After a week of brutal training, many days at my expense, I'm finally given a day off to rest my wounds. Renit and I are ready to tear each other apart and our powers are no different. I am too young and my power is not strong enough. With every Outburst, his power rejects mine. All because of my age and the lack of training I've received over the years—one of the many things Renit throws in my face.

While it was treacherous on my body to master the power of ground in the first place, every step was only the beginning until the Grounding came along. And not because of the strain but because of what Renit's power does to get me away from him. I don't know how many times I've been blasted across the clearing or knocked off my feet by a brutal gust of wind tossing me into a spiraling tornado.

The hail storm he sent down on me, the freezing rain shaped like knives, and the suffocation of clouds in my throat. The latter seems to be a favorite of his power and on over one occasion, Hallie has been called to revive me after Piper could not stop the raging storm. Never once have I received an apology for what Renit does in those moments he slips; he's still pissed I thought of me shackling him.

It was a mercy when he burst into my chambers this morning and told me there were extensive matters to deal with in the capital. Those were his only words before he slammed the door shut and left me to figure out the rest. So he didn't come back and discover I did nothing, I spent extra hours in the kitchens and helped Dalis do the weekly cleaning of the stove, the oven, and the extra scrubbing for pots and pans.

I've never seen someone wash dishes so fast but for a witch of water, Dalis can get through the easiest task at a rapid speed.

I let myself stroll around the castle and take in the sights I haven't had the chance to notice before. The depths of the library are filled with dusty sofas and old wooden tables stacked high with books and discarded paperwork. I found myself lost in the gallery amongst the portraits of the royal family and relatives—stumbling across one of the four of them—their mother included. Renit and Silas look the same as it wasn't long ago their mother lost their head.

In the portrait, she isn't smiling but the only one with the smallest hint of joy on his face is Silas with much shorter hair—shorter than Renit's. I stare at their mother's face and wonder if her eyes were always that lonely.

I force myself to keep walking and search for more recent portraits but come up short. No one really cares to do so, no one ages beyond their Lock so an updated portrait is merely a different hairstyle or a change of clothes.

After winding through the maze of portraits, I visited Mani in his workrooms and conversed about different fabrics. As usual, work swept away his focus and before long, I was modeling pieces of clothing for him and he was measuring them against my frame. Practice, he said, for the upcoming engagement celebration.

My throat went dry at the sound of it. The invitations had already been sent out and before long, visitors from around the kingdom and those neighboring will arrive at the castle to celebrate the prince and his engagement to the strange witch of ground no one has ever heard of. Not a princess, a regular girl. They will hate me as soon as they lay eyes on me.

For someone like Hallie, this is easy for her. She is from another kingdom, a princess who was sent off to wed to one of the most powerful princes in the land. I will not get the same love she has received, mainly because no one will know of my family or my name. I am not nobility; I do not stem from a lord or from a distant kingdom. I am just...me. And Roux Aimrey is not enough for this kingdom or for the next.

After I peel away from Mani and his need to find a gown for me to wear, I find myself with nothing left to do. The castle is quiet and at the end of the week, most are out spending their money in the capital or locked away in their chambers. Silas is busy with his own work and Celestine is trying to pass a training course for her power, one required by the other witches with her abilities.

Although she is nervous, I have no doubt she'll do fantastic. My sister knows her way around this castle and by now, after nearly a month and a half, she knows every layer of what she was born with.

I don't have anyone in this castle if Renit isn't here to criticize me and hang over my head. He could be back at any moment and the day is not halfway done; if the prince knows I have nothing else to do, he might force me out to training.

I'm ready to rush back to my chambers and hide out for the rest of the day after a quiet stroll in the stables when someone bumps into me—hard. I stumble back, only to have my hand caught out in front of me. As Darius's smirk fills my vision, I immediately snap my hand away and let my back slam against one of the stable pens.

He chuckles and shakes his head, loosening the gloves on his fingers one by one. Any physical wounds he might have from our altercation are gone now, as are mine as Hallie helped herself when we passed in the hall two days after the fight took place. She said it wasn't lady like to walk around with a collar of bruises.

