A white light rose from his palm and flicked almost like a flame. My eyes grew wide as what appeared to be glowing white veins traveled up his arm.

“Is it magic? Like the fae?” I asked.

“Does this look like a creation of nature?” Mannis replied. “I don’t see any flowers blooming,” he laughed.

I leaned closer and had a weird urge to touch it.

“Enough, Maniis,” said my mother. “Before someone sees.”

He closed his hand, and the white flame disappeared. The lines faded away. I stared at him for a moment, feeling strangely out of breath. I didn’t know eternal could create—I didn’t know what exactly to call it, but whatever it was, it was amazing. It had characteristics of fire but was pure white. It had to be something important.

“I could do that?” I asked. “You could teach me how?”

My uncle smirked. “I didn’t come all this way to swing around a sword like a mortal. There are better ways of beating an enemy.”

“I’ll go with you,” I exclaimed. “When are you leaving? I have a horse. I can pack. Whenever you want to leave, I can be ready.”

“Ricky.” My mother grabbed my wrist and eyed me. Her gaze turned to her brother. “We’re not talking about this here. We don’t need someone overhearing.”

Keeping a firm hold on me, she led the way to the far side of the palace. We stepped into a small nook in a hallway that held a couple of chairs and a table. I stood between the pair and waited for them to conclude that I would be going to Lumeria. I hadn’t been this excited since I was a child, when I was given my first horse and allowed to take riding lessons. Eternal could wield magic—it wasn’t the same as the fae, but it was something magical. My uncle and mother were staring at each other, but neither of them said a word.

I swallowed hard. “So?”

My mother sighed and peered out the window.

“Arbela,” said my uncle. “He needs to come with me. I don’t know why you’re being so stubborn when you know what needs to be done. Forget the gods’ will for a moment; Alric needs to learn from people who know what the hell they’re doing,” he muttered the last bit under his breath. “The people in this kingdom might as well be mortals.”

“I know,” she stated. “That's why I haven’t told Ricky. There was no point in him knowing because no one here can teach him.”

“You could have,” said Maniis. 

She smiled to herself. “I know that as well. But you said it yourself: the people of Thaloria are like mortals. They think like mortals and will run to them the moment they feel threatened. There are only two people in this kingdom with the gods’ mark. I wasn’t going to risk it.”

“You can make the fire as well?” I asked.

My mother nodded.

“I knew it.” I smiled. “There were times that I thought I saw something, but I told myself it was the light or a reflection.”

“It’s not exactly fire,” said my mother, holding out her palm.

The white flame grew from it. 

“It’s the eternal flame given to us by the god.”

“But it’s a flame?” I said, confused.

She pressed it against the wall, but nothing started smoking. “It’s more of an energy—a life force. Can I use it to knock a hole in this wall or a full-grown mortal onto his ass—yes. With enough effort, I suppose I could make fire.”

I perked up. “Please, can I go? Please, Mother. This is what I need.” I grabbed her other hand. “I’m horrible at the sword. My aim is terrible. I could never fight off a mortal physically. I’m awful at everything that Father forces me to do. I’ve tried for years, and I’ve never gotten any better. I am so tired of being knocked to the ground every day. I could finally be something more than the pathetic prince everyone mocks because he’s too weak. I want to actually fulfill my role like the mortal princes do.”

My mother let out a deep breath. She clasped my face and nodded. “Maniis.”

“So we’re in agreement.” He folded his arms. “Excellent.”

“No, we are not,” she stated. “But I am willing to negotiate.”

“What?”

“Negotiate,” she stated. “Ricky is my son. He was the one thing I was allowed to take with me to Thaloria. I have obediently sat in this hellhole of a kingdom because if I did as Father asked, he would not try to take Ricky.”

My uncle lifted his chin. “The boy is going willingly. No one is taking him.”

“He is mine,” she stated. “And I will not let him leave for who knows how long. It could be a hundred years.” 

“Really?” I asked.

She held up a finger to silence me. “Ricky will not be going unless I am permitted to visit whenever I want.”

“Arbela,” muttered my uncle. “That… Father—”

“Father has stepped down,” she stated. “He is no longer king. You are. Unless you still need his permission, you may need to stop referring to yourself as a king if that were true.”

“He’s still my father.”

“And Ricky is my son.” She locked eyes with him. “And if I want to visit him, I will.”

Maniis rubbed his face. “For how long exactly? A visit could easily turn into you living in Lumeria, and Father will not stand for that.”

She scoffed at the remark. “The only person in Lumeria I care to visit is my son. A couple of weeks here and there, because I’d go mad if I stayed any longer than that. I don’t want to be around any of you,” she stated. “I am putting that aside for Ricky’s sake.” My mother looped arms with me. “Those are my terms.”

