When I came in for breakfast the next morning, I made a conscious decision to avoid the people from Tanum. I didn’t want to deal with Raymon’s nosy attitude, Everlee being a wallflower, or Ellison being a stingy brat. Sure, their personalities were pretty colorful. It was a little surprising that they hadn’t torn each other apart by now, but I still wanted a bit of a break from the three of them.
When I arrived at the second dining hall that morning, I collided with both Kadar and Cyrus. They were calmly seated at the table, already eating food that servants had set out for them. They glanced up immediately when I came in, and I inferred that I would undergo a miniature interrogation before leaving the room. I probably wouldn’t be scolded, though. Cyrus wouldn’t do anything to me with the king right next to him.
“Hello, Syona,” Cyrus said.
“Hello,” I repeated in the same monotone voice.
“How have you been for the last couple of weeks?” he questioned me.
“Fine. How about you?”
“Fine as well.”
The conversation was meaningless and instinctive, but it was necessary to diffuse any tension between the three of us so the actual communication could begin as soon as possible.
“You have a few things to attend to today.”
“Do I? When?”
“A test about society and social classes in a few minutes.”
So, the lessons had started up again. That made sense. It had been a week since my Amber Ceremony. Naturally, they wanted me to do as much work as possible. The lessons weren’t exactly fun, but I could handle them.
“Where is it?” It was a legitimate question, one that I could safely ask.
“In the library with your private tutor.”
“Is that all?”
“That is all.”
I decided to ask another question, in hopes that I wouldn’t get assigned more things to do. “Have you made any arrangements for the wedding yet?”
Kadar replied this time. “Not yet, but we will probably discuss it more the closer we get to the event.”
“Thank you.”
“Now go, or you will be late. You can have breakfast afterward.”
I nodded and backed away slowly. Huh. That was probably the least dramatic conversation I’ve had with Cyrus in a while. Maybe I should have the king around me more often.
As I darted into the hallway, I smacked directly into Crevan. I collided with him so hard that I was knocked onto the floor, sliding across the marble. All of my breath went whooshing out of my lungs. It felt like I had run into a wall.
“Are you alright?” He mumbled to me. He reached his hand down, offering to help me up.
I reached out my hand so he could pull me to my feet. “Were you spying on me?”
“Yes, I was. I’m sorry.”
His immediate answer jarred me. I hadn’t expected him to tell the truth or any version of it. I would have made something up. “Why?”
“I wanted to see what you were up to, and it appears that you have some lesson in a few minutes, right?”
“Yes,” I confirmed tentatively, not knowing his intentions.
He shuffled his feet on the floor. “Would it be alright if I joined you?”
“Joined me?” I repeated, struggling to keep my voice even. “In the lesson? You realize that I’ll be taking a test, right?”
He nodded.
“A test that involves the kingdom of Ashlon.”
“Yes. I’ve studied your history, society, and culture ever since I got here.”
I reached up to the back of my neck and undid the necklace, tucking it into the pocket of my silky jacket. “How much spying have you done, exactly?”
“I’m not spying. I wouldn’t call it spying.”
“Then what would you call it?”
He thought for a moment. “Sneakily observing my environment.”
I rewarded him with a laugh, and his face broke into a smile. I liked his smile. It wasn’t very noticeable, but plenty of emotion was behind it. He was quiet but charismatic, like a warm hearth, and reflected a gentle kindness that wasn’t obvious at first glance.
“Okay, then. How much of ‘sneakily observing your environment’ have you done?” I asked.
“It’s all I’ve done. I’ve been to every room in the palace and wandered all over the kingdom. I’ve studied records, documents, history books, everything. I know everything about the kingdom of Ashlon.”
“Oh?” I put a skeptical expression on my face. “So, you’re perfectly qualified to take my test.”
“Yes.”
“I don’t believe you. Do you really know everything? That’s either impressive or creepy.”
His expression broke into a smile. “Do you care to make a wager then? Let’s turn it into a contest. Whoever answers the most questions correctly and the fastest wins.”
I folded my arms. “What are the stakes?”
“You win, I do whatever you want me to until the wedding. I can stop sneaking around. I can avoid you. We don’t even have to talk to each other—anything to make this less awkward for you. And I know that you think this is awkward. Don’t try to deny it. We’re a seventeen and eighteen-year-old getting married solely because of political gain, and we didn’t know each other. It couldn’t get more awkward than this. You can make me do anything to make this event as comfortable as possible for you.”
