Sorcerous Rivalry (The Mage-Born Chronicles Book 1)

by Kayleigh Nicol

  “But that’s just like you’ve been lying to him the whole time!”

  Kestral looked up sharply, locking eyes with her. “It doesn’t make a difference. I never bonded him.”

  Kila shook her head, still in shock.

  “Excuse me, but I’d like to be filled in at some point,” I said, drawing their focus back. “What is bonding? Why does the army have mages working for it since the Great Mage Hunt ended?”

  Kestral looked away again, refusing to answer.

  Kila took a breath before answering. “Army officers can use a specific rune to bind a mage’s power. It . . . well, it basically turns mages into slaves. During the Great Mage Hunt, powerful mages were killed, the weak ones, too. But any mage of average strength was captured and bound by the army for their battle magic.”

  “And healing,” Kestral added softly. “The Order of the Great Canvas kept any mages skilled at healing.”

  “They mostly work for the army, too, though,” Kila replied. “Battlefield clerics.”

  “I don’t understand.” I looked from Kila to Kestral. “The Great Mage Hunt was supposed to kill all the mages, or at least drive them out of the country. No one in any village I’ve ever visited has ever talked about bonded mages.”

  “It’s the great, dirty secret of the kingdom,” Kila said with a bitter chuckle. “The king says mages are dangerous, a threat to normal citizens and gets them to turn in their mage neighbors, their mage friends. The people feel safer and the army gets powerful slaves to fight their wars for them.”

  “But you’re fighting, too,” I pointed out. “You agree with this war, don’t you?”

  “As a soldier, I didn’t question orders. But as an officer, I also refused to use or to bond any mages. Using magic is like fighting dirty.” Kila grimaced. “I like meeting my enemy eye-to-eye on the battlefield in a true contest of skill. Nothing magical about it.”

  “But, wait.” I turned to face Kestral. He met my eyes, but there was something different in his gaze. Was it shame? “You were an army officer.”

  He nodded.

  “So you could have . . .” I trailed off. I wanted to ask the question, but I didn’t want to know the answer. If he could have bonded me at any time, why hadn’t he? Or if he had, would I have known? Dust, I could easily have become nothing more than a piece of property again. I shivered and drew closer to my sister.

  “I was never going to bond you, Reshi,” Kestral said, shifting his gaze between Kila and me.

  “But you have bonded mages, haven’t you?” I asked. “You said you had helped the army take down minor mages before.”

  Kestral jaw tightened, but he nodded. Icy fear traced a trail down my spine; I really knew nothing of the man I had been traveling with. After a tense silence, Kestral stood.

  “I don’t blame you if you don’t trust me any more,” he said, turning to walk away. “Just stay close to Kila until your brothers get here. After that . . .” Kestral trailed off. He took a breath, letting it out slowly before he walked the long way around the inn, disappearing from sight. I let out a breath I didn’t know I’d been holding.

  “I didn’t know,” I said, voice barely above a whisper. “Stars, he could have had me powerless, couldn’t he?”

  “But he didn’t,” Kila replied, something strange in her eyes. Respect, maybe? “Do you know why he left the army?”

  “Not really.” I shrugged, trying to shake out the fear that had settled in my bones. “Something about a dishonorable discharge and someone’s ‘tickled tailfeathers.’ That’s all I know.”

  Kila nodded, still staring at the space where Kestral had disappeared from view. “Maybe there’s more to it. The lies about the Great Mage Hunt have turned more than one officer against the army. I think it might be all right to trust him.”

  “What?” I asked, incredulous.

  “He’s never hurt you, has he?”

  “He fired a crossbow bolt at my head.”

  “Before or after he knew you? Never mind, I’ve known you half a day and I could see myself shooting you with a crossbow.” Kila waved off my outrage. “My point is, he didn’t have to protect you. If I were him, I would have used you as bait, drawing in the others and then killed you either during or after the battle. But he’s always run with you, hasn’t he? Putting himself at more risk?”

  “He—I . . .” I considered Kila’s argument. “Even so, why didn’t he bond me? What would you have done if it were you?”

