The next morning, the fight was still fresh on my mind. Ever since the fight I had been distracted by thoughts of it. As if the fight played over and over in front of my eyes. I didn’t sleep very soundly because of it either, although with the coming ceremonies that would be expected of me, I needed rest.

  Walking through the hallway, I couldn’t help but tune out the rest of the world as I got lost in my thoughts. Specific moments kept haunting me- Lord Grast’s face when his son looked at him before the fight, cold and controlling. Lady Grast’s loving embrace, and Markun’s anger and pain from the humiliation of the fight. My own mother didn’t even speak to me after I won the fight. And my father… well it didn’t matter anyway. I haven’t earned my father’s support yet, but I would earn the throne and his approval eventually. I just had to keep working.

  As I turned a corner, footsteps ahead of me made me break out of my thoughts, and I was right to do so. I stopped and bowed, and he walked past. My heart almost sank as I thought he wouldn’t even acknowledge me. But his footsteps stopped, and I heard his long, weary sigh behind me.

  “Topi, turn around.” He ordered me, not even bothering with formalities.

  I stood and faced him, not bowing this time. “Good morning Father.” I greeted him, and the pit in my stomach somehow grew deeper. He frowned and set his jaw. “What are you set to do today, Topi? Playing with the court again?”

  I felt as if I had been slapped, and my pause was a little longer than necessary. I looked away from his face and instead studied his shoes as I answered carefully.

  “I’m on my way to talk with the Rising Priest. It is as we said yesterday, I have won my rights to the Sun’s gifts this year and-“ He cut me off with a scoff.

  “Yes, well, at least you earned it from those who were trying to take away something every youth gets when they come of age. If you hadn’t agreed to the bet in the first place, it wouldn’t have even been on the line!”

  “But Father, you must understand, I had to accept the fight or risk looking like a coward. I put an end to it entirely as well! I will not be accepting any more duels from Markun Grast, and I won’t be seeking any out from anyone else.”

  “You don’t understand. You are just as naive as your mother is. She’s active in her role, yes, but she isn’t as careful as she should be. You’ll get into trouble by playing along with the Grasts- or any other family in court. They all are monsters, and you are the fool wandering through their nests.” His face was flushed faintly red, and his glare held me in a tight hold. I drew in a sharp breath, trying to remain clearheaded. He was paranoid, and I couldn’t be a fool for doing what everyone else told me to do. Besides, everyone knew how Father was interacting less and less with the kingdom that he ruled. He was a great king, and I could only hope to live up to him, but was I really in the wrong when everyone was demanding something from me?

  I didn’t respond, which- though it angered him further for an unknown reason, it meant this conversation was over. He huffed and adjusted his golden crown with his strong slender fingers. I simply furrowed a brow and bowed again to him. His deep blue cloak whipped closer to my face as he turned to storm down the hallway. He wasn’t just angry, I knew it. He was disappointed in me.

  I stood up straight again and watched as he walked away. How could I mend this rift between us? How would I ever say anything he would respect? How could I be worthy, after all this distain from the one person who was to crown me when the time came? His tall, imposing frame was something I hadn’t inherited from him, but his gait, I had learned. I could walk like the king I was meant to be, but that wasn’t enough. I could be the most powerful and fit in the room, but that wasn’t enough. I could pour and scrape over my studies, but nothing was enough… I had to be missing something. I was a fool in my father’s eyes, and though he attributed it to a lack of care, and my duels with the Grast boy, I couldn’t help but feel that wasn’t quite it.

  He wasn’t looking back at me, so I didn’t understand why I needed to watch him go. He would only chide me for being lazy and distracted. I wasn’t lazy. But I could be distracted. That would have to change, I could change that…

  I turned away from my father and looked through the bright hallway of the stone corridor lined with tapestries. All of them depicted hunts and battles of kings before who had earned their place in history. Of villains, martyrs, heroes, and the gifts of the Sun God. Of destiny- of Divine destiny.

  Could I live up to it all? Be able to stand with my elders in the next life and bow before the Sun God with honor? Be a king who did what was needed for his kingdom?

  I wouldn’t know until I tried. I would defeat anyone in a spar, grow to anyone’s standards of a king, and I would earn my place.

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  I had to.

  I reached out a hand as I walked past them and through the stone arch that led to the throne room, the coarse fabric, and the soft embroidery flowing past my fingertips as I reached the rough stone, where I lowered my hand back to my side.

