Chapter 96: _ The Concorded Realm

"Nope. Absolutely not. Goodbye, Your Highness," I said, waving a hand over my shoulder. "It was lovely talking to you. Have fun at your secret spot."

In a blur of motion so fast it made the air hum, Ajax materialized directly in front of me, cutting off my retreat. He didn’t reach out to grab me... he simply stood there, broad-shouldered and infuriatingly relaxed with a gentle smirk on his lips.

"Are you running away, little mouse?"

"I am exercising basic common sense!" I snapped, gesturing wildly toward the distant iron boundary walls. "I have been in this academy for less than a month, and the one thing every instructor, student, and warden agrees on is that everything outside those gates is a monster-infested wasteland! I came here to survive, not to be eaten by a rogue shadow-beast because a prince wanted a change of scenery!"

Ajax threw his head back and laughed, drawing startled looks from a nearby patrol of guards. "A monster-infested wasteland? Is that what they tell you commoners in the intake trenches?"

"Yes!" I said defensively, crossing my arms tight over my chest. "Because it’s true!"

"Tell me, Elira... When the academy scouts picked you up from your little mud-village... how were you brought here?"

"By a carriage. We went through a portal."

"And after the portal?" Ajax pressed, tilting his head.

"We were dropped off on the main carriage road outside the front gates, and we drove through the archway into the courtyard," I answered, frowning. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Did a ravenous shadow-beast leap out of the treeline and devour your driver?" Ajax asked, raising an eyebrow. "Did a mountain drakon melt your carriage wheels with acid fire?"

I opened my mouth to argue, but the words caught in my throat. I remembered the long, quiet stone road winding through the valley outside the gates. It had been misty, cold, and eerie, but... entirely devoid of bloodthirsty monsters.

"Where I am taking you, there are no beasts. And even if a stray rogue beast decided to wander into our path... you are with the Crown Prince of the Lion Realm. I assure you, I am far more dangerous than anything lurking in those woods. I will protect you."

I stared at him, short of words.

He will protect me.

With the other royals in this godforsaken academy, there was always an agonizing pull humming under my skin... some sort of bond that made my soul scream and my pulse race whenever they were near.

But with Prince Ajax?

There was no bond pulling at my ribs. No invisible thread forcing me to trust him. He was just a dangerously handsome, arrogant Crown Prince who had slapped an iron padlock onto my arm two nights ago and was now strolling me past academy boundaries like we were old childhood friends.

Why was he doing this? Why go through the immense trouble of tracking down a markless commoner, kissing her hand in front of a mob, and sneaking her past security?

"Why are you really taking me to your secret place, Ajax?" I asked, dropping the formal titles as I looked straight into his eyes. "And is it even legal for students to step outside the academy gates without a warden escort?"

By now, we had passed the high, arched arcades where the ordinary initiates walked. We were stepping into the vaulted, quiet security corridors that led to the outer gates of the sovereign perimeter.

Up ahead, four heavily armored Wardens stood guard outside the iron portcullis, their spears glinting in the dim light. I braced myself, expecting them to draw their weapons, demand my hall pass, or drag me straight to Commander Clement’s office for breaking containment.

Instead, as we approached, all four wardens instantly snapped to attention. They slammed their right fists against their armored chests in a salute, bowed their heads low to Ajax, and deliberately looked away—acting as if I were entirely invisible.

One of the guards reached over and pulled an iron lever, causing the huge portcullis to grind upward with a metallic crunch.

I blinked, staring at the guards in utter disbelief as Ajax casually led me right past them.

"To answer your second question, there are rules written for the common initiates, Elira. And then there are those of us who stand above the law in this realm. I happen to be one of them." Ajax murmured close to my ear as we stepped through the threshold.

"Must be nice," I muttered dryly. "Must save a fortune on paperwork."

Ajax chuckled, guiding me down a winding stone path that cut through the high granite cliffs surrounding the academy.

As we cleared the shadow of the outer walls, the true landscape of the realm opened up before us and my breath got lost somewhere inside my throat.

I stopped dead on the dirt path, my jaw dropping in stunned amazement.

It was nothing like the Dragon Realm where I had come from and nothing like the Concorded Realm I had pictured in my head.

I had expected jagged, volcanic crags, barren skies, and scorched plains fit only for monsters. Instead, stretching out as far as the eye could see, was a breathtakingly lavish expanse of rolling emerald hills, golden valleys, and crystal rivers under a sky soft with violet clouds.

It was lush. It was gorgeous. It was built on unimaginable serene beauty.

"This is the realm?" I breathed, my voice barely a whisper as I turned to Ajax in utter confusion. "It’s... It’s incredible. If it looks like this, why in the hell does everyone keep saying the outside is ridden with beasts?"

Ajax slowed his stride, looking out over the glittering horizon with a cynical expression.

"Because it is a realm that belongs to the beasts. Long before the academies were built or the realms were carved up, this entire world belonged to the wild creatures. But the shifters and the Fae consider ordinary beasts beneath them. They decided the land was far too valuable to be left to wild animals, so they conquered it, drove the beasts into the far borders, and took the realm for themselves."

An uncomfortable lump formed in my throat. I looked out over the sweeping, magnificent valleys and sadness overtook me.

They stole their entire world.