I angled toward Jan Radke. My safe choice. My usual partner.
“Our usual pairing?” he asked.
“Yes, please, hurry before…”
“Princess Solenhart.”
Chen’s voice cut through the atrium like a knife.
My stomach dropped.
She approached with her hands clasped behind her back. “Today, stop practicing with trainee Radke. Your resistance is beyond the first-year level. You will train with the second-years.”
I already knew what she’d say next.
“Pair with Barret.”
A murmur rippled across the room.
Thalen stepped forward, his blond hair catching the sunlight, gold eyes bright, happy, and expectant.
Jan winced. “Good luck.”
I needed more than luck. I needed divine intervention.
Still, I walked forward, spine straight, emotions locked behind steel.
Thalen stopped in front of me, his voice dropping to a whisper only I could hear. “You’ve been ignoring me.”
I didn’t bother hiding my annoyance. “What did you expect?”
I slipped off my sunburst protection heirloom, the one that kept truthfinders out of my mind and held it in my palm. Its warmth faded, the familiar mental shield evaporating with it.
“You kissed me in front of everyone,” I said plainly. “And then a paper came out claiming we’re back together and the kingdom is waiting for our wedding. My mother and the general must be thrilled. I’m sure the royalists popped open ancient Auroric potions for the occasion.”
His face twisted with guilt.
I wasn’t wrong.
Royalists were giddy.
My Dragontail calling had been brushed off as an anomaly.
No one cared about the Dragontail trials I still had to survive. Everything felt orchestrated.
“I’m sorry, Thea,” he murmured. “I was worried about you. I got carried away. You know I care about you. I want you to be happy.”
I inhaled slowly, letting it all slide off me for now.
“Come on. Let’s just practice your truthfinding abilities, Golden Boy.”
He nodded. Thalen softened at the nickname. It was his childhood nickname, the one my father had given him.
“Try to keep your walls as solid as you can,” he said gently. “You know how this works; I’ll ask you a question, and you will be forced to say the truth even if you don’t want to. You may want to keep your walls up, but magical traces are stronger than any walls you might be trained to create. Let’s see howstrong you are. We’ll start with something easy. Testing your baseline.”
He took my hands, letting his mental magic spill into me, a power he couldn’t wield without touch.
“What are your parents' names?” He asked.