Sorcerous Rivalry (The Mage-Born Chronicles Book 1)

by Kayleigh Nicol

  I had never before woken up beside a lover. My dalliances usually ended around midnight, with both persons going their separate ways. Not once had I ever had to exchange words the following morning.

  Kestral was up before dawn, as usual, moving around the room and packing his bags. He made a noise of disgust over his burned and torn shirt before tossing it in a corner, giving it up as a lost cause. On any normal morning, I would have pulled the blankets over my head and tried to fall back asleep. Now, however, I felt I finally had permission to watch him walk around half naked. Our eyes met and he smiled softly.

  I was at a complete loss for words.

  Seriously, that had never happened to me before.

  Slowly Kestral’s smile faded and his eyebrows drew together. Dust! Was he expecting me to say something? What should I say? My heart beat a frantic tattoo as Kestral walked over to the bed. Was I supposed to compliment him? Make a joke? Offer to go another round?

  Kestral peeled back part of the blanket. I snatched at it, keeping it above my hips.

  “You didn’t heal,” he said, revealing the myriad of cuts and bruises marring my skin.

  “No,” I replied, pulling the blanket back from him. “Drawing from you takes away your own body’s ability to heal. You’re worse off than I am right now.” I gestured at the cut on his hip and the burns on his arms and shoulder.

  “Are you still able to shift?” Kestral asked.

  I checked the golden ball of magic in my chest. “Yes. I’ve got two, maybe three shifts in me.”

  “Good.” Kestral resumed pulling clothes on. “We’ll be traveling today. Maybe late into the night, too. We need to put distance between us and the army.”

  “What about Kila?” I asked.

  “If she wants to join us, she can.” Kestral glanced over at me. “We can discuss it with her over breakfast if you’d get dressed.”

  I stretched luxuriously, smiling slyly at Kestral. “Are you sure that’s what you want me to do?”

  Kestral chuckled, sitting on the edge of the bed to pull his boots on. “No time, Reshi. We need to gather whatever supplies we can and get moving. There’s no knowing how long the western commander can keep the southern army away from here.”

  I waited until Kestral left the room to kick off the blankets and get dressed. Last night it had been too dark to see those three tiny marks along my hip, but the room grew lighter as the dawn approached and I didn’t want to risk it. Especially not now. My clothes were still caked in battlefield gore, now congealed from having been balled up on the floor overnight. Instead I dressed in the outfit I usually reserved for drinking and dancing before fastening my fae-cloak over it. After swiping the mud and blood from my boots, I balled up my dirty clothes and stuffed them into one of Kestral’s packs. I’d wash them out in the first stream we stopped at.

  Downstairs, I found Kila and Kestral sitting at an unbroken table in a corner, each holding a steaming mug of black tea. The room still held the vestiges of Kila’s rampage—broken tables and chairs had been pushed to one side, along with shards of broken dinnerware. It seemed the staff knew better than to confront her about it, though. As I sat down a wench set a mug of black tea down in front of me, along with a carafe of cream and a bowl of sugar. I had hated black tea at first, but once a wench taught me how to mix it up sweetly, I had become as addicted as my companions.

  Kila looked up at me over the rim of her cup. “Kestral says I should travel with you both. He thinks I’ll be safer from our brothers and armies and mage hunters and every other rusting thing trying to kill us.”

  I laughed as I stirred my tea. “I’m sure what he really means is that you’ll keep us safer from brothers and armies and whatever else is out there.”

  Kestral grunted a sort of agreement as he sipped his tea.

  “Assuming I agree,” Kila hesitated, circling the rim of her mug with a finger. “Where are you going?”

  I paused with my mug halfway to my mouth. I hadn’t considered that yet. All I knew was that wherever Kestral was going, I was going. I looked over at him, wondering if he already had an answer.

  “I think,” Kestral said slowly, setting down his mug, “that it’s time to involve your oldest sister.”

  “Reina?” Kila and I asked in unison.

  Kestral nodded.

  “How can we involve her when we don’t know where she is?” I asked, staring off vaguely as I considered Kestral’s idea.

