Her talk with Mazin came a day after leaving the town, just shy of the marsh that surrounded the village. Daliya had evaded him for as long as she could. But she finally caved when he planted himself next to her, avoiding Haitham’s pointed stare.

  She sighed and motioned for him to follow her a few distance away to hear what he had to say.

  “Forgive my words, Your Highness. But I don’t think someone like him should be trusted,” he said, his glare pocking holes in the assassin’s head.

  Daliya glanced at Haitham and tried to see what the captain was seeing. She knew the assassin was powerful. Heck, she had witnessed firsthand his powers. But strangely enough, the powerful man who had slaughtered the monster in the cave didn’t translate to the one smirking at the knights, taunting them to draw their swords.

  Oh no. She sighed. She would have to stop them before unexpected injuries slowed down their trip.

  She returned her gaze to Main, pausing when she found him staring at her. “You don’t have to worry about him. I’ll make sure to keep him away from the knights.”

  Which she should get to doing now.

  Mazin hesitated.

  “I’ve employed him for a specific task only he can do.”

  “Your Highness, surely we—”

  His mouth snapped shut as she shook her head.

  “Only he can carry it out.”

  He gave a stiff nod and hesitated for a while before saying, “Your Highness should still be careful. Someone like him is loyal as long as it benefits him.”

  Daliya stood there, watching his retreating back.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Daliya started. She scowled at Haitham. “When did you get here?” Her scowl deepened at his smirk. “Should I put a bell on your neck?”

  “You would have noticed me if you weren’t staring at your captain.” He hummed, pinching his chin in thought. “I guess useless knights in blue armor are quite popular with women these days.”

  She spluttered. She lifted her fist to strike him. Her anger only intensified when he lifted his hands in mock surrender.

  The nonchalance with which Haitham had treated the palace’s luxury was a bit embarrassing. She thought, like her, he would be in awe at the crystalline ceiling and white marble towers. He walked through the palace like someone used to such opulence, if not more. Like it was beneath his standing.

  Most surprisingly, the head butler had spared him one look before declaring him his sworn enemy. He had refused to accommodate him and insisted that he be kept somewhere outside the castle for the princess’s safety. Daliya had to step in and ask the old man to ease off a bit and order him to be lodged in the rooms next to hers. The whole thing was chaotic, but one look from her quietened the whispers that had washed over the hall like the buzzing of bees.

  “You have a knack for creating messes, don’t you?” Haitham grinned at her once they were out of earshot.

  She rolled her eyes. “Please, this whole mess wasn’t of my own design. If someone is worthy of such high praises, that would be the real princess, not me.”

  He snorted. “Right.”

  Her training started as soon as she returned to the castle. He cast a single glance at the training grounds before declaring them unfit for their training sessions.

  “Do you want an audience for your incompetence?” he asked with a raised brow.

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  Daliya’s clenched fist turned white. “I’m not incompetent. I just need to get the princess’s powers under control. I’m new to this.”

  “Same thing.” He shrugged.

  He was so infuriating.

  They finally settled on the side garden, the one she found secluded a few distance from the castle. His eyes lingered for a second too long on the marble statue.

  “You know who that is?” she asked.

  His brows furrowed in confusion before he shook his head, a rueful smile pulling at the corner of his lips. “Looking like that, it’s a bit easy to forget that you’re not of this world. This is the princess’s mother and the empress of the empire. Or she was.” He gestured to the statue. “She died fifteen years ago.”

  Daliya looked at the woman with newfound eyes–the princess’ mother. She must have loved her a lot to raise a statue of her. Now that she keenly looked at it, the statue’s features were sculpted in such a way that she looked a second away from drawing breath.

  “What happened to her?”

  “Who knows? All her attendants disappeared as soon as her death was announced. I doubt even the princess knew.”

  Daliya shot him a startled look. “You don’t think the emperor…?”

  He shrugged. “Who knows?”

  He seemed disinterested in what could have happened to the empress, which was fair. He made it clear he wasn’t fond of the royals. Why would inner palace matters matter to him?

  She spread her hand outward, eyes closed as she tried to call the ice to her. At first, Haitham had inquired about her closed eyes.

  “It’s to help me focus.”

  He had shot her a bemused look but said nothing.

  Daliya squeezed her eyes. She needed to empty her mind and only focus on the ice. She frowned when she felt nothing. No matter how much she called, it was as if she was shouting into the void. All this time, the ice came to her unbidden, responding to her fluctuating emotional turmoil. Why wasn’t it answering her call now?

  “You look like you’re summoning a monster from the deep,” Haitham’s voice said next to her.

  She felt something soft in her hand. Was it the ice?

  She tore her eyes open, giddy, only for her shoulders to sag in disappointment. It was a flower.

  “Don’t look like that. This is your first try. It was expected. Try freezing this.” He gestured to the flower.

  She tried and tried, closing her eyes and picturing all the times the ice had invaded her surroundings without any conscious summon. It was another hour before a thin coat of frost started forming on the flower’s petals. But as soon as she presented her hard labor to him, the frost thawed, and the soggy petals stuck to her palm. But she wasn’t deterred, not when she succeeded once.

  She tried again and again to no avail. Then, an idea struck her. Maybe the ice didn’t know what she wanted it to do. Maybe she needed to talk to it.

  “Ice, come forth!”

  Nothing.

  “Ice, answer my call!”

  Still nothing.

  “Ice, hear my words and answer my call!”

  Nothing.

  “What are you doing?” Haitham asked with a deadpan voice.

  “What does it look like I’m doing?” She scowled at him. Couldn’t he see she was trying her best? Why was he being so difficult?

  Haitham tilted his head upward, staring at the pale sky, mumbling under his breath. Ignoring him, she turned back to her training.

  A while later, and still no progress was made.

  “You’ve got this. Just… hang in there.”

  She heard Haitham say somewhere behind her. She was touched that he had so much faith in her ability, even though she didn’t. At least one of them believed in her.

  “Thanks. I’ll try.”

  “Oh, I wasn’t talking to you. I’m talking to myself. At this point, I’ll need all the patience I can get.”

  She shot him a glare. She crossed her arms over her chest, looking pointedly at the statue. No, she wasn’t sulking. She frowned. Was it just her imagination, or was the woman’s lips pulled into a mocking smirk?

  “Maybe you’ve been looking at it from the wrong angle.”

  She glanced back at him. “How?”

  “You seem to think that your powers are distinct from yourself. But the way I see it–” A flame materialized in his palm, dancing gently to a non-existent breeze. “It is but an extension of oneself. You are your powers, and your powers are you.”

  She watched as the flame shifted and twisted, then died.

  “Try it.”

  “I’m not a natural like you. I’m not even from this world,” she grumbled.

  “Just humor me,” he coaxed.

  She looked at her palm. She didn’t know what to do.

  An extension of herself. The ice was her, and she was the ice.

  A tiny shard of ice slowly emerged from the center of her palm. She couldn’t take her eyes off it. What if it disappeared just like the frost? She didn’t dare even to blink.

  “Not bad for a first time.”

  Did she imagine it, or was there a hint of pride in his tone?

  She grinned.

  “Though, at this rate, it would take us centuries to completely master your powers.” He paused. “Perhaps we should go the theoretical way first.”

  Daliya threw the shard at his face. No matter, she would just make another one.