Leaf studied her for a moment. "You want to learn self-defense?"
"And maybe some offense."
"That's what your Protectors are for."
"Oh, I know, and they do a great job. I just...want to be prepared next time."
"I hope there won't be a next time."
"Me too. But it's better to be safe than sorry."
Leaf looked down in thought. When he looked back up, he nodded. "We'll start tomorrow at one."
Syney gave him a big smile. "OK. Thank you."
"Anytime."
Syney tuned to the Guards and gave them all a wave. "You're all doing a great job! And thank you!" she yelled to them before leaving the gym.
When they were halfway to her room, Hunter grabbed her arm and pulled her to a stop. Reed, who was leading the way, didn't notice them and kept walking.
"You could have asked me for that," he said quietly, as he looked into her eyes.
Syney pulled her arm away from him and nodded. "I know." She turned and headed down the hall after Reed.
Spending the night with Fern patrolling the room wasn't an ideal situation. In the infirmary the room was much larger, and she barely noticed Fern, but her room was so intimate that even Fern's footsteps irritated Syney. She finally gave up on sleeping and sat up in bed. Fern was over by the balcony, looking out. When Syney flicked on the nightlight next to her bed, Fern looked over at her. "What's wrong?"
"Can't sleep."
Fern looked away.
Syney sighed. "Were your parents guards?"
"No."
Syney waited for more and rolled her eyes when she didn't get anything. "What did they do?"
Fern looked over at her. "Is there a reason you're asking?"
"No, I just... Never mind." She grabbed a book Helen had given her off the side table and opened it.
After a moment Fern said, "They were farmers in the outlying lands."
Syney looked back at her. "Where is that?"
"Outside of the Village walls but still inside Magic User territory. There are some scattered farms there."
"And they were allowed to do that?"
Fern was quiet for a moment. "Before the war, being trained as a guard was a choice. Now it's required for any qualifying family."
"Would you have chosen to stay on the farm?"
"No. Being a member of the Royal Guard is a privilege." She walked away from the balcony and to the end of Syney's bed. "Being a Protector is even more so. And being your Protector is the highest honor."
"Thank you, I guess."
"You need sleep. I won't patrol. I'll just stay by the balcony. That's the weakest point in the room."
Syney nodded and put the book back before turning off the light. "Good night, Fern."
"Good night, Princess."
The next afternoon Syney dressed in workout clothes and sneakers and headed to the gym with Noelle and Reed. The attack had a lot of people on edge, so Noelle begged to come along so she could pick up on some things as well. Leaf was already in the gym warming up when they got there. Of course he wasn't alone. Syney ignored Hunter and walked right up to Leaf. "I hope you don't mind Noelle coming along. She insisted."
"Not at all." He motioned for them to follow in the warm-up routines they were doing already. Reed joined in after patrolling the room. "OK," Leaf said, once they were done. "The first rule of self-defense is to run."
Syney stared at him. "Seriously?"
Leaf nodded. "If someone is coming after you, and you can, you should run. Fighting is always your last option. You have Protectors around you all the time. But there may be a time when you can't run. Then you'll need to use the second rule of self-defense. Find a weak spot."
Syney nodded. "One, run. Two, weak spot. Got it."
They spent the next couple of hours going over self-defense techniques. Don't go for what you think is a power shot, but go for what you easily can hit in whatever position you're in. Go for the eyes, nose, neck, or knees if you can. Also hit with your head, knees, or elbows, because they're the hardest surfaces on your body. Syney paired with Leaf, and Noelle with Hunter, as they went through drills. By the end of the two hours, Syney felt more worked up than she had when she had started. Every time Leaf grabbed her or attacked her from the front, she had a flash from that night. The feel of his hands. The smell of his breath when he got close to her face. The feel of the blade as it ripped into her.
When they were done, Leaf pulled her to the side. "Are you OK?"
"I'm fine. I just have some pain from one of the scars," she said, a little out of breath from the last sparring.
"I don't mean physically."
Syney stared at him. "I'm fine."
"Have you talked to someone? You've been through a very traumatic event."
"I said I'm fine," she said more sternly. She was about to walk away but didn't want to seem rude. "But thank you for asking. And for the lesson."
He nodded, studying her. "Twice a week?"
"Not every day?"
"That's too much. Your body, although healed, has been through a strain and shouldn't be stressed."
Syney nodded. "OK then."
She walked away, glancing at Hunter, who was staring at her, obviously having heard their conversation. She shook her head and kept walking. Leaf was probably right, but there wasn't anyone she really wanted to talk to. Hunter was far out of the question. She couldn't handle the way he looked at her now, and if she broke down to him, there was no telling what she might try to do, like kiss him just for comfort. She thought about Noelle or Helen or even Cass, but all three of them just gave her sad looks and told her how much they wish they could help more. Syney didn't want their pity. That didn't leave many people she actually trusted.
She told Noelle and Reed that she was tired, which wasn't too far off, and went back to her room to take a nap. Reed insisted on staying in the room with her, which she begrudgingly allowed. She hopped into her bed and lay there staring at the ceiling. She didn't notice Gabe come into the room until he jumped up on the bed next to her. She smiled at him and rested her head on his shoulder.
