"Are you nervous?" Daniel questioned, eyeing me in the mirror as he finished the crown braid he was styling.
"No," I replied confidently. I met his gold eyes, noticing the determination in my own turquoise eyes as I took a moment to appreciate my image.
I was wearing gold and pink combat gear, the sleek two-piece having magic laced into the fabric to give us protection against anything that could physically hurt us. If the weapon was laced with magic however, it would do a bit of damage, but not enough to kill us.
The gold and black tights were so smooth against my skin that I had to make sure I wasn't sitting there naked, the pink and gold weaved top made with the same fabric. It was a top that was low enough to show a bit of my cleavage, making no sense to me. Mother ensured it was made because of the cloak I'd have to wear for being an heir candidate. My family and the boys wanted to keep my guaranteed royal status on the down low.
My eyes lowered to my royalty mark, lifting my finger to trace the rose design, stopping at the red line. I bit my lip as I wondered why I hadn't met him, worried he'd never appear. I'd been training for two weeks and had gone outside the castle walls with Daniel once to have a little date of our own. I hoped I'd miraculously bump into my sixth star knight at some point when I arrived in Heila, but no opportunity had arrived and I was doing my best to distract myself regarding the matter.
"What are you worried about, Firefly?" Daniel whispered into my ear, pulling me out of my thoughts.
"I'm worried about where star knight number six is," I confessed, feeling no need to hide it from Daniel.
He finished with placing the final gold rose in my hair, encouraging me to rise. I stood up, my pink knee-high boots glittered with gold sparkles as I turned to face Daniel. He slid his arms around me, pulling me close.
"Ryder's been wondering as well," Daniel admitted.
"Really?"
"When we first met here in Heila, Ryder said he could see his silhouette in his mind, just like all of us. He was in red, but as time went on, it got darker and darker until he basically vanished. Ryder's been trying to figure out what happened for cycles, but has no clue if he exists anymore," Daniel explained.
I bit my lip, lowering my head as I feared the worst. Just the thought of one of my knights dying before I even got to meet him made my heart drop. Daniel's hand rested under my chin, lifting my head back up.
"It's only a thought. Doesn't mean he's not out there somewhere. We'll find him. Once the competition is done and we've established ourselves, we'll start looking for him across the realms," Daniel reassured me.
"Won't I have to be sworn in or something?" I inquired, unsure how my parents would introduce me to my people and the other realms. My existence was only known to the people within the castle and outsiders like Winterlya and the royal families. When I'd inquired, not all of the nine families knew the details. Just that they had discovered my location and were working on rescuing me. Only the guys' families, minus Elias' knew that I was in Heila and they were all sworn to secrecy.
From what I'd heard of Daniel's step sister, Cecelia, she was a chatterbox and I wondered if she'd be able to hold the secret, but Mother ensured that they swore upon the Starlight gods. Even if they tried to tell someone, the magic cast on them at the time of swearing in would take effect and prevent them from doing so.
"I think your parents want to get more information on Blair's location before putting you in the public eye. I also would want us to search for our last star knight. Sure, we can protect you, but the gods must have had a purpose for six of us and that needs to come to fruition. The others also think it would be advisable to lay low if we're going to be traveling to the other realms. Though, we'd have to change your appearance slightly. You look too identical to your mother and Kade," Daniel admitted.
"My mother, yes. Kade, no...well a little. But he's a guy with short hair," I pointed out.
"Putting gender aside, you two can be confused easily. It would be interesting to put a wig on him and see if you guys would look identical," Daniel joked.
I slapped his chest, causing him to chuckle. "He'd totally beat you up for your suggestion," I pointed out.
"Probably, but his angel is good friends with Azriel. He'd let it slide," Daniel replied, winking.
I grinned, wondering what Kade's angel was like, not remembering much of him when I was small.
Daniel leaned forward to press his lips against mine. His hand lowered to squeeze my ass, inducing a moan muffled by his deep kiss. He flinched, pulling back and frowning, his eyes looking dazed for a second. He rolled his eyes before meeting my confused look.
"Kai said I should stop making out with you and bring you to the preparation area," Daniel announced.
"Aka he just doesn't want us making out," I replied, grinning.
