Chapter 1 - Maddie
Maddie
Winter break was coming to an end and the only thing I had gotten to do was sit in on meetings. Our winter assignments to help the country hadn’t been nearly as interesting as I thought they might be.
Clearly I would have to abandon a hope of excitement in the future and get used to dull and drab. We had one scandal and no blood shed. No actual fights. Nothing.
Gods above and the scandal only resulted in a week of extra duty. No one had flair. If this became my permanent post. I would die of boredom.
Seriously, the most exciting part was leaving.
Tyson would have books for research by this point. Araya has the creepy fiend thing to ask questions to and Lani will happily spar. Never in my life had I imagined wanting to return to school. To Claremont of all places. Where students killing each other was a normal day and we were graded on the amount of blood shed.
Some use I would be if it meant endless meetings with people who would never get to the point.
I hadn’t even found a single thing about Madelyn Claremont. They had an entire archive that was supposedly complete. But yet no mention of the fallen kingdoms and their lines. Not a single mention of their lives.
Even better, I hadn’t found anything about how they had died. If it was really what the fiend had tried to get us to believe. With any luck I was the only one that struck out and someone would know something more. There had to be more information. Not just a weak attempt at first hand knowledge.
Killed over dinner before they could accept their bond seemed ridiculous. Surely it was mistaken seeing as bonds started with physical contact. So they would have to have met at least once before that night. The fiend had pieces missing. Major pieces.
We clearly would need an expert. But who do you actually ask about kingdoms from hundreds of years ago? How does that conversation even start?
“Miss Quinn, your escort has arrived. You’ll be taken to the train now.” One of the delegates spoke as she closed the book I was pretending to read. “The books stay here.”
“I don’t have a use for them anyway. They don’t have the answers I am looking for.” Sighing I got to my feet. A sad but true statement. Two weeks of stealing every book about bonded pairs, shadowfiends and history that I would. It ended with nothing.
Not even a hint of what any of this actually meant or what it really was. Just more questions that surrounded Grayson, Madelyn and what is referred to as the bonded throne. If any of this actually exists there’s no record of it.
If there is, it’s dust covered and forgotten in the libraries of the fallen kingdoms archives. Rooms untouched for centuries and completely off limits to everyone.
Finally, Freedom from the most boring winter break anyone has ever had.
A two hour carriage ride followed by at least a day on the train. Hopefully the others had a better break from the school. I only got to listen to trade agreements between Ravenna and the surrounding towns.
I walked to my assigned room and sat on the bed for a moment, taking in the space. I had gotten to see what the world outside of Claremont might look like.
Actual colors and people who could smile. Watching children pester parents and siblings. Gotten to swim in a heated lake. There was even an almost date. Too bad for him that the idea made me nauseous.
If I had slept at all over the last two weeks it might have been more enjoyable. But something kept pulling in my chest. Trying to get me to leave in the middle of the night.
Like a piece of my soul was missing. Something essential to survival hadn’t been present.
Every time I thought about Claremont and returning to the halls, the tension eased.
Whether it was the bond or just wanting to be back in the first home I had ever claimed for myself, this feeling had to go. If I wanted to function, it had to disappear.
There was little hope in an answer. I would have to figure it out blind. The issue with this was Tyson doesn’t seem very interested in approaching situations without information. We might have to break that little habit of his.
A knock on the door brought me back to reality. I picked up my bag and opened the door.
If I’m not leaving, blood will spill. Today. Right now.
“Your escort has changed. You will meet the prince outside shortly. You will ride back in the royal envoy.” The man held his hand out in a gesture for me to step into the hall. “After he is here, you will no longer be welcome as a guest in Cinder Hall. You will require a written invitation that can be applied for should you wish to return.”
“Great, I’ll add it to my list of things to consider. Now let’s just get me outside and away from this mockery of society.” The man didn’t respond, he simply rolled his eyes.
The further we walked the stronger the pull in my chest got. The harder it got to ignore and pretend it just didn’t exist.
I didn’t understand why until we made it to the foyer.
Blond hair, Onyx eyes and tattoos covering his skin. Tyson Akers stood just inside the door. His eyes met mine and a smile graced his features for all of a moment before he turned back to the woman at his side.
“What are you doing here?” I shoved his arm as soon as I was close enough. He caught my wrist but didn’t shift attention.
The contact somehow easing the tension in my body and making it worse all at the same time.
“Forward the complaint to Grayson. I will make sure he handles it accordingly.” The woman walked away as he turned to me. “Putting out fires you started over your two weeks. Madelyn do you realize where you are?”
“Cinder Hall. The single most boring place on the map.” I tried to pull my wrist free, instead he just managed to pull me closer. A professor reprimanding an out of line student.
“Cinder Hall. The only fortress in the country that handles our trade agreements and alliance formations. You were placed here because you show promise in military standing.” His grip on my wrist tightened as he pulled me out the door.
“Oh no. Don’t you dare talk to me like that.” I ripped my hand free of his grasp. “Don’t you dare talk to me like a student in need of correction.”
I was placed here blindly. We hadn’t gotten to pick our assignments or even know why we got them. We were thrown randomly at a map and told to spend two weeks there. An outreach program of sorts that happens every year.
“Get in.” He jerked his head toward the carriage sitting on the road. His jaw ticked when I didn’t move. “Quinn. Get. In.”
“Gods you’re miserable.” I shook my head. Two weeks without seeing him and I just want to punch him. This whole friends thing wasn’t going to really work for me.
You can’t be friends with someone you would rather see punched in the face.
“You have no idea. Get in the damn carriage so we can leave.” He opened the door as he stared at me. He raised an eyebrow when I didn’t move.
His own way of telling me he will move me if I don’t move myself.
