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  “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be!” They had seen her triptych duel. They would send her to Tarna to save her mother. “I accept.”

  “Excellent.” Elder Halde nodded to Ine. “Contact Adept Anylus in Tarna to submit our candidate.” Halde turned to Gell. “If you would provide Kara’s map?”

  Kara’s vision took on an intensity matching the sharp eyes of Theotrix. The great falcon streaked across leagues of green and rock. Together they glided over plains of tall grass and forested hills cloaked in fog. Flying.

  At last they reached a magnificent city of stone embedded in the Ranarok mountains, filled with thatched roofs in layered tiers. Thick gray walls surrounded the city and stood taller than a Solyr building. Those walls protected the pride of her province. Tarna.

  Mynt’s capital was the oldest city of the most respected province in the world. If King Haven accepted her nomination, Kara would occupy the highest position an apprentice of Solyr could occupy in all Five Provinces. She would serve her province’s rulers as she had once served this academy.

  As Theotrix’s vision faded, a dozen worries washed over her. Kara had daydreamed about this moment almost every day since she had arrived at Solyr, yet it had always been something in the far future. Now that she had succeeded, the impact of what waited ahead hit her like a wave to the face. Sailors stronger than her had fallen beneath waves like this. Some had even drowned.

  “Do you have any questions?” Halde asked.

  Kara breathed and focused. “Thank you.”

  Elder Gell nodded to her. In addition to giving her a glimpse of the city, the vision Gell had projected inside her head had also taught her how to reach it. Kara now knew the route to Tarna, and several alternate routes, as if she traveled them daily.

  “I don’t know what else to say," Kara added.

  “I’d come up with a bit more than that before you speak to Adept Anylus.” Halde leaned forward. “We know you will succeed.”

  Kara focused on Halde’s smiling face, on the warmth he made her feel. “I am more than honored by your faith in me. I am humbled. I’ll do all I can to live up to your trust.”

  “Wonderful. I expect you’ll need several days to get your affairs in order, but plan to leave shortly after Selection Day. We will provide you with a horse for the journey to Tarna, but even on horseback, it’s a journey of just under a week.”

  “I’ll prepare at once.”

  “Then there’s just one more matter to discuss.” Halde’s smile grew. “I have received correspondence from your mother. Ona will be here in two days to join us on Selection Day.”

  Kara’s heart fluttered. She imagined Ona falling from her horse or groaning in the back of a wagon, and just the thought made her ill. She wanted nothing more than to see her mother, wrap her arms around her, but what if the long trip made Ona’s illness worse?

  “She’s already left, hasn’t she?”

  “Likely a week back.” Halde’s smile faded. “Is everything all right?”

  “She’s just been worse these past few years. I worry for her, but I can’t help that. She’ll be fine.”

  “Senior Mender Landra will tend to her when she arrives. If anyone can ease her pain—”

  “I couldn’t ask her to do that!”

  “You didn’t. Landra did. It was her idea, as soon as she heard your mother was coming to visit. Always remember, Kara, that you are part of our family. You are never alone here.”

  Kara couldn’t stop herself from shaking. “Thank you.” She told herself that was simply Sera’s enhancement wearing off.

  “This meeting is adjourned. Notify us when you are ready to leave, Apprentice Tanner.” Halde leaned back. “Dismissed.”

  Kara smiled when Halde spoke her new title for the first time. Apprentice Tanner. No matter the weather ahead, she had earned that title at last. After bowing one last time, Kara walked out the doors of the Council Chamber without really seeing them.

  She had never really looked beyond the walls that had been her home for most of the twelve years since she had come here at age six. Yet Selection Day was two days hence. After she graduated, she would leave this life behind. She would start a new one in Tarna.

  Kara wanted to grab the first person she saw and hug them, run through Solyr shouting at the top of her lungs, but walking was hard enough right now. She had almost all the reagents she needed. In perhaps a week she would have her magesand, and then her glyph of Transference would be ready. She could finally force her own soul out of her healthy body and replace it with her mother’s.

