Gathering Darkness (Falling Kingdoms #3)(67)

Alexius turned to face her, his eyes filled with admiration. “You can. And you will.”

“How?”

“When the time is right, we will talk of this again. This is your destiny, princess. You are stronger than you think.”

She raised her chin, frustrated that he refused to tell her everything right here and right now. “I never said I wasn’t strong.”

“But if you ever start to doubt yourself, don’t. You are a mortal girl, that’s true, and Eva was an immortal. But it doesn’t matter. You were meant to hold this power within you. I believe that with all my heart.”

His words warmed her, chasing away her doubt. “Thank you.”

“However, this doesn’t mean I’m going to go easy on you this afternoon. We are going to work very hard. You might just hate me by the end of the day.”

“Impossible,” she told him, finally smiling again. She glanced at the soaring hawk against the blue sky. “Why hawks?”

“What do you mean?”

“Immortals—Watchers, guardians, what have you—can take the form of hawks. Why not eagles? Or sparrows? Or lizards, even?”

“It’s said that when the maker of the universe created Eva, a hawk flew past at the precise moment the elemental magic was forming her body. The hawk’s spirit was fused with her soul, and with the soul of every immortal created afterward.” He searched her eyes for a reaction, smiling slightly. “What can I say? Even my people tell legends to each other.”

“But in other words, you don’t know for sure.”

“No. Not entirely. However, the feeling of taking the form of a hawk and flying high into the sky to keep an eye on all of you mortals is like no other feeling in the world.”

“I’m sure you’re right.” She couldn’t even imagine how incredible it would be to fly high up in the sky, away from all earthly troubles. “I’m sorry you’ve had to give that up.”

The barest edge of a shadow crossed his expression. “Don’t be. There’s no other place I need to be than here, now, with you. Believe that, princess, for it’s the absolute truth.” He took her hand in his and squeezed it. Her heart skipped a beat as their gazes locked. “Now, shall we resume our lessons?”

Before she could reply, there was a knock at her door. Annoyed, she asked, “Who is that?”

“Only one way to find out,” Alexius said.

“The servants know not to disturb us.” Reluctantly, she left Alexius’s side and walked across the room to unlock and open the door.

“You,” Cleo said without waiting for Lucia to welcome her. “I’m very cross with you.”

Lucia raised her brow in surprise at this unexpected greeting. “Oh?”

“I haven’t seen you in two days! Not a word since the chaos at the executions. I had to hear from servants that you had returned to the palace, alive and well. I couldn’t wait a moment longer to see it for myself, so I came here. And now, I see that you look just fine. Actually, you look particularly lovely today. I can’t tell you how relieved I am.” She gave Lucia a bright smile.

Lucia had come around to find Cleo disarmingly exuberant and friendly. Yet she continued to feel guarded toward her. Still, she couldn’t deny that, after a long morning of lessons, Cleo was a pleasant sight, even if she had interrupted her private time with Alexius.

“All is well,” Lucia said. “Thank you for stopping by to check on me.”

Part of her had wanted to visit Cleo yesterday after Alexius had bid her good night, in the hopes that she might ease the sensation of darkness rising within her from using so much more magic than she was used to. She knew that a mere moment with the princess had the potential to chase it away.

Instead of going to her, she’d waited, having decided it was still too early to fully trust the other princess. The darkness had faded on its own eventually, allowing sleep to claim her.

“I hear you have a handsome new tutor,” Cleo said, glancing past Lucia. “And here he is.”

Lucia looked over her shoulder at Alexius, who stood silently in the center of the room. “Yes, here he is.”

“His name is Alexius,” Cleo said.

“That’s right.”

“That’s the same name as the Watcher you told me about.” Lucia spun back around, and Cleo held her gaze unflinchingly. Lucia’s heart began to pound, hard and fast. “It appears that he’s real, and not just a dream,” Cleo finished.

Lucia grabbed Cleo’s arm and pulled her into the room. She’d entrusted Cleo with that secret in a moment of weakness, never thinking that Alexius would actually appear. “I shouldn’t have told you about him.”

“Don’t worry.” Cleo’s smile was calm as she reached down to take Lucia’s hand. Immediately, a sense of serenity spread through her. “I won’t tell anyone else. I swear it.”

Lucia searched Cleo’s face and found only sincerity. “Good.”

Alexius now approached the two girls. “Will you introduce us?” he asked Lucia.

“Of course.” Lucia hastened to find her manners. “Alexius, this is Princess Cleiona—Cleo—my brother’s wife. Cleo, this is Alexius.”

Cleo gave him a sweet smile and extended her hand. “It’s lovely to meet you.”