  “If I was him, I would have bonded you the first chance I got.” Kila nodded firmly. “It would keep you from using magic against him, keep you from running away, it would just . . . keep you.” Kila looked at me quizzically. “So why did you stay with him?”

  I dropped my gaze, puzzling it out. Why? Why stay with Kestral after all this time? I struggled with the question before meeting Kila’s gaze.

  “I’m going after him.”

  Kila nodded, as if that was the answer she had expected. I stood up and ran after Kestral, stumbling on legs numb from sitting on the hard ground. He couldn’t have gone too far; Shan was still stabled at the Drunken Fish. I didn’t see him anywhere along the village’s main road but there were shops up and down the street. He could be in any one of them.

  Come on, I thought to myself. He wasn’t that complicated of a guy, or maybe he was, but at least he was predictable. What did he do when he was agitated or upset?

  He went hunting.

  I looked around for a fletcher’s shop and found one just across the street. I raced up to it, grabbing for the door just as it swung open, bringing me face to face with the man I was looking for.

  Kestral blinked at me, eyes wide in surprise. He had a package of unfletched arrows in one hand, a bag of fletching in the other. Thank the stars for predictable habits.

  “I don’t care,” I said it in a rush, the words tripping over each other. Kestral’s brows drew close together. “I mean, it doesn’t matter. You’re right. You’re the only reason I’m still breathing right now and whatever you could have done, you didn’t. So I don’t care. Don’t leave, or just don’t leave right now, okay?”

  We stood in that doorway for what seemed like forever. I got the sense that the shopkeeper wanted to say something, but held back, probably due to the intensity of the moment. I caught my breath while Kestral held my gaze.

  “You don’t want me to leave, even though you think I’m going to kill you one day?”

  “At least I’ll live until that day.” I tried for a charming smile. “And who knows? Maybe by then I’ll be strong enough to put up a decent fight.”

  Kestral dropped his gaze and shook his head. “Your whole family is crazy.”

  “At least we’re good looking.” I started to reach out to him but then drew my hand back. My ribs still remembered what happened the last time I’d tried to touch him. “Come back to the inn with me and Kila. We still need you to help us with Velyn and Eagan.”

  Kestral nodded. “I was always going to stick around for that. It’s not as if either of you can turn in their bounties.”

  “It’s not as if either of us needs the money from the bounties.” I cast a disgusted look down at his worn-through boots. “Maybe after we kill Eagan we’ll steal his boots for you.”

  Kestral actually laughed at that. “Noble’s boots aren’t good for soldiers. They would look better on you, anyway.”

  “Speaking of things that look better on me.” The sweat from earlier had dried on my clothes, leaving them stiff and wrinkled. “I have a few coins and I need clothing I can dance in tonight. Did you want to guard me against assassin-tailors while I go shopping?”

  Kestral rolled his eyes but agreed to accompany me. The whole bonding thing was still pretty scary, but somehow not having Kestral near me was an even more terrifying thought. Kestral kept me safe. That was more than anyone else had ever done for me before and it was something I didn’t want to give up.

  “Are you sure you couldn’t have found clothes that a
ren’t all black?” Kestral asked later as I was tucking a wrapped package under my arm.

  “I was afraid that if I picked something fancy and brightly colored, you would mistake me for my brother Eagan,” I replied tartly. “Wouldn’t want you killing me by accident. That would just embarrass us both.”

  “There you guys are.” Kila trotted up to us as we exited the tailor shop. “Everyone happy? No one dead? Good. We’re staying at the Pluck and Courage Inn tonight. I got our rooms already.”

  I cheered but Kestral frowned. “You know we can’t—”

  Kila waved him off. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve got a lot of credit built up in this town, it’s not a problem. We just have to buy lots of drinks to make it up to the innkeeper.”

  “Best deal ever made!” I linked my arm through Kila’s. “Lead on to the Pluck and Courage, good sister.”