  Kara had no illusions that living with her mother’s illness would be easy, but she studied powerful magic. She had a far better chance of surviving in Ona’s sickly body than Ona did, and she would be living in Tarna, the richest city in all of Mynt. If any cure could be found, it would be there. Anything to free Ona of her crippling pain.

  Kara took her bearings from the bright moon over the mage stone walls — her dorm room was east of here — and walked through an academy settled in for the night. The moon offered some light, but hanging lamps of bluish phantom fire further ensured she wouldn’t lose her footing. As Kara rounded the corner of the large Aerial classroom, one of the shadows stepped into her path.

  Kara jumped. It was not a shadow, but a person. It was Jair.

  “Hello,” Jair said. Keeping a respectful distance.

  “Hello, Jair.” Kara was damn well tired of people sneaking up on her. “Not to be rude or anything, but what are you doing here?”

  “I’ve come to speak to you about Aryn.”

  “I’ve nothing to say to him.”

  “I know. I’ve come to warn you about him.”

  “Why would you need to do that?” Had Aryn cooked up some foolhardy plan for vengeance?

  “Aryn has been under a great deal of pressure. His loss devastated him.”

  Kara did her best not to scoff. She could find no pity for a man who had treated her so callously, but that did not mean she had to be rude to Jair. He was only trying to help.

  “I don’t expect you to forgive his treatment of you,” Jair said. “But things Aryn has told me in confidence worry me. What I can tell you is that because Aryn lost your duel, his life in Solyr is over.”

  Kara snorted. “That’s a bit dramatic, isn’t it?”

  “It was obvious to everyone why the elders requested your presence. News that you’ve been chosen as the royal apprentice spreads already. That was Aryn’s last hope. He has nothing now.”

  Kara chose her next words as diplomatically as she could. “I understand Aryn was as anxious for the post as I was. But the end of his life? You’ll forgive me if I don’t see it.”

  “Trust me,” Jair said. “Stay away from Aryn.” He paused and ran his hand through his dark hair, an almost nervous gesture. “A man with nothing to lose is most dangerous of all.”

  Kara shivered as she remembered the hatred in Aryn’s eyes, as Jair’s eyes held hers, demanding understanding. He stared into her. It felt like he was staring at her soul and she wondered then if he could do that, see her soul without the dream world.

  “I understand,” Kara said quietly. “Thank you.”

  Jair offered her a faint smile. “I should be going. But Kara ... know that I’ve always called you friend. If you ever need anything, you have but to ask.”

  Kara watched him walk away, determined to witness whatever allowed him to vanish. Shadows swallowed Jair, and she cursed softly. Was he showing off? Or simply enforcing his warning?

  Kara imagined punching Aryn’s smug face, imagined knocking him to the ground and keeping him there. If Aryn wanted another fight, he would get it. She feared nothing from that noble prick.

  Even so, she checked each shadow on the long walk to her dorm.

  “YOU’RE BACK!” SERA SAT on her bed, snuggled into pillows with a book in her lap. A lamp of phantom fire lit the room. Sera never stopped reading, even after dark, but she set the book aside.

  “Byn�
�s gone … curfew … but he demanded I learn everything. What happened?”

  “You first.” Kara walked to Sera’s bed and rested a palm on Sera’s forehead. “Did you get something to eat? Some fluids? You burned a lot of blood.”

  Sera poked at Kara’s palm. “I’m fine, mother.” She pushed up and settled on her knees. “Now tell me! What’d they say?”

  Kara fell onto her bed and stared at the ceiling, at cedar slats dusty with age. She felt a pang of loneliness. She would be leaving Solyr, leaving Sera, and Byn, and Halde. She had won a tremendous opportunity, but she would face it without her friends.

  She rolled to face Sera, and Sera’s eyes went wide. “What did they say, Kara?”

  “They made their decision.”

  “Who did they choose?”

  “Please.” Kara huffed. “I’m smiling, aren’t I?”