  “Even if we did find her, would she take our side? What if she sides with Velyn and Eagan?” Kila tilted her head as her eyes turned distant.

  Kestral looked from Kila to me and back again. “You two don’t even realize you do that, do you?”

  “Do what?” we asked together again.

  “First, stop talking together,” Kestral said firmly. “Reshi, do you still want revenge for Cera’s murder?”

  “Of course, I do.” My head snapped around and I glared darkly across the room, picturing Velyn and all the things I’d like to do to him if I had him in front of me.

  “And Kila, you’re still set on killing Eagan for murdering your twin?”

  Her red eyes flashed as her head turned, the promise of death glinting behind them.

  “Do you both realize you’re staring in the same direction?” Kestral asked, taking another sip.

  I blinked and looked at Kila. She did the same to me.

  “What are you saying, Kestral?”

  “I noticed it a while ago. Whenever we discuss one of your siblings, your gaze turns distant. Reshi used to stare west when we talked about coming to meet you, Kila.”

  “Oh.” Kila frowned then slowly looked up, her eyes sliding to the north-east corner of the room. “You think we have an unconscious connection to each other?”

  “So, when we talk about Reina . . .” I trailed off, realizing I was once again staring in the same direction as Kila.

  “Let’s hope your brothers are at least as dense as the both of you.” Kestral pushed his empty mug away. “We should get on the road as soon as possible, before the southern army realizes we’re still here. Kila, do you have a mount?”

  “Yes. He’s stabled at the military barracks.”

  “Think you can get him without any trouble?”

  Kila grinned, showing far too many teeth. “I’m sure I can.”

  “Good.” Kestral stood. “Reshi, let’s get Shan prepared for a journey. It looks like we may be headed for the capital.”

  Traveling with Kila was both a blessing and a curse. She was easier to talk to than Kestral and she could even keep Kestral talking as they shared war stories back and forth. Her horse, Bruiser, was a friendly piebald gelding who didn’t try to bite me every time I got too close. The soldiers who were sad to see Kila leave had gifted her with more supplies than she could carry on her own—clothing, armor, pillows and even spices and soaps, which made traveling a bit more comfortable for me.

  The biggest curse to having her along was the sleeping arrangements. She knew I slept near Kestral to refill my wellspring, but she didn’t know we had crossed the line from traveling companions to lovers. I wasn’t sure if Kestral didn’t want her to know or if he merely didn’t want her as an audience, but either way, it meant I wasn’t getting any satisfaction. For weeks.

  So, it was an understatement to say that I was excited for our upcoming night at a village inn. Supplies were running low after nearly two weeks on the road, even supplemented as they were by Kestral and Kila hunting in the evenings. Kestral tried to insist we could push on a bit further, but when one of his boots finally gave up and fell apart, he agreed we could pass through the next village.

  “We don’t need to stay overnight,” Kestral said as he used bandages to tie his boot together. He grimaced at how ugly it looked.

  I tried not to laugh at it.

  “If I have to spend one more night talking only to the two of you without a full wineskin, I’m not sure either of you will wake up in the morning,” Kila warned darkly. He
r last wineskin had run dry four days ago. She had been cranky ever since.

  “Come on, Kestral,” I bumped his arm with my elbow as I stirred our last helping of rice over the fire. “It would be so nice to sleep in a bed, just for one night.”

  Kestral arched his brow skeptically.

  I failed to hide a smirk.

  “I think it would look more suspicious to pass through without stopping,” Kila added, cleaning one of her swords in the firelight. “It’s not as if we can reach another town before nightfall tomorrow. Townsfolk know that much.”

  Kestral sighed, leaning back from the fire. “And what do we do when you’re recognized, Kila? Kill everyone in the village?”

  “Are you saying I couldn’t?” Kila asked, turning her sword so it glittered.

  “I think he’s saying it wouldn’t be very polite,” I said, leaning back so I would be out of any line of attack. “Kestral is right, though. You do stand out, Kila.”

  “Is that the only objection?” Kila asked, leaning forward.

  “No, it’s just the biggest problem,” Kestral replied.

  Kila rolled her eyes. “We really need to kill one of our brothers and get you a bounty, rust-cheap hunter.”

