When I wake the next morning it is to Gemma missing and Daphne shaking me, telling me that it’s time to wake up as my final tutor will be here after breakfast.

Just like yesterday, I am surprised to see Caspian already sitting and eating when I walk into the dining hall. How early does he wake up to beat me here?

Breakfast goes fairly quickly, and Daphne comes to escort me to where the lesson is being held, Caspian following us.

When I question why he simply say, “after yesterday I do not trust anyone to be alone with you.”

Daphne leads us to a lake where a beautiful woman is already mostly submerged.

“This is Lady Sereifa, a Siren and your final tutor.” Daphne says. Sereifa smiles, waving Daphne off who bows quickly before going back to the castle.

Caspian hangs off to the side as I go closer to the water, able to get a better look at Sereifa. She is breathtakingly beautiful, deep blue hair falling in waves down her back and eyes that remind me of the ocean.

“Into the water with you princess.” Even her voice is soothing, each word spoken gently.

We start things off with seeing how long I can hold my breath. I last roughly ten minutes before I can feel Caspian's impatience. And sure enough when I resurface his eyes are on the water, looking as if he is ready to jump in at any moment.

"I can hold my breath for twice that amount of time." I say. He doesn't respond, going back to leaning against the tree, arms crossed.

Sereifa looks between the two of us, giving me a knowing smile. "Have you perchance learned a Siren song yet?"

I shake my head. Before now I hadn't even heard of a Siren song. 

“While most use it to lure men to their deaths, it doesn’t have to be used that way. You can use your voice to get almost anyone to do your bidding. We can go over more next lesson. For now, let’s see just how long you can hold your breath.”

Similarly to my lesson with Ronan, we race. I fully expect Sereifa to beat me, and she does not disappoint. Though, like Ronan, she is surprised with my swimming strength. 

I attribute it to the amount of hours I've spent just in the water. In high school I swam competitively, and that paid my way through college as well. Being in water is as comfortable to me as walking on land.

After the lesson Caspian wastes no time wrapping me in his jacket, quickly ushering me inside. 

Dimitri must have bothered him more than I originally assumed. Either that, or he thought me some frail girl who needed protecting. 

I reach up to wrap my soaking locs into a bun, the jacket slipping off my shoulders in the process. When Caspian moves to fix it I take a quick step back. “You know I’ve never been sick, right?” 

He looks at me, shocked. “Not even once?”

“Not that I remember. Not even allergies.”

“Fascinating.” Caspian still fixes the jacket, leading me to my room. I change quickly, not wanting to miss dinner. It takes me a bit longer than usual to get changed, needing to make sure my hair is semi dry before putting dry clothes on. 

There is a knock on my door and Caspian is asking if I am okay.

I open the door, smiling up at him. “Was I taking too long?”

“Any longer and I would have come inside and help you.” He brushed a loc behind my shoulder. “C’mon, let’s go eat.”

I follow Caspian to the kitchen, surprised to see Gemma and Ronan sitting there. They are holding hands, and I have to admit they are cute together. Gemma looks incredibly happy, and even Ronan is looking pleased with himself. I’m sure if he had a tail it’d be wagging right now.

Once Caspian and I are seated the maids begin bringing the food out to us. 

“Hey your food looks way better than mine!” Ronan says as Daphne places my plate in front of me. 

“This is for Princess Pandora!” She says almost immediately.

“Yes, I know. I was just saying…” Ronan frowns, and I look up to see Caspian move his eyes from Daphne to Ronan. She lingers for just a moment before backing away.

I don’t think too much about their shared expressions, the smell coming off my food distracting me. Though I am not sure why, it smells off. 

Still, the others have begun eating and no-one else seems too put off by the food so I figure I may just be imagining it.

As I begin to eat, though, my stomach begins to hurt. It starts out as light cramps that I try to ignore. I have been doing a lot more physical activity this week than I am used to, so I figure it’s just my muscles protesting being used after so long. Besides, the others are still eating happily and don’t seem as if anyone else is having the same issue.

The more I eat, however, the worse the pain gets.

