by Anna LaVerne
“I am sorry, really I am, but I am running late. Sorry again, Rhett.” I try to make it quick and turn on my heel to run to the mess hall.
“Hey, Di! You remembered my name.” He catches up with me matching me stride for stride, “I will walk you down to the mess hall. Trey won’t be as angry if you arrive with me,” he says in a sarcastic tone making me wonder if he is either trying to get me in trouble or get under Trey’s skin.
“You don’t have to.”
“What? You don’t like me?” Rhett asks.
“I don’t know you, but I can’t afford to be on Trey’s bad side this early in training.”
“He won’t lose you as a trainee, and if he did, I would pick you up as one of my own.”
“You are a trainer?” I have a hard time believing him. He did tell me his name was Rogue afterall.
“What else would I be? A trainee? Been there done that.” Rhett replies flippantly.
I round the corner into the mess hall trying to get a few steps ahead of Rhett. I collect my plate and food from the line and search to find Cal or Bee. Because Cal’s dark head blends in with the crowd, it takes me longer than it should have to find him. Bee is not there. Maybe she eats at a different time?
“Hey, where is Bee?” I ask as I sit down across from Trey. Rhett squeezes himself in between Cal and I. I look over giving him my best ‘what the hell?’ look. I roll my eyes and try to pretend that he isn’t there.
“You missed dinner last night,” Trey began before anyone answered my question, "and My trainees can’t miss meals. You will need your strength. As punishment, you get to run the first hour. You can watch Cal and I work while running laps. Be sure to pay attention, I don’t offer make-up sessions."
“Don’t worry, Di, I offer make-out sessions.” Rhett grins.
“Rhett, go away, she is my trainee.” Trey shoots him a look that could kill. “I told you she is off-limits.”
“That is a choice she should make,” Rhett responds while looking at me.
That is one way to put me on the spot. I never have been given the kind of attention Rhett is giving me. A small part of me likes it, and a larger part thinks it is creepy. “I will pass on it, for now, Rhett. I need to focus on training.”
Rhett nods at me and stands up. I'm not sure why he has set his eyes on me, but my gifts are telling me he isn’t done yet. I look up to see approval flash across Trey's face.
"Remember if he is to no hard on you, I can always make room with my trainees," with that, Rhett left.
"Rhett looks young to be a trainer," I observe out loud.
“He came to Cargil as a kid and trained with me. Although he is young, he deserves his position,” Trey explains.
“Why don’t you like him?”
Trey stands, “I do. See you soon. Hope you are ready to run.”
I look over to Cal who does not appear to be in the mood to talk. He appears furious that Bee isn’t at breakfast. I am guessing he wasn't able to find her last night or his temperament would be better. I debate trying to engage in the conversation, but the moment isn't right. Thankfully, we do not have to sit in awkward silence for long as the bell rings. I haven’t even finished my food, and I have no memory of how to get to the tower field where we are to meet Trey. I follow Cal to dispose of my leftovers and then continue to follow him to where we need to go.
We enter a large green field surrounded by walls. Trey stands in the center waiting. I am thrilled we made it before the bell. That is progress for me, and I have Cal to thank for it. I’m a determined princess turned warrior trainee, my only choice is to get better at everything, including arriving on time. There is a lot for me to prove to Trey and my mother. Trey stretches saying nothing. Cal and I fall into step by mimicking what he is doing. Stretching feels awesome after sleeping for so long.
“Okay, Di, time for laps. Walk the first two fast paced and then run. I will tell you when to stop.”
I have never ran laps before. My running was limited to playing tag with Bee when I was a child. You will never find a fat mystic, so exercise isn’t really necessary. Our bodies burn more energy than most.
I watch Cal with envy. There he is getting one-on-one instruction, while I am being punished for what my body does naturally. I see him follow the motions of Trey albeit clumsy in typical Cal fashion. Trey is mesmerizing. His body moves out of different positions with ease. It is obvious it takes a lot of muscle control, but at the same time, it also looks very meditative. I wonder if it is a warm-up or if they are different fighting stances we will learn. Trey repeats the sequence a few times and then has Cal continue it. I try to burn every movement into my memory. I will ask Cal to walk me through it tonight, so I can be better prepared tomorrow.
“Run, Di!”
Ugh, I mutter under my breath and then pick up the pace trying to keep my jog slow and steady. One lap, two laps, three laps, I lose focus on what Cal and Trey are doing at that point to focus on running. My long legs carry my naturally strong body well. I enter a meditative state and lose count of the laps I've taken. My body is tired, and my thighs burn with exhaustion.
"Speed up, Di! We don’t have room for lazy people in Cargil."
He is right, I have to keep going. Pushing through the burn I bring myself back up to a jog. My side aches causing me to hope I'm able run the ache out. I don’t have much stamina left in me when a brilliant idea comes to me. I can pull energy from the ground to make myself last longer.
As I keep running, I close my eyes and look for the closest source of energy to pull from, Earth. Once I zero in on it I realized that Cargil is built upon a power node. There is infinite energy here to draw on. I am certain that is strategic. Cargil has plenty of healer mystics, and people get injured in training and skirmishes along the walls. Healers need to have a good strong energy to draw upon to withstand burning out.
The energy seeps into my feet first, and my step lightens. My speed gradually returns, although my heart is still rapid with the exercise. It is as if the energy is flowing out of me through my limbs giving my body the boost it needs.