  I laughed, ignoring Kestral’s icy glare. The rice was nearly cooked, so I stirred in some mushrooms, chunks of waterbird and spices. Somehow, I had become the cook, since Kila and Kestral did all the hunting.

  “If I can blend in, can we stay at an inn tomorrow?” Kila continued, testing the edge of her sword. “I’ll pay for the rooms and your boots, too. I mean, I was probably paying in the first place, but now I get to act like I’m—what’s the word, Reshi?”

  “Noble?” I cocked my head to the side. “Not that nobles act that way, but that’s what that word means, doesn’t it?”

  Kestral snorted. “And how many nobles have you met?”

  I laughed, trying to keep the bitterness out of it. “You’d be surprised.”

  “Kestral.” Kila rapped her knuckles against her blade, drawing his attention. “I can blend in. You gotta let me drink at a real bar tomorrow.”

  Kestral heaved a sigh, looking from me to my sister. “How did I get to be in charge of this group? I’m not even one of the mage-born.”

  “You just have that ‘do what I say or I’ll kill you’ quality.” I spooned a portion of dinner into Kestral’s bowl, then into Kila’s. I still didn’t have my own bowl yet, so I ate from the pot.

  “Kestral,” Kila warned, eyes glinting through the steam coming off her bowl.

  “Fine, Kila. If I think you look unremarkable enough not to be noticed, then fine. We’ll stay at an inn tomorrow.” Kestral speared a piece of waterbird so hard, bits of rice flew into the air.

  Kila smiled, apparently proud of herself as she dug into her dinner. Kestral and I exchanged a glance. How would the most visible of Laurana’s children simply blend in with normal townsfolk? I shrugged. It was a question for tomorrow, not tonight.

  As always, I hoped Kila would turn in early and fall asleep before Kestral and I finished cleaning up dinner, but just like usual I was disappointed. She was always sharpening a weapon or fixing something. She never seemed to be still. As I scrubbed out the dinner pot, she meticulously cleaned her horse’s hooves, digging dried mud, twigs and stones out so she could paint a type of salve on the bottom of the hoof, then fan it until it dried. The process appeared to take forever. And it was all made worse by…

  “Kila, can I use that salve when you’re finished?” Kestral asked after he finished laying out his bedroll. “It’s been awhile since I’ve gone over Shan’s hooves.”

  “Sure thing.” Kila shoved the jar over to him with her foot.

  I stifled a moan and fed the fire, so they would have light to work by. Then I shifted and curled up inside Kestral’s bedroll. No satisfaction tonight either. Kila had better look the part tomorrow so I could sleep with Kestral in a real bed.

  When Kestral woke me the following morning, Kila was gone. Her bedroll was neatly rolled and packed on her horse, as were her saddlebags and her weapons. Even I got suspicious at that point. Kila never went anywhere unless she was visibly armed. After packing up the campsite and putting down a cold breakfast, Kila returned. At least, a girl who looked like Kila returned.

  She had let her hair down and tied it back with a simple scarf. She wore an old-fashioned but well-kept brown dress tied with an apron, giving her a hint of a figure that I had never noticed beneath her armor. With her eyes downcast, she looked like a completely different person.

  “Well?” Kila asked, a faint blush coloring her cheeks.

  “You still walk like a soldier,” Kestral commented, straight to the point.

  “Yeah, but if she sticks her chest out a little more, no one will notice that,” I replied, waving him off. “You should get a dress that shows a little more cleavage, then no one would even look at your eyes.”

  Kila’s face turned a bright red. “Thanks, Reshi. I was really hoping to hear my brother talk about my breasts today.”

  I shrugged. “I was trying to be helpful. Well, Kestral? She’s good, right?”

  “Fine. Just keep your eyes down.”

  Kila glared up at Kestral, which looked a little funny, considering the difference in their heights.

  “Mage-blood eyes are a give away. At best they’ll think you’re fae. At worst we might get to meet the local mage hunters.”

  Kila turned her head and spat, but she lowered her chin.

