Voice of Power (The Spoken Mage Book 1)

by Melanie Cellier

  So then I had to repeat both demonstrations while the three of them watched with varying levels of fascination. And once the two heads got talking, the technical language flying, even Redmond unbent a little and joined in the discourse. Walden was summoned at some point and questioned on the progression of our efforts and training and the many unsuccessful methods we had attempted.

  No one asked me anything, and I soon retreated to a chair on the edge of the room. I could only follow some of what they were saying, and after a while I gave up trying altogether until Jessamine suddenly rounded on me.

  “You. Elena.” She frowned at me. “Are you tired?”

  “Yes,” I said, well and truly tired of the whole thing.

  She nodded as if she had expected as much and turned back to the conversation. Walden gave me an odd look, and I realized belatedly what she must actually have meant. Had those four little compositions exhausted me?

  The answer to that should actually have been no. In fact, I felt a great deal less tired than I generally would at this time of the morning after a session of combat training. I didn’t bother to correct her, though. They all thought me far too much of a curiosity already, and if there was any truth in what Coralie had told me that news would only exacerbate the situation.

  If they want to know more detail, they could consider including me in the conversation.

  The clang of the lunch bell jerked me out of a half-daze brought on by my period of inactivity. Lorcan looked up only long enough to dismiss me absentmindedly, before they all continued their conversation.

  Walden smiled at me in a friendly way, but the other two didn’t even appear to notice my departure as I slipped quietly from the room. When I entered the dining hall, however, my presence was definitely noted. A hiss of surprise sounded from the table usually occupied by the prince and his highborn companions.

  “She’s still here!” Natalya said in an audible whisper.

  I slid into place beside Coralie who glared at the other table before turning to me.

  “So? Did you get in trouble?”

  I shook my head. “No one even mentioned it. They were all just excited because I’ve worked out how to unlock my ability. I had to give all these demonstrations, and then Jessamine arrived, and the conversation got too technical for me.”

  Coralie shook her head. “Someone really wants you to stay here. And it’s driving that lot over there crazy.” She grinned.

  “I’m pretty sure I know exactly who it is. Lorcan and Jessamine—since they see me as a fascinating object of study.”

  Coralie ignored me, her eyes still on Lucas’s table. “You know, it’s kind of satisfying to see something that they can’t order how they want. Let them have a taste of what it’s like not to be born into one of the great families.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Try being commonborn.”

  “No thanks,” said Finnian, taking one of the seats across from us. “No offense, Elena.” He grinned at me, and I couldn’t help smiling back, although I rolled my eyes at him as well.

  Finnian might be born into as powerful a family as anyone—other than Lucas—but it was somehow impossible not to like him.

  Coralie also smiled at him, but she gave an apologetic look in my direction. “Sorry, Elena, I forget sometimes.”

  “Sometimes?” I tried not to let too much anger sound in my voice because I knew it wasn’t really directed at her. But some of it still leaked through. “What about all the time? The whole lot of you. You really have no idea what it’s like out there for the rest of us. Struggling to get by without any of the resources you take for granted. Without even the ability to write each other notes or keep records of any kind.”

  They both stared at me in shock while I ranted on.

  “You all act as if we’re idiots, but it seems to me, we’re probably smarter than the lot of you. We have to be to get anywhere in life. Just imagine how much intelligence it would take to run a business without any written records or any help from compositions. And many of us commonborn do just that. We pass on our skills from generation to generation without any Academy or University to help us. And yet, do you know how often any of you mages talk directly to me? You’d rather ask another mage who wasn’t even present for answers to your questions when I’m sitting right there with all the answers!”

  I stopped for a breath.

  “I talk to you,” said Finnian, seeming unperturbed by my sudden attack, despite it being so far from his usual joking tone.

  I instantly deflated. “I know you do. You and Coralie are my only friends.” I ran a hand across my face. “I shouldn’t have unloaded on you like that. You’re not the problem—not really. The fact that you’re sitting here with me proves that.”

  “Well, you’re not wrong,” he said, taking a calm bite.

  “Really?” I eyed him warily, but he looked back at me with a serious face and clear eyes.

  “Nothing you said is untrue. And we do forget it, all the time. Even my family.”

  “Even your family?” My brow crinkled in confusion.

  “His father’s the Head of the Healers, remember,” said Coralie in a subdued voice. “They run clinics in all the major cities. Clinics that are open to anyone.”

  “Anyone who can pay,” I muttered, before biting my tongue.

  “Yes, they do charge a fee.” Finnian sighed. “Otherwise they’d be overrun, and we wouldn’t have the resources to continue.” He made a face. “Mages don’t work for free, you know, and we have a limited supply of energy. Especially with so many healers needed by the Armed Forces.”

  I opened my mouth, but he cut me off.

  “And, yes, I know there aren’t enough healers there either. And that too often soldiers succumb to their injuries before they can be taken to a healer. But it’s better than having none, that’s for sure.”

  Reluctantly I nodded. Far too many died anyway, and no doubt the healers’ strength always went first to any injured officers—since officers were all mage members of the armed forces discipline. But at least the commonborn who served with the Armed Forces didn’t need to pay a fee to access healers.

