The man who had stood shook back his black sleeve, exposing a long gash still seeping red blood. I swallowed and took an involuntary step backward. Casimir made a disgusted noise.
“He has already been treated with a pain-relief composition,” Jessamine said. “And something to slow the bleeding. But I would like to see you attempt to heal the injury itself.”
I looked at her, fear biting at me as it had done when I realized who my combat partner was to be. My eyes flashed to Lorcan, but still he made no protest. This wasn’t a first year level composition. I had thought Jessamine, at least, would wish me to succeed, but it seemed her curiosity had overridden everything else.
I took a steadying breath and briefly closed my eyes. It wasn’t a first year composition, but I had struggled through an advanced assignment on cuts and similar wounds. It had seemed a relevant thing to study given my fast-approaching conscription.
I had even spent several nights memorizing a beginner level composition for healing basic cuts. It had struck me as a useful thing to know, especially after Lucas’s reminder that I might well have bigger things to worry about than passing my exams. I called it into my mind’s eye, a full half page of words at the beginner level. But now wasn’t the time to try modifying anything. I took a deep breath, spoke the binding words, and began.
I spoke slowly, preferring to ensure I didn’t miss anything rather than to work on impressing my examiners with my speed and competence. If I succeeded, that would have to be competence enough.
“End binding,” I said, after what felt like forever, and I felt my released power drift away from me. As the healer rather than the patient, it didn’t feel cool to me, but it still had a mist-like quality as the power settled over his arm.
As we all watched, the skin fused together, the blood slowing and then stopping as the skin knit back together. Within moments, his arm was smooth and whole, marred only by the leftover smears of blood.
“Incredible.” Jessamine shook her head, her eyes jumping from her colleague’s arm to me.
Casimir frowned, not giving me a chance to draw a proper breath before he also leaned forward.
“That’s all very well for healing minor injuries, but there are plenty of situations out there in the real world that don’t allow for long speeches.” He pulled a parchment from his robe and ripped it, his eyes on me the whole time as if pointing out how much more quickly he could work.
A large bundle of sticks clattered onto the floor in front of me, appearing from nowhere. They looked damp.
“Burn them,” the duke said. “I want nothing left but ash. Oh, and don’t smoke us all out while you’re at it.”
I bit my lip, once again galvanized by my anger. Another request far beyond first year level. This was an examination—and with my life on the line, no less—not an exhibition for their entertainment.
And after this, I was still expected to do a third working. Any ordinary first year would be laid flat by these first two requests—if they managed to complete them at all. Thus almost guaranteeing failure. I had half-expected something like this from Casimir and Annika, but I had thought Jessamine and Lorcan would shield me. Apparently not. I was to be left on my own.
In which case it was a good thing I wasn’t an ordinary first year. With a pang, I realized that it would be impossible to keep hiding my strength after this. But there was no point hiding it if it meant execution.
Thankfully we had covered fire in our regular composition class, and I had come across a description of how to disperse and remove smoke in my armed forces studies. It was just a matter of combining the two.
I thought for a long time, running through the words in my mind twice to be sure I remembered them correctly and hadn’t forgotten anything. A mistake on this one could end with disastrous consequences, and I had every intention of ignoring Casimir’s comments on not making long speeches. I would use as many words as I needed to ensure the composition worked correctly. Especially when I was unleashing fire in a room full of mages, including four members of the Mage Council.
I spoke the binding words, and then the rest of the composition, using the same measured pace I had used previously. When I said, “End binding,” I felt a stronger surge of power race out from me to explode into the wood. It went up instantly in flames.
All seven examiners drew back, but immediately the other part of my working took effect, the smoke wafting away from them and drifting out under the door. I stood back and let myself think with amusement of how it must look to anyone in the corridor, a steady stream of smoke emerging from the classroom and flowing steadily down the hall and out the front door.
But the wood had only been half-consumed when I felt something tug at the flow of my power. I frowned, looking around, but couldn’t see anything visible. I looked back at the still-burning wood, only to feel it again. It was almost like another composition fighting my own.
And then, with a snap that reminded me of the backlash that had blown out my parents’ store windows, half of my power pulled free of my working and washed back over me. I doubled over with a cry of pain, and the smoke from the fire immediately began to fill the room.
Still bent in half, I heard cries and sounds of disgust from the examiners, but already white clouds obscured the air between us. I drew a breath only to start coughing. I tried to clear my airways, so I could speak the broken half of the composition again, but I couldn’t get a clear breath. And I could still feel the foreign power, guiding the smoke as it poured from the fire and billowed around me.
Then something heavy hit my head, and everything went black.
Chapter 28
I came to, coughing violently. Surely only minutes could have passed, if that, but I was no longer in the examination room. Instead I hung limply over someone’s back, carted along like a sack of potatoes. Was I being carried to safety?
A voice spoke, immediately dispelling that illusion.
“She’s awake already. Quick. Shut her up.”
