36. Chapter 36

Chapter thirty-six

L unch passed quickly, Haven had grabbed a sandwich in the kitchens and headed to the library to use whatever amount of time she had to continue searching for the journal from Binahs letter. Again, she found nothing. Two and a half hours in the library turned out to be a large waste of time. Eventually, she began wandering the castle.

After multiple trips back and forth through the halls, Haven felt like she had a much better grip on the layout of the large castle. Another hour passed before a short gray haired woman found her looking over the paintings in the great hall. The older woman introduced herself as Elanor, Havens new instructor. Elanor proceeded to grab ahold of Havens wrist and all but force her back to the library. Once seated in the library, Elanor sat Haven down at a desk and began a rapid but easy to follow lesson on politics of the fae realm and the basics of what Haven would be learning in her time spent with the older woman.

Seven royal founders, seven kingdoms, seven members of each council, apparently the fae really liked the number seven.

Another two hours passed before Havens lesson ended. After gathering a few papers Elanor told her to look over before they met again the next day, Haven used her newfound familiarity of the castle halls and staircases to head back to her room. As she rounded the corner of the hall containing her room, Haven spotted Roman leaning up against the wall next to her door.

"Hey!" She called, increasing the pace of her steps.

"Your highness" Roman mock bowed

"None of that" Haven laughed while unlocking her door. Fae had been saying those words to her all day and it was getting old. Although she supposed it was better than the few glares she'd received.

Haven opened her door and beckoned Roman to follow her inside. A smirk took over his face as he pulled a bottle of wine and two glasses from behind his back.

"I thought we should celebrate" He told her

Haven considered for a moment, "I suppose a little wine couldn't hurt"

Opening the doors to her balcony, Haven led Roman to the small table and chair set. They both sat down, Roman poured some wine into a glass and passed it to Haven.

"Thanks," She said, "I'm sorry we haven't caught up before now. With all the craziness I haven't even heard how your tests went"

"Not as well as yours went" Roman joked

Haven snorted, "I don't know if it exactly went well. I did get shot with what I assume was some kind of magic arrow" She raised her glass and took in a large gulp of some sort of cherry flavored wine. It wasn't the best thing Haven had ever tasted but she supposed it would due for a simple catch up with her friend.

"Yeah I got stabbed" Roman commented nonchalantly, as if being stabbed or shot with an arrow was a normal, everyday part of life.

Haven gaped at him, silently willing Roman to continue.

"As I was leaving the festival I came across a woman getting robbed. Of course I intervened. Long story short, the guy apparently really wanted the womans money and I got stabbed for it"

"That's crazy" Haven remarked

"Yeah, I think they just wanted us to prove we'd be willing to do what it took to help someone else, to prove that we would protect our people with our lives"

Haven agreed that that seemed to be the point of the test, although she still wondered how the magic could tell who she was and what her powers were from that alone. Circling back to the topic at hand, Haven asked,

"So what kingdom are you from?"

"Norwood," Roman answered, "Just like Binah originally guessed. It's a collection of islands across the sea. I'll show it to you on the map sometime."

"That sounds nice" She told him

"I think it'll be really cool. I've always loved living by the ocean"

Haven had a moment of confusion seeing as where they'd lived before in North Carolina was nowhere near the ocean. Before Haven could ask what he meant, Roman began speaking again ,

"I have seven brothers and one sister. They expect I could be second in line for the throne based on the strength of the water magic I exhibited after my tests. I'll have to wait to find out until I actually go to Norwood and meet my siblings. Apparently we have to face off in some sort of fight to determine where I'll go in line for the throne"

"Wow, that sounds intense. How do you feel about that?" Haven asked, she'd heard that Roman had shown an impressive display of water magic after his tests so she wasn't surprised hearing him confirm it. What Haven was most concerned about was how her friend was dealing with the idea that he might be second in line for the throne. She was overwhelmed by the thought of ruling at the best of times and while she was trying her best to manage her anxiety, some still poked through her defenses.

The idea of having siblings might have appealed to her in the beginning but hearing that she likely would've had to fight them to find her place in line helped her be okay with the fact that she didn't have any.

"I think having a lot of siblings will be fun. Though I suspect they'll mistrust me at first since I am likely to be so close in line for the throne."

"Will you be alright?" Haven's mood dampened when she remembered that in thirty days, Roman would be leaving. Right after her coronation, her friend would leave for his home kingdom to begin his life there.

"Yeah I'm actually looking forward to it." He answered with a smile.

"That's great Roman! I'm happy for you." Haven tried her best not to show her slight disappointment. She wanted to be happy for Roman but there was no denying that she'd miss him. Haven hadn't known him for long but after everything they'd been through together, she felt very attached to him and the friendship between them.

"And don't worry Haven, I'll secure an alliance between our kingdoms before it ever becomes necessary" Roman reached over and put a reassuring hand on her arm. That had not been what she wanted to hear. In fact, she hadn't even been thinking about that.

"You think that could be necessary?" She nervously asked

Roman hesitated before responding and his smile from earlier vanished,

"I think the crown regent has many loyal followers, more than we realize, and he does not want to give up his power. I hope it won't come to a war but if it does, I'll always have your back"

The thought made Haven nervous. She didn't exactly expect smooth sailings with this transfer of power but war? That seemed a bit much. Although having met the crown regent, seeing his dislike of her and how tightly he held onto power, if she really thought about it, war didn't seem like that far of a reach.

Haven gulped down air, "Onto happier thoughts!" She exclaimed. Tossing back the entirety of her wine, Haven let the alcohol settle over her and then reached for the bottle to refill her glass. Roman chuckled, his easy smile returning. He refilled his own glass and asked her how her training had gone with Tasha this morning. Haven happily responded, her mind drifting from thoughts of war to thoughts of her magic. She could feel it brimming just underneath the surface even now. It made her feel special and even a little less homesick .

With a wide smile she told Roman all about her session this morning. He laughed when she told him about how her shadows had gone haywire and had nearly taken out all the fae in a twenty foot radius. Easy smiles followed, helping Haven forget all about the daunting thoughts she'd been having. She held tightly to the hope that it would never come down to a war but Haven couldn't help the nagging feeling in the back of her mind screaming at her to prepare herself for what her subconscious knew was coming.