"Haven't seen you in a while," she said.
"Been lying low. New Protector?" he asked, smiling over at Reed, who stared back at him.
"He's OK, Reed. Don't worry."
"It's my job to worry, Princess."
Syney rolled her eyes. "Do you think you could leave us alone for a bit? I want to catch up with my friend."
"Can't do it."
Gabe glanced at the door. "Ask Hunter. He's right outside. I'm sure he'll say yes."
Reed narrowed his eyes at Gabe but went to the door anyway. Hunter stepped into the room and glared at Gabe.
"Just a few minutes alone, please?" Syney asked.
Hunter huffed but nodded and motioned Reed out into the hallway. "Five minutes tops," he said, shutting the door.
"So what do you want to talk about that you don't want them to know?" Gabe asked.
Syney stared at him for a moment before tears welled up in her eyes. "Someone attacked me. Right here. In my room."
Gabe pulled her head down onto his shoulder and laid his cold cheek on top of her head. She cried for at least ten minutes. She heard the door open at one point but close quickly after. Finally she picked her head up and wiped her face with her hands. "I'm a mess."
"You're allowed to be."
She sighed away some sobs and looked at him. "Why do all of these people hate me so much? I didn't do anything."
"They don't hate you, Syney Andrews. They hate the lost Vilori."
"But we're the same."
"Yes, but you can't take everything they do personally. It's not about who you are but what you are. I heard you took self defense lessons."
"I did today."
"That's good. Keep it up. But you need some other lessons as well."
"Like what?"
Gabe turned so that he was fully facing her. "You have so much untapped magical power. You need to f
ind a way to get to it, to bring it out."
Syney took a few deep breaths. "I did...some magic. But it was before I got here."
"Like what?" he asked, cocking his head to the side.
"Well. When Hunter and I were attacked by a Shifter in the woods, I did this...purple lightning thing."
"Out of your hands?"
She nodded. "And I might have healed Hunter also."
"With a spell?"
She shook her head.
He looked away for a moment, thinking. "Both of those are interesting. Why didn't you tell anyone?"
"Hunter told me not to."
A smile played on Gabe's lips. "He's smarter than he looks. The healing is a Vilori trait. But the other...the lightning... Try not to do that, even if you feel it building. That...is a very lost magical trait. If someone sees that, it won't be good."
She nodded. "OK. But you said I should tap into my power."
"Yes, you should. You should talk to Cass. Try to do some low-level spells first."
Syney looked at him for a moment before pulling him into a hug. "Thank you."
He slipped his arms around her. "For what?"
She pulled back. "For listening and helping. And for not asking me if I was OK."
He smiled. "I know you're not, so why ask?"
She lay back in her bed, finally feeling tired. "Will you stay?"
Gabe nodded. "Of course."
She sighed and pulled the covers over her. Before she fell asleep, she reached out and grabbed Gabe's hand. He didn't have the same calming feel as Hunter gave her, but he was still comforting enough for her to fall asleep.
Cass
"Lux!"
The five white pillar candles in front of Cass all lit, the flames reaching a foot high before going down to their normal height. She smiled. No one had been able to conjure fire and not have something burn down in years. She had been experimenting more and more with her powers every day. She had done as Raine had said and met him the next day to return the book to the secured section. The shelf was still unspelled, which meant no one had been there to check it, and no one would know they had taken the book. She put it back but stopped before putting the spells back onto the shelf. Her hand tingled with the nearness of the books. These volumes contained spells that could help her—and help others. Maybe she could just borrow them. Take one at a time and replace it the next night, she thought. No one would know. She looked over at Raine and said as much to him.
He sighed. "It's dangerous."
"I know. But I'll hide them."
He shook his head. "I'll hide them. We'll work in my room. That way nothing can be traced to you."
She smiled at him and grabbed the first book she could. It had been on conjuring, and she hadn't returned it yet. She met with Raine every night in his room and worked on something, anything. Conjuring, she learned, was the first thing any Magic User could do. It also had more to do with harnessing the elements rather than just bringing them forward. Everything had magic, even the air people breathed. So in order to make something set on fire, like the candles, Cass had to connect to the nearest fire source's magic. If she didn't speak to it correctly or disrespected it in any way, the element would rebel and push back. All of this caused Cass to see the world in a new light. It wasn't just the sun; it was a magical being that was tied to fire. It wasn't just a story; it was filled with magical wind and water. It all made her so excited.
Raine became even more of the big brother she'd never had. He encouraged her, even though it was so wrong. He even worked with her, their life forces combining to make the conjuring and spells stronger. Cass had seen real magic, and she never could turn away from it again.
She started skipping lunches with the family, more out of fear than anything else. Her mother seemed to know everything in the palace, and Cass was scared she would be able to see the magic she had been using. Plus the fact that the book of healing spells was right there in the library, in the secured section that her mother maintained, scared her. She started to question everything her mother did. Helen, of course, was concerned, but Cass told her not to worry and that she'd just had enough family time for a while.
