“Darten!” A cry of terror and desperation tore from my lips as the dark-haired Velarian, whom I’d only met a few days ago, leaped from his ledge into the pitch-black void toward the nearest “safe island.”
“I’m fine!” A faint shimmer of soft violet magic flickered at a considerable distance from me. “The temple’s gonna collapse soon! Catch!”
A thin golden chain, looking almost like a lasso, didn’t quite reach me. I flailed my arms in panic, barely managing to hold on to one of the crumbling ledges of the ruin, which seemed hell-bent on destroying itself. My lightweight training outfit offered no protection against the jagged walls I pressed myself into with all my strength. If there was even much left of it—my long sleeves had been hanging in tatters since the start of this deadly game.
I kept silently berating myself for not trusting Darten when he’d offered his help. I’d hesitated too long at the beginning of this crown contest while all the other competitors surged ahead. And now, with almost no way out, I was trapped. Worse, Darten seemed glued to my side, dooming himself to the same fate that had been foretold for me.
“Are you crying over there or what?” I heard his surprisingly upbeat shout, much closer than before. Or maybe it just seemed that way… The echo in these cliffs was unreal.
“No, I’m not,” I retorted proudly, brushing away tears and forgetting I needed to hold on to the wall.
Because how could I? Duchesses, especially those from Kertiya, don’t cry. They might show weakness, but never in front of others.
“Yeah, sure, I believe you,” came his reply, followed by a loud chuckle. This time, it felt like he was right next to me. If I just reached out, I could grab hold of him…
But no. The other contestant in the crown games was still where he’d been, hiding under a protective magical dome from the debris of this so-called temple, carved into the cliffs above Velaria’s largest lake. Its self-destruct curse had already been triggered.
The wall trembled, and the surface I stood on started crumbling into tiny pebbles, as if it were nothing more than sand. I knew I had only seconds before I’d plummet to who-knows-where. So, spotting the bright glow of the precious gem we’d come here for, I leaped toward it with every ounce of strength I had. Not thinking about anyone or anything. Naive? Stupid? Maybe.
“Anabelle!” Now it was Darten’s turn to panic as I fought tooth and nail for my life.
Honestly, I was this close to biting into the wall if I had to. I wouldn’t have spared my perfect smile. Anything to survive, to cling to this fragile ledge and not fall into the abyss below.
But he didn’t let me fall. Or at least, he tried not to. His golden lasso-chain sliced through the darkness around me just as I finally pried the cursed gem from the wall. And right at that moment, in a burst of relief, I let my guard down. My foot slipped, and I started sliding down the jagged surface toward the chasm. Naturally, my first instinct was to tuck the gem into my magical pouch. What else was I supposed to do?
“Grab on!” There was so much hope in his shout that I felt like a complete failure when I realized I couldn’t even come close to reaching it.
“Throw it again!” I pleaded desperately, dangling by one hand as the roar of falling rocks echoed around me. I knew he didn’t have to do this—he could save himself—but Darten stayed, against all odds.
With the last of my strength, I wove my own fiery chain, hooking it onto Darten’s and slowly began to climb. My sweaty palms and exhausted arms made the already grueling process even harder, but bit by bit, the worst moments were behind me. A little more, and soon we were jumping together into Velar—the massive lake in Velaria that separated us from the royal castle.
“Why didn’t you leave me behind?” I broke the silence once we’d been fished out of the lake by some kind-hearted fishermen. Soaked, battered, and bruised, but with the gleam of victory in our eyes.
“Because I felt like it,” Darten shrugged simply, looking at me.
And there I was, like an idiot, only able to think about how I looked. Did he even like me? At the same time, I knew I’d never looked worse in my life. Yet in his eyes, I saw so much admiration… Or maybe… maybe he wasn’t looking at me at all.
“Want these? Take them,” I offered, holding out the pouch of colorful gems needed to advance to the next stage.
“First off, if I take anything, it’ll be this tiny one, just to move forward,” he said, doing exactly that and quickly pocketing a small amethyst. “And second, why is it that the first thing you see in people is something bad? Can’t someone just help for the sake of helping?”
“But… you don’t know me, and I don’t know you…” I persisted, my gaze darting between his captivating brown eyes and his confident face, with its sharp cheekbones and surprisingly full lips.
“Then let’s get to know each other,” Darten smiled, extending his injured hand, roughly bandaged with a torn piece of his shirt. “I’m Darten of Velaria, I’m…”
“A prince…” I gasped, searching his brown eyes for even a hint of the cornflower blue shade that marked those who’d once held royal status.
“I’d sooner call myself the result of a bad joke,” he said, a playful note clear in his voice. “My dad made a terrible joke when he met my mom. And she, well, when they registered me as a citizen of the kingdom, she was home alone, so… You get the idea.”
I laughed, looking at the dark-haired guy with his incredibly curly hair in a completely new light. Not as a Velarian who wanted something from me, but just as someone who wanted to sit beside me in this boat right now, for no reason other than to be there. To make me laugh. To cherish every fleeting smile on my tired face.
And the strangest thing was, for the first time in my life, it felt good to hear that Darten’s status wasn’t what I’d assumed. It even lightened my heart to know he wasn’t some arrogant prince or count, just an ordinary Velarian with a great sense of humor and surprisingly good manners. Plus, luckily for me, Darten turned out to be pretty strong for someone with such an unassuming appearance, always hidden behind loose shirts, pants, and often some wide-brimmed hats. Which, by the way, suited him incredibly well.
“So, are you gonna tell me something about yourself, Duchess?” My savior of the day snapped me out of my thoughts.
“How did you…?” I startled, since I hadn’t told any of the two dozen crown game participants who I really was.
“You’ve lived right next door all these years and never noticed, huh?” After his words, I immediately started mentally sifting through all the neighbors and residents of the duchy I’d often seen at celebrations at our villa. But no one even remotely like him came to mind.
“I didn’t think you lived in the Kertiyan Duchy…” I remembered just in time that we were on a boat, so jumping to my feet in frustration at myself wasn’t the best idea.
“So, Duchess of Kertiya, is it?” Darten smirked slyly. So he’d just been bluffing…
“Ugh, you… And here I was thinking… I know everyone, but then…”
“Relax, it’s just a joke,” he grinned with that incredibly charming, bright smile of his.
“You’re such a goof,” I nudged him in the side, slightly rocking the boat.
“Hey, lovebirds, careful now. If we capsize because of you two, no one’s gonna help us,” the old fisherman chimed in, and he had a point.
“Sorry,” we said in unison, our lips curling into silent smiles.