The giant carrying me dropped me carelessly to the ground, and a new round of coughing shook me as my lungs once again struggled to suck in air. I had barely managed to take an unobstructed breath before a soft round ball was shoved into my mouth, a piece of material placed over the top of it and tied around my head.
For a moment panic overtook me as my body screamed that it couldn’t breathe. But terror sharpened my mind, and I pushed back against my instincts, focusing on my nose and sucking in deep breaths through my nostrils. Slowly my body calmed as air continued to fill my lungs, and my chest stopped convulsing in an effort to retch up the foreign objects.
By the time I had calmed enough to take stock, however, I had been picked up and slung back over my captor’s shoulder. Because it was now obvious that whoever these people were, this was a kidnapping.
A kidnapping or an assassination? I tried to push the thought away. I was still alive, and I had every intention of remaining that way.
They hadn’t bound my eyes, and I tried to get my bearings, despite bouncing along upside down. We seemed to be outside the main Academy building but not outside the grounds. The curving edge of the Academy’s arena told me we would reach the Academy’s back wall soon enough, however. I had never explored back this far, but I knew from my room’s view that the back wall was actually part of the ancient city wall. Like the palace, the Academy bordered the edge of the city.
I could only trust that whoever these people were, they weren’t bold enough or powerful enough to have killed two members of the Mage Council. And that was assuming both Casimir and Annika were in on the scheme, otherwise it was four. No, my examiners must have been left behind, shielded by the smoke. Which must surely mean that someone would be pursuing us soon, if they weren’t already.
The speed at which we crossed the grounds supported that idea, my head and shoulders bouncing uncomfortably against my captor’s back.
“She wasn’t supposed to wake so fast,” the man said, speaking for the first
time. “I don’t like this.”
“Don’t worry, it doesn’t matter. There’s a reason we had to wait so long to make our move. She’ll be exhausted and weak as a newborn kitten after all of that.”
I tried to keep myself from stiffening. Someone had planned this attack very carefully indeed, taking advantage of the strange conditions of my examination. But who were they? And what did they want with me?
Fear sharpened every sense. After all my efforts and my success at my exams, this wasn’t how it was supposed to end. Today was supposed to be a success. It wasn’t supposed to end like this.
A voice sounded in my head. You’re the first Spoken Mage in history.
And again, from a different memory, this time in my own voice. The other day I was the Spoken Mage—one of you. Now I’m one of them. Which is it, Prince?
And the first voice replied. I don’t know. Tell me when you decide.
The last time I had been attacked, I hadn’t even remembered my ability to compose. But after my day of examinations, the knowledge burned in my mind. We might have been interrupted, but I had been about to pass. And at a second year level—at least. Most of the mages in the kingdom might think I had no place at the Academy, but they were wrong.
Because it was true that I wasn’t like them, but I was still a mage. I was a Spoken Mage. And I was done running from it or fighting it. For some reason I had a power unheard of in recorded history. It was time I truly embraced it.
And if the other mages couldn’t accept it, then they would see just what I was capable of. Starting with these two.
My heart rate had spiked, and I wanted to struggle and fight, but I forced myself to hang loosely, reinforcing their expectation. When the moment came to show them I was far from exhausted, I wanted the element of surprise on my side.
The second man, the one who had gagged me, sounded like he was walking just ahead of us. I couldn’t see him until we stopped and my carrier turned to look back the way we had come. I got a brief glimpse of the shorter man opening a small wooden door in the wall before we turned back around and were swiftly passing out of both the Academy and the city.
I told myself I was imagining the finality of the thud as the door swung closed again, but I couldn’t quite suppress a shiver. For the first time since I had entered it, I was leaving Corrin behind.
The rushing of the Overon River sounded loud out here, and I knew from the hours I had spent gazing out my window that only a stretch of sloping grass separated us from it. The men didn’t try to approach the swiftly flowing water, instead turning to follow the curve of the city wall.
They moved even faster now, with nothing to hamper their progress. We followed the wall as it curved away from the city, becoming older and more run down. And then they stopped again. I heard another door open, and then we stepped back into the city.
I chomped down on the now disgusting, soggy ball of material in my mouth. I hadn’t expected this. Hopefully whoever was pursuing us was more canny than me.
Tall gray houses rose around us as we weaved our way through a warren of dingy back streets. We were no longer in the mage’s portion of the city, that was for sure.
“Time for a break,” said the brute carrying me as we passed along an alley, and I was once again dumped hard against the ground.
“Better to press on,” said the shorter man, eyeing his companion with disfavor.
The brute merely shrugged. “You carry her, then. She’s heavier than she looks.”
If it hadn’t been for the gag, I would have grinned. All those new muscles I had been developing were paying off yet again.
The brute leaned back against a wall and closed his eyes, shaking out his shoulders. After a quick glance at me, still recovering my breath after being slammed to the ground yet again, the shorter man walked away, heading toward the end of our current alley.