Daniel laughed. "Exactly. Jeez, he's all better now and has to go interrupting me," Daniel mumbled, releasing me from his hold slipping his hand into mine.
"We'll put your lipstick on in the elevator. And when you walk in the arena you have to go into your bad ass bitch mode," Daniel instructed.
I nodded, feeling excited to fight and move. After two weeks of forced rest, only using my spirits’ energy to walk when necessary and Daniel using his gift a few more times during our nights together, I felt good as new.
Karen had returned from her trip and did her assessment, confirming with what Mother, Kade, and Daniel had said, that my nerves had healed, but I'd still experience weakness in my legs from time to time, but I wouldn't lose all feeling.
We made our way to the elevator, two guards exiting the silver box. Both of their eyes grew wide and they immediately bowed.
"Your Majesty," they greeted.
"You guys don't need to bow, you know." I frowned.
They rose, blushing in embarrassment. "Well— we know, but you're in formal attire. We couldn't help it," the guard with red hair admitted.
"Sorry, your Majesty," the blond-haired guard apologized, almost bowing again.
I smiled. "No need to apologize. Continue working hard and may the gods give you strength and endurance till your shift is done," I proclaimed, a hint of my power oozing into my words.
They both straightened their posture as wide smiles formed on their lips. "In stars we trust. Thank you, your Majesty," they replied before they nodded their heads in farewell, turning and beginning their surveillance.
We walked into the elevator. Daniel pressed the button for the bottom floor before he turned to face me giving me a light kiss.
"What was that for?" I asked. I had to admit, I loved Daniel's growth in confidence and that he didn’t feel shy kissing me whenever he felt like it.
"For being the beautiful princess you are," he whispered, pulling out my red lipstick.
"I did nothing and why are we going with red lipstick instead of pink?" I wondered, thinking of my pink gloss that would have matched perfectly with my outfit. However, my current red and gold eyeshadow and the rosy red blush Daniel placed on my cheeks before the gold highlighter would look perfect with the finishing touch of the red matte lipstick Daniel held.
"Because the future Queen of Heila is not here to play tag. You’re about to enter the arena and prove to those cocky royals what a real knight and future heir looks like," Daniel emphasized, opening and pulling out the applicator before carefully applying the bright, ruby red layer.
The doors pinged open. Daniel lingering to finish the application on my lips before we made our way out and headed towards the arena area. We took the hidden path Father had shown us last week, not wanting to grab any unnecessary attention in my formal attire.
We reached the entrance; Kade, Mother and Father were waiting for us. Kade noticed us first, his blue eyes growing wide in awe as his expression softened. Mother and Father noticed Kade's gaze, and looked over to and looked over to see Daniel and me, hand in hand.
Father's pride-filled expression and Mother's wide smile as her eyes began to turn glassy, made me feel a sense of happiness at their admiration for me.
Kade walked forward, opening his arms to give me a hug. He wore similar attire, although looking more formal than combat ready, but matching my gold and pink combo.
I let go of Daniel's hand to embrace my brother, silently thanking the gods for gracing me with a loving brother who never stopped caring for me. It made me wish Xavier could be there. Father explained they were still on their mission, thus resulting in me having no choice but to participate in the competition.
Now that I'd recovered, Father notified the officials to have them change the event back to the original date after I insisted I’d rather get it over with. I didn't know how the royals here were, but if they were anything like the shifters at Knightwood, they would think we were postponing because I was weak or untrained.
"You look stunning, my beautiful sister," Kade complimented, pulling back to look at my face; he blinked rapidly to stop the tears that were forming.
"Don't cry, silly. You're going to make me cry," I whispered, choking on my words. I felt another hand rub my back, turning my head to see Daniel.
"I used waterproof makeup." He winked; both Kade and I laughed at his confident smile.
"Smooth," Kade replied, wiping his eyes as he sniffed.
Father and Mother joined us, both of them giving me big hugs and expressing how proud they were of me. Once Father and Mother were done, they stepped back to exchange some words in private.
I took the moment to look at their royal garments— both their long robes being the most iconic piece out of the outfit. They weren't wearing the crowns, but Kade said they would have them on when they announced the start of the competition.