A sudden, sharp pain causes me to grip my fork and I suck in a sharp breath, trying to wait for it to pass. It doesn’t pass though, and it’s Gemma who says, “What’s wrong, Panda?”

“I don’t know.” I’d only managed to make it through half my meal. “My food smelled weird but you guys were eating so I figured it was okay. My stomach hurts, though.”

Caspian grabs my plate, giving it to Ronan who already has his hand out. He barely gives it a sniff before tossing it away from him, a sick look on his face. I vaguely register the sound of the plate shattering as he growls, “Wolfsbane.” 

“Someone poisoned Panda?”

“Someone tried to. She would be a lot worse off if it did as intended.” As Caspian says that I reach out to touch his arm. The pain has intensified, and I think I might throw up. 

Caspian lifts me into his arms immediately. The sudden movement makes my stomach lurch and I cover my mouth with my hand, forcing the bile back down. My head is swimming.If my stomach weren’t twisted so painfully I am sure I would have passed out by now.

He murmurs an apology, telling Gemma to find a doctor before carrying me out of the hall.

His bedroom door is barely in sight before I am fighting to get out of his arms, the food threatening to come back up. Caspian quickens his pace, managing to get me at least into the bathroom and on my feet. Immediately I am on my knees in front of the toilet, throwing up everything I’d eaten that day. 

I’d never thrown up before, had never been sick enough to. It is a horrible feeling, my stomach cramping and my throat raw by the time I am done. Energy sapped, I sag on the floor, only to feel Caspian begin to lift me again, the action making my stomach churn again and he once again mutters an apology. 

“I will return in a moment.” He says, brushing a hand against my forehead.

I must have drifted off as I am startled awake by a cup pressed against my lips. I don’t want to eat or drink anything else, never wanting to experience vomiting again. My weak attempt to push him away has Caspian clicking his tongue. “Drink this, Dove. Then you can sleep.”

The next time I wake it is to Gemma placing a cold towel on my head.

“Gem? What happened?”

“You're awake! I was so worried Panda! You’ve ever been sick before so I had no idea what was going on. They think you were poisoned by wolfsbane.”

“Wolfsbane?” I attempt to sit up, my still cramped stomach causing me to wince.

“They think your vampire blood nullified the deadly properties of it. Ronan says there was enough wolfsbane in your system to kill a full-blooded werewolf. You basically had food poisoning.”

“Where’s Caspian?”

Gemma nods toward the couch, where Caspian is sitting, looking to be sleeping. “He stayed up with you all night.” She lets out a sigh, patting my hand. “Since you’re awake I’m gonna go check on Ronan. Just the smell made him feel nauseous.”

The moment Gemma shuts the door, I sit up, intent on getting out of bed. I have no idea how long I've been laying here but I want to get up before the lingering sleep takes hold of me once more.

I barely get my legs over the bed before I'm being pushed into my back, and a very grumpy looking Caspian appears in my line of sight.

"You need to stay put and rest." His voice is rough, like he'd just woken up and I try not to let how much I enjoy the sound distract me.

"Have you been awake this whole time? Gemma said you were up all night you should rest."

He raises an eyebrow, pulling the cover to my chin. "I am fine."

Before he can move away fully I reach out, grabbing his sleeve. When he doesn't move I pull at him until he's finally sitting on the bed. When he looks as if he's going to question me I say, "It's your bed. You should sleep."

Caspian twists so he's facing me. He brushes a loc from my face. "Do you really wish for me to sleep next to you?"

When I nod he straightens, gesturing for me to make room. I hold the covers back for him, only to frown when he sits with his back against the headboard.

"What?" Caspian questions when he sees my expression.

"You're supposed to be laying down, not sitting against the headboard."

"You are quite bossy." He chuckles, but does as I say, sliding onto his back. I don't expect his arm to snake around my waist, so a squeak leaves my mouth when I am pulled against him. Eventually he settles us so he is on his back, arm locked firmly around me so I am forced to rest with my head on his chest.

"Caspian!" I try to push away from him but his hold on me is tight. "I didn't mean for you to hold me hostage. I just woke up."