She was surprised when Syney approached her for magic lessons. Did someone know? She brushed off her building paranoia and told Syney that the best people to ask for help with magic would be the teachers in the school. Syney seemed a little taken aback by her answer, but Cass didn't care. What she was doing with the advanced magic was her secret, and she wasn't ready to share it with anyone besides Raine just yet.
The whole idea of life forces interested Cass the most. She sensed that Raine knew much more about it than he had told her, but she was scared to broach the topic with him. He had changed since the night she had healed Syney. He was even more attentive and protective of Cass, always around. She knew that since the attack her mother had upped security, having all Protectors around their charges for the whole day, but it was more than that to her. Raine seemed to have settled down, as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders, but at the same time he seemed on edge whenever other people were around.
"So, when we do a spell together, you said that I'm borrowing your life force, right?" she asked one night after they successfully had changed a glass of water into a white lily.
He looked at her hesitantly, as if he knew this was coming. "Yes."
"How do you... I mean... You get it back, though, right?"
Raine nodded. "When you say a spell, you use your life force to make it happen. When the spell is over, your life force returns to your body. So when I help you, your life force pulls mine into the spell and then gives it back."
"But what if it didn't?"
"Didn't what?"
"What if I just took your life force? What would happen?"
Raine stared at her, his face turning dark. "Then you would absorb it, and I would die. You cannot do that, Cass. Ever. Using magic to hurt people is dangerous."
"How?"
He sighed. "Using magic to help people or do simple things adds to you. It gives you experiences, and it also pulls a part of each spell into you." He picked up the flower. "Part of this is now in you. With concentration you should be able to do that spell again without the words or any other materials. But when you start doing spells against people—like curses or spells meant to hurt—then part of that dark magic gets into you. If it builds to a point, if you keep doing that type of magic, then your life force gets corrupted as well."
Cass swallowed. "Got it. Dark magic is bad."
He nodded. "Some spells and curses were outlawed for good reasons."
She reached out and grabbed his hands. "I need to know." She paused. "How do you know all of this?"
"That's my secret to keep. Just know that nothing I'm doing is meant to hurt you," he said quietly, squeezing her hands.
"I know you wouldn't hurt me."
"Good. Just promise me that no matter what happens, you'll look out for yourself first and foremost."
"What could happen?"
Raine shook his head and let go of her hands. "Just a precaution. What else do you want to work on?"
Cass sighed. He was getting more and more cryptic; it was annoying. "I'm going to go to bed actually. Enough life forces for the night."
Raine escorted her back to her room. When she got into bed, she looked over at her nightstand. There was a glass of water there. She gave it another look then closed her eyes. She filled her mind with images of lilies. She imagined their silky touch and perfumed smell. When she opened her eyes, the glass of water was gone, replaced by a white lily. She smiled as the most amazing feeling coursed through her body.
Noelle
Syney had started to get distant. She and Noelle only spent time together at meals or when they were training with the Guards, and even that Noelle had to invite herself to. The training was actually fun, but Syney was taking it far more seriously than she was. When they started going over fighting techniques, Noelle did her bes
t to keep up and even landed a few good kicks and punches on Hunter or Reed. But Syney would wail on Leaf, even though she never really caught him unawares. That guy was always aware of everything. Well, unless Princess Helen dropped in. The first time she came in, Syney gave him a pretty good bruise on his cheek for a week. Noelle didn't blame Leaf. Everyone had someone who got under their skin. For her it was Gabe. He showed up most days, sitting on the sidelines, always eating something. He shouted encouragements to Syney while sending Noelle his smile and staring at her as if he were undressing her. She had, of course, undressed him several times in her mind, but at least she blushed when she did. He just seemed to get smugger, if that was possible.
After a few weeks, they started to have sparring matches between the two of them while the others watched; then they received some pointers when they were done. Noelle knew anyone she fought with was purposely holding back, and she was grateful. She didn't really want her butt kicked in front of everyone. They held back for Syney as well. That was what they did for about twenty seconds before she started attacking and they picked up the speed of their blocks. Syney mostly fought with Leaf, who kept up a good pace for her as she attacked and then blocked her shots. They always ended in a draw, but each fight seemed to add to Syney's sour mood.
Noelle was really starting to worry about Syney. She even went as far as to ask Hunter if he thought there was something even more wrong with her than what they already knew. He just shrugged and said she had stopped talking to him, so her guess was just as good as his. The only person Syney seemed to be talking to more was Gabe. Noelle didn't know whether or not this was a good thing. The two always had their heads close as they talked at dinner, or they'd hide in Syney's room for hours. Noelle was pretty sure it was just harmless talking, but you never knew with Gabe.
Certain people always made Syney's mood worse, Fern being the number-one aggressor. So when Fern came charging in—because that was just how she walked—to one of their training sessions, Noelle got a little concerned. And when Syney volunteered to spar with Fern, Noelle nearly ran for the master alarm. Everyone else seemed really calm about it, except Hunter of course, who seemed much more tense.
Discovery: Altera Realm Trilogy Page 26