Their attire was black, pink and gold.
Father wore black pants, a gold long-sleeved tunic and had a pink and gold velvet cloak that had what I believed was fox fur but dyed with a pink tint with a hint of gold sparkles. It looked extremely soft and matched the ties of the cloak that transitioned from gold to pink.
Mother wore a beautiful pink dress that reached the floor, gold shimmering rhinestones were designed in a pattern making shapes of roses. Her cape was like Father’s but the fur was opposite, having been dyed gold with pink glitter infused in the material— her ties starting off as pink and ombre to gold.
Both of them wore large pendants that were made of gold, an eight in thick pink front in the middle. I noticed Kade wore the same thing around his neck. Father and Mother finished their conversation before Father made his way to me, moving around me to place his hands on my shoulders.
"Close your eyes, sweetheart," Father instructed.
I did as he asked, wondering why I needed to, but didn't question due to limited time. I sensed the change in the air; Father's aura grew stronger and stronger to the point it sent goosebumps down my arms as I struggled not to shiver.
"Let thy power flow within my only daughter, Rosalina Mackenzie Heart. I bless her with confidence, strength, and ability to judge her foes. Drape her shoulders with a cloak granted by the gods themselves and let everyone bow to their future queen. In stars we trust."
Father lifted his hand from my shoulders, but I felt something take their place. The added weight of the material and softness that brushed against the back of my neck made it tempting to open my eyes. I kept them closed, waiting for Father to tell me when to open them as a sign of respect.
"You may open your eyes, Mako," Father encouraged.
I opened my eyes looking to see I was wearing a cape that looked like Mother and Father's but it was pure pink velvet with gold and white sparkles. The fur was white and the ties were three different colors— starting off as white, and transitioning to gold and finally pink at the ends.
"Wow," Daniel and Kade said in unison, looking shocked.
"Did I do something different?" I asked, unsure what the big deal was.
"Having white in your cape is extremely rare. Your cloak represents your power. Having white is a symbol of purity, but also immense strength and grace from the gods. Think of it like the gods purposely putting a stamp on your head saying, 'Don't mess with our child of power or you will be faced with death.' Only a few in history have had white in their cloaks and not nearly as much as yours," Kade explained.
"Ah. So to summarize, I'm a magnet for more attention," I concluded.
Daniel smirked. "You're just destined to stand out, Firefly. Embrace it," he praised.
"I don't like the attention," I mumbled, crossing my arms.
Father chuckled, returning to my mother’s side. I spotted a box in her hand. I titled my head, eyeing the neon pink velvet box, which made my mother’s smile widen before she walked forward till she stood before me. She presented the box to me.
"We wanted to give this to you on your sixth birthday...but, well, this is the heirloom created for you to show how much we love you. We would have liked it if Xavier was here to witness us presenting it to you, but it feels right to give it to you now," Mother explained.
I smiled at Mother's serene expression, my eyes returning to stare at the box as I accepted the gift.
"Thank you," I choked, a tear rolling down my cheek. I took a deep breath before opening it, gasping at the stunning piece of jewelry that greeted me.
The velvet box held a pink locket that reminded me of a pocket watch. It was rose gold and was the size of my palm. I carefully scooped it into my hand as I raised it for closer inspection, allowing the tears I'd been holding back to roll down my cheeks.
The design on the face of the locket matched the marking on my hand— the exact same design. The lines that made the rose were lined with little pink rhinestones and the individual line that represented my knights were in their designated colors.
My hand trembled, Daniel coming from behind to embrace me; his left hand removing the box from my hand so I could open the locket.
Inside, the locket revealed the two images. The first was a family picture positioned on the left side; the image must have taken place when I was younger, looking around five at the time. I sat between Kade and Xavier who wore royal garments while I wore a poofy pink dress. We were all smiling; our eyes twinkled with delight as we held hands. Father and Mother stood behind us, both of them with wide grins. They wore their crowns; Xavier, Kade and I had miniature gold crowns with pink jewels.
My eyes trailed to the second picture on the right: a recent image of myself and my knights. It was during my surprise party, Marcus forced us to take a group picture, which he promised to get EliaseAnne 'photochopped' into for the sake of escaping the endless nagging she'd inflict on him.
