King of Beasts Read online

  I wrung my hands, my thumb tracing over the thin white scar running down my palm where a huge gash should be. The fairy thought I needed to be some sort of hero, so why did I feel like a scared little boy? "I think so. But why can't you make the announcement? I will always be there for you, but you're the queen. I'm just a prince."

  She sighed and shifted the hefty crown back into place on the top of my head as it had already slipped again. Casting her stare to the floor, her already ashen cheeks paled further, almost as if she'd been replaced by a ghost. "Because, I don't know what's going to happen, Fallon, and you may need to take on the role as king much sooner than any of us expected. If your father...if he doesn't get better, you will need you to step in and take his place."

  "But what if I'm not ready?"

  She placed her hands on the sides of my face and forced me to look at her. "Of course you are. You've been training your entire life for this. All your lessons. All your time here in the castle has been grooming you for this moment. It's your destiny."

  My destiny. I swallowed against the thickness growing in my throat. Every part of my body seemed to weigh more today. Heavier. Harder to carry. “And if I can't?"

  “Rumors are already spreading throughout the kingdom. We need to address this now or there will be chaos.” She let go of my face and hesitated with her hand on the doorknob, her shoulders heaved before she turned back to face me. “The announcement is at three o'clock, I'll meet you in the foyer at quarter to three. Please don't be late."

  I watched her slide back out the door, her posture stick straight and demeanor flawless, even though her insides were being torn apart. I'd never be that polished. I knew my duty to the family, but I never actually thought I'd have to do it. I'd falsely believed that my father would just live forever and take care of things, even if I became king I wouldn't actually have to do the work. I should've paid more attention to my studies. I should've behaved. I should've spent more time with my father when I had the chance. I should've done a lot of things that regret wouldn't be able to fix.

  The mirror on the wall showed a kid playing dress up in the king's clothes. I fixed my collar and adjusted the crown again, the honor still not sitting right on my head.

  Sun beat down on the courtyard as transparent waves of heat shimmied in the golden afternoon. The layers of pomp and circumstance cocooning my body did nothing to relieve the tension in my neck and shoulders as I paraded to the makeshift stage, a crowd of people several yards thick already waited at attention. A wooden podium stood in the center, but I couldn’t help picturing stocks, as if I were marching to my execution instead of just a simple speech. I’d made this short journey a thousand times before, but the people didn’t come to see me, they came to listen to my father. To be inspired. To be led.

  The swish of satin amplified as my mother sped up beside me and whispered in my ear. “Remember to breathe and don’t lock your knees or you might faint.”

  I forced a smile, as I tried to grab onto the small speck of levity in her tone and calm myself down. She smiled back, both of us pretending, each one trying to be what the other needed and not quite knowing how.

  We reached the edge of the stage and her gentle hand nudged my lower back, urging me forward, but polite enough not to push. The guards took their positions next to us as their careful stares scanned the awaiting horde.

  I shook my hands behind the podium, sweat beading on my palms and against the back of my neck. Almost everyone in the city had come, but as I scanned the crowd I didn’t recognize the faces I wanted to see. My friends hadn’t bothered to support me. Part of me even hoped I might see Veda standing in the crowd, but as I searched row on row of faces, her dark soulful eyes did not appear.

  "Er...ah...Welcome citizens of Aboria."

  A derisive laugh swam through the audience. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath as an unsettling quiet fell over the crowd.

  "I’m sure you are all surprised to see me addressing you all today instead of His Majesty King Ezra, and I wish my first public address were under better circumstances.”

  A low murmur rose as people began to shift and shrug. I swallowed, the neck on my coat seeming to shrink around my vocal cords.

  “The king has fallen ill. We have enlisted the best doctors in the land to attend to him and we hope that he will be back at this podium again soon. He sends his regards, but asks that you provide him the time and space he needs to recover.”

  The rumbling of voices grew. Waves of sound crashing against the shore.

