MAGE CHRONICLES: THE BEGINNING

32. Beautiful Stranger.

Thirty minutes after the seemingly endless flow of mages settles in around their designated seats, the event starts.

I would like to claim that I was somewhat prepared for everything, but the rug was pulled from underneath my feet... again.

There were seven other aspiring ladies bar me, including a familiar face I was having a hard time placing.

The MC, called everyone onto the stage one by one, each time giving well-detailed personal histories and heaps upon heaps of praises.

If I was really into this competition, it would have been very disheartening, to hear him waxing poetry about my competition. They were all a bunch of high achievers, which made me wonder what exactly he was going to say about me.

"And our final mate runner, Mahina Dracon, an exquisite girl if I could say so. A nice child-bearing figure, an accomplished master in arts and a pure, benevolent soul."

I was seething in my seat. Nice childbearing figure? What was this? A slave auction? I would show them a benevolent soul.

"Where is she from?" comes from the crowd making me pause my murderous thoughts and turn curiously to the stage along with everyone else. Please slave trader, tell all of us. Where was I from?

"Mahina is originally from here, having grown up in the palace alongside the royal family before her parents fully moved to earth."

What the what?

I turn to see if anyone else was buying the bunch of hogwash spewing from the stage, only to find half the girls glaring at me, the closest one to me not even bothering to hide her sneer.

"You got something to say?" I ask steeling my back and giving her my best glare.

Huffing she turns back to the front her posture turning haughty.

Bitch.

I am on autopilot for the rest of the event, just following whatever the rest do which is not much. Turns out, the opening ceremony was just us being paraded around like prized cattle so that the masses could pick a favourite.

My mind drifts to Nyx, was he still hurt? Was he coming back? Was he Okay? I missed him, he had helped keep thoughts of Thorne Academy and most importantly Knox away.

How was my little boy? It's not the first time I had to leave him alone; we had toured a lot in the past year. But it was the first time in an unknown place, Nona Ellie being there was the only thing keeping me semi-sane.

A prickling at the back of my neck has me looking around to find the culprit only to lock eyes with Darian.

I wished his stare was creepy so I knew where to stand with him but instead, it was more inquisitive and baffled. Like he couldn't figure out why I was there, which was weird since he had me brought here in the first place... if the royal assholes were to be believed.

Speaking of... I search around the crowded room for the gorgeous triplets. They really were beautiful creatures. Just because I didn't like them didn't mean I was blind. I spot Cain first; he was standing with one of the other candidates looking cosy.

As if he could feel my eyes on him, he turns, and I watch fascinated as his face transforms into a scowl. I think he could have twisted it further if it had been physically possible.

Chuckling I look for his brothers and find them standing on one side of the room, a clear boundary between them and the rest of the crowd, whether instinctive or demanded, I had no idea, though I was leaning towards the former.