That’s a nice gesture. “Fine. What happens if you win?”
The prince suddenly fell silent, thinking for a few seconds before answering. “You have to do an activity with me tomorrow, just the two of us. I decide what we do, how long it is, and what we talk about. Is that fair?”
Hmm. Uncomfortable but not the end of the world. That’s not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I’m going to win anyway. I don’t need to worry. Crevan’s cocky and is clearly overestimating his abilities. “That’s fair. I accept those terms.”
“Okay then.” He nodded. “Let’s go.”
I hadn’t visited Evander in a while, so it would be nice to see my tutor’s familiar face during the lesson. It was the same private library I always went to. It looked exactly the same, right down to the arrangement of the books on the shelves and the table in the center of the room. Evander was sitting at the table completely engrossed in his book, so we definitely startled him upon entering.
His entire body jerked, like a tug on puppet strings. He slammed the book down on the table and whirled toward us, but his face immediately relaxed when he saw me. “Hello, Princess Syona! How are you? Ready for your test?”
“Yes, I am. Is okay if one more person joins us today?”
“Sure. Who is it?” Evander asked.
Crevan stepped out into view, and my tutor’s eyes widened slightly. “Prince Crevan. You wish to join us today?”
“Yes,” Crevan confirmed.
“You see, we made a bet,” I informed him.
He slid the book out of reach to give me his full attention. “Really? What are the terms?”
“The prince seems to think that he knows more about the kingdom of Ashlon than I do.”
He laughed. “We can easily test that. Please, sit down.”
The two of us slid out the chairs and sat down next to each other. Evander reached out and yanked a book from the shelf. He placed it on the tabletop and flipped through several pages before settling on one spot. “Alright. I’m going to ask you a series of questions that will test your knowledge. How do you want this to play out?”
“Whoever answers the most questions correctly and in the fastest time wins,” Crevan immediately replied.
I shot him a glare. Even though that was exactly what I had in mind as well, I hadn’t wanted him to say it, as if he had control over the situation.
“Good. Let’s begin.”
Crevan placed his hands down on the table and leaned forward in his seat. He appeared attentive and alert, ready to play. He seemed so sure of himself, like he had already won.
“Why is this kingdom named the kingdom of Ashlon?” My tutor asked us.
Crevan slammed his hand on the table, making me almost leap out of my seat. “The original nation, making up this entire peninsula, was named Tanum. When your ancestors broke off from our kingdom and established their own, they decided to name it after the family name of their first king, Ashlon, to separate themselves as much as possible from the central kingdom.”
His response was lightning, calculated. I hadn’t stood a chance against him. My brain hadn’t even produced an answer, let alone said one out loud, and it didn’t help that Crevan was now talking twice as fast as I could. “Wait a moment. The kingdom of Ashlon is a break off from the kingdom of Tanum?”
Crevan peered at me, confused. “Um, yes. Did you not know that?”
“No, Crevan. I did not know that.” How did I not know that? “Would you mind explaining that small aspect of history?”
“Really? We’re having a lesson in the middle of a test? That kind of undermines the purpose of—”
“Just answer it,” I snapped.
“Fine,” Crevan relented. “You know how there are two races of people, separated into two kingdoms? You guys have brown eyes—”
“Yes. I know. Please continue.”
“There was originally just one kingdom, with the two races of people intermixed. There was a class system. Your race was of lower status than ours, with fewer rights, so you broke off and established your own kingdom. Simple, okay? It happened, like, a hundred years ago. Nothing really important.”
“It certainly seems important,” I protested.
“Important enough for the princess to know off the top of her head? Because—”
“Are we done here? We need to continue.” Evander glanced back and forth between the two of us. “Are you keeping score? Because that’s already one point for him. How many questions do you want me to ask?”
“Twenty,” Crevan answered instantly. “If that’s okay with you, that is.”
I shrugged. At that point, honestly, I didn’t care as long as we got done with this task as quickly as possible. My confidence was waning drastically based on how quickly Crevan responded.
“Next question: why can females rule in this kingdom?”
Again, a snake-strike answer: “When you establish your kingdom, you make up your own rules.” He specifically turned to look at me. “Your race of people, already tired of being degraded and oppressed by us, decided that everyone would be treated as equals, which means you don’t have the same gender restrictions as we do in our kingdom.”
