by Elise Kova
I have only ever known and loved you as Vi, nothing more or less.
When your mother was seventeen, she began to manifest and was Awoken to her powers with the help of your father. She has consulted me with her worries surrounding the fact that your powers have yet to Awaken. I have told her not to fret, and will pass on the same advice to you. I believe in you, Vi.
That statement was nearly enough to make her stop reading and throw the letter in the trash.
Not to worry, that was easy to say by someone across the world who knew nothing of her. What could this man possibly understand about her struggles with her magic? Vi doubted he had been born into a long line of illustrious Firebearers, only to have his magic be nothing more than a cheap parlor trick.
Still, curious about the package, and already halfway through, Vi kept reading despite herself.
I would like to offer this token to remind you that magic has an odd way of finding us when we need it most.
It has been in my possession since before you were born. Many years ago… when the world was at its darkest, and hope seemed all but lost, your mother found the strength to overcome overwhelming odds and be reunited with her power, thanks to this. I’ve held onto it for years as a reminder to never give up, no matter how impossible a situation I may find myself in.
Now, I think you may need it more than me. Perhaps it will help you find your magic, as it helped rekindle your mother’s after her channel was forcibly closed.
Your friend who cannot wait to meet and teach you,
Fritznangle Chareem, Minister of Sorcerery
Her eyes lingered on the word “teach.” There was nothing to teach. He’d said it himself, didn’t he? That he understood her magic had yet to fully Awaken?
Still curious, Vi looked to the parcel, unwrapping the silken scarf to reveal a small, silver necklace.
“A locket?” Vi lifted it, squinting at the chain. She couldn’t place where she’d seen the links before, but was certain she had. There was an undeniable familiarity about it. The chain fastened around a loop at the top of the locket where there was a small button she depressed. She stared at the plain face—white with black numerals. “A watch.” Vi continued to stare at the hands, but they were still. “A… broken watch?”
It was certainly an unexpected gift. Her father had been known for his love of watch-making, a fascinating art that was said to have originated in Norin. Perhaps this had once been a gift from him to her mother?
Vi snapped the cover closed. In the motion, her spark leapt from her fingers unbidden. The arc of white-hot lightning crackled around the watch, engulfing it, and for a brief second, there was something there… but her attention was immediately stolen by the second arc of flame—which landed on her drafting table.
“No!” Vi reached out her hand as the papers—all her work—caught the fire. She’d never seen parchment go up in smoke so fast.
Control it, Vi willed mentally. She tried to envision her magic extending out from her, engulfing the flames, gaining command over them. But they wriggled and writhed, slippery and shifting; she couldn’t get a grab on it and before she knew it, her whole precious study would be gone. Her only connection with the home she was supposed to have would be ash. She would be—
The flames blinked out of existence without warning.
Vi stared, wide-eyed, at the blackened edge of her desk. In the moment, the fire had burned for what seemed like forever. Like a whole inferno had surrounded her. In reality, it had been a scorch and mere seconds.
But had she really… Vi brought her hand to her face, staring at her palm in wonder.
“Don’t get too excited.”
Vi’s back went rigid and she turned slowly to the source of the voice. Jax leaned in the door frame, arms crossed over his chest. His long black hair, the same color and nearly the same length as Vi’s, was tied in a messy knot at the top of his head. Half of it was spilling down his shoulders.
“It was you, wasn’t it?”
“You’d know if it was you,” he replied, painfully simple. Sure, she’d know if she suddenly had control over her magic. Just like she’d know if she was fully Awoken to it and not just peering through the crack in the wall between her and her power. “I see you found your presents.”
The change in topic was welcome. She’d postpone thinking about magic for as long as possible.
“Thank you for dropping them off. It was a nice surprise.” She knew the presents had been sent ahead months ago. But Jax always kept them hidden, waiting for her birthday. She knew he did it to try to cheer her up on the day and Vi never had the heart to tell him it made no difference in her overall mood.
“You get anything good? Or just more boring books and maps?”
“Books and maps are not boring.” Vi knew he was trying to get a rise from her and she didn’t want to give him the satisfaction. “Maybe if you’d tried reading one once in a while, you wouldn’t be such an uncultured vagrant.”
“That’s Lord Uncultured Vagrant, thank you very much.” Vi gave a snort of laughter at the remark. “What’s that?” He motioned to the watch in her hand.
Vi stared at it, forgetting she’d been holding it at all. The metal was warm under her skin, almost too warm. She’d melt the delicate gears inside if she wasn’t careful. Luckily it’d been broken before her spark had decided to dance around it.
“The Minister of Sorcery—”
“You can just say Fritz.” Jax chuckled.
“Fritz, right… Well he sent this for me.” Vi fastened the watch around her neck.
“It suits you,” her uncle appraised. His eyes lingered, as though he too found it oddly familiar. It seemed his mind went in a similar direction as hers initially. “Did your father make it?”
“He didn’t say.” Vi shrugged. “Just said it was my mother’s.” And that alone was reason enough for Vi to keep it close to her heart.
