"Yes."

"Did you link with it?"

I frowned. "No. How do you know so much for a minion?"

He rolled his eyes. "Minions are just as smart as everyone else around here." He extended his hand to me. "Come with me and I'll show you something about your dagger."

Something shifted in my stomach at the thought of going anywhere with him. I wanted to, but I could get him in trouble. "No."

"Scared of being seen with me?"

"You should be scared. You could get in trouble if you were seen with me."

A weird expression crossed his face. It was though the thought had never crossed his mind. "You are right. I'd hate to end up in the dungeons. Wait here," he commanded.

I was tempted to ignore him and leave, but I was curious. I went back to the large crystal in the middle of the library. Placing my hand on it, I linked with its energy and searched the library database for the dagger again. Instead of one word, I went with phrases.

Wavy blade dagger. Green gems on a pommel. Clear blade daggers. Nothing.

"Pssst."

I turned to see Green Eyes gesturing from an aisle. In his hand was a thin book. It looked like a journal. "What's that?"

"A private journal about the Kris Dagger."

I shot him a skeptical look that said, Yeah, right. "Our entire collection of CCs and books doesn't have anything on the dagger, and you have a journal."

"My family members weren't always minions, smarty pants," he retorted. "A member of my family once wielded the Kris Dagger." He lifted the book. The front showed a crudely drawn picture of the dagger. "And this is his journal."

"You know you can't talk to me like that," I said, narrowing my eyes.

"Like what?" He moved closer.

Something unfolded in my stomach at his nearness. He smelled nice. "Calling me smarty pants."

He bowed. "I apologize, your royal high-" He angled his head, the smile disappearing from his face. "Lady Nemea is looking for you. You should put up your shield and block her from finding your psi energy. If she can't find it, she can't find you."

"How do I do that?"

"Just will it. The same way you do when you want to find anyone's energy. Think about what you want and will it. Perks of being a powerful Psi."

I searched for Lady Nemea's energy. She was in my quarters. I found myself wishing she wouldn't find us. "Go before she gets here."

"Worried for me?"

His smirk did it. "No. Stay, for all I care. Just remember, if she catches you and throws you in the dungeons for stalking me, I will not rescue you."

He laughed. "Do I look like a stalker?"

No, he looked like he'd stumbled out of bed and pulled his clothes on. His hair was disheveled and he had a shadow on his chin like he needed a shave. Unfortunately, the look was perfect on him. He looked gorgeous, and the naughty thoughts that flashed in my head sent heat to my cheeks. "I have to go."

"Are you forgetting something, Princess?" He waved the book. But when I reached for it, he whipped away and hid it behind him, a naughty twinkle in his eyes.

I glared. "I don't like playing games, and it's obvious you do. Either you give me the stupid journal or leave before Lady Nemea finds you."

"Will you come looking for me if they throw me in the dungeons?"

"No. I don't even like you." I extended my hand toward him.

He moved closer, the gleam in his eyes saying he was about to do something he knew he shouldn't. The worst part was that I was actually looking forward to see what else he'd do and say. He pushed the book in my hand, then reached out and touched my cheek. His hand was warm. His touch was nice. Familiar. Worse, I wanted to touch him, too. Should I ask him about the dream I'd had about him, or would that sound weird?

"Who are you?" I whispered.

"A minion, sunshine," he whispered in a husky voice. "I have to go now. Don't let her see the book." Then he was gone.

I slipped the journal under the waistband of my skirt, pulled my top over it, and grabbed the nearest book off the shelf just as Lady Nemea peered at me from the end of the aisle.

"There you are," she said. "What are you doing down here?"

I showed her the book. The cover read Coronis Isle History. I laughed.

"Come upstairs with me," she said.

I removed the thin journal from my waist and hid it between the pages of the history book, then followed her. Lady Nemea didn't ask why my father had asked me to leave with him. The table had long been cleared of our lunch. I glanced at her and found her studying me. Did she know about my meeting with Green Eyes?

"What is it?" I asked.

"We need to work on your decorum," she said, walking around me. "The way you sit, walk, talk, and conduct yourself in public reflects on your father. You can act any way you like in private, but when in public, you must act like a princess. The people expect their princess to be perfect."

"What? I don't eat like a princess now? How do princesses eat?" I fought a grin when she sighed in exasperation. She took things too seriously. "No, don't tell me. They lounge on pillowed daybeds and are fed by servants all day. Bet minions chew their food for them, too."

"This is a serious matter, Lilith," she reprimanded. "This morning when you were talking to your father, you teased him in front of your teachers. That is not acceptable behavior."

"He's my father. I can talk to him however I want."

"No, you can't. There's protocol set in place for how you conduct yourself."

I jumped up and marched to the fridge for a bottle of water. "I'm supposed to train while recovering from months of being in a coma, find out what powers I have and try to master them, work my b.u.t.t off to get into the Academy, and now I'm to learn how to sit, talk, and walk? What happened to just being myself?"

