Page 1 of The Tribes of Magic
EPISODE 1
THE ELVES, PART 1
CHAPTER 1
THE SNOWS OF SUMMER
Aflurry of snowflakes fell on summer. Swirls of steam wafted up from the grassy field—at the same time sun-scorched and frost-kissed—but the air was dark and cold. So very cold. My breath froze on my lips, and I was shaking so hard that my teeth rattled, despite all the layers of clothing I was wearing.
Across the small patch of grass, the white Knight was almost invisible. Only his black hair stood out against the snowy forest backdrop. Kato had foregone his usual white armor in lieu of white sports clothes. His shirt and leggings were paper-thin, but the frigid air didn’t appear to bother him at all. He observed me closely. All the while, I shivered, beat my hands together, and hopped up and down to stay warm.
His lips curled decidedly downward, like he disapproved of the very idea that anyone could feel cold in sub-zero temperatures. “I expect you will learn to handle the cold soon enough. And the heat. And rain. And storms.”
I cringed just imagining what Kato planned to put me through today. The sun hadn’t even risen, and I was starting to wish I hadn’t risen this morning either.
“Mastery of the elements is Nymph magic, Savannah. But this morning, we’re focusing on something else entirely: agility, a very useful Metamorph spell.”
“Particularly for you.” Conner appeared out of nowhere, as he often did.
I gasped, jumping in alarm. My eyes had been so focused on Kato that I’d totally forgotten to open up my other senses to the world around me. If I had, I’d have sensed Conner, invisibility spell or not. I mean, I’dknownhe was somewhere around here. After all, he’d been the one to cast a winter spell on this summer field just five minutes ago.
“You do get yourself into a lot of trouble, Red.” Conner chuckled. Frost crunched beneath his shoes as he walked across the grass, coming to a stop beside Kato. “Being able to run fast will help you get out of it.”
He wasn’t wrong. Ididhave a talent for getting myself into trouble, the latest incident being a three-way firefight between us, an anti-magic hate group, and a trio of supernatural kidnappers who called themselves Templars. That battle had happened only yesterday, but already everyone in all the Many Realms knew about it—and they knew about me, the Apprentice Knight who’d somehow stumbled into the middle of it all.
Believe it or not, being infamous wasn’t as much fun as it sounded.
“Thanks for the helpful commentary.” I shot Conner a sarcastic smile.
He smirked as he ran a hand through his blond hair. “Don’t worry. I have plenty more where that came from.”
“No thank you,” Kato told him before I could. “You’re not here to distract her from her training.”
Conner pretended to look disappointed. “I’m not? Too bad. I can beverydistracting.” He wiggled his eyebrows up and down at me.
I snorted, Conner chuckled, and Kato expelled a long-suffering sigh.
Then he slid Conner a frosty, sidelong glare. “I expected this sort of behavior fromhim, Seven, but I thought you knew better. I thought you realized how important what we’re doing here is.”
“I do. And I’m sorry. I’ll try harder.” I rolled back my shoulders, my fists clenched with determination.
Kato turned his gaze on Conner.
Conner laughed. “If you’re waiting for me to promise to be serious, Kato, well, that’s just not going to happen. I never take anything seriously.”
“For once, we agree on something,” Kato replied, his mouth tight. “But, actually, I was about to ask you to flex your magical muscles instead of your mouth.”
“Hey, I’ll have you know that Iexcelat flexing my magical muscles.”
Kato flicked Conner’s flexed biceps with his finger, which elicited a cry of protest from his best friend.
“Now, if you will, Captain Rogue, prepare the first challenge.” Kato’s dark brows lifted. “Unless that’s too hard for you.”
“Of course it’s not.”
Whistling a quick staccato note, Conner positioned both hands in front of his chest. Glittering flakes of snow rose from the ground, spiraling inward, solidifying to form a snowball in his open palms.
I gasped. “Cool.”