  A boy from Kingslee had returned from his term of service only the year before with tales of having his arm almost entirely regrown. It had given my family hope that the healers could fix Clementine—once Jasper got a rich enough job that we could afford to pay their fees, of course.

  “Other than the odd lone mage selling compositions, the healers are the only discipline actively available to the common folk,” Coralie added. “That’s why healers are often more understanding of non-bloods.”

  “We’re not the only ones who help,” Finnian said. “The creators and the growers and the wind workers all do work that benefits everyone—building roads, ensuring the crops grow, etc. But I’ll admit they do it under royal direction or under order from the Mage Council. They won’t work to help individuals.”

  “Commonborn individuals anyway,” I said, giving him a significant look. “I’ll bet if your family needed help with building some manor or saving some farm, they’d be willing to assist.”

  Finnian grimaced. “We wouldn’t need to ask. There are plenty of Callinos mages in all of those disciplines who would help us in their spare time.”

  Coralie sighed. “The difference between the great families and the rest of us. We have to rely on who we have, and we don’t always have the right skills.” She looked over at me. “But at least we have some skills, I suppose.”

  I managed a smile for her sake. “I really am sorry to attack you like that, Coralie. You’re clearly the most open person here.” I sighed. “Which I guess is what depresses me sometimes.”

  “And yet, here I sit,” said Finnian quietly.

  I looked quickly over at him, and he met my gaze steadily.

  “You bring change just by being here, Elena. And if the rumors I’m hearing about your recent activities are true, there’s a lot more change coming.” He raised an eyebrow, and I relu
ctantly nodded.

  “Ah.” He sat back in his chair, his eyes brightening with interest. “So you really truly can work verbal compositions?”

  I nodded again, and he glanced over at Coralie. “I have this strange feeling that our whole world might look different by the time you graduate, Elena. Don’t underestimate how much difference one person can make.”

  I wanted to let his words buoy me, but he obviously didn’t know that there was no way I was going to graduate. I only had until I turned eighteen. And since spring had arrived—meaning my seventeenth birthday was fast approaching—that only left me one more year.

  Chapter 20

  Redmond continued to ignore me as much as possible in composition class, and I gratefully accepted the unexpected reprieve. It gave me an excuse to continue my private lessons with the much more friendly Walden.

  I tried to limit them to the session after composition, though. My other free time I spent roaming the library or curled up in my room with a book. Reading had been difficult and labored for so long that it was hard to believe what a joy it was now. I should never have abandoned Jocasta’s reading assignments to focus solely on my powers.

  I didn’t need to go to Jocasta for books anymore, though. Instead I relished the freedom to read anything I wanted to read. From history to politics to fairy stories. It had never occurred to me that someone would waste valuable writing resources on something so entirely unpractical. But as soon as I read one, I understood why. These must be to mage children what the village storytellers were to the rest of us—gateways to a magical land where anything was possible. A land that resembled reality just enough to stick in our hearts and minds.

  Although less intensive, the main difference in my lessons with Walden was that Lorcan or Jessamine were wont to appear at will, sometimes with academics from the University in tow, to observe my efforts. I tried my best to ignore them, but I always performed worse on a day when I was observed.

  Apparently I didn’t perform badly enough, however.

  On the day of my seventeenth birthday, I was woken before breakfast by a knock on my door. Rolling sleepily out of bed, I pulled it open and nearly fell backward in surprise. Instead I tipped myself forward and into my brother’s arms.

  “Happy Birthday,” he said, ruffling my hair and briefly squeezing me back. When I showed no signs of letting go, he shoved me back into my room and entered, looking curiously around.

  “Nice view.” He crossed over to stare out the window.

  I mumbled an agreement, still half asleep, and commanded him to remain in place while I got dressed. I was soon in my normal outfit, robe in place, and sitting on the bed while he took the chair.

  “How did you get up here?” I asked.

  “I ran into someone called Damon? Once I managed to convince him I really was your brother, and also dropped the information it was your birthday, he showed me which room you were in.”

  “How was Midwinter?” I asked eagerly. “How was Clemmy? Not sick, I hope! And Mother and Father? Were they all utterly surprised?”

  He smiled. “There were all the tears and exclamations you could ask for.” His face dropped a little. “We just wished you could be there, too.”

  I nodded, speaking quickly because I didn’t want to dwell on it. “But at least you could give them news of me. And I got your present. I even wore it to…” I halted, not wanting to talk about the celebration at the palace either.

  “Yes, I heard about that,” said Jasper grimly, all his previous good humor wiped away. “Well, not about your accessories, but…”

  I regarded him uneasily. “You’re not here to give me birthday wishes, are you?” I whispered.

  He grimaced. “Not just here for birthday wishes.” He paused, but when I said nothing, rushed on.

  “I didn’t get back until two days after Midwinter, but they were still talking about it. You wouldn’t believe some of the theories that were flying around. I didn’t hear all of them, since everyone knows you’re my sister, but I made Clara tell me.”