She sighed. "You can't afford to be yourself. You are a princess."

I laughed. "Then I don't want to be one."

"Stop being difficult, Lilith," she said.

"Is this what my father wants? Is this going to make people stop fearing me?"

Lady Nemea blinked. "Where did you get the idea-?"

"I'm an empath, Lady Nemea. I can feel their fear whenever I come too close. Some even cringe and move away. Others believe I'm a spy for the Guardians. I hear their thoughts even when I don't want to." My voice trembled to a stop. "Why would I be a spy for people who kidnapped me and kept me away from my family? Where's the logic in that?"

"Oh, sweetheart," she said, walking to where I stood. She cupped my face. "They will see what the majority of us see-a caring, benevolent future leader of our people."

I shook my head. Solange was the future leader of our people. "Can't I skip this etiquette training for a few weeks? I want to focus on getting into the Academy."

"No, I'm sorry, dear. Even at the Academy, you must act like a princess and have guards with you at all times."

"No way."

She sighed. "Stop fighting me, Lilith."

"I'll see what Father has to say about this."

Lady Nemea sighed again. "He'll let you get away with anything because he wants you to choose him."

"Choose him? What's that supposed to mean?"

She blinked as though confused, and then anger flashed in her eyes. "Love him like you are supposed to," she snapped. "He sacrificed a lot to find you, so loving him and listening to him is the least you can do. I, on the other hand, must mold you into the future leader of our people, whether you like it or not."

Whoa. Where did the anger come from? "That is Solange's future, not mine."

"Solange is powerful, but she's not the one. You are, and we must make sure you're ready. Get to know the people if you must, but always keep your distance. They need to see you as a strong leader, not their best friend or someone they visit clubs and play beach volleyball with."

Somehow, I knew she'd bring that up. "I went to an ice-cream shop with friends. What's wrong with that?"

"Down in the kitchen, Bilal can prepare whatever ice-cream flavor you crave. Katia and Lottius are your subjects. Future subjects, Lilith. Not friends. Inviting them here for dinner was not right, either. There's a protocol for inviting visitors to the castle."

I growled. Talking to her was like banging my head against a wall. "So, what you are saying is I can't have friends?"

"Not like normal people. You have me, Solange, and your father, and, when you turn eighteen, the mate he will choose for you."

That again? "I'm not interested in choosing a mate."

"It is the custom to find mates for the royal children. It guarantees the propagation of abilities to the next generation. Your father will continue with the tradition Queen Coronis started."

"You mean the one that ended up producing P2s, P3s with weakened powers, and the minions? I don't think so."

She harrumphed. "Your friends should not be discussing such matters with you. The young see things differently and navely. Most parents want to produce Primes and will only mate their children with other Primes. That's how we've stayed strong. And since you are the most powerful Hermonite around here..."

"What?"

"Every n.o.ble house will want their son to marry you," she finished. "Before your eighteenth birthday, you will have a chance to meet all the eligible men. Then you and he will choose."

I wanted to throw up. My birthday was about four months away. "What happened to love?"

"The Princ.i.p.alities help me," she muttered, then she added louder, "Every day after lunch, we'll spend an hour working on your etiquette-speech pattern, walk, and smile."

The next hour was a nightmare. Don't slouch. Tilt your head this way and that way. Shoulders back. Head high. Eyes forward. No extreme emotions.

I had a headache by the time we finished.

-8-.

"Tell me about Queen Coronis's selective breeding program," I said as soon as I was seated across Master Rahm in the library.

"What do you want to know?"

"Was it an epic failure?"

His lips twitched. "I wouldn't call it that. We had three generations of powerful Primes."

"Three? I was told two."

"Before Coronis Isle was destroyed, we had a group of promising kids at Azazel Inst.i.tute. We called them the Specials."

A feeling of dej vu washed over me. I'd heard that word.

"Unlike the rest of us, whose powers appear when we are in our teens, theirs came early. Some right after birth."

"What do you think of arranged marriages?"

Master Rahm chuckled. "You are very direct."

"It's the only way to get answers around here, and I want to know everything the archangel took from me, including our laws and how we can change them."

He pushed his gla.s.ses in place. "Don't you mean how you can avoid them or bend them?"

I grinned. I liked this guy already. "That, too."

"I think that arranging marriages to create powerful Primes is a terrible tradition. People should choose who they love."

"Then why can't people demand change?"

"Change takes time. Your father is different from Queen Coronis. He doesn't do selective breeding, and people are allowed to choose their mates here on the island."

"Except me," I mumbled.

"I'm sure you will find a way around that. I've only just met you and I can already see you are an industrious young lady. Can we start?"

"One last question. Why aren't there books on the Kris Dagger in the library?"