the heartrender of ravka

1

5 Years Earlier

Wesley

"Wesley, come on! The royal family is coming to the Little Palace today! We can't be late!" Nina yells at me.

    "Nina I know, you have informed me 5 times this morning."

    "Sorry, I'm a little excited."

    "Really I had no idea." I put my red kefta on and fix my hair real quickly. I'm still working on Tailoring, but I have the basics down.

    Nina grabs my arms and pulls me out of our room. We ran down the stairs, her still pulling me, and I almost tripped a few times.

    We stop in front of the Dining Hall and Nina finally lets go of me. We walk in and sit down at the Corporalki table. The Etherealki are giving us dirty looks as always. Mostly from Zoya Nazyalensky. That girl has something against us Corporalki. And us especially, I'm guessing it is because we are Heartrenders.

    I think that she hates me the most. When I found out I was Grisha, I came here to train. Zoya was training along with me, and I would do better than she would. Botkin likes me better than Zoya. Plus the amount of times that I have beaten her in a fight, I would be rich. Zoya can't handle that someone is better than her.

    Zoya also has some weird obsession with The Darkling. She is always trying to get close to him, and it is annoying. She bats her eyes, and plays with her hair. Ugh, like there is no way The Darkling has any interest in Zoya. If he did, then he probably needs a Healer.

    I feel a brush of air come from behind me, and I shiver. The Darkling. "Miss Kostyk, I need to have a word with you after dinner." And he glides to his seat.

    "What was that about?" Nina asks me. I shrug. She stares at The Darkling as he rubs his jaw. "Well if I were you, I would love to have a word with him." She gives me a wink.

    I choke on my drink. "Nina!"

    "What?"

    I shake my head. "Nothing."

    The grand doors that anyone who is royalty opens. All eyes are moved to the doors. The royal family walks through. First King Alexander and Queen Tatiana. Then their children. Prince Vasily, Prince Nikolai, and Princess Hallie.

    They take a seat at the royal table, while everyone else stares at them in awe. My eyes especially fall on Prince Nikolai. He is undeniably gorgeous. Golden blonde hair, and hazel eyes. And now those eyes are staring at me.

    We don't lose eye contact for a good minute or two, then one of the taste testers walks through. I look away. I feel a small blush on my face.

    "Wes are you okay, your heart is racing?" This is a downside with being a Heartrender, you can feel heartbeats. A deeper blush finds my face and I sink into my seat. Nina cocks her head at me.

    I can feel Prince Nikolai trying to set his eyes on me. I won't let him. Nina sets her eye on the Prince and back at me. "Saints! He is totally looking at you!"

    "Shut up."

    Nina shakes my shoulder. "Wesley! A prince is looking at you! And not some prince, like a really really hot one."

    "Will you be quiet!" I huff.

    She crosses her arms. "You know I don't get you. The Second Prince of Ravka is staring at you, and you are turning away and trying to hide."

    "He is still looking?" She nods. "Saints."

    I gather a small bit of courage and turn around. When I do, I see that he is looking into me. Something about me is fascinating to him. I hate this feeling. The feeling of someone's eyes burning me. It makes my stomach churn.