  “Reshi, when we get to the village, turn in to something small and stay out of sight.” I rolled my eyes as Kestral went over a plan I had heard a hundred times. “I’ll say I’ve just left the army and I’m traveling home with my betrothed, which will be—”

  “What?” Kila and I shouted, shocked.

  Kestral took a breath. “What other feasible story would you two like me to tell the innkeeper? We don’t look alike, so we can’t be siblings and even if we could sell that story, it’s possible the innkeeper might try to put us in the same room. As a betrothed couple, we’re obliged to stay in separate rooms.”

  “Couldn’t you just say you and Kila are friends, or something?” I asked weakly.

  “If I could just go as myself, we could just be a couple of soldiers returning from the front lines,” Kila sulked, crossing her arms and leaning back against her horse.

  “We need a story that doesn’t attract attention. Red-headed female warriors attract attention, Kila. Every mage hunter in the country has your description. And ‘friends,’ Reshi?” Kestral raised an eyebrow at me. “I’m sure Kila doesn’t want a whole village thinking she’s a camp follower.”

  “She’s not showing enough bust for that,” I muttered. Kila narrowed her eyes at me, but I got the impression she didn’t hear the whole thing clearly. Or else she might have broken my face.

  “This village thing is turning into more trouble than it’s worth.” With a sigh, Kila swung herself up into her saddle. “Almost. Once I have wine again, it’ll all be worth it.”

  “I think we all feel that way about you getting your wine,” I said as Kestral also mounted up.

  “Keep talking, baby brother. I carved some new crossbow bolts and I’d love to check their range.”

  Instead of taking crow form as usual, I leapt up into Kestral’s lap as a cat, keeping the mage hunter between me and my sister.

  Ah, family.

  We arrived in the village just before midday, set up some rooms at the inn and took a small lunch in the inn’s common room. And by small lunch, I mean Kila slipped a piece of cheese and some bread into the pocket of her apron for me, as I had shifted to a rat just before we entered the village. Kestral paid using Kila’s gold, which seemed to annoy them both. Kestral hated being treated; Kila hated having to rely on someone else, even in a pretend betrothal. She kept her head down meekly and kept her mouth shut, which I could tell was hard for her. Probably hard for any of my siblings, really. She still walked like a soldier with a wide,
strong gait and I caught her standing in a military resting stance more than once. I rode in her pocket, so I could squeak at her when she began behaving too aggressively. Honestly, I could have been a better girl than her.

  She’d probably kill me if I said that out loud.

  After Shan and Bruiser were comfortably stabled and taken care of, Kestral went to the local tanner to purchase new boots. When my suggestion to consider embroidered boots like Eagan’s was met with derision, I decided to stay with Kila at the inn. She ordered a large lunch up to her room and had her washbasin filled with warm water. Once she was behind the changing screen I shifted out of my rat form to finish her lunch and wait my turn for the bath.

  Water sloshed as Kila washed, some splashing over the edge of the basin. Kila swore, displacing more water as she reached for a drying cloth to mop up the spill.

  “Leave some water for me, sis,” I called through the screen. It was made of thin wood connected by hinges so that it could easily be folded and stored when not in use. With the window on Kila’s side of the screen I could make out shadows through the wood, but Kila and the washbasin were appropriately obscured.

  “The water isn’t the problem.” Kila’s voice was full of mischief. “The soap on the other hand . . .”

  “Don’t tease about the soap. That’s not funny,” I chastised her. “It’s bad enough I wake up with dew in my fur every morning. Cat noses are a lot more sensitive than you would know.”

  “How did you find out you could shapeshift?” Kila asked. It was a strange question coming from her. She didn’t often like talking about magic, whether it be her own or the magic of others.

  I shrugged even though she couldn’t see it. I picked up one of Kila’s daggers and picked at the filth under my fingernails. “I was running away from someone and needed a place to hide. Ended up getting myself cornered. Suddenly everything just . . . I don’t know, there was a flash and I was smaller, faster. The people chasing me caught up, so I ran through them back the way I had come, but they didn’t chase me. Didn’t even try to stop me. I didn’t figure out I had turned into a cat until later when I found a hiding place.”

  Kila hummed to herself for a moment, water sloshing gently against the side of the tub. “Do you use daggers because they’re like claws?”