We had gathered around our designated stools; I sat on my pink stool that was positioned between Kai and Ryder. Marcus, Elias, and Daniel sat on the floor in front of us to fit the image. We all were laughing, Nightmare on my shoulder with a device called a party blower that Marcus explained blew out glitter; the same rainbow glitter that rained down on us as we posed.
Both pictures were pressed into the rose gold interior, reflecting in the sunlight that shone on us. A tear dropped onto the surface, rolling off it with ease, making me smile as I struggled not to wipe my face and ruin my makeup.
"Thank you. It's beautiful," I confessed through sobs, trying to smile at my parents— Mother already crying while Father was blinking his glossy eyes.
Kade stepped forward, taking Daniel's place as Mother and Father came over to join in the family hug.
"We're blessed to have you back in our lives, sweetheart," Mother whispered.
"Me too," I replied.
We enjoyed a few extra minutes of comfort before we broke apart, Kade helping me put the pendant on. I stared at it before tucking it into my bra, not wanting to lose it during the combat.
We made our way to our designated area, Daniel's hand in mine as Kade walked alongside us. Mother and Father were up ahead discussing something as they held hands.
"Amazing how your heirloom matches your royalty mark," Daniel mentioned.
"Was that planned?" I asked Kade.
He shook his head, his hand going into his pocket and pulling out a gold shiny pocket watch.
"I don't know about other realms, but our family heirlooms are created by a specific blacksmith family. They use their gift and pray to the gods to give them the design designated to the owner of the heirloom. As you can see, mine's a gold pocket watch. Xavier's is a metallic purple. Both our designs match one of our markings on our body. When yours was designed, the gods showed the exact image of the locket and he decided to add rhinestones to make the colors pop," Kade explained.
"Wow," Daniel and I replied, stunned by the amount of work done to create my locket, which was perfect.
"It's really amazing. I'm glad you like it," Kade admitted.
"I'll treasure it," I replied pressing my hand against my chest to ignore the urge to pull out the locket and look at it once again.
Daniel squeezed my hand; my eyes looked to see his blank expression as he stared forward.
I followed his gaze to see a tall male who stood next to a petite woman. Alongside them was a girl with straight blonde hair who was talking and using her hands to emphasize whatever disagreement they were having.
From how tense Daniel looked as we continued to make our way, I could put it all together. I squeezed his hand in response, pulling him out of his fixed gaze to face me.
"Time to be badass, remember?" I encouraged, giving him playful grin.
He returned my grin with a wide smirk and nodded, fixing his posture as his confidence took over. "Let's get this over with," Daniel replied.
"The rules are as follows. The only weapons allowed are those created with your magic. No familiar usage is allowed and will be an immediate termination. This is supposed to be a friendly match between royals. Not a bloodbath. All of you have a set damage limit. If you reach that limit, you will be disqualified. Remember that death IS possible in these games, but discouraged. Do not attack or fight to kill. Most importantly, you are representing your realm and surnames. Your actions are a reflection of your growth and teachings and will be observed by the King and Queen of Heila and can contribute to your future as a knight or heir. May the Starlight gods protect you all and give you all strength as you fight for victory," the angel referee announced.
I stood confidently with my arms crossed, my eyes quickly scanning the large battleground. The arena had been magically modified to be a thick forest.
The point of the battle was to have the least damage points or be the last person standing. Spirits were allowed, but due to my entrance were limited to two.
Hope and Midnight lingered in my mind, Hope being my first choice in this battle. Midnight wouldn't react well with facing an angel, especially Cecelia who Daniel disclosed was also an Archangel and had a similar gift to his. It wasn't as powerful and he was confident it would take a lot more energy for her to use it on the eight contenders and me, but it was better to be knowledgeable than making irrational assumptions.
The other shifters didn't look like a threat to me; my senses only felt one spirit in everyone else. Cecelia was the only one that made me cringe; her cocky grin as she played with her blonde hair made me wish I could face five Brittany's. Sure, Brittany was a pain in the ass but she was far less cocky than this bitch. I could see why Freila hated her.