"You couldn't have possibly rested enough." His voice leaves no room for further protest so I let out a sigh, giving up on trying to get away. It isn't unpleasant. Just the opposite, in fact, his scent invading my nostrils and forcing my body to relax.

I look up to see his eyes are closed, giving me the perfect opportunity to study him. His eyelashes, which are surprisingly dark compared to his white hair, are long, fanning onto his cheeks. I resist the urge to brush them with my fingers, which are currently pressed between my stomach and his waist.

It's strange, seeing him so relaxed. So close.

I drag my eyes from his lips to meet his open ones. Another squeak leaves my lips and I jump. When had he opened his eyes?

"Do you like what you see, Dove?" He muses.

"You are very pretty." I say. His eyes are closed again but he smiles at the compliment.

"Am I?"

I nod, knowing he'd be able to feel it against his chest. He hums, quiet for a moment. I begin reaching up to brush a stray hair from his forehead when he asks, "Do I still smell good?"

My entire body freezes at that, including the hand that hadn't quite made it to his hair. His eyes open once more to meet my wide ones and he grins.

"Was I not supposed to mention that?"

I let my hand fall to his chest, twirling the hair that's fallen over his shoulder around my finger instead. I had tried desperately to forget that night and here he finds it amusing! I take a deep breath, letting it out on a sigh. "It's not that. I shouldn't have said it."

"Why not? It's good to know my scent comforts you."

My eyes are focused on the hair in my hand, and I breathe through my traitorous heart beat. I'm sure he can hear the pout in my voice as I whisper, "You're teasing me."

"I assure you I am not."

My hand stills again at that, and I look up to see Caspian's eyes are once again closed. A small smile touches my lips when he reaches a hand to take mine, linking our fingers together.

He falls asleep moments later, and I allow his scent and his warmth to lull me to sleep as well.

Nathaniel is waiting for me in the library for my final lesson of the week. He smiles when I enter the room, asking how I’m feeling.

“You know about that?” I ask as I take a seat at the table.

“The whole castle likely knows about it, princess.” He chuckles warmly. “You are doing fine now, I trust?” At my nod he smiles, gesturing to the map stretched across the table. I let out a sharp breath at the size of it, eyes scanning over it. “We will begin our lesson with the basics. I am lead to believe you know nothing about your ancestors or Sedalia as a whole?”

“I was raised by my mom's sister. She wasn’t exactly jumping at the guns to hold supernatural lessons.”

Nathaniel laughs, flipping through a stack of papers before finding the one he is looking for and placing it above the map. “Not to worry. Altair VonMerlyn is your great-great-great grandfather. One of the greatest Witches of his time.”

“He was a Witch?” 

“Oh yes. Albeit distantly, you are related to Merlin. Altair VonMerlyn was quite ambitious, securing the throne at a young age. Barely in his 20s if I remember correctly. He held the throne for nearly 100 years before passing it on to his daughter, Willow when his wife, a Siren by the name of Mira Chalice passed away. Each heir since then holds on to the throne until they deem necessary before passing it on to the next. Because your family is of mixed blood, your lifespan is hard to predict. Your grandfather, King Julian, passed away before we could officially locate you. That is why everything is rushed. What you should have learned growing up we are trying to teach you now.”

He points at the map. “Now then. This is Sedalia.”

“This? All of this?” He drags his finger from one edge of the map to stop a bit more than halfway across. And once more his finger goes from the top of the map to nearly all the way to the bottom.

For the first time since arriving in Sedalia I am realizing just how enormous this kingdom is. And I have to learn how to rule all of it in just a few short months.

As if sensing my sudden spike in anxiety, Nathaniel pats me gently on the shoulder. “Although it looks daunting, you will not be alone. You will have me, Queen Rosedriah, and Master Caspian by your side. And the Council will be with you.”

At the mention of the council, I can’t help but scoff. “I don’t think they want me here.”

“To them, you are no different than an outsider. I would not dwell on it too much. When they see how capable you are they will come around.”

“How do you know I’m capable?”

Nathaniel smiles. “You are a VonMerlyn, princess. It is in your blood.”