House of Bone

Chapter 1

"Kyra!" Lady Bone calls sharply up the stairs to me, hurrying me up.

"Coming," I reluctantly yell back. I quickly put on some earrings and head to the dining room, which – if I'm being honest – is more of a dining hall than a room.

"Kyra!" she snaps again, "The Bloods have arrived. Get down here this instant!"

"Yes, ma'am," I call to her as I descend the stairs and sit at my right place to the left of Lady Bone.

The only reason I deal with all the dinner parties is because I can see my one and only friend, Ora, heir to the House of Blood. I turn and watch as the Bloods come in through a large set of doors. I keep my eyes peeled for Ora, and finally, I spot her and her golden hair adornments, perfectly matching with her dark complexion. She walks towards me as fast as she can without being "improper."

"Kyra!" Ora exclaims, arms open wide.

"Good to see you too, Ora," I reply, hugging her.

"Kyra! You can speak with your friend later, go welcome our guests," Lady Bone scolds.

"See you soon," I say to Ora and head towards the door.

After welcoming in a few more Houses, trumpets blare, and the Empress herself walks into the room.

"Y-your majesty," I stammer and bow deeply. "Would you like me to take your things?"

"No need," Empress Sorra replies, not even giving me a second glance. "I have servants for that."

She heads over to the head of the table and announces that dinner is to start once the other Houses arrive. I walk gloomily to my chair and thank the five Houses for the meal. I sit and eat my food, eagerly waiting for dinner to end, so Ora and I can finally catch up. Lady Bone must notice my restlessness because she asks if Ora and I would like to go to my room. I nod my head and take Ora up the stairs, thanking her.

We enter my bedroom, and Ora asks a question that clearly has been bothering her for a while.

"Has your magic shown up yet, Kyra?" she blurts out, then smacks her forehead, causing her hair adornments to jangle like bells. "I'm sorry, was that too personal?"

"No," I laugh.

I like that about Ora. She always asks what's on her mind, then apologises for some reason or another. "And no, my magic hasn't shown up yet. You know I'm Houseless, well, half-Houseless."

Ora sighs. "Don't say that about yourself, Kyra. You know that all the House Elders were once Houseless. You could start your own House! House of Kyra!"

I shake my head. "Like that's ever gonna happen. The House of Kyra would sound horrible alongside the other House names. Now enough about me, what about your magic?"

"Just snippets," Ora replies. She glances around and takes one of the many bone ornaments that hang around my room. She then uses a sharp edge to slice the skin above her wrist, then demonstrates her power by healing it, leaving not a mark.

"Wow," I say. "That's useful."

As she puts the ornament back in its place, I look around my room. If I turn out to be a Bone, then I'll be able to control all of them, and if I have noble blood, maybe even bring them to life.

We talk about House gossip – which maid likes which butler and so forth – until someone knocks on the door. I open it and find one of the royal servants.

"The Empress would like you to head to the guest quarters now," he says, then adds, "Please."

I glance at Ora, confused. "Do you know what she wants with us?" I ask her.

"The yearly testing, everyone between the ages of 18-20 will get tested. I'm not entirely sure why, though."

She sees the panicked look on my face and chuckles. "Don't worry, it doesn't hurt, just sometimes a bit weird. Or so I've heard."

I let out a sigh of relief and follow the messenger down to the guest quarters.

We reach the guest quarters and are greeted by Jonathan, one of the many butlers here, and my attendant for my first couple of years here.

"Greetings to you, my Lady," Jonathan bows to me. "And you too, Lady Ora. You both look stunning today."

"Oh, enough with the flattery." Ora blushes.

We both go to head in, but Jonathan stops me.

"Sorry, my Lady, but only one at a time, Empress's orders," he apologises. "It'll only take a few minutes."

I sit on the soft bench outside, waiting for Ora to return. When she does, she looks pale and worn out. I go up to give her a painkiller, but Jonathan shakes his head.

"No medicine after the test, Lady Kyra. Let me take those from you."

Why so many rules? I sigh and walk into the room. I see the Empress and three other people; an old man, a young woman, and one of the Houseless.

"Choose one," the Empress commands.

"Why?" I ask.

"Just choose one, Lady Kyra," she repeats impatiently. "We don't have all day."

I quickly point at the Houseless one.

"Finally some diversity," the Empress mutters. "You two leave," she orders the man and the woman.

"I-I haven't done this before," the Houseless stammers, her tone apologetic.

What for? She's done nothing.

"This is the first time I've been chosen."

"Just do what you've been trained to do, Marlee," the Empress commands.

"Alright, come over here, miss," the Houseless – Marlee – says.

"My name is Kyra," I tell her softly. "Please call me that."

I look for a place to sit down and jump when a servant appears from the shadows and places a chair in front of me, then quickly scurries away. How do they do that? I wonder, bemused. Hide in the corners of a room until they're needed, and we don't even notice them?

"Ok, now roll your sleeve up, miss – Kyra." I roll the sleeve of my gown up to my shoulder, feeling uncomfortable because it's unheard of for anyone not well known to touch your bare skin under the age of 20.

"It's ok," Marlee says. "Just relax."

I breathe deeply, trying to stay calm, and as she puts her hand on my forearm, the world goes dark.