Midnight had told me about her nightly milk drinking adventures with the princess who loved unicorns. I promised to greet her after the competition was over. Midnight said she'd gotten Daniel to talk to Freila, which made her entire week and left Midnight in a really good mood. I was disappointed that I’d missed it, but I was pleased that Daniel and Midnight were beginning to get along— maybe even begin to fall in love as well.
After my moment with Stryker back on Earthala, I was open to the idea of being more intimate with the other spirits, wondering if what Stryker had said would come true one day.
I wanted to get this over and done with so I could start celebrating being home with my loved ones and that started with facing this milestone.
Cecelia's black eyes locked on mine for three seconds till she rolled them.
"This is such a waste of time," she mumbled to herself, my sensitive ears picking it up.
"Can we kill her by accident?" Hope suggested.
"It would be a simple swift kick to her legs, knocking her over to smash that ugly face of hers onto a rock and allow her to bleed to death. It wouldn't be hard," Midnight proposed.
"Messy, but worth it," Hope replied.
Remind me to never let you two fight in the same anything. I've forgotten how scary a combo you two were back at the facility.
Hope was one of the spirits who when she took control, gave off the complete innocent look, but could kill you in seconds if you pissed her off. Adding Midnight when Hope needed to switch only guaranteed our win in the arena and was discouraged by The Owner because he liked our matches to go as long as possible for entertainment reasons.
"GET READY. Your scores will be monitored and displayed on the board. The King and Queen of Heila, as well as the King of ArchAilennia, are present. Be wary of your actions," the referee reminded, raising her hand in the sky.
I glanced up to the boxed tower that was tall enough to see the majority of the arena. I saw Father and Mother sitting in their designated throne spots. Kade and my star knights crowded in one corner peering down at me while Daniel's father and stepmother were on the other side of my parents, looking bored.
Daniel's father was 6'5, having long ash blond hair that reminded me of a Viking. He was well built for his age and had wider shoulders than Father, but his aura didn't compare against my father who was already withholding a good chunk of it.
Daniel's stepmother was short, only standing at 5'2 with the heels she was wearing. You could see she had an attitude from her body language and her scrunched face only contributed to it.
It made me realize where Cecelia got her traits from and I wondered what her biological father was like.
I noticed my star knights concerned faces; my eyes stopped to focus on Daniel who looked pissed for some strange reason. I knew he'd had a moment with his father as I entered the preparation room for assessment, but I never got a chance to question what happened.
From how tense he looked and that his eyes were darker than normal, proved that his conversation didn't go to his liking. I gave him a small smile; my mini gesture made his shoulders relax ever so slightly as he returned my smile. I turned my attention back to the battlefield, needing a second to center myself.
I opened my eyes to notice Cecelia's eyes glowed a bright gold— her angel spirit taking over. She noticed my stare, returning it with a smug look.
"Are you afraid, princess?" she whispered the last word for my ears alone; the others too far away to pick up her beginning attempt to belittle me.
"Of what? I see no competition here. But I guess I should try to put on a show. You know, to make you look good and all. Plus, I haven't been exercising lately. I apologize in advance for my rusty performance," I replied, feeling Hope at the edge of my mind, wanting to take over.
"Hmph. If it wasn't for your little disability stunt we would have this over and done with. Just admit you were afraid to face someone as powerful and beautiful as me, future princess, of ArchAilennia. Don't worry, I'll make sure to spare your legs. I can at least cripple those arms of yours so you can actually know how it feels to be worthless," she gloated, narrowing her eyes.
I bit my lip, losing hold of my power for a split second, which was rewarded with gasps from the other contenders as they turned to face us. I didn't fight Hope any longer allowing her to take over as I lingered in the background with Midnight.
Hope opened our eyes, as she smiled sweetly. "Well, Cecelia? I guess we'll find out who cripples who. I wouldn't want to break those pretty nails of yours. So your limbs will have to do," Hope replied sweetly, crackling our neck. I noticed the flicker of fear in her eyes as she growled.
Hope laughed, flicking her hair as she crossed our arms, waiting for the referee’s signal— the female angel looking confused and stunned by our exchange. She quickly composed herself before she blew a horn.
"BEGIN!"