I waited in the bed until everything around me quieted down and the moon rose. When I was certain everyone was in their rooms for the night, I threw off my covers and grabbed my cloak. On my desk I saw that Erin had left me a pastry and some meat left over from dinner. I silently thanked her as I stuffed the food in my mouth before pulling my hood up and sneaking out the door.
Instead of heading toward the castle, I turned the opposite direction and headed toward the harbor. I didn’t run into anyone as I made my way down the hillside. As I drew closer to the shore, I could see all the tables from the testing were still there. I breathed a sigh of relief. It was time to figure out this magic thing once and for all.
I started at the first table. The pot sat there with a couple shoots of plants recruits had made happen earlier today. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, calling on the magic inside me. I found it, swirling around deep within me, a ball of gold. I isolated a tendril and pulled it up and imagined it plunging into the soil. I could feel the soil inside me. There was a seed calling to me, I pushed my magic inside the seed until it grew and grew. It was hard to stop. I gasped and opened my eyes, pulling my magic out of the seed and back to me at the same time. I almost threw up my scant dinner when I saw what was now in the pot. A massive sunflower had bloomed and was staring down at me. It was at least ten feet tall with a flower that was as big as my head. The roots were bursting out of the pot.
“I did that,” I said to myself. Feeling elated I moved on. Water. I closed my eyes and found my magic again. This time it was quicker to pull out a thread. I opened my eyes slowly and focused on the water in one of the glasses. I put my hands out in front of me as if I was going to grab the water and tried to coax it up, up, up, out of the glass. All the water floated in a ball. I almost laughed in surprise and the water wavered in the air.
“Oh, no you don’t!” I said. I refocused my attention and carefully moved the water through the air and into the next cup moving my hands like a conductor. Earth and water. Check. The fire test was easy, I knew I could do fire already. I barely had to focus on the twigs for more than a second when they burst into flames. Barwick said people rarely had three affinities. But it still didn’t make sense because gold wasn’t one of the colors.
With a sense of both trepidation and excitement I turned toward the piece of metal on the next table. Barwick had said those with a metal affinity would be able to manipulate the metal somehow. I bit my lip for a moment, thinking. I closed my eyes once again and looked for my magic. I tried to coax it forth, but it was harder this time. Slowly, slowly I pulled it up through myself and out toward the lump of metal on the table. I filled the metal up slowly and then moved my hands in the air to mold it and shape it into the first idea I had. When I was done a tiny metal wolf stood on the table.
I could feel sweat running down my back and my face once I had finished with the metal. I knew I should probably stop. It wouldn’t look good for me to be found passed out here tomorrow morning. But I couldn’t yet, I was so close to the end. I had to know. I paused for a moment to take a breath and then looked toward the flag. It lay against the pole with no wind blowing. I took a breath and looked inside myself once again. This one was easier than the metal. I held out my arms and pulled the air toward me. The air came to me in a rush. It came so hard and fast it blew the little flag on the table over. I felt the hood of my cloak fall back and my hair streamed out behind me. The bottom of my cloak swirled around me, caught in the wind gust.
“Stop!” I yelled into the night. Just like that the wind was gone. I stayed still, listening hard into the night. I couldn’t hear anything so I continued on. I felt more energized after the wind and finding the magic to fill the globe full of light on the table was nothing. That made six. I turned to the three cups for the aether test. I searched within me one more time. Each time I called on it, the magic took a little longer to respond. I filled myself with my gold magic and reached out with my mind to see if I could sense anything in the cups. I could feel where there had been magic in all three of them. The touch of a foreign magic felt raw and like a bad note in my senses. Even though magic had touched all three of the cups, I could tell the amulet wasn’t in any of them now.
“It’s not here,” I said to myself. I closed my eyes, intent on pushing the tendril I had called upon back into the full ball of magic inside me, but I could feel that same touch of foreign magic to my left. The amulet wasn’t in the cups, but it was to my left. I turned and opened my eyes.
There stood Aidric, the hood of his black cloak pulled back. In his hands he held out the amulet.
“You knew it was here,” he said.
36
I froze and stared at him. He stepped toward me. In the moonlight reflecting off the harbor, I could see his dark brown eyes were guarded and concerned.
“You knew it was here, didn’t you?” he asked.
“Yes,” I said. He strode forward towards me so fast I took a step backward into a table. The globe that held the light slid off the table and shattered on the ground. Aidric ignored it. He pocketed the amulet and took my hands. For all his urgency his touch was gentle. He got close to me and looked into my eyes.
“Tell me what I’m thinking,” he said.
What he was trying to get me to do dawned on me. I realized he had been here long enough to watch me work my way through all the tests. I nodded my head and closed my eyes. Once more I called on my magic. I coaxed it forward slowly and carefully. I was exhausted, and this task wasn’t coming as easy as it had before. Eventually I could feel the magic fill me. I opened my eyes and as I stared into Aidric’s I pushed my magic into him. My emotions were no longer my own. I could feel everything he was feeling right now. I remembered this happened before in the forest. Once with the strange woman, and once before with Aidric.
