But how had she made those other stones explode? More than likely, her emotions had played a significant role—but she hadn’t wanted to hurt Garringsford. At least, she didn’t think so. Yet even then, there was no way all of the stones should have responded to her, unless …
Asterin sat up suddenly, sloshing water out of the tub in her haste. “Unless I am omnifinitied,” she whispered to herself.
Luna interrupted her wallowing to ask if she still planned to attend dinner—Asterin declined, preferring to stew over her revelation in the warmth and comfort of the water over the cacophony of Mess Hall.
Finally, when the water bordered on ice cold and her skin was as wrinkled as a prune, she stepped out of the bath and wrapped herself in a fluffy towel. The sky outside had softened to a dusky orange. Luna returned, and they lounged on the bed in their dressing gowns.
Asterin nibbled on fruit and cheese, wincing while Luna struggled to comb out the seemingly infinite snarls in her hair. Asterin popped a grape into her friend’s mouth. “So, how is everything going with Eadric?”
She could hear the smile in Luna’s answer. “Lovely as always.” A pause. “He’s been so busy, though. We only manage to see each other once or twice a week.”
Asterin gaped, dropping her melon slice on a pillow. “That is unacceptable. Come on.” She hopped off the bed, dashing for the closet.
Luna blinked owlishly. “Wha—”
After throwing on a loose cotton blouse and trousers, Asterin tutted and picked out a sheer gold dress with a plunging neckline. She brandished it at her friend. “Put this on. That’s an order.” Cheerfully ignoring Luna’s flustered protests, Asterin helped her into it and zipped up the back before diving back into the closet to find a pair of matching slippers. “These, too. Hurry up!”
A balmy breeze caressed her skin as Asterin nudged the windows open, icestone in hand. Frost crackled from the sill at her command, shooting to the courtyard far below. Notches carved themselves down the center, smoothing out into a narrow crystalline staircase. The sun had set, but the ice caught the glow of lamps, gilding the steps gold with flickering firelight.
Luna, long accustomed to her escapades, only sighed and stepped obediently onto the sill. To fill the silence as they descended, she chattered on about her latest work of art—a sculpture, one of the many displayed in the parlor-turned-workshop that Asterin had set aside for her. They were all true masterpieces, every single one of them.
“Can I commission one of Garringsford?” Asterin asked as they passed a second-floor balcony.
Luna frowned. “What for?”
“Could you give her bullhorns? And a duck’s beak. And a pig’s snout.”
A snigger. “I can’t give her both a snout and a beak at the same time.”
They hopped off the staircase and into the flower bed undetected, or at least ignored. Like Luna, the patrol guards knew better than to question the notorious schemes of the Princess of Axaria. After picking their way around clusters of fresh buds cast gray in the shadows of the poplars standing sentinel overhead, they strolled arm in arm toward the training ring, tucked behind the stables and the guardhouse. The night was pleasant, the leaves rustling and the crickets chirruping in harmony with the soft whickering of horses.
Then came a thud and a chorus of victorious whoops.
Luna yanked Asterin to a standstill just before they rounded the stables, eyes wide and frantic. Finally, she had understood where they were heading. “Eadric can’t see me in this!” she whispered furiously, flapping her hands at herself. “There’s even a thigh slit! I look—”
“Gorgeous, as usual,” Asterin said with an eye roll. Then she dragged her friend out into the open, forcing her over to the training ring’s wooden fence.
Large blockades had been positioned inside the ring, encircling two vaguely human-shaped targets pockmarked with gashes and holes. Blue cotton spilled from the wounds of one and green from the other. Two figures guarded the targets, one apiece, each wearing either a blue or green band across their forehead. Asterin watched as a slight girl with fiery orange hair leapt from a blockade behind the much taller soldiers, roaring a terrific battle cry with her sword brandished.
Luna gasped as the blue-banded soldier whirled around and crossed two long knives over his head, barring the girl’s attack on the stuffed target with a screech of steel. They fought like wildfire and tempest, blades slashing swift and precise, but then the girl dropped low enough to slide between his legs and deliver a killing blow straight through the blue target’s back and out the other side. A yelp came from the green-banded guard as a spear flew out of nowhere and burst right through the second target’s neck, showering clumps of cotton everywhere. The guard looked up in time to see a second girl drop from the top of the blockade and land nimbly on her feet with a smirk.
A tall man in full uniform appeared from the deep shadows of the two blockades, his broad chest and shoulders nearly filling the space completely. “Death by severed arteries. Nice work, ladies. Alicia, try withholding your battle cries. Even though you won, you gave away your position and lost the element of surprise. Casper, keep your guard lower next time. And Gino, always stay alert to your surroundings—projectiles have to fire from somewhere or another. Good aim, Hayley. Try to extend your follow-through for more power, like this.” At his beckons, Hayley retrieved the spear from the green target’s neck for him. He backed out of sight. Asterin felt the anticipation mount, and then a blur of silver hurtled from the darkness, the spear plunging straight through not one but both targets. It lodged into the blockade directly across the ring with a wooden thwack. Pandemonium erupted from behind the blockades, whoops of dazzled awe drowning out Luna’s timid squeak.
“Captain Covington!” Asterin called out.
One foot braced against the blockade and muscles taut against his uniform, the captain yanked the spear free and glanced up. He caught sight of Luna immediately. Asterin watched in delight as his jaw dropped to his chest. “Fall in,” he managed.
The shadows of the blockades shifted, and four more figures emerged. They jogged over to the four soldiers already lined up, some still with cheeks flushed from the excitement. As one, Asterin’s Elite Royal Guard lowered to one knee in salute, right hands clasped to their shoulders across their chests.
“Your Highness.” Eadric strode forward and bowed his head to Asterin before gently grasping Luna’s hand and raising it to his lips. “And Miss Luna.”
Captain Eadric Covington was the commander of her Elites, as well as Asterin’s most trusted and capable soldier. The son of a Cyejin lord, he had first entered the royal ranks as an Elite himself when Asterin had only been a child. Cyejin heritage had given him hair streaked with tawny brown highlights that reminded Asterin of the cacao nibs her father used to have imported from Morova, straight brows, and dark eyes that shone like pine honey in the sunlight. Built like an ox, his mouth was set in a line so firm he appeared constantly unimpressed, although currently his gaze was nothing but adoring.