  The throne room was one of the prides of Marima. Built by my thirteenth great grandfather before the Sun God’s awakening, and built to last forever, the ceiling vaulted around fifteen men high and spanned nearly three times that much. Artisans had built wonderful treasures in honor of my family and the Sun God that were all displayed along the sides of the room as I made my way along the path to the four thrones. Each throne was carved magnificently and inlaid with gold or silver. Though mine and my sister’s thrones were less grand than our parents, they still hinted at our destined positions by subtly mimicking our parents.

  The Priest would be here soon to guide me to my next step in the preparation for the gift ceremony, so I sat in my throne and I directed one of the guards to let the priest in as he arrived. The sunlight filtered through the windows and balcony near the roof. The only breaks in the light came from pillars and the number of guards posted up there. Little shining specks of dust floated down in the illuminated space, riding through the beams of light as if weightless, barely even drifting anywhere. The room was designed with sound in mind as well as beauty, made so that the person at the head of the room as well as the back could hear every word spoken by everyone else in the room. Though the guards were meant to be still, I could hear them adjusting their weight, and sometimes a servant passing by an open door would speak loud enough for a word or two to reach my ears as well.

  I simply waited.

  And …waited…

  A knock resounded on the main entrance, just before it slid open. The guard fully opened the door, allowing the Priest to enter. His yellow robes reflected the light in a deliberate way as he approached my throne and bowed. His hat wasn’t removed, as was standard for normal visitors, but that was to be expected for his position as a priest.

  “Welcome Priest Lith’Keptir. I trust your journey went well?”

  “Indeed, Prince Topi. I hope you have recovered from your fight with the young Lord Grast?” He asked, as he rose to his full height. He was just under the height of my father, and his hair greyed with age. He smiled a crooked, polite sort of smile. I nodded and brushed off any other further pleasantries. I was eager to hear of my duties for the coming ceremony.

  “The fight went as we expected Sir. And I have protected my rights, as you expected of me.”

  “Indeed, indeed…” He mumbled, his voice creaking as an old branch would, before he continued. “You are ready then, for what the Sun God asks of you for the ceremony?”

  I nod and allowed myself to lean a little forward on my seat. “I await whatever service I can provide, and whatever I must do to earn his favor.”

  The old Priest chuckled and brushed off a bit of melting snow from his clothes. “The Sun God is pleased with ambition, but in order to receive either gift, you must be reverent to him. Have you been to the temple lately?”

  I shake my head. “I went with my parents last year, during the previous blessing ceremony. Is that what the Sun God wishes from me? That I worship him?”

  The priest returned his gaze to my own and smiled again with that unsettling, crooked smile. “Indeed.”

  I studied his expression for a moment, unsure of what measured up for worship. My parents had never taken me for more than we were expected, which was for ceremony day. I would seem more than a little unnatural when I visited, I was sure. The Priest’s grin grew more subtle, and he stepped closer.

  “Something is on your mind, Your Majesty?” He examined my posture and gaze better than I expected him to. I cleared my throat. “Ah, only a little. Pray tell, what is the best way to worship The Sun God in his temple?”

  The old priest’s smile grew wide again. “Though he appreciates gifts of gold, his best wish would be that you confide in him and ask him for guidance. The temple is the only place you would hear his answers.”

  I immediately raised a brow. “He hears and answers mortals when they pray in the temple?”

  “Indeed…”

  I had been taught from birth the laws of the Sun God, and I knew that his gifts of Solfyre and Solguard both protected and warmed the inhabitants of those who inhabited his country. But never had I thought of him so much as to guide us when we went to his place of worship!

  “Does he… reside, in the temple?” I asked carefully.

  “A part of him does.”

  “- And is he anywhere else?” I add.

  “Wherever a temple is sanctioned for him, a piece of him eventually takes shelter in.”

  I nod, although it seems to me as if anyone else had told me such a thing, I wouldn’t have believed it. Surely the Sun God wouldn’t reside near and among mortals so readily!

  “Thank you, Rising Priest. You have given me much to ponder… I will… Be visiting the temple later today, to follow your advice. Is there anything else I should be aware of, heading forward?”

  The Priest bowed again, and when he straightened, he said, “Of course Highness, it was my duty to share the Sun God’s word with you. That is all I needed to spur you towards. Let’s hope you heed his messages to you.”

  “Then may you ride safely. Have a good evening, Priest Lith’Keptir.”

  “You as well, Highness. May His glory favor you.”