“You’ll have time to go through the rest of the gifts later.” Jax looked to one of the windows of her study. The dark morning was finally giving way to the first hazy colors of dawn. “We should get down to the pits.”
“Do I have to?” Vi dared to ask, knowing better. “It’s my birthday.” She may hate the day, but she’d gladly use it as an excuse.
“Yes.”
“You are truly heartless.” Her words had no bite and Jax’s grin assured her he didn’t take them personally.
“One of my many positive traits.”
“Let’s get this over with.” Vi rolled her eyes dramatically as she started for the door.
The rules of her life were simple, structured, and painfully clear.
If she followed them to the letter, remained the model future Empress, her reward would be reuniting with her family. She would be liberated from her beautiful, comfortable prison.
In theory.
In practice, she was supposed to have been returned when she turned fourteen. But three long years had dragged on, and here she was on her seventeenth birthday. Still in the North. Still a ward confined to Soricium—the fortress, specifically, for her “safety.” Still stuck feeling trapped, repetition defining her days as she continued to try to jump through political hoops so high and obscure, she barely knew where she was half the time.
There had been delay after delay, issue after issue, preventing her from heading south. The years had slipped by until, at seventeen, growing bitterness had all but replaced waning hope.
Every effort she had ever expended toward this one goal seemed more futile by the day, and now she headed for the most futile effort of all: sorcery training.
Chapter Two
The sky was barely orange, and she was already drenched in sweat. It rolled down her neck and was caught by the collar of her shirt, pressed slick to her back. It stuck to her just like every couple labored breaths stuck in her throat.
There was nothing enjoyable about trying to wrench her magic to the surface. Her shoulders sagged and her whole body ached. She’d onl
y left her bed a few hours ago and Vi already felt like she needed a good night’s rest.
“You look like you’re about ready to try again…” Jax said from across the fighting pit. He’d sat on the steps while she caught her breath after the exertion—and frustration—of her last failure.
“This will be, what, the seventeen-thousandth attempt to Awaken my magic?”
“I hear seventeen-thousand-and-one is a lucky number.”
“You’re such a liar,” Vi muttered. “How is it that you, of all people, ended up the guardian of the Crown Princess?” The question was a running joke between them. She’d long known the answer.
Jax, not her uncle by blood, was an old friend of her parents. After the fall of the Mad King Victor, he was even hand-selected to rebuild an illustrious fighting force—the Golden Guard. But he’d chosen to come North with Vi after she was born, giving it all up to look after her.
Guardian might be his official title, but for Vi, Jax was the closest thing she had to an in-person father figure.
“Right now it’s because I seem to be the only one who can put up with her ill-tempered moods in the morning.”
“If I’m ill tempered then you only have yourself to blame. You could make more of an effort when you are in the presence of your Crown Princess.” Vi made an attempt to put on a regal air, fighting a grin.
“Not when I wiped that princess’s arse when she was in nappies.”
“Your service to the crown is much appreciated.” She gave a bow, making a point to stick out her bottom for emphasis.
“Is it? Your family has an odd way of showing appreciation. Shite from you, shite from your parents.” If anyone else had said those words, Vi would’ve risen to anger in defense of her family. But she knew better with Jax.
Jax could say whatever he wanted. Vi knew he would die for her and her family.
“Well now you’re getting shite for magic from Solaris’s latest installment.”
“Your magic is stubborn, not shite.” He gave her a tired smile. “You will open your magic fully soon, I can feel it.”
“What if I don’t?” Vi said softly, confessing one of her greatest fears. “It’s already been two years since I manifested… What if I’ve already Awoken and this is all I have?”
“You don’t believe that.” Jax stood. “You’ve told me of the spark you feel within you. That chasm of light you can peer into but not reach.”
“Perhaps that’s something else?” Though she didn’t know what it would be.
“Or perhaps we simply need to keep trying.”
“How about, instead, we take a break today and I focus on something actually attainable? I could prepare for my lessons, work on my maps, read the books my parents sent…”
“I think if you spent as much mental energy on your magic as you did your maps, you would’ve long since opened your channel and we’d no longer be standing out here.”
That was the last thing she wanted to do. Vi looked up at the treetops dizzyingly high above her. The fortress of Soricium was built in and around them. A noble house beginning to wake—which gave her an idea.
“Aren’t you hungry? We could go inside and have the nice big skillet cake Renna makes for me on my birthday. The ones she drizzles syrup over with pats of butter and fresh berries and candied nuts? Maybe some of the rum whipped cream you enjoy so much?” Her mouth was already watering, stomach grumbling to match.
“And think of how much sweeter it will be when you’ve properly tasted your power.”
“It’s hard to learn magic when your stomach is eating itself.” Vi plastered a hopeful—but knowingly futile—smile across her lips. “I leave for my birthday hunt tomorrow morning; surely I should maintain my strength today.”
“You’re not going to win me over with the promise of food… no matter how delicious Renna’s skillet cakes are.” She opened her mouth to object again, but he continued before she could. “Try once more, Vi—a good showing of it—and then I’ll let you go.”