  Sera flung herself across the room, throwing her arms around Kara and knocking her down. Laughing. Her friend hugged her and Kara hugged her back, laughing as well. Nothing could be better.

  Sera beamed at her. “I knew they would choose you. I knew it all along.”

  “Sure you did. You read their minds.”

  “I’d never do that, but I knew you deserved it.”

  Kara knew then she had done something wrong. “What is it?”

  “I…” Sera sat up. “I’ve been tutoring Aryn. For over five years.”

  Kara didn’t say anything. She couldn’t, not right then. It was common for advanced students to tutor those who struggled with their studies at Solyr, and Jair tutored students all the time. So why did Sera’s admission cause such hurt?

  Sera sat on Kara’s bed and waited for judgment. Kara didn’t know how to judge her, didn’t think she deserved to. Yet she had to say something. Do something other than stare.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” Kara asked finally.

  “There was no reason to, not at first. After you and Aryn began competing for royal apprentice, I was afraid you’d make me choose between you.”

  “I’d never—“

  “I couldn’t do that. Aryn needed someone who wasn’t interested in his money, someone he could trust. We trust each other. Aryn and I were friends long before we came to Solyr, you know.”

  “I didn’t know, but it’s okay.”

  “His father sent Aryn to visit my family in Cyan every summer. We were just children then, but something about him … he just entranced me. Aryn wasn’t always as hard as he is today. There’s a kind man in him somewhere, hidden away where we can’t see. We were very close as children, before we both came to Solyr.”

  Kara didn’t say anything else, and Sera seemed content to remain the only voice in the room. Kara tried to imagine Aryn when he was little, laughing, playing with Sera. Being a playful child and not a spoiled prick. She imagined as hard as she could.

  “You remember when we met?” Sera asked. “At Elder Cantrall’s dream sessions? You and Aryn were at each other’s throats even then. I liked you, but I didn’t know how you’d react.”

  “I wouldn’t have cared.”

  “I know that now, but I didn’t then. I don’t like confrontation, and once we became friends I didn’t tell you because I was ashamed of never mentioning it. It didn’t seem like it mattered, not until you started competing, and then what could I say?”

  “Stop,” Kara said. “This doesn’t matter.”

  “I was tutoring Aryn long before you two began competing.” Sera didn’t stop. “I thought about quitting, but he needed me. If I’d not helped him he would have flunked out, yet I kept thinking … what if he beats you? What if they nominate him as royal apprentice? It would be my fault.”

  “That’s silly. You didn’t—”

  “It’s over now,” Sera interrupted, and she did a lot of that when she needed to say something. “You’ve won your nomination and Aryn will graduate as a certified Firebrand. So please, don’t be angry with him. I know he’s difficult, but you’ve only seen one side of him, and it’s not his best. I understand, though, if you’re angry with me.”

  Kara gripped Sera’s arms. “Now you’re just being dense. You and Byn are my best friends in Solyr, my only friends.”

  “I don’t expect you to forgive me for lying to you all this time.”

  “An omission’s not really a lie, and sure, you helped him. You’d help anyone who asked, with your soft heart as big as it is. You’re my best friend no matter what. So stop being a moron about this.”

  “I should have known you’d understand.”

  “Yes, you should have.”

  “I won’t be a moron anymore.”

  Kara chuckled for Sera’s benefit and gave her a squeeze. All she could manage without keeling over. Sera hopped up, walked back to her bed, and dropped onto it with a satisfied huff.

  Kara settled against her own pillow, kicking her boots off. She did not bother with her clothes. As she pulled the thin linen sheet over her body, she considered Jair’s warning with new eyes.

  A man with nothing to lose is most dangerous of all.

  Aryn had finished his studies, which meant Sera was done tutoring him. Which meant they were done seeing each other. Kara had always suspected Aryn might be sweet on Sera, and what she’d learned tonight confirmed it. That boastful idiot loved her.

