“You’re huge!”
One of the soldiers who’d been sitting next to Derrick choked on his roast. “They feed us well, and this one has an appetite. He won a contest against everyone else in our station.”
Just like Alex, I thought wryly. Some things never change.
“Did you just arrive today?” Derrick dragged me over to an empty chair.
“We did.” I grinned. “I rode all night to get here.”
“By the gods, Ry, Ferren’s Keep is a good three hours from Tijan! You are mad! Weren’t you riding two straight weeks before this?”
I gave a weak wave of the hand. “It was worth it to see my favorite brother.”
Derrick grinned, dimples forming at the corner of his cheeks. “You’re such a bad liar, Ry. You only say that now because Alex is nowhere in sight… Where is that lug anyway? Why isn’t he here visiting me with you?”
“He’s coming tomorrow. He told me to tell you there was no way he was going to spend another night in the saddle.” I snorted. “He had really bad sores from this last ride in the mountains, and unlike us, he’s not exactly warrior bred.”
Derrick snickered. “Trust Alex to become a healer. That’s about as dandy as it gets.”
I yawned. “We shouldn’t mock our poor brother just because he likes to be comfortable. I don’t know about you, but there are certainly days I dream of leaving Combat behind and taking up something easier instead.”
“But you never would.”
“No. But it’s a nice fantasy, especially when Byron spends all his time ripping me apart.”
“Is he worse than Sir Piers?”
“You have no idea.” I took a bite of my brother’s dinner, or what was left of it. “Besides, Piers always believed in me. Byron is just looking for ways to make me quit.”
“Our commander out here is like that. But I think it’s because he cares and doesn’t want to see us unprepared.”
“Byron doesn’t care if I’m prepared or not. He just wants me gone.”
“Surely he’s like that with everyone?” That question came from one of Derrick’s female comrades.
I smiled weakly. “Only the women—and one of my friends when he was with us. But, no, it’s mostly me. The master loathes me.”
Derrick looked amused. “Because you’re stubborn.”
I sighed. “Because I’m everything he hates. But enough about my miserable existence. Let’s hear what life is like for a soldier in Tijan. How has the action been up north?”
I must have asked the right question, because the next thing I knew, every single soldier in the place was bellowing over the other to tell me their wildest stories since coming into service. My brother and his cohorts had had quite the adventure in the year since they started, and some of the older men had tales as far back as two decades.
I spent the rest of the evening listening to tales about border raids and the pranks the soldiers liked to play against one another in their downtime. It was nice to see how happy Derrick was with his new friends.
Much glory was given to mages, but it was the soldiers who were always the first line of defense. It was a fact I’d tried not to ponder too heavily when I thought about Derrick, especially when I remembered that he was stationed along the border where most of the fighting took place. Neither he nor his comrades seemed too concerned, or if they were afraid, they hid it well. But I worried. Because that was the only thing a sister could do.
Still, it was meant to be an evening of festivity, not solace. My brother was one of the best in his year, and he was not a fool. He would be smart about any action he took, and I knew he trusted me to do the same. I forced myself to smile and enjoy the rest of the night.
By the time I finally said my good-byes and saddled my horse, it was two hours past midnight. I was fighting sleep and not looking forward to the three-hour trek back to Ferren’s Keep. But if I missed the morning warm-ups with the regiment, Byron would notice, and then I would be stuck cleaning the armory for the rest of my apprenticeship. So it was one night without sleep, or ten months of polishing armor. I chose the former.
I just hoped the next day would carry on much faster than the first.
“YOU FEELING ALL RIGHT, RYIAH?”
I just shook my head and laid it back on the table while the others continued their morning meal.
Ella patted my back sympathetically. “She didn’t get any sleep.”
“Derrick and his friends kept you up that late?” Alex guffawed. “That oaf should have sent you on your way after an hour.”
“I wanted to see him,” I mumbled without raising my head. If I did, the room would start to spin, and then I’d be right back where I started.
“A lot of good that did you.”
“I only have to get through the rest of practice, and then I’ll get to sleep.”
“You forgot the armory,” Ella reminded me.
I groaned. Why does Byron have to hate me so much?
After the second bell, I followed Ella out of the dining commons to Combat’s training grounds. Ferren’s Keep, like the other three cities we had trained in, was as different as could be. Which meant, of course, that our training was different as well—though just how different, I hadn’t expected.
First things first, the keep was actually inside a giant fortress built into one of the Iron Mountains. Like Ishir Outpost, the rock city provided a safe refuge for its inhabitants, but it had the added bonus of a dense forest and raging river just south of it.
The fortress was as large as the king’s palace in Devon with a similar wall guarding its face. The fortress hosted row after row of sentry posts and a high tower to its north. Add to that an endless supply of lookouts and a guard at every possible entrance to monitor the people’s coming and goings, and it was easy to see why our training focused on defense instead of what we were used to, offense.
“The balance of power favors the defender.” That was the first thing Commander Nyx said when we arrived. “This keep is impenetrable so long as our regiment continues to make it so.”