That is the first place his eyes travel to, my bare neck, and then slowly up to my eyes. Nothing but the lust and hatred I've grown used to greets me. "I could have caught you," he purrs.

I move to step around him but he follows me, his boots sliding across the straw floors of the stables. A horse nickers behind me and a chill so foreign rushes up my spine. Hidden under the titanium band, my power doesn't want to be here. Judging by Darius's boots, above the knee, and his comfortable pants and billowing shirt, he just finished riding.

"I wanted to talk about what happened in the kitchens." Darius pulls off his gloves in that insufferable way. He is a twisted fool. I despise every bit of him.

"We can talk about that later," I declare. But when I move to walk away, he sticks out an arm and blocks my path.

He clicks his tongue. "You're being erratic. Now that I know you don't want my company, I've decided to leave you alone." Of course, I didn't want your company, what the hell did you think no meant?

"Great. That's good for you. Part of leaving me alone means letting me leave the stables." I move to the other side but his arm is there too, ready to stop me. Fear replaces annoyance and very quickly, I realize I'm blocked into the side of that stable. The wooden boards dig into my back but the real problem is the silence, the only sound being the horses. There is no one here and no one close to coming.

Hallie wasn't planning on riding today and neither was a member of the royal family.

Darius looks me up and down, eyes trailing. "Just because you're off-limits doesn't mean your sister is the same," he says quietly. His whisper cuts through, sharp as a knife.

"I understand your power is to control people against their will but mine is to crush people, particularly you, with very large boulders. You are nothing more than a bug underneath my boot." I snarl at him and he watches the movement of my mouth, locked in his own trance.

In a move quicker than I can detect, he grabs my wrist and holds up the titanium band for both of us to see. "Ah, you may be strong but that doesn't mean you can use your power. Last time I checked, Renit doesn't trust you." His thumb presses against my veins and I shiver. "I'm the only one here with access to their power. Shall we test it?"

His hand tightens on my wrist and I don't have the chance to scream or attempt to fight my way out. My body goes rigid. I lock into place, a soldier ready for their orders. In my body, I'm shoved out of the way of control and left to watch through the eyes of my ghost as Darius chuckles, his face only inches from my own.

From my trapped place, a cell inside my body, I scream and bang my fists against the outermost wall of myself. My body doesn't respond. Darius is in control now and I never wanted to see his power work. Here we are, and I'm at a loss for words.

"Now that that's taken care of," he whispers, taking a strand of my hair between his fingers. I feel the gentle tug. "Tell me I'm the one you want."

My voice is sickening. The words echo in my skull. "You're the one I want."

His lips curl into a smile, a cruel, wicked thing. From where I'm trapped, I want to vomit. I feel every touch, every breath, every hint of mint on his tongue. And those violet eyes send every woman falling to his feet. It's all a trap, he was born to be such.

"Tell me you want me in your bed." The words roll from his perfectly pink lips.

Mine mimic his. "I want you in my bed."

I cringe at the sound of me. He makes me sounds so...fake. Controlled. Anyone could see through the sheen that is his power affecting me. The words are not my own and the way I sound; Renit can see right through it. There's nothing I can do as he presses my stiff body against his, a callused hand sliding around my back.

His warm breath casts a shadow over my neck and I sink away, not wanting to watch what he's about to do next. I will be the only witness and under his control, I can't stop the desires flooding his head at this moment.

Just when I think all hope is lost, someone clears their throat across the stables and Darius, still with a tight grip on my being, barely turns his head to acknowledge them. "We're busy in here!" He shouts. He turns back to me, lips pressing gently against my skin but seconds later, is ripped away and slammed against the side of the stables.

The ability to move comes back to me and immediately, I wipe away the remnants he left behind, the warm and wet reminder of his lips and the rumpled fabric of my shirt in the shape of a fist. I'm surprised to see Hallie, pinning Darius against the wall with a dagger to his throat. "Are you all right?" She asks, not taking her eyes off him.

"I'm fine," I say shakily. The touch of him is everywhere, on my arms, my back, my face. I need to bathe. "You're an asshole!"

