When It Reigns (Cursed Reigns, #1)

CHAPTER SEVEN

AERYN'S POV

With my hands clenched into fists, my fingernails dug into the gloves as I stomped down the stairs of the castle. Fury burned my blood and I swiped a hand at the angry tear that escaped without my permission. The winding staircase and flamboyant chandelier vexed me even more, and I felt suffocated in the castle.

Bursting through the double doors of the ice castle, the harsh cold nipped my nose and smacked my cheeks with its howling winds. The snowfall had picked up and it reached my calves as I trudged across the scant path in front of the castle. It was always the coldest up here, especially in the middle of the winter night.

The second to last challenge before our midterm evaluations that determined our Duties was in the morning, but I was too amped up to sleep. My own father didn't care if I lived or died; I was his disgrace to get rid of. I either left the empire and lived in Ravos, or the demon prince killed me. Either way, I would no longer be his nuisance to deal with.

I peeled back my fingerless, power-blocking gloves and stared at my bare palms. I wore the garments to hide my absence of an Insignia even though the entire empire was aware. My father had one of the most powerful Insignias; he could command all the elements. I had half a mind to wonder if the increasing snowstorm was a reflection of his emotions.

Skirting along the side of the mountain, I kept my eyes downcast on the winding path as I scaled the mountain. The ice beneath the snow made me slip a few times, launching my heart into my throat as I threw myself against the mountain to keep from tumbling off the narrow ledge. The wind wailed and tossed my hair across my face, obscuring my vision as I kept a hand against the mountain wall until I came across a gaping hole in the side of the mountain. Ducking inside, I crawled into the tight alcove I'd spent many nights sleeping inside. 

I felt around the small area in the darkness and found the lantern I'd left behind. I lit it and buried myself underneath the thick, woolen blanket on top of a bed of straw. Tucking the blanket under my chin, I took a deep breath, forced myself to stop thinking, and fell asleep.

I awoke the next morning to the steady dripping sound of the ice as it melted and pelted the entrance of my tiny cave with water droplets. I opened an eye and groaned, dragging my hands down my face as I rolled onto my sore back.

"What's the point of even trying in the rest of these competitions? It's not like I'm going to be in the Force anyway," I grumbled to myself.

"Oh, don't be so melodramatic."

"Ah!" I yelled, bolting upright. I banged my head on the ceiling and placed a hand over my pounding heart as a head of strawberry blonde hair popped into the cave.

Bastion's blue eyes sparkled as he reached a hand out to me. "I knew you'd be in here. Hurry, we're going to be late."

"Don't tell me you have some secret stalking power, too," I retorted, shooing his hand away even though this wasn't the first time he'd found me here. He backed out, allowing me to clamber out into the blinding sunlight as he just shook his head.

"You showed me this little hideaway of yours last year when we started at the academy, remember? You'd just summoned Serene for the first time after Trainer Reishell handed out the dragon scales to the summoners and everyone was jealous of your frost fire breathing dragon," he said, looking at me over his shoulder. "You must have some essence of power in you if you're able to summon Serene. You wouldn't have been able to bond with her if you didn't have an essence."

I shrugged. "You heard the Demon Prince. He said he couldn't feel my essence."

Bastion frowned and tapped his chin in thought. "I got my Insignia the night of my twentieth birthday and-"