by Dyan Chick
I grinned. “What do you think Max would think of your teaching methods?”
“If we get you to unlock your element, Max won’t care how it happened,” he said.
We alternated between bouts of silence and friendly conversation for the rest of the walk through the woods. As we neared the village, Ashton took us to a main road. Distant lights came into view. I shuddered as I thought about what happened to me last time I went into a tavern. I pulled my cloak up over my head. This really wasn’t a good idea. It was too late to turn around. If this helped me unlock my element, it was worth it.
Ashton was walking next to me now. He seemed to know that I was nervous. He reached his hand out and grasped mine. I almost pulled away, but didn’t. The same warmth spread from his hand up my arm. My cheeks felt hot. I was grateful for the darkness so he didn’t see my flush.
We entered town hand in hand and Ashton took us to a small tavern. It was only lit with a few lanterns that filled the interior with long shadows. There were several patrons at the bar, laughing and talking while drinking their ale.
We found a table in a dark corner and soon had two large tankards of ale sitting in front of us. I stared into the amber liquid and wrinkled my nose.
Ashton lifted his glass. “Cheers.”
I lifted mine and tapped it to his. He took a long drink. Steeling myself, I took a sip of my own. I set it down and curled my lip. How do people enjoy drinking this?
Ashton laughed at me. “It gets better. You get used to it.”
I lifted the glass again and took a long drink. “Please tell me one is all I need.”
“I think one will be more than enough.” He laughed again.
I made myself keep drinking the liquid. Ashton looked completely entertained by me.
The tankard was nearly empty. “I feel funny. My head is,” I searched for the word, thinking was getting more difficult, “foggy.”
“We’re on the right track, then.” Ashton set down his empty glass and picked mine up. “I think you’ve had enough.” He drained my glass then threw a few coins on the table. “Let’s go.”
I stood, then collapsed back into my chair. I started laughing and covered my mouth to muffle the sound. I couldn’t help it. The customers at the bar top were staring at me. I gave them a little wave.
“Okay, darling,” Ashton said louder than he needed to. “I think it’s time to go home now.”
“I fell down,” I said, trying my hardest not to giggle.
“Yes, yes you did.” He put his arm around my waist and helped me up.
“Thank you,” I said. “You are so sweet. I can’t believe I spent the last few days not liking you.”
“I know,” he said.
Somehow, we made it out of the bar to a wooded area right outside of town. Ashton had practically carried me as I stumbled and giggled alongside him. The lights from the town twinkled through the trees but it was too dark to see anything in front of me. Lifting my hand in front of my face, I squinted to try to make out my fingers.
“I think it’s too dark,” I said.
“Don’t worry,” Ashton said.
In front of me, fire appeared, illuminating Ashton’s face. I gasped as I realized he was holding the fire in his hands. He cupped his hands around the fire, smoothing it until it formed a ball. Lifting his hands, the fireball floated above us, lighting the space we were standing in.
“That’s amazing!” I reached toward it and felt it radiating heat. It looked and felt just like a normal fire, but it was floating above me in a perfect sphere.
He smiled. “Well, let’s see if it’s something I’ll be able to teach you one day.” He set up the boxes on the ground in a circle around me. “You know, it’s likely you’ll align with fire, since Max does. Elements run in families. Maybe you should focus on that box first.”
“That would have been helpful information before,” I said.
“We’re not supported to tell people anything when they do the test,” Ashton said. “They say that your element will speak to you.”
“Did yours?” I asked.
“Clearly,” Ashton said, “but that’s the story for a different day.”
“You know what to do,” Ashton said from outside the circle of boxes. “Do any of them speak to you?”
Before doing anything else, I walked right up the fire box and stared at. Nothing happened. “It’s not working.”
“Keep going,” Ashton said. “Don’t try so hard.”
Don’t try so hard. With a sigh, I turned in a slow circle, pausing every so often to offset the spinning in my head. What was in that stuff?