He grins at Hallie but doesn't move his head. If he did, he would find out if her dagger is as sharp as it appears to be. The silver blade is already pressed against his tanned sin and if he so much as turns in the slightest, he will cut himself. And there is no coming back from that death; he'll bleed out.

"Come on Hallie, I just want to have a little fun," he pleads. Yet, he doesn't move. His hands remain raised at his sides like he knows if he makes another move—she won't hesitate. I wonder how many altercations they've been in before, Darius has learned not to test her. Yet he has, with this foolish act alone.

"Have fun with someone who will stoop to your level. Roux is not to be touched, understand?" She demands. I look down, still dazed, and catch a glimmer of another dagger tucked behind her back, pressing against the glorious red gown she wears. Have I ever seen her wearing pants or anything other than lace and tulle?

Darius looks at me sideways. "I think Renit will be the decider of that."

She snorts. "No, because Renit and Silas will agree. You're betting on the fact we don't tell him about the little stunt you pulled. The three of us will have your head for it, blood or not. Understand?"

He hesitates, looking between Hallie's frustration and my fogged fear, but eventually huffs through his nose. "Fine. I will leave her be." I'm still trying to remove the feel of him from me and although we never kissed, his taste somehow wiggled its way into my throat. The rough texture of my tongue whispers shivers up my spine.

Hallie pushes off of him and sheaths both of her daggers. Before Darius can say anything else, she grabs my arm and leads me out of the stables. The princess moves so quickly I can barely keep up and when I try to look back at Darius to witness his sinful grin, she pulls me along faster.

Anything to get away from him.

When we're far enough away, safe in the gardens around the servants, Hallie slows and brushes off her white gloves. "Go nowhere alone, understand?" She barks. I snap to attention and nod. "He and others will take advantage of you, being engaged to Renit does not change that. Look out for yourself, listen to your surroundings, and let no one catch you alone. It's dangerous out there—even here—and I can't deal with another cover-up where the attacker ends up looking like the victim." She crosses her arms over her chest and shakes her head. The straight blonde strands move with her, shifting around her narrow jaw. Silver earrings peek out from the golden hair.

"Have you caught him doing something like that before?" I ask, still shaken. My voice won't steady itself.

She nods. "Many times, you're hardly the first. Get yourself a dagger, your prince has plenty. Take one from his armoire, I've done it before. Renit and Silas will believe if you're attacked, they're both already protective over you." Her voice grovels with annoyance. "We can't look out for you at all times, all right? Sometimes, you need to take matters into your own hands."

I look around the gardens, at the many attending servants turning yellow grass green and others, tending to specific flowerbeds. They work with a smile and a brightness in their eyes that I've seen in Celestine every day of her life.

"Should I tell Renit about this?" One deep breath and my voice is back to normal.

"No, it will only cause more problems. Keep it to yourself until after the engagement ceremony, there's too much fuss in planning right now." She moves to walk away, leaving me in the gardens but stops. "And no more brawls in the kitchens. We can't have our newest princess looking like a dead woman." Her smile is soft as she barely bows at the waist and turns back to the castle, twisting through the hedges and flowerbeds with such ease.

There is no telling where Darius is now, whether he's watching me or decided it was better to head back to a safe place so no one rips him to shreds, likely Hallie herself. I don't spot him around the gardens so I head back to my chambers and take a bath before crawling into bed. I've stopped laying by the fireplace, it was time the bed was used.

The room is empty still and without Celestine here, I still have trouble sleeping. The large bed is so empty, big enough for three bodies—or just me and Renit. Sometimes I wonder if he would be opposed to sleeping in the same bed together, not for the reason one might think but because I need to hear someone breathe, to know they are there—if everyone else is not.

If I know Renit; he'll reject that immediately and shove me away. Building a wall all the while.

Instead of sleeping, I merely lay there and stare out the window, sometimes shifting to read from a book or try on a luxurious gown from the new selection Mani brought in earlier today. It's not until the evening when Renit's door opens and closes across the hall that I feel safe to sleep. Darius or anyone else won't try to slither in through the night.