  “In his absence, Queen Abigail and I, along with the help of the advisory council will be consulted on all matters.”

  No turning back now. The wave of mumbling voices peaked again and rushed toward me. I moved my weight from one foot to the other as sweat dripped down my spine. Questions garbled and meshed as the news of the king settled on the crowd.

  “What about the monster in the window? The one from the newspaper?” a man’s voice called from the middle of the pack. A chorus echoed his questions, repeating the words over and over but with their own accusatory tone.

  I glanced over my shoulder. Mom stood tall and nodded me to continue, although her encouraging smile didn’t reflect in her eyes.

  “The pictures aren’t real. There is no monster in the castle.”

  The murmurs erupted into a full-blown assault, my head ricocheted back and forth at the questions coming from every angle: What about the loud noises and smashing in the castle?; Who’s looking after the servants?; What if the monster gets loose? Why don’t you tell us what’s really going on?

  My tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth as the citizens became more enraged, spreading out and getting closer to the stage. I cleared my throat.

  “Thank you all for coming here today. We’ll provide more details as they become available.”

  Boo!

  The sound rose through the crowd, picking up momentum as it echoed through the courtyard adding voices as it moved. The guards flanking the stage snapped to attention.

  "You’re a coward, not a king,” a voice yelled.

  A pomegranate whirled through the air and smashed on the stage in front of me. Seeds and juice splattered my dress shoes. Another pomegranate flew toward me. It slammed against the podium and shot berry guts on my cheek. I wiped it with the back of my hand, my white gloves staining bright blood red. A troop of guards raced from the castle and assembled in a thick line between the stage and the townspeople, swords drawn for anyone foolish enough to keep going. The boos and jeers intensified as the crowd disbanded and started to make their way out of the square and back towards the city. A flood of comments, none positive, added to the noise and seeped into my brain.

  You don't deserve this. You'll ruin us. You'll never be our king.

  And as I watched them all retreat, my heart knew they weren't wrong.

  I pulled my hood tighter around my face as I strode through the shadows on the cobblestone streets. The anonymity of night did little to soothe the embarrassment seething beneath my skin since the guards marched the residents of Mosa out of the castle grounds, but at least if I kept my head down and avoided the lantern light I might avoid any unnecessary confrontations. Hiding seemed the only option after how badly I’d handled my first public appearance as acting king. Cowardly, but effective.

  The cool breeze nipped at my cheeks as the wind picked up. A spring storm loomed in the dark clouds overhead, providing another reason I should've stayed back in my room, but locking myself away only made the memory of the mocking voices louder.

  The fairy said I needed to save them. Veda said I had potential. How could they both be so wrong, or was this simply some cruel joke intended to destroy me? Either way, I needed answers or I'd go insane pacing the halls of the castle trying to make sense of it all.

  I reached for the handle of Takka's Tavern, but my hand hesitated and shook at the door handle. I’d spent so many hours here, almost like a second home, but I doubted I'd still be welcome. If
I didn't need to see Veda one more time, I'd likely turn around and head straight back the way I came.

  I placed my hand across my chest and breathed deeply feeling my lungs rise and fall against my ribs, trying to force them into calm. Keep your head down and make it quick. I yanked open the door and stepped out of the dark into the den of familiar voices. I clung to the back wall and glanced at the corner table where Veda usually haunted, but tonight her chair sat empty, the tabletop bare without her stack of books. My heart sank into my stomach. The sudden urge to see her hit me hard, overwhelming, like a strange addiction, desperately needing another fix. Probably just the insecurity after my complete disaster as king. It had to be. Besides, she’d been the one to call my downfall before it happened.

  Someone laughed near the bar and I jumped. Harding. His deep voice boomed off the rafters and I sunk further into the wall. My face burned with the adrenaline rush of potentially being recognized, but he didn’t seem to have noticed me standing there.

