Shattered Dreams
Page 21
Chapter 15
Henry's mind started working again after his body did, apparently, which meant that he regained consciousness to find himself retching and vomiting. From the raw pain in his throat, he suspected he'd been doing so for at least a little while. Either that or the rawness was from the screams that he vaguely remembered.
"What happened?" he asked once he was able to get himself under some semblance of control. His voice sounded harsh and ill-used to his ears.
"Nobody is entirely certain," someone answered softly, and Henry turned his head to see Cedric kneeling beside him, a damp cloth in his hand. There was a look of pity on his face.
"Tell me what you think happened then," Henry demanded angrily.
Cedric pursed his lips and hesitated before complying. "There was an accident," he said, still using that quiet tone of voice.
He reached behind him and picked up something from the ground. Henry felt his eyes widen at the sight of his staff, the lovingly carved wood charred, the symbols marred and blackened. And the focus crystal at the top of the staff was cracked in three or four places, the emerald now a dirty looking grey. Henry felt bile rise in his throat, and he was sick again before he could stop himself.
Wiping his hand across his mouth, he looked over at his one-time mentor. "So that's it then?" he asked bitterly. "It's all over for me?"
"You're lucky to even be alive, Henry," Cedric told him. "Can't you be grateful for that?"
Henry pushed himself to his feet, wavering for a few seconds as he regained his balance. He waved Cedric away when the master mage would have helped to steady him, not wanting to admit how drained he felt, to say nothing about a reaction headache that dwarfed any he'd ever had before.
"Be grateful?" he repeated after he felt a little surer of himself. He walked away from the disgusting mess on the floor, distancing himself from the proof of his failure. "How can I possibly be grateful when I've failed so spectacularly? I'll never cast again!"
"Well, we don't know that for certain," Cedric said, and Henry gestured angrily toward his staff.
"My focus is destroyed, my staff too. If, and it's a big if, my powers haven't been burned from me entirely, I'll never cast more than the most basic of apprentice spells."
The master mage sighed. "It's true that damage to a staff like that usually happens when the focus tries to absorb excess spell energy, to protect the mage, but maybe you could try to build another staff?"
"Assuming I have any magic left in me, right?"
Cedric nodded, though the question had been rhetorical. Henry knew that his power was gone. He could feel the emptiness inside of him where it had once resided, like an echoing chamber in his soul.
"I was supposed to save my kingdom," the price muttered quietly. "Now what will I do?"
Cedric stepped closer, daring to put a hand on Henry's shoulder to offer support and comfort. "The prophecy said that it was a child of the royal family with magical ability who would save Mythesti," he said. "It says nothing about having to use magic. Maybe your knowledge of what can be done, of what's possible, is all that is needed."
"But anybody could know that!" Henry exclaimed, spinning to face Cedric. "All it takes is the ability to watch mages working!"
"But who has ever bothered?" Cedric countered. "You have lived the life of a mage in service to the kingdom, and while your expertise in the other elements is a little weaker and more theoretical, you should still be able to direct mages to where they can be best used. Maybe if you-"
"Enough!" Henry interrupted. "I've heard enough, and I don't want to talk about it any longer. I believe I have a party to get ready for."
Cedric's face reddened. "Your parents sent everyone away and cancelled the party. They said you'd taken ill and would not be able to attend."
Henry's shoulders slumped, a feeling of defeat settling into him. Not only had he failed his master's test, but he'd burned out his powers entirely, and now he wouldn't even get the recognition of becoming an adult and a so-called productive member of society. He spun toward the door, heading toward the stairs and his room.
"I want to be alone," he muttered when Cedric took a step to follow him. "I need to rest, I think, and tomorrow, I need to figure out who I am."
"You're still the heir to the kingdom, Henry," the master mage told him as Henry walked away. "That hasn't changed. You still have a job to do. You'll just need to do it a little differently than you'd thought."
Henry didn't reply, and when he reached his room, he barely managed to avoid slamming the door behind him. He knew that he was now an adult, but his spirit was crushed, his future destroyed. The prince threw himself across his bed and wept like a child, crying himself to sleep over lost hopes and dreams.
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