeded only partly in stuffing herself at breakfast with bread, glinting golden brown, cheese, and milk that tasted like heavens on earth.

She had three servings before she could no longer ignore the pulsing in her hand and slipped out of the oppressing palace walls and out into the royal gardens. Today the wind was still raving, rustling the rose bushes and narrow trees that wound around the garden.

Noora looked around for Raphael but she had not seen the guard since last night, when he dropped her off at her room. Now that she came to think of it she hadn’t seen Nikolai the whole morning as well.

“Morning.”

Noora turned to see Tyra clad in a skin-tight black suit which looked like it was made out of leather, hugging her curves seductively, a smirk sitting on her lips. Though Tyra looked stunning, Noora’s attention was drawn by the girl beside her.

She was a bit smaller than Tyra, her limbs delicate and fragile, though it did nothing to her aristocratic posture. Her shoulders were straight, her pointy chin set high and her brown eyes were set on the princess. She was dressed in a beautiful wine-red gown, narrowing at the waist and flowing in an A-line from her hips, brushing the ground. Gold details glinted at the hem, a dainty ring in the same gold embedded in her straight nose. Her dark red hair brushed her shoulders and its structure reminded Noora of Lulva’s strands and the deep tone of her skin. There was no doubt she was from the Southern Isles.

“Going on a morning stroll?” Tyra forced her out of her staring.

“I was hoping to find some sort of greenery. I am looking for a few herbs that I could produce into a salve for my hand.” She held up her hand wrapped in gauze. She did change it this morning. She was not that stupid to let the wound get infected afterward but the insistent pulsing would not leave, no matter what the palace healer provided her.

She needed something different since she was slowly but surely growing irritated by the constant pain.

Tyra’s brows rose. “Well, I could bring you to the healer’s wing. I am sure they will provide you with something effective.”

“They already did. I need something else,” Noora insisted. At this, the girl beside Tyra perked up.

“I think we should show her the greenery, Tyra.” The princess looked at the girl when she spoke her name and the latter immediately nodded. “Of course.”

Without further discussion, Tyra turned around the east side of the castle Noora trailing behind her. The girl fell a bit back smiling politely when she walked beside Noora.

“I watched you when you competed in the tournament, it was admirable what you did.”

Noora’s brows rose. “It was?”

She nodded quickly, the sun glinting against the ring in her nose. “Nobody saw it at first but I knew what you were doing. Even though the wolf bit you, you refrained from actually hurting it despite you getting injured in the end. It is very courageous to stick to one’s morals, especially in a case like this. The royal family is counting on entertainment in the tournament and despite Kekoa’s questionable methods—they preferred it.”

Her eyes glittered now with determination and somehow her excitement traversed toward Noora. “I did as best as I could and now I got a nasty wound on my hand.”

“But I bet that wound feels a thousand times better than having innocent blood on your hands.”

Tyra led them past the stables and just a few steps behind protruded a small house made entirely out of glass. Noora’s steps haltered as she took in the sheer size of the house, it was even bigger than the orphanage itself which inhabited more than forty girls of different age groups.

“I asked for a greenhouse, not a whole palace,“ she muttered and Tyra turned around, surprised. “Is that not what it is?”

Even the other girl, whose name Noora still didn’t know, looked slightly confused by Noora’s reaction.

“Don’t mind me,“ she grumbled, strutting past them and into the stuffy air of the greenery. Royals and their habit of unrealistic living standards.

A variety of smells infiltrated her senses and for a moment she had to pause to orient herself between all the different plants and trees. Some had leaves shaped like circles, others ended in sharp points, some were glowing in red, and others in melancholy green.

A distinct smell made her step past what looked like a fig tree and she came upon a small pot out of clay potted with a flower with white petals, the center shining yellow. Many mistook the herb for daisies and Noora could understand, it did resemble the flower clearly but she would never miss the soft comforting scent of camomile. It soothed her back many nights and she quickly became dependent on the herb.

“Do you maybe have—” Before she could finish her question Tyra popped up beside her with a small lilac satchel held out in her hand. “Thank you.”

Tyra smiled. “So you like to brew your potions?”

Noora tried to contain her laughter at the princess’s ridiculous phrasing as she got out her knife and cut a few pieces of the plant.

“I usually buy it at a market in town, I swear on it but now that I am here I can’t get any access to it.”

Noora walked past the plant and deeper into the greenery, both girls following her.

They walked past tropical plants that Noora had never seen before, fruits shaped like small orange suns, basil, and something that looked like a yellow crescent. The air was stuffy inside, a thin layer of sweat already forming on Noora’s skin.

“People from the South Kingdom believe in producing their healing salves from nature as well. When I was sick, my mother always smeared my clavicles with a salve which was mostly out of eucalyptus. It cleared up my sinuses immediately and I still use it when I’m sick, just because it makes me feel better,” the nameless girl said and Noora felt her lips tipping up.

“Eucalyptus is very good for colds but also for relieving muscle and joint pain. You are from the South Kingdom? Where exactly? My sister comes from there.”

Noora bent down to cut a few parts of the thyme, dropping it into the satchel.

“I am from Ka-Hema.”

Noora turned around in surprise.

Tyra grinned at the look on her face before properly introducing the strange girl. “Noora, this is Princess Aileen-Akamu from the Kingdom of Ka-Hema.”

“I—” Noora found herself stuttering for the first time in her life. There were not many girls her age—or any age at all—that treated her with kindness, without wanting anything in return. But to have a princess be this nice to her felt strange. Before she could stop herself she bent into a curtsy, so horrific, she felt like a lanky trample rather than a skillful huntress.

Her curtsy was not low enough to count for one but the slight bending of her knees made sure she could not pretend that she merely stumbled.

“It is an honour to meet you, Your Highness.”

“Please, let’s not even begin with formalities like that.” Aileen-Akamu waved around the air as if she could make the fact that she was the heir to the most powerful throne of the southern continent less.

Noora was unsure and her gaze flickered towards Tyra, who was smiling encouragingly at her. “She’s not that special, she’s just any other girl, like you and me.”

Noora blanched at her comment, expecting an armada to run over the greenhouse and kill Tyra in an instant. But instead, Aileen laughed, the sound so high and carefree Noora could do nothing but relax slightly.

“Any other girl, huh?” Aileen looked up at Tyra, their gazes clashing for a moment filled with tense silence.

Noora cleared her throat, making both girls turn their gaze towards her. “I better get this mashed up before I pass out from pain. The other contestants are probably already in the training chamber.”

“That might be a very good idea,” Aileen agreed.

“To further that statement,” Tyra added, “Kekoa has been banned from the training chamber for the next two days because of his lack of hesitation in harming an animal.”

Noora’s brows shot up in surprise. She thought that was exactly what the family strived for when coming up with this tournament.

Tyra grinned again. “My mother might thrive in chaos and violence but my brother has a very different opinion on those things.” She winked and Noora couldn’t help the nagging voice that she tried to drown out for the past hours.

Managing a small smile, she parted from the two princesses and made her way to the training chamber, her gaze straining for a glimpse of the king on her way through the palace’s hallways but only coming up empty.