Claimed By The King(s) Of Kings

AINA

"So," Beatrice began, leaning in over her plate with a sharp, wicked grin. "Did you guys hear about Lady Cynthia’s parents?" Delilah immediately sat up straight, her eyes lighting up. "No! What happened?"

"Apparently," Beatrice whispered, lowering her voice to a theatrical hush, "her father bought a third private island in the Southern Seas just to hide his illicit black-market potion stash. But her mother found out, got furious, and transformed his favorite luxury yacht into a giant pink flamingo floatie in the middle of the harbor!"

Chloe gasped, slapping a hand over her mouth. "No way! In front of the harbor master?!"

"In front of the entire High Council!" Beatrice cackled.

Aina listened intently, thoroughly entertained by the sheer absurdity of rich people drama. Back at the Whitelock estate,she never had time to listen to these types of conversations; she was so busy slaving away. Listening to the girls gossip about ridiculous parental feuds and outrageous high-society scandals felt refreshingly light, fun, and as if she was one of the girls.

"And don’t get me started on Lord Thomas," Molly chimed in, tossing a cherry into her mouth. "He tried to hire a siren to sing at his birthday party, but the siren got offended by the payment offer and enchanted his entire security guard detail to dance the tango for six hours straight!"

The entire table burst into fits of laughter, Aina joining in so hard her bruised ribs gave a slight, dull throb,but for the first time all day, she didn’t care. After lunch, the afternoon cleared up into an open extracurricular fair in the central courtyard. Brightly colored banners hung from the stone archways, representing dozens of student-run clubs.

"You have to sign up for at least two extra-murals, Travis," Molly explained as they strolled through the bustling crowd. "It’s mandatory for first-years."

Aina scanned the wooden booths lining the paths.

Advanced Dark Magic Combat? "Definitely not," she muttered, briskly walking past a booth where a student was casually summoning blue fire.

High-Altitude Flying & Acrobatics? "Nope, I like the ground."

Finally, her eyes landed on a quiet, peaceful tent tucked beneath the shade of a massive oak tree. A colorful wooden sign hung over the entrance: The Herbalism & Botanical Arts Society.

Behind the counter was an older student with a pair of soft wolf ears poking out of her messy brown hair, carefully potting a glowing purple lily.

"Now this is my speed," Aina smiled, stepping up to the counter.

"Welcome!" the wolf-shifter girl offered a warm, gentle smile. "Interested in plant magic? We mostly cultivate rare medicinal herbs, mix relaxing tea blends, and tend to the glass greenhouses near the lake."

"No flying? No bone-breaking?" Aina asked hopefully. The girl chuckled softly, shaking her head. "Not at all. Just soil, sunshine, and quiet."

"Sign me up immediately," Aina said, grabbing the quill and writing Travis Whitelock in neat cursive across the sign-up sheet.

Molly ran up behind her, holding two flyers. "Found my club! I’m joining the Royal Event Planning Committee. We get to organize all the campus balls! Oh, and you should join the Classical Literature Guild with me, Travis. It’s super low-stress."

Aina looked at the parchment flyer Molly handed her. A quiet book club that met twice a week in the ancient library?

"Done," Aina agreed instantly. "Herbalism and literature. Perfect."

The rest of the afternoon passed in a pleasant, low-stress breeze. Aina attended an introductory History of Magic lecture, where the professor spent the entire hour rambling about ancient ley lines while half the class napped, and spent her free period walking around the tranquil campus lake with Molly and Chloe, feeding golden swan-hybrids with leftover bread rolls.

By the time the sun began to sink below the horizon, bathing the stone towers in lavender light, Aina felt like a massive weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Sure, her life was a walking catastrophe, but for a few hours, she had felt like a normal student with actual friends.

Walking back to the residential dorm, her feet dragged against the soft carpet of the top-floor corridor. Her body was sore from the brutal beating Pip had handed her in combat class, and her eyes were heavy with deep, bone-weary fatigue.

She reached the heavy mahogany door of her dorm suite. Tapping her room key on the door, she stepped into the living room. It was dead silent. The couches were empty, the fireplace was unlit, and the curtains were drawn tight against the twilight.

"Hello?" Aina called out softly, her voice echoing off the high ceilings. No response. She let out a long breath. Still no sign of her mysterious roommates. Whoever they were, they were either sleeping through the day or staying out until the dead of night.

Works for me, she thought, shuffling quickly down the private hallway to her bedroom.

She slipped inside her room, turning the brass lock until it clicked firmly into place. But remembering the sheer horror of discovering a guy in her room the night before, Aina wasn’t taking any chances this time.

She flipped on every single light switch in the room.

Systematically, she checked every single inch of her bedroom. She checked behind the window curtains. She crouched down and swept her gaze underneath the massive wooden bed frame. She even opened her walk-in wardrobe, pushing aside her oversized uniforms to make sure no one was hiding in the corners.

"Clean," she announced aloud to the empty room, letting out a satisfied breath.

She kicked off her heavy shoes, shed her bulky blazer, and carefully unbinding her aching chest, letting her lungs expand fully. Slipping into a pair of soft, loose sweatpants and a clean white t-shirt, she collapsed face-first onto the impossibly soft duvet.

"Oh, sweet heaven..." she mumbled into her pillow.

Reaching over to the nightstand, she snatched up her phone. The screen lit up instantly with a dozen notifications from the academy’s official news forum, mostly wild speculation about her fake relationship with Molly, but Aina swiped them away without a second thought.

Instead, she opened a low-key mobile puzzle game, tapping away at the glowing screen while snuggling deeper into the warm blankets.

Her stomach was full of expensive lobster, her secret was safe for one more night, she had made genuine friends, and no royal prince had tried to murder her in the last five hours.

As her thumb slowed on the screen and her eyelids grew impossibly heavy, Aina let out a long, contented sigh, drifting off into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.

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