Heir of Nothing (The Light-Bringer Trilogy, # 1)

Seven

The rest of the week went by with nothing new. Matias was busy training and drilling new recruits, making sure that he knew which guards were on rotation while Cal's suitors stayed.

Cal continued to look into Prince James to see if she could find anything on him, but she came up short. Whoever this "Prince James" was, no one in Zemlja knew much about him. 

They dreaded their guests' arrival. Seven men—all of unknown age, all vying for Cal's heart—arriving on the same day. 

On the morning of their arrival, Cal was woken to sunlight streaming through her large bedroom windows. She rubbed sleep from her eyes and stared at the cloudless blue sky. Grudgingly, she threw back the covers and got ready to welcome her suitors. She wore a lilac dress that fell to her ankles, and a dark green cloak thrown over her shoulders. Cal's red hair cascaded over her shoulders in waves. 

She walked to the door, almost walking into Matias who stood outside. He stood there, his hand raised as if he was about to knock on the door. 

He smiled awkwardly. "I thought I'd come to make sure that you were awake," he fumbled. 

Odd, she thought. Matias almost never fumbles with his words.

"Thanks," she said, smirking.

His face fell, his eyes sad. "Ready to greet your future husband?"

She started walking, Matias keeping pace. "Gods, no. I'm not even ready to be Queen—and that's going to change shortly after my nineteenth birthday."

She wasn't wrong. Until Cal turned nineteen, Miles would shoulder Queen Marilyn's responsibilities. Thankfully that wasn't until the longest day of the year—which also happened to be a solar eclipse—and wasn't for several months, but there was only so much the Queen's Hand could do.

What I need is my mother back to help me, she thought.

They descended the steps to the entrance hall and out into the courtyard where Miles waited. The sun made the gold on his tunic shine. He had his sword at his side, a hand on the pommel, his head held high. Matias shadowed Cal and his father, ready to protect them at all costs. 

The gates opened, giving them a view of the main road and the Jumelé Droit in the distance. Flags waved as their bearers came closer. The green and bronze flags of Eirineftes were in the front while the orange and yellow flags of Apparatori waved in the back. 

Cal straightened. She saw Miles tense and set his jaw out of the corner of her eye. She looked behind her and saw Matias shift on his feet. She looked ahead of her in time to see sixteen horses gallop into the courtyard.

They were in four rows of four. The rows on the far left and far right were Lucinean guards. Two dark skinned men halted in front of them and dismounted. The taller one on the left grinned as he approached them. 

"Miles, long time no see," Lord Warren chirped. 

Miles held his hand out, a smile playing on his lips. "Good to see you again, Axel."

Axel Warren's dark eyes drifted to Matias. "Your son looks just like you, Miles. Only he doesn't look like half the city was tortured right in front of him."

"Not here, Axel," Miles hissed.

"How long are you going to keep it from them? She's the sole heir to the throne, and, from the looks of it, he's going to be her Right Hand," Axel retorted.

Cal cleared her throat loudly. Axel tore his eyes away, finally looking at her. 

"Our apologies, Your Highness," he said. "We digress."

Axel's son, Dugu, stepped out from his father's shadows. Dugu was a reflection of his father with the same dark skin and eyes. However, whereas Axel was built like a soldier, Dugu had narrow shoulders and was built like a string bean.

"Good morning," he said quietly.

"Good morning to you, too, Dugu," Cal said curtly.

The other seven men dismounted and gathered behind Axel and Dugu.

"Welcome, men," Miles boomed. "We have gathered you here today for one reason. One of the men among us will become the next King of Lucis. Over the next few weeks, Her Highness—" he gestured to Cal "—will spend time with each and every one of you before she decides who will be her husband."

Cal glanced at the crowd of men before her. The men from Apparatori had hair ranging from short to shoulder length, and from blonde to auburn. The men from Eirineftes all had dark hair and brown skin. The majority of them looked bored. At least they weren't old men on their deathbeds.

"Now, if you all will kindly follow us," continued Miles, "we will show you around the castle, to your rooms, and kindly ask you to join us for lunch."

They turned and walked into the entrance hall. Matias jogged past Cal and caught up to his father. Cal was halfway up the stairs when the ground began to shake.

She leaned on the rail as dust began to fall from the ceiling. A pressure settled on her shoulders—it kept building and building. It was unbearable. She couldn't stand on her feet under this crushing weight. When the ground heaved and violently shook under her feet, Cal lost her grip on the railing. The world tilted as the weight bore down on her. 

The last thing Cal saw was the ground looming up at her before everything went dark.

—

The earthquake stopped as Matias clung to the railing.

"Is everyone okay?" he asked, looking behind him.

His stomach dropped as he looked at Cal, laying at the bottom of the stairs on her side with her back to him, unmoving.

"Cal?" he shouted, running down to her.

As he neared her, Matias could've sworn he saw a translucent flame dancing on her fingertips. Blood trickled from her temple. 

Matias carefully picked Cal up in his arms and rushed up the stairs to find a healer.