It took three weeks for Enri to fully recover. I couldn’t see her every day since Zann insisted I stay next to him. The only upside was that I got to see Corek, Eumen, and Clecia every day.

“You don’t have to look at me,” I said. The four of us sat in the garden enjoying the cool weather. The only time we got to be somewhere that wasn’t next to Zann was when we were eating. The food was good, but I wasn’t paying too close attention. Enri was singing in my head, as she was doing more often, while we talked about what we were going to do. “I know it’s hard.”

“It’s not,” Corek said. “But I can tell you’re not paying attention.”

“I am.” I turned to her and her grip tightened on her fork. “I’m just listening.”

“Kaiya, if you need a break, you can always step out.” Eumen set her cup down, her eyes slowing, making their way up from my chin. “I don’t think His Majesty would be able to say anything.”

“I can’t. Or, rather, I won’t. I told him once Enri was getting better, I would work for him. Unlike some people, I’m a person with integrity.” Pushing my plate away, I swirled my water around my cup. “The only thing I won’t do is step into the room her murdered my sister in.”

“He’s moving it, if that makes you feel any better.” She steadied her gaze on my nose and kept it there. “He told Denma and Sighlu to move the room elsewhere. He’s tired of you only standing at the door.”

“I can only give him so much leeway.”

“You shouldn’t give him any.” Corek’s words cut through Enri’s voice, and I had to resist the urge to glare at her.

“I have to give something. He wanted me broken; this is what he gets.”

“If he were a smart man, he would have kept Sayla alive. At least then we could still tolerate him.”

“Keep it together for now. When the time comes, we’ll expose him for everything he is. I plan on breaking him until he begs.”

Corek grinned and went back to her food. That thought was the only thing getting us through the days. They all knew their lives were in danger. They’d be fools not to understand that, while they were his personal guard, he would kill them and not lose a moment of sleep. They all knew, and they were all happy to lay their lives down to make sure he never harmed another person.

While we all listened to what Zann said with little to no protest, Clecia was the best of us. She put on a smile and used every active listening skill she had to carry us. Zann expected little from me, but Clecia’s sunny disposition hid Corek’s outright irritation and Eumen’s neutral and genial disposition helped smooth over the rest.

We trained together, too. Hand to hand and weapons combat. At first, they didn’t want to use their swords and daggers, but after taking them down in hand to hand, they were eager to test their blades. I never realized that just because I couldn’t pin Enri didn’t mean I was bad at hand to hand. Enri was just a beast.

I didn’t use magic to fight, not at first. I wanted to get a feel for how each of them fought before trying anything.

Corek had the most physical strength and reach. Solid and sturdy, her punches pack all her weight into them and when she picked up her short sword, it was just a sharp extension of her arm. Her bulk didn’t stop her from being fast, either. I was, however, a little faster and that was what saved me from being pummeled.

Clecia knew her way around the human body. Everyone was taught pressure points and weak spots, but Clecia internalized them in a way no one else had. Each strike was meant to incapacitate, and the follow-up was no different. When she added her daggers into the mix, close and long range, she was deadly.

Eumen was the most balanced fighter. Not quite as tall as me, but not as willowy and small as Clecia. Her hits packed a punch and managed to throw me off balance. Adding in her scimitar, she whirled and slashed like a hurricane of force and pushed me back further than Clecia or Corek could. Her movements were sure and steady; there was no debate as she fought, only an inevitable action.

Adding magic to the mix, however, they couldn’t get close to me. Mixing terra and wind made me impossibly quick. Fire magic made my skin burn to the touch and any metal that got too close would start to warp and bubble. I pulled water from the air, mixed and moved it to make fog to cover their faces.

I knew I could manipulate the water in their bodies, but that was a step too far for a friendly sparing match.

“You are truly superhuman,” Corek said.

“That’s putting it lightly.” Eumen was sweating, sitting on the ground, and basking in the cool breeze. “I can see why His Majesty wanted you to complete the ritual as soon as possible.” Corek was leaning against her sword, and Clecia leaned against the obstacle course. Neither of them could breathe properly.

I was fine, sweatless and settled on the ground and looking to the sky. There was nothing I wanted more than to just fly up there and let myself fall. The weightlessness would help me, I think.

“Make sure to catch yourself,” Enri said. Her voice startled me. She was doing that more often. Responding to thoughts I never sent her way. In fairness, a lot of my thoughts were fatalistic.

“Of course, I’d catch myself,” I said. “How do you do that? Hear my thoughts without me intending for you to.”

“Most of the time, all of your thoughts are like static—background noise. Yours stick out to me, your magic being so familiar. I try not to pry, but sometimes it happens.”

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“Makes sense. It feels a bit odd having so little privacy, though.”

“I know. I’ll be better about it.” There was silence and I thought she was gone, back to herself. She’d been eating more these days and spending time walking around the palace to move her body. “I love you, Kaiya. I know I haven’t said it in a while, but I do.”

The words I could have so easily thought were stuck, left unformed and unfinished. My feelings were still the same, but it felt wrong. To still be happy and thriving in a relationship when Sayla no longer could.

