A Wicked Game [The Crown Saga II] (Under Editing)

Turbulent Emotions

Every muscle in my body ached.

I'd been confined to this bed since the morning following my fight, and the light that had poured in through the windows was already fading into darkness.

Most of my burn marks had been treated by the healers, but they hadn't been able to heal my entire body at once. Their ability to heal me had been limited by the number of white blood cells I could produce, and pushing me would have put too much strain on my body.

I stared at the white ceiling, my mind replaying the fight between Alia and myself. I'd been on the verge of losing control and causing more damage than a typical battle.

I'd hoped to at least be able to maintain control of my emotions by now, but this fight demonstrated that I was still not ready to return home.

A groan sounded from beyond the curtain that separated me from the Fire Iridis.

"How are you coming along?" I asked, my voice devoid of emotion.

"Shut up, Wildcard."

Her bed gave under her weight as she turned.

I looked to my right to catch a glimpse of her silhouette. I'd sustained more injuries than she had, but hers had proven more severe than mine. The healers had been forced to take care of her before me, which meant she would be out of here before nightfall. This moment could be my final chance to get the answers I sought.

"You know you'd have won if I hadn't found out about you and Caiden."

"Obviously." I could practically hear her eyes roll to the back of her head, and I had to pinch my arm to keep from losing it on her again.

I took a deep breath and held it for a few seconds before exhaling the words weighing on my mind since Faye first told me about Alia's secret."But I know, Alia," I said, bracing myself for the approaching thunderstorm. "You knew Caiden long before this dreadful competition was even announced, so why are you here? Are you in love with him?"

"It's nothing like that."

Her tone wasn't aggressive or hostile. Instead, it sounded somewhat sorrowful, which I couldn't make sense of.

"What is it then?" I asked. I could be pushing her further than she was willing to, but this moment might be the last time I got the chance to confront her. I couldn't back down now.

"I already told you. It is none of your business." She was becoming annoyed, but she couldn't escape me here.

"It became my business when you decided to screw with me without cause! Did you come here to sabotage the royal family, or do you simply carry so much pride that you couldn't help but be stronger than your classmates?"

"You don't know anything about me, Wildcard," Alia snapped, the bed complaining as she turned around to face me behind the curtain.

"You know nothing of me either, you self-centered snob!" I snapped back, swallowing the groan that threatened to reflect the agony in my body. "But that doesn't appear to have stopped you, does it?"

"Snob!" The room heated a bit. "You have no idea what I've had to go through to get here—"

"And you think my life here has been all of sunshine and rainbows?" I laughed, strained. "It's been a nightmare, Alia, and it's not like you've made it any easier for me! You've despised me since the beginning, and I'd like to know why! I've done nothing to merit what you've heaped upon me!"

She didn't answer me until a few minutes had passed.

"You're right," she said, but I wasn't sure which of my statements she referred to. "I've known Caiden since we were children."