“Fine, whatever.” I climbed into the carriage and settled myself on the bench. Kicking my feet up on the bench with my bag at my feet to take up the entire thing.
He climbed in behind me a moment later.
As soon as the door clicked shut, the familiar rocking motion of movement started. Clearly someone was in a hurry.
“You’ll have to forgive me. This might be a little weird for a moment.” He didn’t give me a moment to process before I was pulled into his lap. His head resting on my shoulder as his arms wrapped around me. “I’ve not slept because for whatever reason I keep just worrying. About one of the single most capable students we have. Gods below I’m going to have to resign.”
“Is that what it was? That’s why I’ve slept for shit the last two weeks? Because this stupid bond doesn’t like distance?” I pushed against his arms. “Wait, why do you have to resign?”
“Pretend you haven’t noticed it easing already.” He pulled back just far enough to look at me. “Gods you look like shit.”
“Fun words to use for the girl you just forced to sit on you in a moving carriage.” I pushed back further. “Are you going to answer the resignation thing? Or are we just pretending I can’t hear you speak now?”
“I told you it would be weird.” His mouth turned up almost into a smile. “But yes. It’s the bond. It’s still settling and we put a thousand miles between us shortly after it started trying.”
“So we are pretending. Perfect. I can totally pretend like I don’t hear you speaking to me.” I pushed away this time and moved to sit across from him again. Laying on the too short bench. “Gods I could sleep right here.”
“The bench pulls out to a bed.” He reached across and pulled the strap.
Another section slid out and clicked into place. Making the bench about as wide as a single bed and infinitely more comfortable.
“You sleep, I plan to read and keep to myself.”
“Where was this restraint two minutes ago?”
“It’s a fairly recent development now that I no longer feel like I am going to lose my mind.” He pulled two books from his own bag by his feet.. “Here, this might be of some use if you can’t sleep.”
“If you insist.” I looked over at him. He was already reading and ignoring my existence. “So about that whole resigning thing?”
“What about it?” He turned the page. Running fingers down the pages as he did and looking more disappointed by the sentence.
“Do you want to share the reason with the class or do I just assume I know why?”
He looked up. “Because the distance was enough to prevent me from sleeping. What do you think seeing you hurt would do? What do you think having to push you past your limits may cause? We are in a pair bond that has ruined our lives at this point.”
He went back to reading.
I hadn’t even considered that. What this could mean in the long term. If it would affect performance or volatility. Gods if being away from him meant I couldn’t sleep I don’t want to even consider another T. Akers covering sheet.
“We aren’t ruined.”
“Oh?” He flipped another page.
“You called me capable. I have a healer in my corner that also won’t let me get hurt and stay that way. She’s also getting kind of scary anymore. Especially the whole standing on the table speech.” I turned over the book in my hand. Finally reading the title. “Where did you find this?”
The Complete History of Lumivale rested in my hands. I stared at him in complete shock.
“Stole it from the Vortraillis archives. The one I have in my hands is a record of blood lines going back centuries. So far 12 centuries.”
“Gods below Tyson. This is treason. Why do you have it and why did you give it to me?” I snatched his book from his hands. “Give me one solid reason.”
“Because we need to know. Us more than anyone else if Araya is correct. Grayson and Madelyn were destined for a throne. The bonded throne at that.” He held a hand out. Waiting patiently. “We need to know what it means and their actual history. Or would you disagree?”
“I don’t. I spent the better part of two weeks trying to find any mention of them at all. Or Lumivale. But normal citizens aren’t allowed these records.”
“And the first complaint stating you had entered restricted archives meant I knew who would help. Which is why you have the book. An added bonus is you won’t turn me in for treason.” He smiled at that.
“Right. Well since you know me so well.” I threw the book back in his direction. “We have what? A couple hours in this carriage?”
“No. We will be going directly to the academy. You won’t need the train. One of the many up sides of Rhett crowning himself. Even his most extended family gets special transport.” He flipped back to the page he was on and looked up at me. “Luckily for you, I don’t wish to read all of these myself.”
“Yea lucky me.” I laid down, trying to get comfortable.
It had been less than 10 minutes and I had the book open. Scanning for mentions of the pair in question. But what I found instead were centuries worth of pair bonds on the throne. A rotation of bloodlines.
It passed through magic and not bloodlines.
Tyson had adjusted his own side of the carriage to pull out the bed and laid down. He had moved on from bloodlines and was now skimming through a history text of Vortaillis.
“The throne passes through magic. That’s why they were culled.” He muttered.
“Yea I knew that already. Where have you been?”
“This is why I say we are ruined. You know this right?”
“Because you say stupid things and I don’t let you live it down?” I turned my head to look at him. Somehow we had slowly shifted closer to each other.
“Because I find something interesting and you treat it like common knowledge.” He laughed softly before looking at me. “You’ve known it for all of minutes and when I find it moments later pretend you’ve always known.”
“That’s old age bothering you. Thinking you have to know more.” I returned to my book grinning.
“If you would like to reach old age I advise against reminding me of our, what, five year difference in age?”
“Just shy of five. But yes. For arguments sake we will go with five.”
We returned to reading. Finding little facts here and there that simply added to the questions we had.
My eyes were crossing from trying to keep reading by the time I finally set the book down. If I didn’t sleep I was going to lose my mind. I stretched and rolled on to my side.
“Any other useful but common knowledge facts you would like to share?” I watched him read. One arm tucked behind his head. Completely at peace with his book.
“The Quinn line started in Vortaillis. Meaning you’re probably Keaton’s cousin.”
“Tell me you’re lying.” I groaned rolling over on my stomach. Reaching out for his book again but he caught my hand.
“Shouldn’t you already know if I am or not?” He raised an eyebrow at me. “Also, hands off the treason materials that you’ve not been given.”
“Gods maybe you’re right and we are ruined.”