  Tonight’s inn proved to be as nice as the Drunken Fish, with a different set of musicians and a fresh set of pretty partners to dance with. Once again Kestral caught me before I could kick the dust up with anyone and once again the morning was dedicated to practicing stances and weapons. Kestral got it in his head that I needed to learn the sword and Kila insisted on playing with my fae daggers to learn their secrets. The days continued cheerfully, the only thing that changed daily was our inn. Getting to know my sister without worrying about her trying to kill me was refreshing, but it was shadowed by the fear that Velyn and Eagan would eventually show up and ruin it. Kila and I didn’t have very much in common, but it was nice connecting with family.

  Even nicer than connecting with Kila was connecting with non-relatives after a night of drinking. I managed to drunkenly sneak away from Kestral’s watchful eye three times, dusting it up with a dance partner for the night. Kestral always left the door to our room open so I could slink in later, though he barely spoke to me the mornings after. His training sessions those mornings were always a little more grueling too, but it was worth it. Maybe he would be happier if he kicked the dust up once in a while. He seemed to find Kila agreeable enough and she didn’t seem to be dusting up with anyone, but before I could try to work something out between the two of them, storm clouds gathered on the horizon.

  Velyn and Eagan had finally caught up with us.

  Chapter 7

  Kila picked the battlefield where we awaited our brothers’ approach. The border river here had recently swelled then retreated, leaving the ground too murky for soldiers in heavy armor to defend. The ground had dried enough such that leather boots treading lightly could walk unhindered. Kestral and Kila had both donned chainmail armor—Kila’s skirted beneath her belt, Kestral with steel plates stitched to his leather-armored leggings. Kila was as heavily armed as always. I was impressed she could carry so many swords; the overall weight had to be greater than her own. Kestral wore only his normal sword and heavy dagger, along with a pair of gauntlets I had never seen before and my bracers of throwing knives looped through his belt.

  I didn’t feel the need to overdress for my brothers’ arrival. I wore my usual sneak-thief’s garb and fae-made cloak. The one addition was a pair of gloves for better grip; Kila said sweaty palms were the number one death for dagger-wielders and she drove the point home by painfully disarming me a number of times.

  Kila and I both felt Velyn and Eagan’s approach, not just in the rolling fog that preceded them, but as a constant tug in our minds. I figured it must be a weak combination of Cera’s sight and speech magic. The closer they got, the more we could sense them. I could feel them like I was sitting too close to a hearth fire, or as if I were caught in a tempest. I often caught Kila glancing in the direction of their approach, her jaw tightly clenched. She still wouldn’t talk about anything magical, but it was clear that she also felt their presence.

  The three of us stood in the middle of our chosen battlefield, watching thick fog roll in from the east. They would be on us in a matter of minutes. Kestral stood firm, hands on his belt. Kila paced, running her hands over her weapons and muttering to herself. I tucked my hands in my pockets and slouched comfortably. I wished there was something to lean against, but the field was barren of trees and boulders. That was half the reason Kila chose it, I suspected.

  “Remember, the fire-bug is mine,” Kila said, tugging at her gauntlets for the hundredth time. “I need to pay him back for Laki.”

  Kestral nodded. “All yours. Reshi, you remember—”

  “I know, I know.” I waved a hand dismissively. “You made me listen to the plan a dozen times. I got it.”

  Kestral frowned but said nothing. The wall of fog hit us, rolling over our battlefield and obscuring everything but each other. Kila looked up, baring her teeth in a reckless grin. I smiled lazily. Kestral stared ahead, face betraying no emotion.

  Velyn and Eagan stood in the fog just ahead of us. Eagan smiled charmingly, tilting his head to the side, one hand on the sword at his belt. Velyn scowled darkly, hands open at his sides, pushing the fog forward.

  “I think they were expecting us, little brother,” Eagan said, inclining his head towards us.

  “I knew they would be.” Velyn smirked at me. “Found more people to hide behind, little Reshi?”

  “Hiding is what I do.” I shrugged easily, meeting his smirk with mine. “Come to kill another of our sisters? Because I don’t think it’ll work out for you this time.”

  Kila laughed dryly, drawing out the sound like steel on bone.

  “Mage hunter,” Eagan called. “This is your last chance to walk away.”

  “Raleagan.” Kestral met his eyes evenly. “This is your last chance to step away from that murderer.”

  “Says you,” Kila replied. “I’m avenging Laki, with or without you.”