Maybe I needed to touch the boxes. Walking up to each box, I touched it with my fingers. Air. Nothing. Earth. Nothing. Fire. Nothing. Water. Water. A chill ran up my spine. I sat down in front of the box and picked it up. I examined it from every angle then held it in my cupped hands. It was colder than I thought it would be. And the material was smooth. As if it were made of ice.
“Wilona, the box.” Ashton stared at me, mouth open.
I gasped. It wasn’t as if the box were made of ice, it was made of ice.
I held the box up to Ashton. “Is this normal?” I asked.
He shook his head. “You align with water. I should have known.” He swallowed hard, his face in a tight line.
I wasn’t feeling dizzy or giggly anymore. The ice on the box snapped me right back. I stood, staring at the box in awe. “Ashton, this is so amazing.”
He wasn’t smiling.
I pressed my eyebrows together. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” He relaxed his face, trying to hide his disappointment or disapproval.
“It’s not nothing,” I said. “Tell me what’s - “
“ - Shhh” Ashton froze, shoulders tense. He turned from me in the direction of the village.
I stood still, heart pounding. I let the box tumble from my hands. Somebody is here. I heard the muffled voices and the crunching of feet over the forest ground. Whoever it was, they were not afraid of making noise.
Ashton stood in front of me, facing the direction of the noise, arms up in a defensive position.
Four King’s Guards broke through the trees. They smiled when they saw us and drew their swords. A tall, olive skinned guard spoke, “Looks like we’ll be claiming ourselves a reward, fellas. Those guys in the tavern were right. She looks just like the drawing.”
“You might as well just let us kill you now. We’ll do it quickly if you surrender,” said another.
“Awe, don’t tell them that,” said a third. “I like it when they try to fight back. Makes for good entertainment.”
My heart was beating so hard, I was sure everybody could hear it. My eyes swept across the woods, scanning for a way out. Maybe we should just run. It was dark, we might be able to lose them.
I looked to Ashton, hoping to catch his eye so I could signal to him. His gaze was locked on the men in front of us. His jaw was set, shoulders tense. He stood with his legs apart, knees bent. He looked like he was ready to jump. He’s going to attack them. My stomach tightened as fear mixed with excitement. I’d never seen a sorcerer fight before. Was he powerful enough to stop them all?
A twig snapped, drawing my attention back at the threat in front of us. The men took a few steps forward, twisted grins across their faces. I shrank back, terrified. Maybe I should just run.
“I will give you one chance to turn around and leave us.” Ashton’s voice was clear and calm.
The men looked at each other and laughed. Then they continued to advance on us.
I shifted my gaze back and forth between Ashton and the men approaching us. Ashton never flinched. He raised his hands above his head and dropped them quickly toward the ground. He turned his hands, palms up toward the sky and a line of fire sprung up between us and our attackers. They paused, looking toward the tallest man. He nodded at them and they charged us, yelling, with swords raised.
Ashton lifted his hands and the line of f
ire grew into a wall, burning the men as they charged us. The battle cries turned to screams of pain as they were burned alive in seconds. Ashton brought his hands together and the flame burned so bright I had to turn away. When I looked back, there was nothing left of them but ash.
13
I thought we managed to sneak into camp undetected but when I pulled back the flap to my tent, I was greeted by Max. He wore a scowl on his face. I swallowed hard and closed the flap behind me, hoping to shield Ashton from my brother’s gaze.
“Ashton,” Max called out, “I know you’re out there.”
For a moment, I thought maybe Ashton had left, but then he came through the tent. His gaze was downcast and he looked pale.
Max sniffed the air. “You used your magic.” He glared at Ashton. “A lot of it. Sit.” He pointed to Ashton and myself, then to the bed. “Explain.”
I sat on one end of the bed, Ashton the other. I looked down at my hands, knowing that I had done something very stupid. I’d spent yesterday disappointing Max, and now I was breaking rules and nearly getting myself killed. I lifted my eyes and looked around the room through my lashes, chin lowered near my chest.
