Crap, I thought. I was lost. I turned around several times, my stomach feeling uncomfortable. It clenched with fear.
“Over here,” a voice called out and I turned to see Tori waltzing towards me, a spring in her step. She had changed into a long flowing dress in midnight blue. I eyed it suspiciously, not expecting her to be wearing a dress.
She looked down at herself and gave me a pained look. “Mandatory. It represents the colours of the second year apprentices, those in their last year of magic study.”
I nodded, not understanding half of her words but I got the gist of what she meant.
“Heading to find your horse?”
“How did you…?”
“Heard you,” she said with a smile tapping her head.
I frowned for a moment as she grabbed my arm and pulled me down another flight of stairs and along a brightly lit corridor.
“I used to get lost here too,” sh
“And this,” Jax said proudly, his arm sweeping to encompass the large, brick building before us, “is the forge.”I allowed myself to breathe out a long, slow breath. I could feel the sweltering heat of the forge before I even stepped close to it. The smell of sweat, steel and coal hung in the air, making my nose sting and it hard to breathe.“You work here every day?” I asked astounded. I didn’t know how anyone could stand working in such conditions. Working with the Mason for what little time I had before he had tried to have his way with me I had experienced something of the like, but this was on another level. The heat was incredible. The air was filled with it, pressing against my chest and seeming to drown me in it.The sharp clang of metal on metal pinged in the background and was harsh and resounding with each hit of his hammer. My still recovering head did not enjoy the loud sound.Jax gave me
My head swam as I blinked away the fuzzy, blurred edges in my head. It felt like my head was full of clouds. Everything had a soft, feel edge to it.“Hello sleepy head,” a voice cooed, drawing my attention.Wells stood above me, his lips parted into what he probably thought was a reassuring smile. Too bad it was terrifying.I pulled away, bringing my legs close to my chest in an attempt to protect myself. A scream tried to escape but my throat clench, choking out the sound.“Calm down girl,” he growled, handing me a glass of water.I hadn’t realised how parched my throat was until I saw the clear liquid in the cup. I instantly needed it, my throat burning. I gulped it down, hoping it would satisfy the aching need.“Where am I?”“Nowhere you need to know about.”Wells moved away, leaving my view. My eyes scanned the room. The walls were high and dark, almost black, which prob
I woke with a thumping headache. I had hoped that meeting Isla had just been a dream, but when my eyes fluttered open to see her perfect face reading a series of papers, I cringed inwardly. Of course it wasn’t a dream.Groaning, I rolled over to sit up and face her.“Eat some food, it will make you feel better.”She gestured at the small table next to me, which was laden with a variety of foods, some of which I had never seen before. I stuffed a few things in my mouth, not really thinking about the taste, but enjoying the feeling of filling my stomach. The ache eased behind my eyes, making it easier to sit up.The afternoon sun streamed in the wide windows, casting shadows upon the desk in which Isla sat shuffling papers around. Her perfect hair had been pulled back into a smooth bun, a few tendrils left to circle her oval face. Her large eyes met my gaze.“Better?”“Yeah. I guess.”“Goo
“Concentrate, Kida,” Kenai said calmly as he floated above, seeming to watch my every move. It was confusing how he always knew what you were doing, even if you were doing it silently.Sweat beaded my skin and ran down my back, sending a cold shiver along the length of my spine every time I stopped. My breath was coming in shallow gasps and my heart was beating in my ears. Even my chest was aching from the sheer effort I was putting in. Couldn’t he see how much I was trying?“Master Kenai, I’mtrying,” I hissed through gritted teeth in aggravation.Since Blake had rescued me from Isla, well so he thought, he had pushed me into training with Kenai and Tori. I knew I needed to learn how to fight. From what Isla had said, there was more than one party interested in Nyssa, and right now, that meant me. Shivers of fear trickled down my back at the thought. Here I was putting myself in danger for her. Not that she dese
“Now,” he began seriously. “The defence of the mind is something to take very seriously.”He frowned momentarily, his mouth forming a hard line on his face. “It can mean the difference between evading your enemy and being caught by them. Giving away details of your plans to an enemy is something that we find punishable – or can be found punishable by the Masters.”I nodded and then quickly responded with a quiet noise of agreement, realising again, that the Master was blind. It was easy to forget when it felt like he was really watching and could see you.“If you can imagine your mental defences are like a castle wall. They need to be strong, tall and impenetrable. They cannot easily be broken or moved to access your inner most essence. I believe this is where your affinity with the emotions comes in.”He paused for a moment, thinking.“Let us practise your mental defence. Close your
I ran down the steps as fast as I could, my bare feet slapping against the cold stone. The sun was already beginning to peek over the eastern wall, which meant I was running very late. Kenai was going to be so angry.I dragged on my coat to keep out the morning chill, my boots hanging from my mouth by their laces. I tried not to gag on the taste of the leather as Kenai came into view, his body shadowed by the large wall he stood next to.He greeted me with a low bow and sat down beside the wall.I dropped to the ground and hastily threw my boots on, not bothering about the laces.“Mastering your abilities may be easy, or they may be hard,” Kenai began, completely ignoring my tardiness and ragged breathing. “It all depends on your willingness to learn and your aptitude for magic.I looked at him waiting for more but he sat in silence for a few moments.“We will begin immediately.I want you to focus on
After several painful hours of wandering around the markets, Tori and I finally both had a dress. I had spent most of the time looking over my shoulder, expecting to see people following me. Luckily, Tori had been too caught up on the hype of buying a dress to notice my suspicious behaviour.By the time we got back to the school, the whole place was abuzz with excitement for the dance. With the money remaining that Blake had given me, I had purchased a long, flowing dress that the stall owner had convinced Tori, looked perfect on me. I had to admit that it felt nice to get out of pants and a shirt, and it was more comfortable than the other dress, which had been tight around my chest.My new dress was a dark purple colour made of a silken material much like the last. This one came up around my neck and was called a halter dress according to Tori. Again most of my back was exposed but the young stall owner had thrown in a shawl for free as both Tori and I had gotten our
People screamed and ran as a fire began creeping its way up the curtains, consuming everything in its path.I pushed my way through the people, doing exactly what Blake told me, but feeling a sense of rage in my stomach. He didn't trust me with anything.Damn him, I thought. I wasn’t going to listen – I could help. I skirted around the crowd of people who were pushing to get away from the heat of the flames.Blake stood in front of the curtains, pulling at the flames, controlling them in front of him. His eyes blazed with concentration as his hands dragged at the flames.Many of the Master’s and Mistress’ stood behind him, holding the students back and calming them. Another few students stood spaced out along the length of the flames, working together to get the fire under control.I watched, mesmerised, until a dark shadow drew my attention. A girl was watching the flames with wide, eager eyes, and then slipped away from th