During our non-magic drills, we spent a good deal of time running back and forth along the narrow sentry wall, taking turns with our partner as one attempted to scale it while the other employed various techniques to hold them off.
Those “techniques” had included longbows and crossbows—the two favorite weapons of the keep’s regiment, whose main role was servicing the wall as a sentry.
We also trained with knives since they were easy to carry during a climb.
Then we practiced loading and unloading the heavy catapults, after taking turns aiming heavy piles of rock at landmarks below.
The last exercise was the worst. I was already so tired from a lack of sleep and the morning warm-up. By the time we’d started the catapults, my arms shook so badly that I dropped two large stones I carried. The third time, one landed on my right foot. I spent the rest of practice limping through my drills.
Byron, of course, deemed my injury “not serious enough” to warrant a trip to the infirmary. I hated the man almost as much as the prince.
At the end of practice, I chanced a peek under my boot to see how “serious” my foot really was and shuddered at the spotted purple and red bruise in its place.
“Where did you get that little nasty from?”
I turned my head and realized a woman with short-cropped blonde hair was examining the foot cradled in my hands. I immediately dropped it. She had steel gray eyes and a permanent frown, which meant she could be only one person: Commander Nyx.
I cringed. The last thing I wanted was the leader of Ferren’s Keep’s regiment to consider me soft.
Especially if I wanted a chance of being offered a post next year.
The commander stepped forward, still squinting at me. “It was the catapults, wasn’t it?”
I nodded mutely.
“If you have time to swing by my chambers during lunch, I’ve got some bruise balm for it. I tend to keep some on hand whe
never the squires or apprentice mages are stationed here. Someone always manages to drop those rocks at least once a day for the first week or two.”
Is she really this nice, or is it a test to see if I’m weak-willed enough to accept her help? I’d heard rumors about how Nyx got her post… You had to be a very tough sort of woman to beat out hundreds of other knights for Jerar’s highest command up north.
I decided I didn’t want her aid either way. Alex had helped me that second year back in Ishir, but that had been for a broken arm, not a bruise. What was Byron always saying? “Pain is how we build strength.” Well, I could certainly use some after today.
“I’ll be just fine, but thank you for the kind offer.”
The woman cracked a toothy smile. “Wise choice. I’ve offered it to two others so far and you are the first to turn me down. I can’t respect anyone who coddles themselves.”
A wave of relief washed over me. I would not be one of those apprentices she marked off her list for potential service, at least not yet. “Who were the other two?”
She chuckled. “Check the dining commons. Byron and I have a little game we play every time he brings his apprentices to my keep. I give him the name of any apprentices foolish enough to accept the help I offer, and then he orders them a week without rations to help them build their resistance to pain. It saves my cook’s stores as well, so we both win.”
I was doubly glad I had refused her offer. One night without sleep and a throbbing foot was bad enough; I did not need to withstand a week of starvation as well.
“Be sure to tell Byron I refused your offer. He doesn’t like me much.” It was reckless, but I felt a little bit braver now that I hadn’t fallen for her hoax.
Commander Nyx’s eyes crinkled. “He doesn’t like me much either, but his methods work. Have no fear, Apprentice, I’ll make sure to put in a good word… What is your name?”
“Ryiah.”
“Well, Ryiah, welcome to Ferren’s Keep.”
IN THE NEXT couple of days, three more Combat apprentices went a week without rations as our training got more intense and they caved to Nyx and Byron’s scheme. I’d been delighted, at first, to find out Radley was one of them.
But then my mentee became more nasty than usual, and it was even harder to resist casting him into the steep forest drop beyond us.
I was so consumed with fighting off my growing dislike of my mentee that I almost forgot about the prince.
Until the afternoon I ran into him and Priscilla arguing quietly outside the men’s barracks. The girl was clutching a letter in one hand and brandishing her fist with the other. I heard her shout “Shina” before I turned heel and left. I didn’t want to hear anything else. I didn’t need to.
When I ran into Darren later that day, I avoided his gaze. I was sad and upset, and I wasn’t sure which one was worse. Depressed that I still wasn’t over him? Or angry that I hadn’t known him at all?
For a while last year, I’d entertained the notion that maybe the prince did care. I’d told myself his father forbade him. Threatened his life even. Poor Darren, he’d had no choice in the matter. He loved me, but he’d been powerless to stop his family.
But that dream had not reconciled with his words at the Academy and the fight on the night of Ian’s ascension ceremony. Darren hadn’t been afraid to disobey the king then. No, he had openly fought for the princess he wanted and tried to make himself his father’s heir. That Darren was fearless, and not the least influenced by what his vile family said.
Seeing Darren’s letter from Princess Shinako only made the truth that much worse.
Between drills, weekly visits to see Derrick, the occasional armory chore, and all the extra lessons with Ella I could manage, I quickly lost all track of time. I didn’t really lose track of Darren, but then again that had never been an option.
As much as I might wish it were.
19
“I second Eve.”
“Darren.”
“I also vote for Eve. She did a great job in Devon.”
“Eve for me.”
“I nominate Ryiah.”
