Chapter 3 - part 2: "Race to the throne"

Life at court, unlike what I imagined, proved to be marvelous from the very first days: Zeyana had granted me a room all to myself, luxurious, spacious and richly decorated; I had a huge bed, a bathroom with a gleaming bathtub with gilded taps, and even the furniture seemed to shine, but the thing I loved the most was the balcony overlooking the vast garden of the imperial palace, lush and carefully cared for by the workers of that important building.

Zeyana had probably informed the staff that they had to treat me with respect, otherwise I couldn't explain why they didn't despise a poor girl who came from the enemies' country! I had to admit that the princess had kept her promises.

I was enveloped by wealth and my material desires was immediately fulfilled. Did I want an horse? They would bring it to me. Did I want a lunch fit for a king? Immediately done! Wanted the attention of the future heir to the imperial throne..? Those I didn't even have to ask.

Zey was already entirely mine.

Be it magic, be it my charm or my beauty... it was clear that she wanted me for her, that she wanted to use me, but also to be used.

And speaking of magic, as expected, I soon had a chance to get involved and show everyone what my worth was.

On the night of the long coronation ceremony, the emperor had decided to make his move to impress me and his daughter Zeyana.

As if it could amaze me. That man is the worst of all.

But for now let's just comply him.

"Zey ..."

"I already told you to"!"

Princess Zeyana was such a boring person.

"Yes… I understand, anyway it would be better if you keep me by your side all the time, I don't know what I'd say to these annoying people" I took another sip of wine, glancing at the expression she had at that moment.

The princess was gorgeous that evening, with a long golden dress that brought her closer to a beauty worthy of the gods, furthermore her long loose hair was decorated with flowers of the same color as the dress and perfectly complemented her royal figure. I was wearing one of the dresses she had bought for me, the midnight blue one that immediately struck me; it had silver flowers spreading from the skirt to my feet.

I thought it was the right choice. Zeyana and I looked like the perfect couple! Both fiery and beautiful; many of the nobles present at the ceremony couldn't take their eyes off us.

I had seen some nice men, some elegant women, but no one would be able to distract me from my sexy partner. Too bad she always had her eyes everywhere, except me!

"Don't worry about this..." Zeyana kept looking around her, probably worried that something might happen or that Yurik would suddenly appear out of nowhere. I smiled sure of myself and brought my hand close to her to caress her: "Are you afraid he'll beat us? "

"No, but I can't stand it when things are out of control."

I made a face: it was quite obvious that she wanted to control everything.

"Then you shouldn't have chosen me..."

She looked at me, probably trying to understand what I meant with that sentence but I didn't give her time to do it: I took her hand and squeezed it, then brought it towards me and brushed my lips on her skin.

"Princess, will you grant me this dance? "

"Can you dance..?"

"You just need to know that I conquer most of my preys with my body."

I led us in the midst of the melee of dancing couples, moving towards the center of the large hall, then I took her hands and brought them to me, placing them on my waist, but Zeyana immediately stiffened: "Something's wrong? "

"Yurik has arrived."

Her eyes grew darker and more menacing; they would have scared me if I had been one of her victims, but we were holding hands.

We were a couple and we had a clear goal. Destroy the competition.

"Perfect! So he can see your gorgeous and sexy witch... how about making him die of jealousy? Come on, let's do it, I'm going crazy with all this tension, I want it to explode!"

"Alex!"

She tried to silence me with her threaning gaze, but it was too late.

I smiled mischievously as I watched Yurik's astonished expression as he saw us dance together. I brought my body closer to princess, appreciating the sensation of heat that invaded my lower abdomen. Since the first night I spent with her in the tent, we hadn't had other opportunities to explore our pleasures, but I swore to myself that at the end of the ceremony I wouldn't give up on my repressed desires.

"The emperor is here!" whispered a dancing couple near us, then I followed their gaze and saw that the emperor had just entered the scene, announced by the royal guards. The music had stopped, just like everyone present in the hall. I stopped and observed what was about to happen: that tension in the air that I had perceived since the beginning of the ceremony and those anxious looks of the guests now made sense.

The ceremony was originally held in order to decide who would be the heir to the imperial throne and although it was obvious that Princess Zeyana had all the qualities to lead the Empire of Atenarte, Yurik had vast influence gained by force and stability of power.

That was what really mattered to Tiberius Voklanden.

I found myself intrigued by the imperial family and Zeyana revealed to me secrets they concealed from the rest of the people and the nobles. Placing her trust in me was a strategic choice.

Leaving me in the dark about the most urgent imperial matters would only put us at a disadvantage.

The emperor started his speech and distracted me from my thoughts. I really didn't care about what he was saying, so I focused on the princess and her alluring face.

Should it be a crime to be that beautiful? It should right?

Well, it didn't matter.