“I can’t tell what you’re thinking,” I told him. “But I can tell what you’re feeling.” I shifted through the emotions, trying to identify them all. It was hard to believe everything a human felt at once, especially when those emotions were not your own. I focused on the strongest ones. They whipped through me in a blur. Attraction, excitement, and fear. I cut off the magic and pulled my hands away.
“You’re scared of me,” I accused him. He took a step back and rubbed the back of his neck.
“Not of you, Lydia. But of this,” he said throwing his hands toward the tables. “Do you have any idea what this means?”
“No, I don’t. I don’t understand it all.”
“You can control all eight affinities, Lydia. That’s completely unheard of. Not to mention, you’re stronger for your age than any person I’ve met.”
“But what does all that mean?”
“I don’t know. I truly don’t. I know it’s big, but I’m not an expert in magic. But Lydia, it does mean I can’t keep your secret for you anymore. You have to take off your necklace and own up to your powers.”
I froze. “No,” I said. “I won’t.”
“Lydia, I can’t keep this secret for you. I’m the Commander of the army. And you’re a soldier. This is something that can help us. I have a duty to utilize every resource at my disposal.”
I felt rage and betrayal bubble up inside of me. I pushed him away and stormed partway up the hill before turning on him with my arms crossed over my chest.
“So that’s what I am to you? A resource at your disposal? And whose fault is it my friends and I are in the army, anyway? Who insisted we travel to Windburn? We were doing fine on our own before you came along.”
“This is not what I had in mind at all!” Aidric hissed at me through clinched teeth, trying to keep his voice low. “I had no idea my father was going to do something so ridiculous. I’m supposed to be the Commander and I didn’t even know he was recruiting new people or was going to make army conscription mandatory. But none of that matters. What matters is you’re here now and you owe your loyalty to your country, your prince, and your king.”
I could see the twigs
behind Aidric on the table were on fire again and the fire was growing the angrier I got. The wind was starting to blow around us. But I didn’t care.
“That’s the whole point!” I all but yelled, throwing my arms up. “This is not my country, you are not my prince, and your father is not my king. I told you I couldn’t tell you what happened in the forest and I asked you to trust me.”
“How can I trust you if you won’t tell me what’s going on?!” he interrupted.
“Because I don’t know what’s going on!” I really yelled this time. As I did, the wind blew faster, the fire flared and a huge wave hit the harbor shore. Aidric turned around to see the fire behind him and turned back toward me. There was fear in his eyes now. It shocked me. I took a step back and took a few deep breaths. The wind died down and the fire extinguished itself. My anger disappeared to be replaced by anxiety and my own fear at mine and my friends’ situation.
“I don’t know what’s happening. But I know it’s my fault. And you can’t tell anyone about me until I figure it out,” I said. I could feel myself on the verge of tears. The last thing I wanted was to cry in front of Aidric right now.
Aidric took a few steps forward and reached out and laid a hand on my arm. As much as I wanted to hate him right now, his touch was comforting.
“Lydia, if you tell me what’s going on maybe I can help you. We have some smart people here at the castle, maybe someone can.”
“I can’t trust anyone,” I said stubbornly.
“You can’t even trust me?” he asked. I looked up at him and could see he was hurt by my statement.
“I don’t understand you,” I told him. “You hide in a forest and then I find out you’re a prince. You insist we come with you, but then don’t stop us from getting drafted into the army. One minute you’re giving me jewelry and pretty cloaks and writing me notes and the next you’re telling me I’m a great resource for your conquering army!” I jerked away from him and crossed my arms again.
He rubbed the back of his neck once more.
“Lydia. I’m sorry. I wish I could do more for you, and your friends. From the moment I saw you in the forest I was enchanted. But there are things going on right now, things happening here in Thavell. Unfortunately, you all have walked right into it. I’m trying to do the best I can.”
“Please,” I said. “Please don’t tell anyone. Please keep my powers a secret. I’m afraid of what will happen if anyone finds out.” This time I stepped forward and reached out to touch his arm.
“I will, Lydia. If you really think it’s the best thing to do, I will. I’m sorry for scaring you. Just know this, no matter what, I’m going to protect you. Do you understand?”
I looked up into his eyes and was unprepared for the depth of emotion I found there. I nodded at him, not trusting my own voice. He reached out and put his arms around me. I was glad he did because I didn’t think I could stand on my own.
Slowly, gently, he brushed my hair out of my face and leaned down and kissed me.
37
We woke up the next morning on the floor of my room. My head was on Aidric’s chest. He had his arms wrapped around me and his head was resting on a pillow from my bed. His breathing was deep and even. I lay there for a moment without moving, enjoying his warmth and embrace, thinking about the night before. After he kissed me, we walked along the shore looking at the stars and talking. Eventually he walked me back to my room where we sat down on the floor and continued to talk until we both fell asleep.
I could hear the first bell of the morning ringing. All my good feelings vanished at the sound when I realized what time it was and what a compromising position Aidric and I were getting ready to be discovered in. Reluctantly I sat up and shook him awake.
