walking back from class and feeling rather broody, until I turned a corner and my mood sank even lower. My dear cousin, Elijah Zlodia, was blocking the way to the cafeteria, a smirk on his face that accented the pompous clothes he insisted on wearing.
I hadn’t seen him going on a month, and even then, it was only in passing. What did he want with me now? Come to gloat, I suppose.
“Where are your bodyguards?” I sneered. He never went anywhere without them. In fact, Elijah never went anywhere anymore unless it was accompanied by blaring trumpets, fawning peasants, and a ridiculous amount of fanfare that would’ve made me embarrassed had I been king.
Elijah grinned wider. “Some things are better left between family, don’t you think?”
“You’re no family of mine.”
His smile faltered, but only slightly. “Cousin, I’m here on business. It’ll be easier if you agree to lend a hand, instead of being so horribly unhelpful.”
“What are you doing here?” I asked in distaste. Gabby and Elijah were no longer enrolled at Arcanea University. As the official king and queen, they were finishing up their education with private instructors at the palace, whenever they weren’t giving orders on gods knew what. The one thing I’d been looking forward to this semester was not having to deal with my little cousin, and on my first day, he’d already ruined it.
It was clear I wasn’t in the mood for fucking around, so Elijah’s fake smile slid from his face, turning into a snarl. “I want the Crystals of Harmony.”
Panic welled in my chest. Milonna had warned me about this— that the dark god Droga had sent Elijah and Gabby on a quest to find the stones, too— but I hadn’t imagined it would be so soon.
I forced myself to remain passive. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t play coy,” he spat. “We both know we’ve been given missions from the gods. I’m allowing you this one chance to fight for the winning side, before you end up losing your head.”
He was trying to save me. That was cute, after he’d nearly killed me in the King’s Contest. But perhaps his feelings had changed since he’d become king. I was no longer a threat, so now, I’d become useful.
There was no use playing dumb, so I tried logic— not that it ever worked on my cousin before. “Do you understand what will happen if the crystals fall into Droga’s hands?” I hissed. “It’ll be a massacre like you’ve never seen before.”
“Those crystals are the only way to change things in Malovia for good,” Elijah snapped. “Droga’s got the right idea. A thousand-year reign, with the fae in charge. We’d be unstoppable. All the supernatural races would bow to us. So what if some peasants perish? The gains will be far superior to the losses.”
“I’m not helping you, Eli. I’d rather die first.”
Elijah kicked my prosthetic out from under me. It remained attached, and I fell to the side. I hit my hip painfully, and let out a gasp. Elijah stood over me, hatred burning in his eyes.
“This was your last warning,” Elijah said. “You want to die in service to a ridiculous ideology that doesn’t exist? Be my guest. Gabriella and I won’t hesitate to get our hands on those crystals, and find all six before you do.”
Hope burned at the corners of my being. Eli didn’t know we had two stones already. Somehow, Milonna had prevented Droga from finding out, and telling Eli. That was the only thing saving our asses.
Elijah strode away. Once he was out of my sight, I forced myself upward and limped on my prosthetic to the Rec Room. Emma was sitting on one of the window seats, a textbook open in front of her and scattered papers everywhere.
It hurt to look at her. Pain burned in my chest as her fiery gaze narrowed at my appearance. She was disgusted by the sight of me.
“Did you come to apologize for yelling at me the other day?” she snapped. “Because honestly, what you did was really fucking rude.”
My temper flared. I wanted to shout at her again, but now wasn’t the time. I forced myself to have a clear head as I said, “It’s about the stones.”
Her expression changed. She began packing up her things. Emma flung her bag over her shoulder, and we turned into a quiet hallway. When no one was looking, I pulled her into a small janitor’s closet. Brooms and mops were knocked