The Lost Heir

IV - Troy Mackintosh

IV

TROY MACKINTOSH

After getting Kenna into something more...decent to wear, we found ourselves slipping further and further beneath the palace grounds. The Captain of the Guard was more than adamant about the training grounds being as far away from the palace as possible. The Captain was also very adamant about its location being completely secure as well.

I could feel Kenna's presence behind me, like a light which was pushing me along a forbidden path. For a Gifted, she was not as vicious or power-hungry as father had made them out to be. However, since it has only been a day, I cannot make assumptions of her character just yet. That will be revealed in the training which has yet to come. I could feel my father's words echoing through my mind, nothing more than a whisper of a demand.

"Do not get too attached to her, Troy." My father eyed me as I gathered the Burner in my arms. "It's Her, I can feel it in my bones."

"Father." I bowed my head to take a good look at the girl. "How, exactly, do you plan on proving that?"

My father chuckled and it was not the kind of chuckle one feigns in amusement. "That is where you come in my dear boy."

I lifted an eyebrow at the King, turning my head to Andrew who looked just as confused as I had. "I want you to break her. Get close to her and unlock those powers by unleashing any emotions you can." He laughed again.

"It has become obviously clear to me that she lacks control, especially over her own emotions." Father sat up a bit straighter in his throne and then stood before us. "I need you to gain her trust, build her up—build her confidence, build up all the emotions you can—and then break her down."

I could feel the horror deep down in my bone, but I could not expose myself now.

"Give her something to latch on to...do whatever you can." He was starting to sound like a mad-man and I could not believe what I was hearing. "I got it!"

Andrew and I looked at one another with uncertainty as the King juggled ideas around like they were expendable. "The easiest way to bring about all the emotion you can is to make her fall in love with you. And you will make her fall in love with you, only to shatter her in the end."

Andrew looked at me as if he could not believe what he was hearing. He shifted his gaze to the Burner who was draped in my arms and he looked more conflicted than he had when he first arrived. His eyes found my own and all he could do was give me a single nod, Andrew knew what I had to do. And I planned on proving him right.

I gulped and fixated my stare back on our father who was now seated back in the ruby red throne, took a deep sigh and found the words tumbling out of my mouth.

"As you wish, Your Majesty."

I took Kenna back to my rooms, unsure of where to take her. But now that I think back on it, I should have probably taken her to the infirmary or maybe even back to Veda but my instincts told me that neither of those places were the right place. So, I took her to my rooms, gave her the shirt off my back, and left her to sleep. I discarded of the clothes which she had arrived in and sent for next available servant to go into town and gather as many fine things as she could.

If my task was to build her up only to break her down, I guess it would be easiest to start with a small gesture.

Once we made it to the bottom of the stairs, there were four different doors. Each room contained a different terrain where one could train and all my intuition was yelling at me to choose the door where the terrain was most dry, because it seemed that the Captain of the Guard preferred to train in dryer climates.