  “I can probably guess.” I sighed. “How many people think I must have somehow collapsed the balcony in an attempt on the life of the prince?” Thankfully no one with any real authority seemed to have seriously considered such a thing—most likely because they doubted my competence to pull it off—but I could just imagine the sort of rumors that would fly around a place like the University.

  “Not the majority, thankfully,” said Jasper.

  “I hope they haven’t been giving you a hard time because of me.”

  He shrugged. “No more than usual.”

  I winced, but he reached over and tugged at my hair.

  “Don’t worry about me, little sister. I’m plenty tough enough.”

  “So what do the majority think, then?” I asked.

  “That you got lucky, and the prince rescued you. Or at least that’s what they did think. But there are new rumors circulating now. Ones that make me question whether that’s really what happened.”

  He fixed me with a sharp look, but I couldn’t meet his gaze, my own dropping into my lap.

  “So it’s true?” He sat back with a low whistle. “My sister—a mage!”

  “Sort of.”

  He leaned forward. “You mean you can’t control it?”

  “No, I can control it. And I’m getting better at it all the time. I’ll catch up to my class soon, although I have different limitations from them. That doesn’t mean they see me as one of them, though.”

  “No.” His face turned hard. “And that’s why I had to come. I’m sorry it’s so early, but I had to get over here before classes started.”

  He stopped and ran a hand through his hair before getting up and sitting beside me on the bed.

  “You need to be more careful, Elena.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean that there’s nothing that scares these people more than someone else having powers they don’t have. And—even worse—someone commonborn. Someone who shouldn’t have powers at all.”

  “Maybe it will do them good to have a taste of what life is like for the rest of us,” I said defiantly.

  But he leaned forward and grasped my shoulder.

  “This isn’t a game, Elena.” His voice was low and urgent. “This is your life—and maybe the rest of our lives, too. I’m telling you that you make powerful people uncomfortable. And that the stronger you get, the more uncomfortable they become.”

  I swallowed. I was being watched. I was always being watched. How many times would I have to hear that message before it sank in? I kept telling myself nothing had changed since I first arrived, that caution was still needed, and then I turned straight back around and forgot my caution all over again. I would never have guessed when I arrived that it would be so easy to fall into a false sense of security here.

  I remembered my recent outburst in the dining hall—at the son of one of the council members, no less—and covered my face with a groan.

  “What do you want me to do?” I asked, my voice muffled by my hands. “They know about my power. I can’t just stop using it.”

  “No.” He sighed. “But you can control how strong you appear. I heard…” He paused before continuing. “I heard a less commonly discussed rumor. Did you by any chance use a verbal composition to fend off a whole gang of other trainees? Trainees from the great families?”

  I groaned again. “That made it to the University?”

  He shook his head at me, his eyes wide. “So that’s true too? I wasn’t sure…”

  “They attacked me! I had to defend myself.”

  “I suppose so.” He shook his head, his concerned expression holding a tinge of amusement. “Is it possible for you to not make enemies, Elena?”

  I raised both eyebrows at him. “How have you gone with that at the University, Jasper?”

  He gave a reluctant chuckle. “Fair enough, I suppose.” He leaned back and gave me a look. “What a pair we make. Why couldn’t we have
been ordinary and stayed in Kingslee and taken over the store? Like everyone else.”

  I sighed, but an insidious thought crept into the back of my mind. Despite all the danger—and not just to me—did I truly wish for that? Now that I knew a world of reading. A world of power. Now that I could thrust away four attackers with a spoken word…Could I really wish myself back in an ordinary life?

  But I could never admit that to Jasper. Honest, loyal, dependable Jasper, who had never done anything but work for the good of the family. None of us had ever asked him if he wanted to leave his entire life to go to the University where he would likely be ridiculed and ostracized. And he had never complained, not once.

  I had no doubt that he would give it all up in a heartbeat if it turned out the good of the family required him to walk away, after all. I might speak when I should hold my tongue, but Jasper never did so. Despite how many times he must have been exasperated by the relative stupidity of those around him.

  A wave of love washed over me, and I leaned forward to give him a hug.

  “I don’t deserve you, Jasper.”

  He extricated himself and gave me a confused look. “I’m pretty sure it’s your birthday, not mine. I should be the one complimenting you.”

  I shrugged. “You deserve praise more than me.”

  He frowned and looked me directly in the eye. “I said you needed to hide your strength, not that you actually are weak, Elena. You are incredible, and unique, and possibly the most amazing thing that has ever happened in Ardann. I am honored to be your brother. Don’t doubt it. Don’t doubt yourself. Just tread warily. Stay safe.”

  I sniffed and wiped away a tear. “See? My point is proven.”

  He shook his head and rolled his eyes before thrusting his hand into his robe.

  “Oh, I nearly forgot. I have this for you.” He held out a small package wrapped in plain material.

  I took it slowly. “You already gave me a Midwinter present. And I haven’t given you anything. How are you affording this?”

  He smiled. “It isn’t just from me. It’s from the whole family. I’ve been holding on to it since I got back.”