  A burly friend of his, Dormand, poked a finger in Harding’s face, the ale in his other hand swishing in his glass precariously close to spilling. “And the king is ‘sick’? Do they really think we are all that stupid? There’s something going on in there and it’s only a matter of time before we all find out what it is.”

  “Easy, buddy. You don’t know anybody’s lying.” Harding slapped his hand on Dormand’s shoulder and chuckled. “At least not yet.”

  Nice. I’d never lied to him. Not once. But clearly, he didn’t have any issue pretending to support me. And I was the liar?

  My feet moved toward the door, my brain still processing the deception to make the decision itself.

  I jerked it open, the low creak in the hinges suddenly deafening.

  “If it isn't Prince Fallon, coming to grace us with his presence," Dormand’s voice said behind me.

  My shoulders tensed, but storming out would only look weak. I forced my regal smile and turned as all the stares in the room landed at my feet. “Good evening, gentlemen.”

  Harding slid back into the crowd, likely knowing I might have heard him but smart enough not to find out.

  “Now that the prince is here we can get the party started.” Dormand pumped his thick fist in the air and a hearty cheer echoed through the tavern. The familiar clink of glasses behind the bar started as Mr. Takka starting lining them up beside the ale tap. Hunched over the bar, Kalmin sat staring at the bottom of his glass, his head not daring to turn toward me.

  A pinching sensation tugged in my stomach. They all saw the Party Prince, but no one respected me. Maybe Veda was right. Maybe the party needed to stop.

  “Not tonight everyone.” I waved my hand in the air as I shook my head and tried to get the words out without sounding hurt. “I think I’m going to call it an early night.”

  A disappointed groan swirled around me and the pain in my stomach squeezed harder.

  “No surprise. Probably have to get back to the castle and feed the monster,” someone yelled.

  Laughter erupted around me as I searched the faces for whoever had the gall to say the words to my face.

  “Excuse me?”

  Dormand stood up, his tree-trunk arms flexed tight at his sides. “What is it, Your Highness? You didn’t think we bought that story you tried to feed us today, did you?”

  “It’s not--”

  “Isn’t it though? The servants are talking. They’ve heard the screams and the growls in the castle. They’ve said entire wings have been locked down.” His fingers curled one after another into fists, then released and clenched again. “And no one has actually seen the king in days. How do you explain that?”

  “My father is sick. And I’d watch your tone, or I could have you charged with treason.”

  Mr. Takka leaned over the bar, his finger pointed sharp at Dormand then me. “I don’t want any trouble in here, gentlemen.”

  Dormand’s eyes looked past me, a deeper level of disgust creeping into his stare. “Charge me if you want, but everyone else will know the truth--you’re hiding something. We deserve a real king who doesn’t lie to us.”

  “Enough!” Kalmin kicked the stool back and stood, his hand slamming into the Dormand’s chest.

  Finally. I knew I could always count on him. We’d been friends for too long, too many years for him to abandon me completely. I’m sure he’d just been scared like everyone else. I’d forgive him.

  “Falls--” he crossed his arms over his chest and widened his stance, his eyes raking over me, “--I think it would be best if you left.”

  Every nasty word I’d ever heard collected like venom at the end of my tongue, but Kalmin’s crestfallen stare sliced through me, cutting me into pieces until I could only nod in response.

  I turned and left, a few mumbled comments following me out into the night. I slammed the door behind me and threw myself against the wall beside the entrance. My head banged against the stone and I actually invited the pain. Maybe the ache in my head could smother the one burning in my chest making it hard to breathe.

  “Bad day?”

  My head fell to the right. Veda stood next to me in her somber gray tunic, a book clutched tight to her chest.

  “Yeah. Not my best.”

  “I heard.”

  Of course, she had. I’m sure everyone from here to Skyla had heard about it by now. I sighed, letting all the tension out of my body and collapsing flatter against the stone wall. “I looked for you at the castle today, but you weren’t there.”

  “You did?” Her voice lilted up. “Why?”

