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

The Awakening

"Willow," Caiden said, my name sounding like a burden as heavy as the crown he was destined to bear.

"It was you, wasn't it?"

I knew I was right, but I needed him to say it. I needed him to confess for me to fully believe it.

"Is that what's important at this moment?" Caiden was about to divert the question, and I could feel the anger beginning to fester within me.

"Answer me, Caiden," I demanded, raising my voice and clenching my fists so hard that my nails pierced the skin.

Caiden sighed, but I stood my ground. His royal title meant nothing to me right now. I deserved an explanation.

"We had been greeting the people of the Golden City from the light of the first dawn until the sun crossed the horizon in the west. The Crown Trials had barely begun, and I was already feeling overwhelmed by the responsibility."

I held my breath. Caiden wasn't looking at me. He appeared genuinely uncomfortable about my presence, almost ashamed.

"My father had arranged for us to stay the night at one of the local hotels so that we could rest up before going to the Valley Academy to witness the first contender earn a place in the Crown Trials. I snuck out after dinner to find one of my oldest friends who lived nearby.

"His mother was one of the engineers working on the new version of the H2O bike, and she had a prototype in their garage. I borrowed it to go for a ride and clear my head. I didn't anticipate it breaking down on me, and I hadn't counted on meeting anyone either, but I'm glad I did."

My stomach stirred when Caiden's eyes met mine again. A cautious smile tugged on the corners of his mouth, but mine remained a straight line.

"Willow," he sighed and stepped a little closer to me, only for me to step back. "Why is a stranger on a motorcycle so important to you?"

My eyes stung. "I don't care about a stranger on a bike, Caiden. I care that it was you and that you never cared to tell me about our first meeting."

"Does it really matter?" he asked, unbuttoning the cape connected to his uniform and gently placing it across the back of the chair next to him.

"Of course, it matters, Caiden!" I exclaimed, bringing my hands to my forehead, hoping that the contact with my own skin would stop my frail mind from shattering.

"You claim to have feelings for me, but if that meeting was all it took— If you think that those feelings are real because I helped you fix a bike... I swear to your ancestors, Caiden," I said, pointing my index finger in his direction, "if you say that, I became stuck on your mind like some broken record because you'd never seen a girl like me in your royal circles as Adriel told me the first day, I will lay ruin to this castle and everyone in it."

"Willow," Caiden said, but I wasn't done.

Tears were flooding my eyes, and I no longer had the resilience to hold them back. "You were probably the one who convinced the king to involve me in the Trials so you could trick me into loving you! I can't believe I fell for it! You're just as bad as your wicked—"

"Willow!" Caiden shouted, grabbing my wrists to twist my body to face him. "If you would let me talk, I can explain!"

I sniffled and forced the pout of pity into an expression of bitterness. "Then talk!"

Caiden was about to reveal the mystery of his mind when his eyes caught sight of my bleeding palms. My face constricted in pain when he spread my fingers and moved his thumb across the wounds.

The pain was instantly replaced by a feeling of relief, but I wasn't going to let myself relish the comfort of a healer's touch. Not now.

"I've done many things that I'm not proud of, Willow," Caiden said before I could shout at him again, "but I never lied about that day."