I realized at that moment that I might have seriously underestimated Crevan and his ability to absorb information.
My tutor smiled. “Syona? Are you actually trying, or is this a trick to get out of participating?”
“What? No, I just didn’t—”
“Nobody really talks about it, and it happened over a hundred years ago, okay?” Crevan snapped.
“I’m trying,” I promised. “Crevan is just faster than I am.” And he knows more than I do.
Evander sighed. “Fine. Here’s a question that I’m just asking you, to make sure you’re actually remembering things. How many people live in this kingdom?”
“Around twenty thousand people, with three distinct social classes,” I answered. “Nobility, middle, and lower. It’s extremely rigid. Classes are determined by the number of stones you can afford to wear. The privilege of wearing three or four stones is for nobility, and the royal family, guards, and other palace workers distribute the stones to the people when they pay for them.”
“Wait. You asked that only for her.” Crevan paused us. “Are we going to count that question in her favor, then?”
“Yes, now stop talking,” I shot.
“Next question,” my tutor ordered. “What is the main resource and money system of this kingdom?”
“Silver,” both of us answered in perfect synchrony. Easy question. Any idiot with half a brain would be able to answer that correctly.
My tutor continued, “What are the hunting regulations for the Southern Forest?”
Crevan immediately spoke: “Only nobility and the royal family can hunt in the forest. If any commoner wants to do it, they have to pay an extra fee. Even then, people can only hunt certain seasons, in the winter and fall.”
I bolted upright, a streak of annoyance shooting through me. “There is absolutely no way that you would know such an obscure fact about a kingdom that you didn’t grow up in and know the information off the top of your head. It’s impossible. Are you looking at the book he’s reading? Is that why you stand up every time?”
He frowned. “I’m not cheating if that’s what you’re accusing me of.”
“I am accusing you of cheating.” I gathered up the pages of the book and slammed it shut. “Tell me. What else do you know about the kingdom of Ashlon?”
He took a breath and leveled his gaze with me. “I know that Osion is the name of the advisor who oversees all of the stone ceremonies, and I get the impression that you’ve never actually learned his name before. You just don’t care. The head of the royal guard is named Officer Hazen, but there’s another officer named Gerrand who’s a close second. He’s your personal guard, I believe. You know his first name because you knew each other as children. Your mother Ionda died in childbirth, but she has a sister, Mareena, who played a big part in raising you. You have a servant named Akilah, who you probably treat more like a friend than anything. You had a brother named Davin, who was the role model you tried and failed to live up to. You’re an outdoor person who likes to take walks all around the kingdom, and you don’t like sleeping.” He paused, folding his arms. “How’s that for not knowing anything?”
I didn’t speak. I was just too shocked. Crevan, after being here for only a few weeks, knew more about the kingdom than I had known throughout my entire life. Even worse, he knew more about me than anyone else. He had cracked my outer shell. My secrets spilled all over the floor for anyone to pass by and read.
“How do you know all of this?”
“I observe. I think. I listen,” he responded, staring directly at me. “Just. Like. You. Except there’s a major difference between us. You don’t want to accept it. You withdraw from your environment instead of studying it. There’s a lot you would know if you just focused on what’s going on around you. I notice the tiny bits of evidence around me and draw conclusions from them. It’s as simple as that. You could do it too, if you weren’t so cowardly.” He paused. “I think this lesson is over. I won our bet. This time I don’t think you’ll argue with me. We’ll do the activity in the morning, just you and me.” He smiled. “I’m looking forward to it already.”
With those ominous words, he whirled out of the room, not bothering to shut the door.
“What did you agree to do, exactly?” my tutor asked.
I sighed. “I agreed to do an activity with him. He decides all the details.”
Evander started gathering up the books and storing them back on the shelves. “That’s not too bad.”
I wasn’t so sure. Crevan was nice enough on the surface, but he definitely had an angry side, a complicated version of him that I couldn’t make out. He liked his secrets. He wouldn’t let me pry very deep.
Is this all a ruse? Does he just want me to be alone with him so he can interrogate me or accuse me of things? He seems to know a lot of stuff about me already, based solely on what I do and how I act.
If those things are so obvious, has he already inferred that I’m Malopathic.