I had to keep my ultimate goal in mind, I couldn't become soft, just because I liked Zeyana's presence. I would have prevented it, I would have forced myself to hate it if I had to, but observing her under the lights of the large crystal chandeliers in the hall, it seemed impossible to ignore her unique and fascinating figure.

She had become my weakness by now, the only thing capable of occupying my mind with useless and harmful thoughts that were obstacles to my purposes.

"Find the Eye of Time Alex and come back to us! You will come back right?!"

My grandmother's words came back to me, darker than ever, imperious and almost overwhelming as if they were a curse, but my life had already been destroyed, I was left alone to die and before doing so I had solemnly sworn to bring back my family. Whatever it takes.

"Today we have an exceptional guest, a woman capable of dominating nature, a witch! "

The emperor's words sparked the crowd's curiosity and I realized too late that Zeyana was leading us right in front of everyone. I was not ready to look all those people in the eye and anxiety caught me unprepared for the first time in a long time: perhaps it was because of the lights or the mass of judging people, perhaps even because of the fear of making some mistakes.

Tiberius Voklanden was distinguished just as I expected: he wore a golden crown and a rich purple cloak, matched with apparently very expensive clothes, with fine details of a pure white color like freshly fallen snow. The father sat on the throne and gestured to his children: Zeyana seemed almost hesitant, but she made sure not to be preceded by Yurik; she walked briskly towards the man and placed herself at the side of the throne, taking me with her.

At that point I realized that the emperor's and Yurik's eyes only followed my movements.

"I would like you to grant me a wish... if you allow. I have prepared a test for you" he turned to me, showing an authoritative and dazzling smile, in which I immediately saw Zeyana. They were both defined by this natural charm and he, like her, had wonderful blue eyes.

"Certainly... your majesty" I said, reminding myself only at the last to be courteous. I didn't want to risk being sent to the dungeons again, although I probably could have freed myself from any prison in Atenarte: my powers were stronger than ever here.

"Marvelous! Let's get started then" he raised his hand and called the palace guards who approached me with confident steps.

"Stand back! I order you!" the princess rejected the armed men who approached her and I did the same, but the thundering voice of the emperor stopped the commotion that was ready to erupt.

"No need to fret, it will be a simple test, a game..." the emperor stood up and looked at her daughter, talking with a soothing tone. The man announced that a competition would be held, in which I could only win if I found Zeyana before Yurik. The prince was annoyed at the idea but the emperor explained that the challenge was only made to show my worth; all I needed was an opponent to pressure me.

"If Yurik finds Zeyana, I'll have no doubts that even on the throne he could find the way to solve every problem of Atenarte!" His smile suddenly appeared cold and distant. I immediately understood that the man wasn't a father but simply a strategist, greedy for power and capable of doing anything to get it. What could be glimpsed in his eyes almost scared me, but I wouldn't let anyone use me, not even Zeyana; she and I had a deal, we were equal.

"Father! "

"Zeyana."

A glance was enough to silence her and she let the soldiers accompany her out of the building to prepare for the start of the race. I was left alone in the midst of a pack of wolves, but I was no longer afraid of being eaten by them.

"You could have the best." Yurik walked up to me just before the games started and I found his attempt to win me over really exhilarating.

A handsome man but ridiculous from head to toe, almost childish at first sight; was this really the villain, my Zey's archenemy? Impossible!

"Are you saying that's you?" I asked him, smiling innocently but letting my tone bathed in pure and simple derisione.

"How dare you?!" He screamed trying to hit me but his arm froze in midair.

"Aves, aves, demons racye" I cast a spell looking straight into his eyes, laughing at the terror that gripped his face when I finished reciting that harmless curse. For a few hours he would perceive his surroundings as strange and terrifying, he would glance at the abyss, at my abyss.

"W"what did you do to me?! " He began to shiver and sweat, he even turned pale and I took the opportunity to put him on the spot.

I put my hands on his arm and said aloud: "The prince is not feeling very well! Please help him..." I used my most pained voice and played my part very well, helping the man to remain stable on his feet.

"No! Make it stop! I beg you, please! " Yurik violently broke away from me and looked at his father, not recognizing him, so he let out a scream and fell to the ground, causing a series of shouts in the crowd, which agitated the emperor, forcing him to resolve the matter quickly to avoid being ridiculed by his son's strange behavior.

"Take him to his rooms."

As I had expected, he ordered two guards to take him away and they were forced to yank him to be able to do so. At that moment I wanted to laugh out loud but the presence of the emperor and my audience prevented me.

"His majesty! I'm honored to be able to surprise you tonight, so why don't you let me start the challenge right away? Unfortunately the prince will not be there... but you can very well judge me without him being present. I wouldn't want to offend anyone, but there's nobody here who has truly understood what true strength is" I took a step towards the mass of nobles, curious and excited at the idea of ​​observing something majestic and magnificent.

The emperor smiled and nodded, not dwelling on the fact that I had hurt his son: he probably found it amusing that I had knocked him out in no time. I could finally have fun without having to hold back!