My uncle groaned. “I don’t need to agree to your terms. Arkin is parading about as king. He’d tell me to take Alric so he can finish up whatever he’s planning with the mortals. I know about the half-blood.”

My mother shook her head. “It’s done. The boy was born. My brother-in-law is too proud to care about the consequences.”

“So, in the end, the only one we’d have to get past is you,” said Maniis, looking smug. “I think I’ll manage.”

I scowled at my uncle. That wasn’t how this was going to work. 

I stepped in front of my mother. “I won’t go unless I have her blessing. If it is going to take me a century to learn the fire-energy—”

“May the gods strike me,” said Maniis under her breath. “This is your chance.”

I stood up straight. “I want to see her. Either she gets to come visit me, or I’ll go to her.”

Sucking in his cheek, Maniis shook his head. “You can’t stay longer than a month at a time.”

My mother scoffed. “I won’t make it a month. Mother and I will be at each other's throats long before then, with Father muttering about his disappointing daughter.”

“You have responsibilities to Thaloria. This kingdom wasn’t created so it could be abandoned.”

“I don’t recall ever wandering off and you having to come and find me,” she replied, annoyed. “Have you met my husband? I don’t exactly enjoy the company here either, but I stay.”

Maniis rubbed his forehead. “Fine, you can visit. I will permit you entry.”

“Swear it before the gods,” said my mother. “So if you go back on your word, they can stand as my witnesses that my own brother has wronged me.”

He took a deep breath. “I swear it before the gods, you may visit your son in Lumeria.”

My mother shrugged. “Then we’re in agreement.”

A crash sounded as something hit the ground. I flinched.

“Arbela!”

My mother pursed her lips at the sound of my father’s voice.

“Goddamnit, Arbela! Where are you?!”

“Excuse me,” said my mother. “It seems my husband is throwing a tantrum.” She marched to the end of the hall. “You called.”

“Where the hell do you go?! The guest, who is looking after the guests?”

I moved closer. 

“The servants know how to tend to guests,” she replied. “It’s their job. It’s what they’re hired to do. Who is hosting your guests?”

My uncle sighed. “It’s this attitude that gets her into trouble. It drove my mother mad.”

“Your brother marched into my banquet and embarrassed me in front of all of the known realms,” stated my father. “He threatened to delegitimize Thaloria and then left with my son. Do you have any idea how that made me look? Like a fucking idiot, Arbela!”

My mother shrugged. “And?”

I stepped forward, but my uncle grabbed my shoulder.

“She can handle it.”

“I know,” I replied. “They usually don’t fight as bad when I’m in the room.”

He didn’t let go.

“I want him gone,” said my father. “Now! Tonight. I want Maniis out of Thaloria and back where he belongs.”

“I agree,” my mother replied. “But you forget, my brother is king now. We can’t order him to do anything—technically, he’s a guest.”

“Do not mock—”

“Touch me, and I will remove a finger.”

My uncle chuckled. “She always has a knife hidden somewhere.”

“What?” Since when?

“You didn’t know that? I said earlier that when she left Lumeria, she attacked me. It wasn’t the first time she left me bleeding. Sometimes, it was so bad that it took days to heal. I had to get stitches.” He scratched his chest. “She has a bit of a temper.”

I shook my head. “She’s never talked about you.”

He rolled his eyes. “Of course.”

“My father yells a lot, but he’s never laid his hands on her.”

“Smart man,” breathed Maniis.

“Arbela,” said my father. “Tell him to leave.”

“It would having the same effect as telling you to go fuck yourself,” she replied. “Maniis will leave when he chooses to leave.”

“I am king.”

My mother perked up at the end of the hall. “Yes, in title, but the authority to call yourself that comes through me; it comes from Lumeria, in which Maniis is king.

“You told him to say that,” said my father with anger in his voice. “To tell the whole court that it should be you on the throne or, better yet, Alric.”

“Alric is your heir,” she stated. “He is a future king, born of royal blood. You are not.”

“I am the king—not him. Not until I’m dead! And for the sake of Thaloria, the people better pray to the gods that worthless boy never has a crown placed on his head.”

I felt my chest tighten.

“Be very careful with your words,” said my mother. “They will dictate what I do next.”

“Think about it, Arbela. Alric crawls through the dirt every day. We might as well send him to wallow with the pigs. He’ll accomplish just as much. It’s embarrassing to watch, and rumors are spreading. He can’t handle a sword. He can’t fight. Every teacher I bring in says Alric is hopeless. That’s what the kingdom sees: a hopeless boy trying and failing at everything. We don’t have a magical forest to defend us like Lumeria. We have to fend for ourselves, and I’m done trying with that boy. My brother has the right idea. We can’t win against mortals.” He paused. “So it’s time we embrace them.”