Ah, how long it has been since I last indulged in the simple pleasure of riding my beloved steed through the emerald fields surrounding our palace. Too long, it seems, for the duties of a princess have weighed heavily upon me as my eighteenth birth day draws ever nearer.
With each passing day, I can feel the weight of my imminent transition more acutely—the day I must fully take my place alongside my brother Blaze and father in the governance of our glorious kingdom of Pryannon. The idle fancies of youth will soon be but distant memories.
A wistful sigh escapes my lips as I make my way down the familiar palace corridors, my slippered feet whispering against the polished marble floors. For a fleeting moment, I envision stealing away on my dappled mare, riding until the boundaries of responsibility blur behind me in the wind-swept haze.
But nay, I cannot be that reckless maiden any longer.
My reverie shatters as I pass by the heavy oak doors that lead into my father's study. They hang slightly ajar, and the murmuring of hushed voices gives me pause. I sense Blaze's familiar timbre mingling with the King's own resonant baritone, but there is...another voice, one I cannot immediately place.
Curiosity pricks at me, and I find myself inching closer, straining to make out the words through the slender gap between door and frame. A small tremor runs through me, raising the fine hairs upon my arms—a strange frisson of foreboding that spirals up from my core.
Surely they cannot be conferring with King Aeolus Zephyros of Aerylion? My brother's betrothed has been conspicuously absent for over a year now, despite their arrangement being all but finalized. For what weighty matter would the Air King's presence be required at this pivotal junction?
I lean in, intent on catching a few snatched words that might illuminate this mystery. But before I can make sense of the murmurs, something small and sharp jabs me squarely in the back. I nearly yelp out loud, swallowing the cry of surprise just in time as I whirl around.
There stands my impish younger sister Cinder, giggling impishly with one hand still raised in the aftermath of delivering that stinging poke to my spine.
"Really, Cinder?" I hiss in a fierce whisper, fighting off the quirk of my lips that so badly wants to match her mirthful expression. "Must you always take such great pleasure in vexing me?"
She bobs a small curtsy, the picture of faux innocence. "Of course, dear sister. For if I did not keep you humble through mild mischiefs, why, your royal head may float entirely away on those clouds of self-importance."
Before I can muster a withering retort, another sound gives us both pause the soft but distinct footfalls of our mother approaching from the adjacent corridor. In that instant, Cinder and I share an unspoken look of dismayed realisation.
If the Queen catches her daughters eavesdropping outside the King's study...well, let's just say her disappointment would sting far worse than any playful jab.
"Run!" I mouth silently.
Cinder needs no further urging. Skirts hiked up in undignified haste, we race off like errant schoolgirls, our feet carrying us through the all-too-familiar escape route that leads to the sanctuary of the royal gardens.
By the time we reach the verdant arboretum with its sweetly perfumed air and tinkling fountains, we are both quite breathless and flushed with the exertion—and the giddy thrill of our narrow escape undetected.
"Oh, how I have missed these simple pleasures with you, little sister," I pant, draping an arm around Cinder's shoulders as we wander along the meandering footpaths. "This interminable countdown to my birthing day ceremonies has consumed my every waking moment of late."
YOU ARE READING
Twilight Inferno The Elemental Crown
Fantasi5 kingdoms are faced with an unseen danger that has no will to be found they will have to join forces to overcome this force but only two kingdoms will be able to demolish the threat. read the new fantasy, enemies to lovers, forced proximity, marria...