At that I gave Ella a grateful smile. I knew our fifth year was critical and what it would say if we lost, but I really, really wanted a chance to try. And this was my last year to do it.
“I second Ryiah.” Ray gave me a rueful smile, perhaps to make up for voting for Eve the year before.
“Well, I vote for Darren,” Priscilla said shrilly. “I will not follow a lowborn.”
“We vote with Priscilla. We want the prince.” Merrick and Radley made no attempt to sound impartial.
“Ryiah,” Alex and all four of his comrades spoke at once. I grinned. Restoration’s pride wasn’t at stake the way it was for Combat, so the fifth-years in his faction were more open to change.
“Ryiah. Give the poor girl a chance. If she wants to risk commanding this year, it will be her fate on the line if we lose. All of us know Byron will blame her anyway.” Ruth winked at me from her circle of Alchemy mentors.
The rest of the class spoke out. Eve made a bold move and took herself out, voting for me in a pleasant twist of fate. Darren and I were tied… it came down to a third-year boy in Alchemy.
I stood tall. “You should vote for me because everyone deserves a chance. That’s how we all became apprentices, isn’t it? We were allowed to try… So you should let me try.” I smiled sweetly, and the boy blushed. Beat that, Darren!
Darren stepped forward and said loudly, “You shouldn’t pick Ryiah because she’s lowborn and reckless—”
I made a choking sound.
“—And did you hear why the Academy’s armory had to be rebuilt the year before you started? That was because Ryiah made a rash decision that brought the whole thing down and almost killed herself and Ray here. The only reason she didn’t die was because he was able to save them. If she does that this time, who knows what will happen?”
I broke free of Ella’s hold. I didn’t even care that all of the mentors’ eyes were upon me. I was done trying to ignore the prince.
I would not let Darren sabotage another part of my life.
“You and me,” I growled, “duel. Pain casting. Now. Let’s see which one of us has more control then.”
“You know I would win,” Darren shot back, “and at least I didn’t resort to petty flirtation to sway someone’s vote!”
“Flirtation is hardly the same as insult!”
“It’s not an insult if it’s true.”
“You called me lowborn and reckless!”
Darren arched a brow, and I longed to swipe the smirk off his face. “Well, you were born in Demsh’aa and that decision was reckless. I was only stating fact.”
“You know exactly what you were implying, Darren. Don’t you dare try to—”
“I want Eve.”
Both of us turned our heads to face the boy we’d been fighting over. We had forgotten all about him.
“I want Eve too,” another girl from Alchemy spoke up. “I want to change my vote.”
“Both of you are wasting our time. I vote for Eve as well.”
Before my eyes, I watched as the rest of the mentors turned against Darren and me with the exception of Priscilla, Ella, Ray, and Alex, who loyally kept their votes. When it was all said and done, Eve beat out Darren and me for the second year in a row.
Eve walked over to the both of us. “I don’t want the two of you distracting everyone else from what needs to be done. Both of you can scout the grounds below the wall. When you’re done, report to me and we will station two of our third-years as sentries in whatever location you deem best. This way we’ll be warned before the mentees arrive and I won’t have the two of you hindering the rest of our planning.”
My face fell. “How will we know what to do during the battle if we spend the whole time before it scouting?”
“Yes, Eve, how will I know my role if I’m out counting trees?” Darren’s tone was incredulous. “I’m one of the most valuable ap
prentices you have.”
“You should’ve thought about that before you decided to stage a fight during the middle of our vote.” Eve gave her friend a discerning look. “You two will be stationed next to me during the actual battle. But until then, you scout. Understand?”
“HAVE YOU HEARD ANYTHING YET?”
I glared at Darren. “I thought you were keeping track of the bell tower.”
“I was,” he snapped, “but you kept bringing us further into the forest, and I can’t see it anymore… I was hoping we’d be able to hear it, but—“
I threw down the charcoal I had been using to map our location. “But what?”
“I think we are too far out.”
“You couldn’t have mentioned this sooner? How many tolls do we have left?”
“Just the ten minute warning bell before it begins.”
I stood up with a start. “Darren, we are twenty minutes away from the wall!”
“That was when we didn’t know where we were going.” Darren’s tone was anything but helpful. “Now we do. If we run we should be fine.”
A bloodcurdling scream ripped across the clearing.
I whirled around to stare into the woods behind us. “What was that?” Did the battle already start? Leave it to Darren to lose track of our time.
“I’m not sure.” The prince was staring in the same direction as me. He seemed puzzled. “All of the other mentors are at the keep, so why would a mentee attack one of their own?”
“Maybe they know we are out here? It could be a trick.”
Darren scoffed. “But why would they think we’d help?”
There was a loud boom and the ground beneath us shook violently. That same second, a chorus of men’s shouting started just north of us.
“I don’t think it’s the mentees trying to trick us.” I reached for my scabbard at the same time that Darren cast out three bolts of lightning into the sky, one by one. They flashed directly above us.
My lips parted in surprise. “What was that for?”
Darren grabbed my arm and started to run, dragging me behind him. “A distress call.”
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