  Kara knew Aryn had never told Sera how he felt. Sera would have mentioned it. Now he was heading home to Locke while Sera stayed at Solyr, and as ridiculous as it seemed, he likely blamed Kara for that. For taking him from Sera.

  Had Aryn really thought winning the post of royal apprentice would simply allow him to sweep Sera off her feet? Did he really think she would toss aside Byn so easily, toss aside the man she was planning to marry? Was he really that much of a fool?

  Kara remained awake long after Sera slept. She kept replaying the events of the day, along with Jair’s grim warning, until Sera’s enhancement drained away. Then she couldn’t replay anything. A rush of exhaustion hit her all at once and Kara slipped into sleep.

  The Tellvan man waited there, face covered in blood.

  Chapter 7

  TRELL FORCED HIS EYES open and blinked against bright light. It hurt. The scent of cinnamon and incense filled his nose. His lids felt heavy, weighted by sleep. He heard someone talking, a whisper that grew to a murmur that grew into words.

  “… all right. It’s all right. It’s all right.”

  White faded to gray, then to blurry vision, and then Trell saw an older woman in a white robe gripping his arm.

  “You are safe,” the woman said. Gray hair made a ponytail at the back of her head, but she was otherwise bald. “You’re in a healing room in the Magic Academy of Solyr.”

  Trell did not feel safe — he was not sure what he felt, having opened his eyes in a room he knew nothing about — but he knew he reclined on a soft bed. The room had brown walls, and aged cedar lined the ceiling. Two strange blue torches lit it with white light.

  Trell ran his fingers across soft cloth pants, over a bare chest wrapped in bandages. His head pounded and his lungs ached, and he had no idea why they would. He could not remember where he was or how he had come here, but that was far from the worst of it.

  He could not remember who he was.

  “I need you to focus, to think.” The woman released his arm. “Can you understand me?”

  “Who are you?” Trell didn’t recognize his own voice.

  “I am Senior Mender Landra. I’ve helped heal your wounds.”

  “You said … this is a magic academy?”

  “Yes. You will be weak for another day, but you will live.”

  Trell swallowed a knife of pain and searched for any memory of his life, anything other than these four walls. Did he have family, friends? Did he have anyone waiting for him at home? Where was home? He could not answer these questions and that made his heart pound. He could not live like this, unable to remember who he was.

  “How did I get here?” It was the least of his questions.


  “One of our initiates found and brought you to us. You were stung by a grayback. Do you know how that happened?”

  Trell remembered the ring of steel on steel, rough sand tearing at his skin, but nothing about graybacks. He knew they were wolves, but could not recall if he had ever seen one. He clenched his hands, closed his eyes, and tried not to scream.

  “Do you remember your name?” Landra asked.

  “My name is … Trell.” He knew that, and that gave him hope there could be more hidden inside him. More facts. More memories. He made that calm his pounding heart.

  “From where do you hail?”

  Trell didn’t answer. He didn’t know. “What happened to my head?”

  “Your clothes were soaked with water. It came from the Layn River, almost two leagues away. I would guess you fell in. Perhaps you hit your head on a rock.”

  Trell remembered bitter cold filling his lungs and felt a thrill of recognition. “I was in a river.” Had he almost drowned?

  “That’s good. Remember. Did someone attack you?”

  Trell clung to the memory of ringing swords, the feeling of being overwhelmed and desperate, yet the memories slipped through his fingers like sand in the desert. “I don’t know. I don’t know!”

  “Calm yourself.” Landra’s warm, rough hand covered his. “These holes in your memories might only be temporary. They could come back to you in these next days.”

  “Might? Could?”

  “I will not coat this with honey. A rock or some other agent inflicted severe damage to your head. I helped with what I could, but I do not know how deep the damage went.”

  “How can you not know? Aren’t you a healer?”

  “What I know, Trell, is that you live. The Five granted you a second life. Earn it.”

  Trell felt his cheeks flush as he recognized all this woman had done for him, all her hard work in keeping him alive. Now he was yelling at her. “I will.” He focused on her narrowed eyes. “Thank you for saving my life.”