  I closed my eyes and tipped my head up, letting the night breeze wash over my skin, wishing the sky would open up and swallow me.

  “I figured you would want to be there to watch me fall on my face. Apparently, you’ve always known I was bound to fail.”

  “Ouch. Sounds like it was worse than the gossip around town is saying.” She slid her book into the bag across her shoulder and crossed her arms. “Besides, I wouldn’t want to see you fail. I might be critical, but it’s because I think you have potential.”

  “Can you please not use that word? I’m starting to hate it.”

  She nodded and mimicked my defeated posture against the wall.

  “What are you--” I glanced over and she smiled.

  “Looks ridiculous, doesn’t it?”

  “Are you seriously making fun of me right now?”

  “No.” She straightened up. “It’s just that it’s not the end of the world. I’m sure it was awful, but if you spend all your time worrying about what you’ve done, you’ll never have the energy to do better in the future. So stop feeling sorry for yourself, and get over it.”

  “I…” I peeled myself off the wall and jabbed my finger in the air toward her, but the rest my argument caught in my throat, denying me the satisfaction but watering down my anger. “Why is it that you get to say these things to me and I keep letting you?”

  She shrugged, a mischievous grin cracked upon her face as she raised her thick left eyebrow. “Because deep down you probably already know it’s what you need to hear.”

  “Maybe.”

  Or maybe I enjoyed the punishment. Either way, the tension in my muscles eased and I took a deep breath. Veda nodded, seemingly satisfied at dragging me out of my pit of self-loathing, and I couldn’t help being drawn in by her shrewd knowing smile until I grinned back. Her hair whipped in the wind and she pulled her arms tighter against her body. I reached to remove the few stray strands that fell across her face, but she beat me to them and tucked them behind her ear. I looked down the street, trying to drop my awkward floating hand with some sort of grace, but she chuckled low and I knew I’d failed. Apparently, I’d lost all my charm along with my reputation.

  And then I laughed. Hard and loud, from deep in my gut. The whole evening blurred into a ridiculous kaleidoscope of scenes and snippets that had all culminated into a hopeless prince cowering under a streetlamp.

  “See. Isn’t that better than
smashing your head against a wall?”

  “Yeah. Thank you, Miss Macario.”

  The door creaked in its frame behind us. I jumped and wrapped my arm around Veda’s waist, rolling us both around the side of the building. I peeked around the corner, the voices of the jerks from the bar echoing stupid and drunk into the night, but fortunately in the other direction. I exhaled and glanced down. Veda’s eyes widened and her mouth hung open, my body pinning her against the wall, her heart drumming hard against my sleeve.

  Taking a step back, the levity between us disappeared in the dark.

  “I’m sorry.” I grabbed the back of my head and looked at the ground, kicking the uneven cobblestones. “I just...I just couldn’t deal with them right now.”

  She twisted her head to the side to meet my cast down eyes. “I had a feeling. Maybe you should go home?”

  “I can’t. Not right now.”

  I glanced around the corner again--all clear-- then paced in the small space between the buildings. Going back to the castle would remind me of all the obligations I couldn’t meet. Staying here wasn’t safe. The heavy darkness returned to my thoughts dragging me under, drowning me.

  “I know a place. Did you want to get out of here?”

  I closed my eyes. “Please.”

  She slipped her hand in mine, her cool skin melting against my flaming palm. My head jerked her direction and locked on her dark eyes, two mysterious shadows under the moonlit sky. A stillness radiated from her touch. A calm I hadn’t felt in days ran through me and eased the constriction around my lungs. A hush. Veda gasped as her breath caught in her chest. Did she feel it too? She cast a glare at our hands twined together and slid her fingers up to grab my forearm instead, pulling us back under the lantern lights.

  We ran silently through the streets, up the hill toward the dark forest. As we neared the edge she tucked two fingers between her lips and whistled. Above a black cloud appeared and sped toward us, growing larger and larger until it landed in front of us with a gust of wind and a deep throaty squawk.