Page 5 of A Tale of Treachery

I struggled to pin the cloak with the brooch that was a part of my uniform—a sparkling golden owl with emerald eyes, a badge of honor that was earned only after passing the third level of apprenticeship—but the pin kept stabbing my numb fingers.

Eulalia’s giggling passed through the ringing of my ears, and I shot her a helpless look.

“Let me,” she laughed, marching over to grab the brooch and lapels of my cloak.

“How do you do that?” I threw my hand out and gestured toward the broken branches and leaves. “How do you remain so unbothered by magic?”

She patted the secured brooch and stepped back, her gaze going to the fire beside me. The flames still blazed, though they should have gone out. The fire pushed forward, threatening to break past the boundaries of the clearing.

“Because I have control over my magic. I’m one with it.” Concern glazed over her features. “Why isn’t the fire out yet?”

I cleared my throat and lifted my hand to summon my magic back to me but was met with resistance. Gritting my teeth, I tried again and failed.

“I—it usually puts itself out,” I answered. “Just give me a moment.”

The harder I tried to recall my magic, the harder it fought, refusal slamming against my mind with brute force. My skull cracked in two, undone from the exertion and pain that seemed to come from a complete loss of control. My fingertips dug into my forehead as I put pressure on the ache and steeled myself against the magic.

The magic didn’t want to cooperate after too long being pinned. Rebelling, my magic whispered to me, seeking to barter, but I refused to bow down to something that was essentially mine. My jaw clenched, and my teeth dug into the skin of my cheeks, my mouth filling with blood as I forced my will onto the rebellious magic.

I could see Eulalia in my peripheral vision, noted how she bit her lip and chewed with apprehension. I couldn’t let her down, couldn’t let her see my loss of control.

Finally, it returned, but only after crippling my body with pain.

I swallowed in gulps of air, my chest heaving as I collapsed onto my hands, exhausted. When I tilted my head up, a sigh of relief escaped. The fire was finally out.

“I’m worried about you…” Eulalia’s concerned voice cut through the pounding of my skull.

I opened my mouth to speak, to tell her I was fine, but choked on the words.

“Your magic is wild. Untamed. You don’t have control over it, and you can’t continue to keep it pent up.”

“I’m all right. It’s all right,” I grunted, slowly standing with my fists clenched. “I’m in control.”

It was a lie.

“I think it’s best if we plan a training session sooner than later. Silas will call on you when it’s safe for me to move around the forest,” Eulalia whispered as the raven swooped down to land on her shoulder, his beak opening with a loud, affirmative croak.

I nodded. “Just be safe. Don’t rush to help. We can fret about this another time.”

Reassured, she smiled and disappeared.

But I knew that there wasn’t much time left.

CHAPTER3

The sanctum was a sizeable arched establishment comprised of crumbling stone with inset stained glass windows. It was attached to the palace but appeared to be a complete contradiction of the adjacent building, one light, the other dark and foreboding. The palace was newer and cleaner, built of limestone and decorated with crystal clear windows, while the sanctum was older and darker, having been built centuries before. It was said that the sanctum was the original palace, with its vaulted ceilings and vast turrets decorated with gargoyles and intricate carvings, but the building was too old to truly know its history.

As for how the sanctum came to be, there was only speculation. Rumor claimed it existed before the kingdom had even formed. It housed a vast library containing nearly every book known to man, minus some books that had been banned, deemed treasonous, and burned.

As the highest-ranked scholar in the royal assembly, Lord Redmond had been given private accommodations that included a study and two attached bedrooms, one of which was mine. I leaned back in the worn armchair of the study, bone-weary with fatigue as Redmond paced, muttering to himself unintelligibly. He was currently working on a project, something to do with alchemy, or maybe poison—who knew. Something different caught his fancy every other day.

He had always been distractable, his mind a prison from which he couldn’t entirely break free, constantly churning and brimming with new information and ideas. Even his aura existed as a chaotic multicolor blend.

Soon after finding me, he’d deduced what I was, so he’d taken me under his wing in the hope of studying me. I’d quickly recognized his genius and clung to him, needing someone clever enough to protect me from the monsters of the world. I’d told myself I would only stay for a little while, just until I was strong enough to protect myself.

But I still needed him and always would. He filled a void in my life that I wasn’t even aware needed to be filled. And as time passed, our mutually beneficial relationship turned into something familiar and comforting.

He was an amazing man, and I was lucky to have him.

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