“You pierce my soul. I am half agony. Half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone for ever.” — Jane Austen, Persuasion

  ???

  Felix Carrington winced as his wrists and arms smarted sharply, even as his training sword was sent flying across the training room for what felt like the hundredth time. He looked at Yulia, who much like him, was breathing heavily from the intense training session that they’d been locked in for the past hour.

  Yuliana Nightray had been one of his regular training partners since their first year, alongside Gale Valemire and Elias Rovaryn, as well as a handful of others when they could spare the time. It normally takes some bribing to get Rowan to participate in training sessions. And when he did show up, Felix always had to stay on high alert throughout the entire spar. What Rowan lacks in finesse and skill, he made up for it in trickery and sheer unpredictability.

  Today, however, Yulia seemed especially angry. Every strike she threw had been harsher and heavier than usual, forcing Felix to fight just to keep up.

  “Did someone piss you off or something?” Felix grumbled, blowing gently on the reddened skin of his arms, knowing that he’s going to need to get ice packs for his arms tonight, or he’s going to be useless in class tomorrow. “You were never this brutal in our training sessions. I honestly thought that you were trying to kill me.”

  Yulia scoffed, adjusting her grip on her twin blades. “Three guesses who,” she muttered.

  Felix raised a brow. It didn’t take much deducing, considering what had happened in the mock combat test earlier in the day, and the fact that Felix had seen Yulia with the Crown Prince in the cafeteria.

  The answer was obvious.

  Everyone at the Academy knew that she was the Crown Prince’s guardian, even if no one had ever actually seen her spend time with him. In fact, she seemed to go out of her way to avoid him.

  Felix wanted to groan. “Let me guess. The Crown Prince?” he said almost tiredly, and Yulia gave a short nod. He sighed. “What did he do this time?”

  Yulia gave a short and sarcastic bark of laughter as she returned her training blades to the weapons wall, also unbinding the bandages around her palms. “What he didn’t do is a better question,” she muttered. “Every single time I cross paths with him these days, I always walked away with either a headache or wanting to punch him. Sometimes both.”

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  Felix snorted. “Trust me, you’re not the only one,” he said. “I haven’t gone home since the winter break, but I’ve been hearing things. The situation in Alathia is getting worse, and he seems to be totally oblivious!” He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. “I heard that my father had to talk Lord Kael down more than once to stop him from storming the Imperial Palace. Things are that bad in the Northern Holds. And I doubt it’s any better for the other Great Houses.”

  Yulia didn’t respond, but the tightening of her jaw told Felix everything. “I’ve tried,” she said at last. “Goddess knows that I’ve tried for years. But it’s either he’s refusing to listen to me and Lord Merren, or he’s just burying his head in the sand. Or maybe Parliament’s keeping him in the dark.” She sighed tiredly. “Either way, he’s letting them have too much power. And with each year that passes, they’re only gaining more of it. They’re cutting aid to the outer provinces entirely.” Yulia rubbed her temples. “Rem still believes that Parliament is helping. He’s too na?ve.”

  Felix shook his head. “That’s not an excuse, and you know it,” he said hotly. “If no one is telling him the truth, then maybe you should. And while you’re at it, drag Nathan Hunt into the loop, too. He’s another one with his head stuck in the clouds.”

  Before Yulia could answer, the door to the training room slid open, and Kaela Merrin entered.

  Yulia had only exchanged words with Kaela a few times. From what she knew, Kaela was one of the few commoners at the Academy, being sponsored by Lord Kael himself. Her father and brother had served as soldiers in one of Lord Kael’s garrisons, and Kaela had earned her place here through that connection. Lord Kael was known to sponsor the children of his soldiers when he deemed them worthy.

  Felix’s family, while a minor noble house with just a minor baron title and some land to their name, was also a vassal house of House Kael. As a result, Felix and Kaela had grown up together. They even trained together since early childhood, from what Yulia understood.

  Most of the girls in the Academy trained for medic corps, espionage, or support roles. Kaela, however, was an exception. She was built for the frontlines, and had the skill to back up her ambition.

  Wesley King had made the unfortunate mistake of challenging her during their first year, and ended up on the floor. The beating he had received had become something of a legend. Ever since, most students had learned not to test Kaela, and knew better than to get on her bad side.

  “Kaela.” Felix blinked. “What brings you here?”

  Kaela hesitated, looking at Yulia. Unlike Felix and Yulia, who were both dressed in black training gear, Kaela was still in her Academy uniform. With her red hair done in a side ponytail and sharp green eyes, she honestly doesn’t look like she could easily kick the asses of half their class.

  Yulia sighed, hearing the unheard request in Kaela’s glance. “Well, I’ll make a move,” she said, looking at Felix who nodded. “Don’t stay up too late. Curfew is in two hours.”

  She gave Kaela one last look. While Felix and Kaela both fervently denied it every single time someone asks, everyone and their grandmother knew that there is something going on between Felix and Kaela.

  “What’s wrong?” Yulia heard Felix ask as she walked toward the door.

  “I received a letter from home,” Kaela was saying, her voice tight with worry, even as Yulia slid the door open, “The situation in the Northern Holds is getting worse. Especially the constant raids by the bandits and raiders. There aren’t enough soldiers to deal with all the threats. My brother is leading a squad to hunt down a group near the border. He thinks he’s found their hideout…”

  Kaela’s voice was cut off as Yulia slid the door shut behind her. She frowned, looking back over her shoulder at the closed door of the training room.

  If the situation in the Northern Holds where Lord Kael’s lands are, was deteriorating, it didn’t bode well for the rest of the kingdom.

  Yulia exhaled, staring at the ceiling, almost praying for divine interference. ‘Rem… How much longer do you plan to live in blissful ignorance while your entire kingdom starves and suffers?’