As he scouted our position, I slowly swiveled myself until I faced away from them both. Then, not bothering to try to rise from the ground, I reached up to pull off my gag.
Everything in me screamed to hurry, but I kept my movements slow, not wanting a flash of motion to attract attention. As I pulled down the gag and spat out the ball, I wished I’d thought to practice how quietly I could speak a composition and still have it work. Too late now.
Whispering the binding words, I didn’t bother to think of an existing composition. I barely paused to allow the words I wanted to fill my mind’s eye.
“Incapacitate the brute and the shorter one.” It was my power, so I figured it should understand the names I had assigned them. “And reveal our location to any friends who are following.” I threw the second sentence in at the last moment, feeling a swell of pride for thinking of it. “End binding.”
I spoke the last two words more loudly, and the brute pushed off the wall, with a bellowed, “Hey!”
The other man came running back toward us, but he was much too late. Power surged out from me, reaching for them both and, like with my previous attackers, they both went down fast, their screams cut off by unconsciousness.
I smiled and stood to my feet. Not so defenseless after all.
But the tug of power flowing out from me didn’t stop, snaking away through the alley in the direction we had come. I bit my lip. Maybe that last addition hadn’t been such a good idea after all.
I swayed and had to sit straight back down. Apparently I did have limits, and I could feel myself rapidly approaching them, my strength draining from me with terrifying speed. I needed to cut off this last composition, but I hadn’t studied how to do that yet.
I tried to force my increasingly weary brain to come up with some words of my own, but I couldn’t seem to form the right thoughts.
And then a figure appeared at the end of the alley, and the drain of power abruptly cut off. I reeled, gasping in relief.
“Well, that’s one way to do it,” said a familiar voice. “Showy, but effective I suppose.”
I didn’t bother to ask what he was talking about.
Lucas crossed the final distance between us and reached out a hand to help me to my feet. This time I didn’t refuse it. A spark jumped from his fingers and raced through me, the fogginess in my mind lifting.
He looked at the two men collapsed near us. “As much finesse as ever, I see.”
I wanted to protest and defend the circumstances, but my mind had stopped at the thought that his fingers still held mine. I looked down at his large firm hand, then down the alley, and then up into his face.
“Are you alone?”
One side of his mouth curved up into a lazy smile, and I felt momentarily dizzy again.
“I dare say they’re following somewhere behind. But I didn’t think you’d appreciate me waiting around for them.”
I shook my head, and then nodded, and then tried to remember what I was responding to. His hand squeezed tighter, and he pulled at me. Gently at first and then with a hard, final tug that brought my body crashing against his.
He let go of my hand and gripped my shoulders instead, his emerald eyes glinting down at me.
“You are infuriating, Elena of Kingslee.”
And then his arms wrapped around me, pressing me against him, and his lips came down hard against mine.
All thought spun away from me at the feel of his embrace. The strength of his body and the demanding warmth of his lips consumed me. Everything in me responded, pressing back against him.
I had never imagined that a kiss could feel like this.
And then a sound behind me made us pull apart. I spun within his arms, my own hands reaching up as if to block whatever attack might be coming.
Lucas cried, “Elena, no!”
But it was too late. A single word had already appeared in front of my eyes, and my mouth had opened to speak it.
“Shield.”
A cat leaped back, hissing, as power surged out of me.
Dismay overwhelmed me as I instantly realized my over reaction to the non-existent threa
t. But my shield was already pouring out fast and strong, forming around the two of us, and I felt the last of my strength flowing with it.
Distantly I heard Lucas calling my name, but the darkness was rushing up to claim me. As it swallowed me whole, my last sensation was of strong arms catching me as I fell.
Chapter 29
I woke alone in an unfamiliar place. I sat up too quickly, and the room spun. After several deep breaths, however, the sensation passed, and I examined my surroundings. I recognized them, after all. Acacia’s rooms at the Academy.
I shook out each of my limbs and gingerly felt my head. I must have been out for a long time because I felt no stiffness or even exhaustion. In fact, I felt quite energized.
“Oh, good. You’re awake. It’s about time.” Acacia bustled into the room. “There are a few people who’ll be very glad to hear it.”
A green-eyed face immediately filled my mind, and I looked down to hide my flush.
“How long have I been…?”
“Two days.”
“Two days!” I jumped to my feet.
Acacia gave me a stern look. “Over-extending yourself is a serious business, first year. And it can have disastrous consequences. You should consider yourself fortunate.”
I nodded meekly, eager to be gone and willing to take whatever lecture was necessary to get me out of here faster.
Acacia sighed. “I don’t know why I bother.”
“Because you’re a wonderful person.” I grinned at her, and she reluctantly smiled back.
“Oh, go on,” she said.
I hurried from the room, calling a thank you over my shoulder, and nearly collided with someone just outside the door.
“Elena!” Coralie squealed and threw her arms around my neck, squeezing me far too tightly.
I gave her a moment, and then protested.
“Let her be, crazy woman,” said Finnian from behind us.
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