The Eighth Gate

The Second Gate

Valeria drummed her fingers against the dark, mahogany paneling of the carriage, her gaze idly following the dry, wind-swept plains beyond the open wooden shutters. The endless fields of brittle grass stretched far into the horizon, broken only by the occasional shadow of a distant line of trees or crumbling stone. Time seemed to blur in the oppressive quiet, and the silence that hung between the three of them in the carriage made every passing second feel like an eternity.

It was Karnas who eventually broke the stillness with a long, exaggerated sigh. "If you two are going to keep this up for the entire journey, it is going to be a very painful six hours for all of us."

Ajax rolled his eyes. Loosened a breath and stretched his legs out further, invading the already cramped space until his boots just barely crossed over into her side of the compartment.

Valeria felt her eyes twitch at the small, provocative moment, but she refused to rise to the bait.

The prince smirked, practically daring her to say something. Everything was always such a game to Ajax–a hidden challenge issued in every stare, in every careless flick of his wrist. It was like he couldn't even help it, sometimes. He reveled in the chaos he created.

Karnas witnessed the exchange with a shake of his head. "Daivat's finest, indeed," he muttered under his breath.

Ajax's grin only widened, revealing sharp, perfectly white teeth. "Apologies, Karnas. Are we boring you?" He made a show of adjusting the blood-red cloak that hung over his shoulders. "Perhaps we should discuss something more stimulating, like the immense difficulties of removing wine stains from silk?" His pointed gaze slid to Valeria. "In case you were curious, it was quite the ordeal."

"Is that so?" Valeria studied her nails with disinterest. "Good to know. It was about time you picked up a hobby that didn't involve ordering your servants around."

Karnas shot them both a sharp look, his jaw ticking with irritation. "Enough," he stressed the word, "We still have a long journey ahead, and I'd rather not arrive at Rajvihar looking like I've just been through a war trying to keep you two from each other's throats."

"Right, Gods forbid you show up at the front gates looking anything less than perfect," Ajax grumbled to himself before turning back to face Valeria, eyes glinting with amusement. "Did you know that our Karnas has been quite popular with the ladies at Rajvihar? I might as well be invisible whenever I walk beside him on the grounds."

The casual remark struck harder than it should have. Valeria gritted her teeth, digging her nails into the cushioned seat. Karnas shifted beside her and her breath practically caught in her throat as she felt the faintest brush of his fingers against her own. It was a fleeting moment–one she might very well have imagined. She quickly withdrew her hand before anyone could see the faint blush that rose to her cheeks, attempting to ignore the mere inches of space between them.

Karnas mercifully, remained silent, his gaze fixed on the world outside his window. But Valeria caught the way his lips tightened a fraction, the slight furrow in his brows. He hadn't missed Ajax's sly jab either.

She turned her attention back to the window, attempting to distract herself with the shifting landscape beyond the first gate of Daivat. The first gate also served as the boundary to Kuru and with each mile forward, she felt as though the world around them seemed to grow more muted, the vibrancy of her lively city fading behind them, swallowed by the distant horizon.

She could probably count on one hand the amount of times she'd been allowed to venture past the first gate that encircled her city. The last time had been years ago, before she had entered her gangly adolescent years, and her father had decided it was no longer safe to roam about the country without an entire brigade of soldiers to accompany her.