Max occupied a spindly chair in the corner. He stared at us with a gaze that could probably look right through me. I wondered if he could read minds. After seeing what Ashton could do, I was beginning to understand the true power of sorcery. I shuddered. If Ashton was just an apprentice, there was no limit to what Max could do.
Ashton sat up straight and rested his hands on his knees. “I’m sorry, Max. I had to use my magic to protect her.” He inclined his head toward me.
I dropped my head. This is all my fault.
“You never should have taken her out of the camp in the first place,” Max said. “What were you thinking?” His voice was getting louder with each statement.
“It’s my fault!” I jumped up and faced Max. “I wanted to find an easier way to find my element, and I heard a story about drinking.”
Max looked to Ashton. He didn’t look like he believed that it was my idea.
“You risked her life for the element boxes? Ashton, you know what my plans are for her.” He shook his head. “You could have compromised the whole camp. You put everything we’ve worked at risk.”
My chest burned. Plans for me? “I thought you said that learning sorcery was the most important thing?”
Max’s eyes blazed. “For a warrior, yes. But you’re a princess. Your job is to marry a prince. I need you to make an alliance and help me to grow my army. I can’t do that if you’re dead.”
I tightened my hands into fists. “What about self defense? How do I protect myself?”
Max gave me a saccharine smile. “You’ll have guards with you at all times. You don’t need to learn self defense. I only let you try this to keep you busy and to keep Saffron happy.”
I clenched my teeth. How could he do this to me? “What if I don’t want to marry some prince you pick out for me?”
“You don’t have a choice.” He stood and looked down at me. “I am your king. You are my sister and you are just a princess. Your duty is to marry whomever I deem will be of the most help to our cause. After your antics tonight, I’m going to see if we can move up the date and get you out of here sooner.” He stormed out of the tent.
I sunk on to the bed and struggled to breathe. I felt like the wind had been knocked from me. I have no control over my own life. Is this what being a princess is? Was it worth it? If I left the Ravens, the king would find me and kill me. If I stayed here, I was going to be married off. I never wanted this. I never wanted any of this. I buckled into choking sobs.
Ashton wrapped his arms around me. I buried myself in his chest, grateful for the comfort and embarrassed that he was seeing me cry. He stroked my hair and whispered calming words to me.
I finally caught my breath and pulled away from Ashton. “I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be. It’s my fault. Max is right, it was a stupid risk. I shouldn’t have brought you there.” He rested a hand on mine.
“We didn’t even tell him about my element. Maybe that would fix it? Maybe then he’d...” But even as I said it, I knew it made no difference. I turned to face Ashton, grasping both of his hands in mine. “Don’t tell him. Please. Promise me, you’ll keep it a secret. I don’t want him to know that I found my element.”
Ashton furrowed his brow. “I don’t know why you’d want to keep that a secret.”
“I don’t want him to know,” I pleaded. “I can’t handle upsetting him any more than I already have. Besides, you heard him. He doesn’t even want me to train, anyway. So there isn’t any point.”
“I don’t know, Wilona. I’ve never kept anything from Max. I’ve been his apprentice a long time.”
Tears blurred my vision. I wasn’t sure why I wanted to keep this from Max, but something was telling me it was the right thing to do. “Please,” I whispered.
He sighed. “Very well, Wilona. We’ll keep it our secret, for now. But we’ll have to tell him soon.”
I nodded. It was a start. Ashton’s gaze met mine and butterflies swam in my stomach. That warm feeling was back and it traveled through my whole body. I was overwhelmingly aware of his hands in mine. I pulled back, and jumped up off the bed.
Ashton cleared his throat and stood. “I should go and you should get some rest.”
I nodded. My throat felt tight, like I wouldn’t be able to speak if I tried.
Saffron woke me the next morning by throwing clothes at me. “Get up.”
I sat up, startled. “What’s wrong?” I asked.
