“So tell us more about your years at Zodiac Academy,” Portia asked, the questions deepening now as we got to the root of my success. “Is it true you were bullied by the Savage King and his friends?”
“Bullied?” I scoffed. “I have never been bullied a day in my life, Portia. No, I think what you are referring to are the rumours that Hail Vega was jealous of me, and acted in response to those feelings during our time together at the academy.”
“And are those rumours true?” Portia asked curiously.
I let a sad mask fall over my face and nodded. “Unfortunately, Hail saw the greatness in me. It was a great shame as I only ever wished to be allies, but alas, it seemed he couldn’t handle gazing upon my power. It is why he targeted me so at school, altering my perfect grades so that I would appear less of a threat to him. He wanted to hold onto his status, but it seemed the stars had other plans in the end.”
“Goodness what a scandal,” Portia gasped and I felt the crowd hanging on every word.
“Perhaps, but I suppose it isn’t too surprising to discover the Savage King was savage in his youth too,” I said, quietly loving that I was tarnishing Hail’s name even more than I had managed while he lived. “He was the Captain of the Pitball team too and refused to let me play despite my proficiencies in the game.”
“You were proficient in Pitball?” Portia asked curiously and suddenly the crowd started laughing and I jerked around to look at them in surprise, noticing their gaze was on something over my head. I turned, finding a video of me at Zodiac Academy the day I had tried out for the Pitball team.
Hail was throwing pitballs my way lazily while I failed to catch every single one of them, falling in the mud more than once as rage built on my face. I was sucked into that memory, anger spewing through my blood now as the laughter grew more raucous in my head. The sound started playing on the video as Hail ran out of pitballs and I bristled at his voice.
“I thought you said you were good at this,” Hail laughed and my right eye twitched with the memory of those very words.
“I am good. I’m the best,” the young version of me insisted in a growl.
“Maybe you’re better at defence then. Try and stop me tackling you,” he commanded, immediately charging me down. I cast air magic left and right, but he avoided every shot and collided with me like a battering ram, my back slamming to the ground beneath his weight and a scream left me that sounded entirely feminine, causing the laughter in the theatre to amplify.
The video ended and a line of smoke left my nostrils as I snapped around to glare at Portia. Who the fuck had gotten hold of that video? And how dare she think it appropriate to play it during this interview!
I contained myself, keeping my head and not letting anyone see my inner distress.
“Are you sure you were proficient, My King?” Portia asked, a teasing lilt to her voice and I allowed a light laugh to fall from my lips as my hands tightened on the arms of my chair.
“I had come down with the Fae flu that very day,” I worked to play it off as the crowd settled down. “I assure you I destroyed him on that pitch not a week later when I had recovered, but Hail swept my second try-out under the rug, not wanting to be put to shame by my talent.”
“I see,” Portia said lightly. “Well, let’s move on to another important relationship in your life. Your brother Radcliff Acrux tragically died when he was just twenty, but he must have held a big influence on you before then?” she asked and the screen thankfully changed, but my gut clenched like a hard ball as it filled with a photograph of Hail, Azriel, Tiberius, Antonia, Melinda and Radcliff all arm in arm as they smiled widely in their muddy Zodiac Pitball uniforms together.
“Indeed,” I said, nodding sadly as I turned my head away from that image of my brother smiling with his friends, taking satisfaction in the fact that he and two of the other Fae in that image were now dead in the ground. “Radcliff was a good brother, but he hid his weaknesses well. This is the first time I am speaking about this but…when I was just about to be Awakened, Radcliff confided in me saying that he felt he had to bluff his way into being an Heir, that he had convinced Father he was the strongest in the family, when really it was I he saw the power in. Upon my Awakening, he came to me once more and asked me if I would play down my power for a few years so that he might enjoy being Heir a while longer - for it was all he ever wished to be, though he knew in his heart I could take it from him at a moment’s notice, and that in time, I would. I, loving my brother dearly, promised to keep the truth of my immense power secret until it was time for me to ascend and beat him in a fight to take his place. But of course, the most unfortunate of events later occurred, stealing him away before his time, and leaving me with no choice but to take up the baton without ever fighting him for his position.” I looked directly into the camera, pretending to wipe a tear from under my eye. “I know tonight you will be watching me from beyond the Veil, Radcliff, and I want you to know, I will rule well, and I will bring endless glory to the Acrux name for us both.”