  “Oh, he knows that,” I said, tucking my hands behind my head and stretching as if we were having a casual conversation. “Kestral is saying you don’t need our help with that spoiled noble.”

  Eagan chuckled and rolled his shoulders. “Well, I did warn you.” The hand opposite his sword came up, and with it came a ring of roaring flames, closing around Kestral, Kila and me. Kestral stood calmly, still meeting Eagan’s flickering orange eyes. I flinched back from the flames; I couldn’t help that reflex. Every animal fears fire.

  Kila grinned. Her movement was subtle, easily missed, but flinching as I was, I saw it. She raised her heel very slightly, then slammed it back down. The ground shuddered then rippled outward, dropping away beneath Eagan’s fire and swallowing it whole. Smirking at the stunned faces of our brothers, Kila drew her sword and began a slow advance, a predator closing in on stunned prey.

  “Earth magic.” Kestral nodded. “It had to be something like that.”

  “You expected that?” I asked, still awed by Kila’s casual use of such a powerful force.

  “No, but something like it.” Kestral drew his sword. “Are you ready?”

  Ahead of us, Eagan and Velyn recovered from their shock, Velyn cursing and drawing back, Eagan drawing his sword to meet Kila.

  I smirked. “Always. Hey, Kila!”

  “What?” She didn’t turn back, just kept advancing calmly.

  “Give me a boost.”

  She halted, turning back to smile at me. “Ready when you are.”

  I raced forward, picturing the speed and grace of a nightblack cat on the hunt. As I passed Kila, she lifted her foot slightly, then slammed it back down. A patch of earth rose at an incline before me, giving me a height to leap from. I heard Velyn curse distantly before a lightning bolt sheared the air before me. By the time I could see again, I was in my crow form, arrowing down towards him.

  The plan was to draw Velyn’s lightning so that by the time Kestral closed with him, he would have spent most of his magic. Nearby, Kila and Eagan had begun their fight, swords clashing, the earth swallowing more fire magic as quickly as it could take form. Kestral would be picking his way across the battlefield, using stray magic as cover. I had to wear Velyn down before Kestral could strike.

 
“I see what you’re doing,” Velyn called up to me. A lightning strike tried to sear me from the sky. As I angled my wings to avoid it, a surge of wind tried to sweep me back into its path. I shifted to my human form, using my increased weight to counter the wind, then shifted back, wings catching me before I fell too far. “You can’t wear me down, Reshi. Both of you die today.”

  Hail rained down on me, clipping my wings and tail feathers. It was harder to dodge than the lightning bolts, and a direct hit would probably kill me. Dust it, Velyn had learned some new tricks since the last time we fought. I swooped low, shifting to human and somersaulting with a kick that glanced off Velyn’s shoulder. In at instant, I had my daggers out, closing the distance between us. Velyn’s white-blue eyes widened with shock and pain, but before I could connect with my daggers, a pike of ice formed in his hands. Instead of being capped by a blade, this pike had two prongs at the end, like a fisherman’s spear turned to a weapon. He jabbed wildly, driving me back a pace. Daggers weren’t great against pole-weapons. He must have worked that out with Eagan.

  “Kill any more helpless girls, Velyn?” I asked, keeping my voice steady as I turned his spear aside. Velyn gritted his teeth, fury on his face.

  “I had to kill Cera. There’s no way you could understand.” Velyn swiped at me with haft of his ice-weapon. He wasn’t very good, but that didn’t matter so much when it came to a long-arm weapon against daggers. If I’d had my throwing knives, I could have ended the fight in an instant. “It has to be me, Reshi. If you knew what I knew, you’d understand.”

  “You think I’d go around killing our brothers and sisters?” I laughed bitterly. “For what? A throne?”

  “It’s not about a throne!” Velyn thrust viciously. “It’s about—” He stopped, his speech turning to a cry of fright as I turned the thrust aside on one dagger and slammed the hilt of my second dagger into the haft, shattering the ice-weapon in his hands. I slashed at his throat, but his body turned to mist before coalescing several paces away from me.

  “I’m so tired of that trick,” I hissed, turning to face him again.