“You don’t have to say it back.” This time I felt her magic pull away, a wall going up between us. It made my heart ache, but I couldn’t reach out. Not without leaving Sayla completely behind.

The wall continued to stay up, even after she was out of the infirmary.

She joined us in the war room each day, stoic and balanced as always. Sighlu and Denma had moved everything to a different room on a different floor in a different wing. Zann sure knew how to be petty. Enri didn’t participate in the conversations as she used to, mostly playing catch up on what had been happening.

She didn’t join us in training, either. Having to get her body back up to speed, she had her own routine to stick to. As much as I wanted to help, I knew I would get in her way. I still tried, of course. We all did. We would stand by the obstacle course and spot her. We would race to see who had the fastest time, and when she needed a sparring partner, I would readily volunteer. I couldn’t give her everything anymore, but I could give her this.

Her attacks were vicious. There was no holding back on her punches or kicks, and she gave me a few nasty cuts when her daggers were involved. But after every bout, without fail, she would heal me. We would sit next to the obstacle course after our cool down and she would heal us. Whenever it was my turn, I could feel how reluctant she was to do so. I didn’t know if it was because she was angry, or because she didn’t know how it would affect me. At this point, probably both.

“Did something happen?” Eumen asked. We were walking back to the palace, Enri already taking off to her room. “You two seem off.”

“I wouldn’t say anything happened, and I think that’s the problem.”

“Is this something that can be talked out or is it something that just needs time?”

“Both, I think. I’m not the same person I was before Sayla, and that’s affected our relationship negatively.” It didn’t help that I couldn’t find it in me to talk about anything. They needed a fighter, not a depressed walking corpse. I couldn’t figure out how to balance it.

“I hope that it gets better. You can talk to me anytime.”

“I know, Eumen. Thank you.”

° ° °

Enri and I were called to the war room the day the doctor deemed Enri in perfect health. The personal guard was outside the door while Zann was the only other person in the room. He truly had a lot of faith in himself. I could have killed him before he could take another breath.

He was smiling. An excited grin that might have been mistaken for childish glee. I knew there was more behind it.

“Kaiya, Enri. I have exciting news for both of you. Who wants their new first?”

I shrugged. “I’ll take it.”

He smiled. “Kaiya, you are now given the title and honor of being my personal guard.”

“I’m already your personal guard.”

His smile slipped, but he brought it back up again. “You will be my highest-ranking personal guard because Enri will no longer be able to do so. Enri. You may want to sit down.” Enri looked confused but sat. I remained standing. “In these past few weeks, I have been sending missives to Queen Forana to renegotiate our treaties and agreements. In part of those negotiations, was you. Starting today, you are, once again in fullness, Princess Enri of Fera.”

I smiled. My guess had been right. Enri would get to go home.

Silence enveloped the room and, for the first time in two weeks, I felt the wall go down. Her thoughts flooded into my head, one after the other, without stopping.

“I’m finally going home. What did he take to get this done? What did Mom give up to make this happen? What am I going to do as a princess? I don’t know how to be one. I haven’t lived at home in over fifteen years. What if I can’t adjust to life in Fera?

“I can’t be the next person to leave Kaiya.”

She turned to me. For the first time since she’d been home, tears fell down her face with reckless abandon. “Kaiya…”

“Congrats, Enri.”

“Kaiya…” If there was something she wanted to say, I couldn’t tell. Her thoughts were in complete disarray now. We knew this was going to happen, but it didn’t beat the real thing.

Zann completely ignored her and barreled on. “Since we’ve got such good news, it’s time to head back. In a week, we’ll head there to deliver you to the queen. Kaiya, you’ll help her pack and get her things together.”

“Ten-four boss man.”

“I’ll tell the others the news. You two get started. You’ve got fifteen years to get through. I’d suggest you get going.”

I had to pull Enri from her chair to get her moving. She was still in shock as we opened the door and walked out. The guards stared but said nothing.

It wasn’t until we were in her room that she spoke again. “I can’t believe you were right.”

“Call it an educated guess.” I leaned against the door, the view from her balcony clear. The small dot in the distance was the palace Enri would soon be a resident of once again.

Equal parts panicked and thrilled, she stood in place, looking around as if glitching. Despite never having much, she had no idea where to start. I started to move, and she swung her gaze over to me. The only person to be able to hold it after the ritual, after Sayla. That felt important to me, but it was hard to put into words why. I grabbed her face and placed my forehead to hers.

“You’re going to make a beautiful, powerful, showstopping princess. You’re going to be perfect.”

Her tears came again. “I can’t leave you.”

“You have your queendom to take care of. I always knew you couldn’t do both.”

She shook her head, her tears flying with the force of it. “I don’t want to leave you. I can’t be someone who leaves you.”

I wiped her cheeks and kissed her forehead. “You’re not leaving me forever. I’m still going to be around and I’m not even a citizen of Yvanta. I can go wherever I want.”

“That’s not the problem.”

“I know.” I pulled her into a tight hug. “I know.”