Vi knew his acquiescence was a victory, but it didn’t feel like one. Her cheeks burned and she didn’t know who she was more frustrated with: Jax for not giving in, or herself for being such a coward and a weakling about her magic.
Two heavy hands fell on her shoulders, holding them tightly, giving her a light shake. Vi looked up at Jax, his dark eyes set against tan skin. “You know you must.”
“I know.” Vi sighed heavily. “The Senate expects me to learn magic. The Tower will want to see it. I have a lineage to uphold…”
“More than any of that, the longer you go without being fully Awoken, the more likely it is that the eventual, inevitable release will be violent.” His voice had a deathly seriousness to it. “You already have enough strikes against your future rule, Vi. Having grown up here. Being a sorceress at all. Don’t add a magical incident to their fodder. Awaken here, where it’s safe.”
Every action had an equal reaction with the nobility of the South. Romulin made them out to sound like vipers, waiting for her to fail. Delighting in her every mistake. Never in public, of course, but behind closed doors.
She was the one forced to stand in the sun while they lobbed their volleys at her from the shadows.
“So, one more time?” Jax persisted. “Give it a good effort?”
“One more time, and then you promise that’s it for today?”
“I promise.”
“Fine.” Vi lifted her hand, reluctantly obliging. One more attempt at magic for the day. What could it hurt?
“Remember, when opening your channel, it helps to articulate a physical action.”
“Let’s not put the cart before the horse. I’m not opening any channel until I’ve Awakened my powers.”
“It’s important to start building good habits from the beginning,” he insisted. “Maybe it’ll help draw out the power.”
“I’ve tried just about every physical action imaginable.”
“Then try something you can’t imagine.”
“I think I’ll stick with knuckle cracking,” Vi muttered.
“Suit yourself.” He shrugged and Vi saw how little faith he had in her.
Believe in me, she wanted to say. If she had one person believe in her when it came to her magic, then maybe it’d be enough. But how could she ask that of Jax when Vi didn’t believe in herself?
Fritz’s letter appeared in her mind once more.
I believe in you, Vi… magic has an odd way of finding us when we need it most.
Her hand rose to the watch around her neck. Vi closed her eyes, holding it tightly. Maybe it would bring out her spark a second time.
“Find me,” she whispered.
Vi didn’t know if it was a prayer to the Mother above, or just a plea to whoever might be listening. But the words were the first thing all morning to feel right. If Jax heard them, he made no indication.
Watch in one hand, the other outstretched, Vi dug deep within herself. She tried to coax the power upward, feeling it crackle under her flesh before it crept through the pores around her wrists and hands as shimmering heat that finally ignited into fire.
This pathetic flame was the best she could muster while maintaining any control over it. Daughter of Emperor Aldrik Solaris, regarded as one of the most powerful Firebearers alive. Granddaughter of the late Empress Fiera Ci’Dan Solaris, also regarded as one of the most powerful Firebearers in the world before her son. And now… all eyes were on Vi.
“More,” Jax encouraged.
“There is no more.” Vi pressed her lips into a thin line, trying to tame her frustration. Her uncle had heard it all already.
“There is.”
“There isn’t.” She looked from the fire to him.
Jax’s eyes were alight with the orange hues of her blaze. It lit up the stone walls of the pit, winning against the yellows of dawn. He had a hard expression that she already didn’t like.
“More, Vi.”
Vi shifted her feet out slightly on the barren
ground, getting a better stance. She tried to push the other thoughts from her mind, focusing only on her magic. Her muscles tensed as she urged more power into the flames around her fingers. The moment the ball grew past three times the size of her hand, the fire became wild, barely tamed. Her magic would only extend so far while staying under her command.
“Now, protect yourself with it.”
“What?” Vi looked out to him. This was not part of their normal training regimen.
“Use the fire to push against mine, like a shield. Protect yourself.”
“I don’t think that’s—”
She didn’t have a chance to finish her thought before a wall of flame hurled toward her.
The fire passed over her, nothing more than a whisper.
Fire—naturally occurring or their own—could not hurt a Firebearer. The only fire that could singe a Firebearer’s skin was one created by another sorcerer—a more powerful sorcerer. So Vi would be fine… as long as Jax didn’t really levy his full strength against her.
“Protect yourself, Vi,” he repeated, lifting a hand. Flames crackled, rising up through thin air, binding together into another wall that he pushed toward her. These flames had a tickle to them. Nothing dangerous or uncomfortable, but more powerful than the last.
“I can’t!” Vi called back to him. But he was already moving his hand again. Another wall of flame; Vi staggered.
What was he doing? Her heart was racing. If he kept this up he would actually harm her. Would he actually harm her? Vi thought she knew the answer, but he was making a dangerous case for proving her wrong.
“Yes you can!” He was already readying another pulse of flame.
Vi gritted her teeth, clenching them so tightly her jaw popped. She dropped her eyes to her own flame and willed it to grow.