Chapter 27 In your face, Bitches!

Chapter 27 In your face, Bitches!
The yard settles into an uneasy quiet after Hunter finishes speaking, the way his voice had carried reverently across the yard is full of authority and no one dared to cut in or make any wrong movements right under his gaze.
When he takes one step backwards and gives a wave of his hands to the men to begin their works just like the day before, the ladies heave a collective sigh as theu set to work.
The guards begin moving again, guiding the girls into loose rows, murmuring instructions that ripple through the crowd.
The earlier excitement that followed their colorful dresses and perfumes all dulls into something tighter and more uncertain, the weight of his words still hanging in the air.
Amaris shifts her stance slightly, easing pressure off her aching shoulder, careful not to draw attention to herself as it would not bode well for her since yesterday...
He's the one from that night, he's the one from the night before and he's...
He's moving forward once again.
Hunter remains at the front but takes one step to make sure everyone's listening, hands clasped loosely behind his back, his posture relaxed but alert.
His gaze moves across the yard again, not searching this time, but assessing, as though he is sorting pieces on a board only he can see, they won't put it past him anyway with the amount of wars that the man has reportedly seen in his short lifespan.
Doomed to war...
“Before anything else,” he says, his voice carrying easily, “we will begin with something simple.”
A few of the girls straighten, anticipation flickering across their faces on each their group lines.
The ghost of a chuckle comes and goes on his face as leans forward. "We'll start with a short question..."
The breaths of the girls are bated and even Amaris's sharp hearing feels like it's lost its powers for that few seconds of total silence.
“When is your birthday?”
A pause follows, brief but heavy, then murmurs break out almost immediately, confusion and excitement mixing together.
Some girls glance at one another, whispering dates under their breath as if unsure whether they heard him correctly. Amaris blinks, her brows knitting together.
Birthdays?
That's very random but she swallows anyway, feeling open in the crowd.
Yesterday...
Her fingers curl instinctively at her sides.
Of all the questions he could ask, of all the ways this could begin, this is the one that finds her.
She hesitates only a second before stepping forward with the others who do the same, her movements careful, deliberate.
“Yesterday,” she says when it is her turn, her voice steady despite the sudden tightness in her chest.
Hunter’s gaze flicks toward her immediately.
Just for a moment.
It is not obvious enough for anyone else to notice, but she feels it, the subtle shift of his attention locking onto her again. Something unreadable passes through his eyes before he looks away, nodding once as though he's waving her away but there's something else there.
'Very unreadable character' her subconscious whispers.
“Very well then,” he says as the couple of last girls walk forward to give their individual birthdays. “Those whose birthdays were yesterday, step to the left.”
Amaris moves as instructed, her steps slow and wary as she steps to the left.
Only a handful of girls follow her, no more than five. She exhales quietly, relieved by the smallness of the group.
Then a familiar voice cuts through the space.
“Yesterday,” Rhea says brightly.
Amaris stiffens.
That's the biggest lie she's heard in the past eighteen years of her life.
Rhea steps forward from the center of the yard, her expression composed, her posture confident. She does not look at Amaris as she speaks, only at Hunter, her chin lifted slightly.
“My birthday was yesterday as well, Your Highness.”
A ripple of surprise moves through the yard.
A few girls glance between the two of them, as though they are expecting some sort of altercation between the two girls even worse as Rhea comes to stand behind her, smiling like the child of the sun.
Amaris turns slowly, disbelief flashing across her face before she schools it away.
She knows Rhea’s birthday and she has known it for years because on the said day, she always has to wake up very extra early to make different dishes ahead of the day and all day, she never has enough to sit down...
And that day was not yesterday.
Hunter’s gaze sharpens.
He studies Rhea for a long moment, his expression giving nothing away.
Then his eyes slide to Amaris, lingering there just long enough to feel deliberate.
“Is that so...?” he says.
Rhea smiles, practiced and sweet. “Yes, Your Majesty.”
The silence stretches.
“Very well,” Hunter says at last. “Step forward.”
Rhea sidesteps past Amaris’s side, standing ahead of her but just close enough for her presence to feel invasive. She leans slightly toward her, her voice low enough that only Amaris can hear.
“Careful,” Rhea murmurs. “Competitions tend to end quickly for girls like you. Mom has given me the clue, don't overstep your boundaries or I will make sure your feet is swept out rudely from under you, whore!”
Amaris does not respond.
She keeps her eyes forward, her expression neutral, even as her pulse quickens from the urge to yell that Rhea's birthday is not even for the next seven months...! But she takes a long, hard and deep breath, clenches her fists and stays silent like she always is.
Hunter steps down from the raised platform, stopping directly in front of the small group. His gaze sweeps over them once more before settling briefly on the five girls standing side by side, each one staring up at him either reverently, admiratively or looking down at the floor.
“Those whose birthdays were yesterday,” he says calmly, “you will converge here after breakfast.”
A collective intake of breath ripples through the yard.
“The rest of you,” he continues, lifting his voice slightly, “will be dismissed for now... Go back to your dorms and prepare for your breakfast.”
Confusion erupts almost instantly as guards begin ushering the other girls away, their protests quiet but urgent.
Amaris remains where she is, her heart pounding, her shoulder throbbing, her senses stretched thin.
Beside her, Rhea shifts, surprise flickering across her face before it hardens into something determined, she swallows.
Amaris hears it clearly for some reason.
Hunter turns away, already moving back toward the palace.
Behind him, the gates begin to close.
And just like that, the competition narrows, far faster than anyone expected...
But these five other girls have one or more tasks ahead...
Just how interesting is breakfast going to be?
Amaris does not have to wonder for long before she notices the three other girls clouding around Rhea and they whisper loud enough for Amaris's heightened senses to hear what they are saying...
How unfortunate.
Just as Amaris turns to go towards the dorm as the other girls, a lady stands in her way.
"Excuse me..."
Amaris looks up at her, quite surprised that someone is coming to talk to her but she's not surprised for long seeing as she's dressed in the staff palace uniform.
"You have been summoned ma'am, please come with me."
The four other girls watch as Amaris is led away into the main palace building that Hunter just walked into.
'In your face bitches...!' her wolf mutters.
Amaris would have laughed if she wasn't so nervous about going in there and what's waiting for her.
Especially that sweet smelling treat.