“You really upset your brother.” She shook her head. “I don’t want to hear the excuses, just get up and get dressed.” She left the tent.
I looked away from her. Great. Now Saffron’s mad at me, too. Maybe being sent away to some random castle wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. At least there maybe I could find some people who weren’t mad at me.
I pulled on the trousers and tunic she threw at me, grateful to be out of the heavy dresses. When I emerged from the tent, Saffron handed me a piece of bread and started walking. I hurried to keep up with her as I ate.
“We have five days to teach you how to stand up for yourself,” she said as we walked.
“What do you mean?” I asked, my mouth full.
“Your brother left camp to see if he can secure your engagement. The original plan was for you to visit the courts and make an impression. Now he just wants to find somebody who can benefit our cause. He doesn’t think highborn women need to know how to fight. I disagree. I cleared my schedule. I have five days to make you into a warrior.”
My heart leapt. Finally, I get to do something useful. Learning how to fight was a way of regaining at least a little bit of control. If I could protect myself, I wouldn’t be completely dependent on these strangers I was surrounded by. Sir Henry’s warning still rang in my mind, reminding me I shouldn’t depend on anybody. I caught Saffron in a hug.
“Thank you,” I said. Finally, I felt like something good was happening.
“You’re welcome.” She gave me a one armed hug in return.
We started walking again. Her strides were so long, I almost had to run to keep up.
“Where’s Ashton?” I bit my lower lip.
She glanced at me but didn’t break her stride. “He’s with your brother. Max wasn’t happy with him, but he has his test soon and needs to be ready.”
“Saffron? Are you sure I have to be married off right away?” My voice shook.
She slowed down her pace and her eyes softened. “You know the answer to that.”
A small fire started to burn in the pit of my stomach. I had always done everything I was told. Always followed the rules, but there was a part of me that didn’t want to anymore. “Why can’t Max just marry somebody?” I slapped my hand over my mouth as soon as I asked the question.
I saw a flash of pain in Saffron’s eyes. “He will, eventually, but he’ll make a
better match once he claims the throne. In order for him to claim it, we need more manpower.” She stopped walking and rested her hand on my shoulder. “Royalty doesn’t have the freedom of falling in love. At least, not usually. That’s the only benefit to being a peasant. When you are royalty, your life belongs to your kingdom and to your people. If you had been raised in a castle, you’d already be married.”
I swallowed. The little fire inside that wanted to rise up against this was losing fuel. “This is the only way for me to help?” I asked. “The only way we can bring down the king?”
She nodded. “Everybody is afraid of the king. They won’t step up to fight him. But if they are connected by marriage and take our princess as part of their family, they’ll do it.”
I sighed. I trusted Saffron and if she said this had to be done, it must be the way. Her words made sense and I hated them, but I needed to find a way to eliminate the king.
We walked quietly for a minute before Saffron turned to me with a wild light in her eyes. “Time to get it all out.” She tossed me a wooden sword. She came at me, sword raised and I did my best to block her. As she made contact, my sword shot across the practice ring and landed with a dull thud.
My hand was stinging and I shook it out. “I wasn’t ready.”
“Let’s go again,” she said.
We went again. I lost count of how many times I had to run after my thrown sword. My shoulders ached. I’d never been this bad at anything in my life. I picked up the sword and dropped it at her feet. “Saffron.” I sighed. “Is there any other way I can defend myself besides using a sword? I don’t think I will ever get the hang of this.”
“You’re probably right.” She put the swords back in the open shed with the other training weapons and pulled two daggers off of her waist. “Let’s switch to dagger.” She handed me a slim silver dagger with a black leather hilt. It was lightweight and felt comfortable in my grasp. I studied it for a moment and touched the sharp edges and point.
“A dagger is a good weapon for you.” Saffron pointed the other dagger at me as she spoke. “It’s small and compact, so you can hide it under dresses. And it works well in close quarters in case you need to fend off an attacker.”