Page 30 of Kingdom of Shadows and Wings

When lunch arrives, I grab my tray and dig into my food without speaking.

Olive bumps my shoulder. “You’re quiet all of a sudden.”

When I wince in reply, she squeezes my bicep. “Are you all right?”

“I’m okay. But every inch of my body feels like I’ve been beaten with a sack of rocks.”

Abel pats my hand. “It could be worse. You could feel like you’ve been beaten with a sack of rocks, gored by an angry alicorn, and tossed off the side of Mount Klemson. Though that’s probably coming up.”

The force with which I stab a piece of chicken makes my plate jump. “Gee, thanks for giving me something to look forward to.”

He winks. “Anytime.”

After that exchange, I don’t contribute much to the conversation. I need to preserve my remaining strength and sanity for our upcoming class. One I’ve been dreading.

Magic.

Chapter Eleven

Nick and Abel join Olive and me as we leave the mess hall and walk one of the paths that cuts across the interior fields. A layer of puffy white clouds blots out the sun, suffocating the warmth and darkening the sky. If the sudden change in weather is a sign from Zeru, magic training is going to go about as good as I expect. The best case scenario is that the magic suppressant does its job and I have another weak showing in front of my peers. If the remedy fails, I might produce enough fire to wow an audience…and also burn that same audience to a crisp, which is one hell of a downside.

A chill snakes into my lungs. I wrap my arms around my waist, fighting off the flame-fueled memories licking at the edges of my mind. Up until now, the alchemist’s medicine has worked. There’s no reason to think that will stop. I need to remain calm, though. Out-of-control emotions can trigger unpredictable effects on magic, and I’d rather not put the suppressant to the test.

I follow my flight unit past the dragon aerie and the building behind it to a huge structure that backs up to a rocky cliff, the location undoubtedly chosen so fledglings could practice elemental magic without fear of destroying a building via an accidental gale of wind or rogue fireball. The gray stone walls, taller than any of the two-story structures, tower above us and curve to form shapes reminiscent of flower petals. This close to the ocean, the roar of waves is louder, their rhythmic crash and ebb amplified through the valleys and trails that dip between cliffs and offer glimpses of blue water and black sand.

Farther down, the eyril field nestles near a low valley, the waving, tentacle-like stalks whispering in the salty breeze. When I cock my head a certain way, I can almost hear words.

“Hey, Lark, you coming?”

I blink, surprised to find Olive and the others already at the arena entrance. Too much stress and not enough sleep.

I jog to catch up, and my eyes widen as we enter.

From this vantage point, the arena resembles a flower even more. From a circular, central arena, four huge oval-shaped areas branch out in each direction. Olive leads me to the closest petal, which plunges us into a lush world of green. Grass blankets the ground, tickling my ankles, and the air brims with fragrant perfume, courtesy of an explosion of flowers. Bees buzz, and butterflies zip from one colorful bloom to the next. A grove of umberheart trees explode with vibrant green and form leafy canopies.

I drag my fingers along the silky petal of a yellow and orange dragonflight flower, named for its resemblance to a dragon’s outstretched wings. “I’m going to take a wild guess and say this is where the earth elementals practice.”

Olive snickers. “Aren’t you a clever one.”

We hit the water elemental practice area next. Little pools of water bubble up from the earth. A small waterfall cascades down the rocky cliff into one of the pools, and a narrow stream gurgles the overflow away, curving until the water disappears back beneath the boulders.

A gap in the cliff for the next arena allows wind to tunnel in off the ocean and sweep through the cut-outs high on the opposite wall. Flags and pinwheels decorated in Aclaris colors flutter and spin.

Olive slows her pace. “This is my stop. You’re the next one. Instructor Resnick has us stick with our elemental group for warm-ups to build up our magic, and then we usually get together for training exercises with the entire class. Good luck.”

My stomach tumbles and dives as I confront the open doorway leading to the fire arena. “Thanks. Guessing I’ll need it.”

Pressing a hand to my turbulent belly, I offer up a silent prayer to Vaya, Goddess of Fire, before squaring my shoulders and marching to the final practice space to join the other magic wielders. Though calling myself a magic wielder is something of a stretch considering the one time I wielded more than a negligible amount of fire was both accidental and an unmitigated disaster.

Several other fledglings already populate the large space, which boasts heavy bronze sconces spaced out along the walls, each topped by a flickering flame. Oversized bulls-eye targets hang above eye level from the wall. Unlike the other arenas, a thin sheet of sand makes up the groundcover here. Save for the black splotches sprinkled in spots, child-sized, blue-gray urns that sprout flames provide the only relief from the monotony. The realization that those scorch marks likely signal fire gone awry does nothing to tame my fluttering nerves.

Neither does spotting Elijah sauntering into the training area. Theo strolling in behind him is a more welcome sight.

“Okay, everyone, let’s get started on drills. And please, for the love of the gods, remember to put on a robe first so we can avoid another unfortunate incident like last week. Right, Fledgling Zeen?”

Laughter follows as I turn toward a brown-skinned man with twinkling eyes. He’s shorter than me, slight of build, and exudes a quiet confidence and humor that immediately puts me at ease.

The subject of his gentle rebuke, a gangly male student with carrot-colored hair and too many freckles to count splattered across his pale cheeks, winces and rubs an angry pink pucker across his neck. “Right, Instructor Resnick.”

---