“Aidric. Aidric. We feel asleep. It’s morning, you have to go. Come on, wake up.” He grumbled and tried to roll over, but I kept shaking him. Finally, he opened his eyes. He saw my face and smiled, absent-mindedly pushing a strand of my hair behind my ear. Then the same thought I had had a few minutes earlier occurred to him too. His dark eyes got round.
“I know,” I said. “Get up, you have to leave. People are going to be going to the mess hall soon.”
“You’re right.” he said. He stood and grabbed his cloak from the desk and tied it around his shoulders quickly. He peeked his head out of the door to see if anyone was coming. He turned and took two big strides over to me. He put his hand behind my neck and gave me another long kiss before turning and leaving.
“See you soon,” he said as he left. I was too busy blushing and going weak at the knees to say anything in reply. I sighed and sat down on my bed, my hand touching my lips. I was thinking back through all the things we had talked about last night when the sound of someone clearing their throat made me jump. Erin was standing in my doorway to the washroom. She was leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed looking thoroughly amused.
“So, you feeling better? Headache all gone?” she asked.
“Oh much, thank you,” I told her, looking down and trying to hide my flushed cheeks.
“Sneaking around with the prince will do that for you,” she said with a grin.
“What are you talking about?” I asked innocently.
“Oh come on,” Erin said. “Less than an hour ago, I came in to check on you and found you and Mr. Dreamy Prince all curled up on the floor. As least you all had your clothes on.”
“Of course we did!” I said, scandalized. “Our clothes stayed on the entire time. We just fell asleep talking.”
“Lydia, if it were anyone but you, I would never believe that excuse.” She came on into my room and sat down in my chair. “But really,” she said. “Are you okay? Do you know what you’re getting yourself into?”
“No,” I told her honestly. “I don’t. But for now, yeah, I’m okay.”
“Does he know?” she asked.
“Oh no,” I told her. “I do trust him, but how crazy would I sound if I started talking about coming from another world? I mean, would we believe someone if we were back home and they told us that?”
“You have a point,” Erin agreed. “But if we are going to get back home, we may have to tell someone. I haven’t learned anything that could help us yet.”
“Yeah, me either,” I said. I felt a pang of guilt every time I lied to Erin, but I knew it was the best thing to do for now.
“What did you all talk about?”
“His childhood mostly. Did you know his mom died a few years ago?”
“Yeah, now that you mentioned it, someone told me the queen passed away.”
“Yeah. Aidric’s father took it really hard. Vowed never to marry again. Aidric is an only child. He and his mom were really close. He says he’s always trying to make her proud.”
“Wow. He’s really as noble as they come, isn’t he?” Erin said.
“Yeah, I really think he is,” I told her.
“So, I guess nothing is going to happen between you and Murphy, huh?” Erin asked me.
“I don’t think so. He’s a great friend and before all this craziness I thought there might be something there. But Aidric is just so—I don’t know—”
“Dreamy?” Erin suggested.
“Yeah, dreamy,” I agreed. Erin gave a fake dramatic sigh.
“I guess I’ll have to let go of my dream of you being my sister-in-law, then,” she said. I pushed her in the arm as she stood, and we made our way outside to head to the mess hall.
“Oh, whatever,” I said. Erin reached out to stop me just before we went out the door.
“But really, Lydia. Be careful. He’s the prince and we don’t belong here. Eventually we are going to have to leave and go back home. And he has a whole kingdom to worry about.”
“Yeah, I know,” I told her with a sigh. “Let me just have today and then I’ll try to be practical again.”
Erin laughed and agreed, and we made our way out the door and down the street.
38
The next few we
eks passed in a blur for me. The days were spent running, riding, and attempting to learn how to use various weapons. Erin, Murphy, John and I had all been split into separate training groups. I was with Erin during horseback riding lessons, but other than that, I was on my own. To my surprise, Erin was proving the best warrior of everyone. She took to weapons training like she was born to it. I asked her about it one day.
“It’s just another challenge,” she told me. “Back home, I was the best horseback rider and the best swimmer. Here, I’m going to be the best warrior.” She wasn’t the only one excelling. John and about four other recruits were getting trained in sword fighting by Reynard personally. Murphy was also holding his own in one of the advanced groups. Weston had given him one of his old battle axes and was training Murphy to use it.
I, on the other hand, struggled in the warrior department. I was placed in a group that I called “The Stragglers” in my head. There were about six of us and we had to go to extra training every day in weapon skills. I was getting decent with a bow and arrow at least, and my horsemanship was good. Nadine had made a good point one day during the riding lessons, though.
“Lydia, it doesn’t matter how good you can ride a horse if you can’t keep hold of any weapons while doing it,” she told me. It was a valid point. Yet, I found I just didn’t care enough to try harder. I felt like we were all getting sucked into a life we didn’t ask for and resisting learning how to be a good soldier felt like the only thing I could control right now. One evening after dinner we were all sitting in Erin’s room and talking about it.
“But, Lydia,” Murphy was saying. “If we excel, won’t that open more doors for us? Maybe we can meet more people, learn more things. Someone out there knows something that will get us home.”
Gatebreaker: Book One Page 15