Suddenly, my hands warm as fire aches to escape through my fingertips. In a panic, I stop running realizing how bad I screwed up. I release my hold on the energy which clears my senses slightly. I vaguely hear Trey yelling causing me to turn to look at him, and the world spins on its axis. Everything around me blurs as I collapse upon the brown grass. Brown grass? Shouldn’t it still be green? The world closes in upon me, and everything goes dark.
I wake in a big bed like the one I have in Yardel. The first person I see is Bee sitting at the end, “Bee, where am I?”
“Trey’s room. He said you need somewhere more comfortable. He is with Hoda right now and is in pure panic. I am afraid your secret is out.”
“My secret is out? It is my first day! What happened?” I ask.
“You don’t remember?” I shake my head no. “You killed all the grass in the tower field.”
“How did I do that?”
“I don’t know, you tell me.” Bee stands before me with an accusing glare and her hands on her hips. I am remembering now. I pulled on the node energy to keep running.
“Did I only kill the grass?” That is the most important question because I remember my hands burning, and fire is my element.
“No. You also scorched the ground where your body landed. There is no hiding it now, and you need to recognize this is your fault! Don’t you remember any of your studies? Do I have to always remind you?” Bee is on the verge of yelling.
Okay, I am being chastised by my best friend, “I realize I have to be careful pulling from a node. I didn’t expect it to be a big deal. I only meant to take a little.”
Bee slams her palm into her forehead to emphasize her annoyance. "Dina, you can’t control node energy unless you have a harem. You are a freaking virgin! What did you think would happen? You shouldn’t have even been able to pull from the node at all. Once this gets back to your family they will force
you to start a harem as soon as possible. There will not be any avoiding it because now you are a danger. Now your energy's amplified. The only way to control it is, well, you know what it is.”
All the blood drains from my face. She is right. I remember now, oh my. I am so glad Bee is here. I only retained small pieces of my studies and now it was flooding back. “What was I thinking?”
“You weren’t thinking. You focused on not failing your first day, and so you took a thoughtless risk, and now you will pay for it.” She is right again.
“I am so sorry.”
“You need not be sorry to me. This is all on you. The only part that affects me is that I no longer get to train as an archer. Now I have to keep an eye on you again.”
“I am really sorry.” I realize I am repeating myself, but it is all I can bring myself to say.
“Don’t worry. The archer bunk house stunk, and I will be much happier near you and Cal.”
I feel a small bit of relief wash over me. At that moment, the door swings open, and Trey walks in. Oh no, I’m not ready for this. I pull the covers over my head to hide my embarrassment. I sense his eyes boring through the thick blue blanket at me. He must think I am as big of a screw-up as Cal.
“Dina, stop it. Trey is your betrothed whether or not you like it. You should at least act like the adult you are,” says Bee, my handmaiden turned mother.
I creep out of the blankets and pull myself to a sitting position. Trey betrays no emotions as he stares at me. I do the only thing I have been able to do since waking up, “I am sorry, Trey.”
He takes two long strides to the bed and looks down at me, “Don’t be. It’s my fault. I didn’t realize something like this was possible, and I was angry that you missed dinner because you were with Rhett.”
“Rhett ran into me in the hall and then followed me. I was not with him,” I counter him.
He shrugs, “Do you want to know what Hoda, and the Queen said?” Um, no... I violently shake my head back and forth.
“Dina, stop it,” chastises Bee again.
“Hoda is fine with you staying and continue training. She is okay with it because that is what the Queen wants. Queen Maris said for you to stay you must take a partner. She also said she expects you to scry her within two day’s time. That you need to stay in the bed until the connection to the node wanes. Healers will check in on you frequently. Bee is moving into Cal’s bunk, and this is your room for now, unless you want to move to the mystic quarters.”
I thought long and hard about his words. No one is expecting me to marry, but I have to take a partner to handle the node energy. Who would I take? Trey? Yes, I like Trey, but wouldn’t that be the first step into being a mystic broodmare succubus? Mystics are like succubi in a way. Sexual energy strengthens our gifts and helps us control the power we can take from nodes.
I think it is clear now I don’t have many useful gifts. I am the only mystic whose primary gift is fire. Bee always teased me it was because I loved to watch the world burn. I'm scared of how dangerous fire is, and now I am connected to a node. They are right to make me lay in this bed for two days. They are right to want me to take a partner. I officially crossed over into being a ticking time bomb. I could have burned all of Cargil down! My head becomes dizzy with the notion, and my hands begin to burn.
“Bee, get me water quick!” I lift my hands from under the covers, and they are glowing bright red. Bee rushes to Trey’s personal bathroom and fills a bowl large enough for my two hands to fit in. I dip my hands into the water causing it to sizzle. The water washes over my hands cooling them instantly.
Looking up at Trey, I see fear flicker in his eyes. I give him my best apologetic face that I’m certain looks more like a pout. I realize now that I never wanted this power. You can add that to the list of reasons I don’t want a harem. My face burns as my emotions continue down this roller coaster ride.
“Does that bathroom have a bathtub?” Trey shakes his head no.
“I need to get in the water. I'm not sure how much longer I can fight the fire this time.”
Panic washes off Trey in waves. It is so palpable I can taste it. Suddenly Bee is pulling my blanket off me and rushes to the bathroom. I hear a shower turn on. It takes only a second before she came back with the soaking wet blanket.
“Quick wrap her up we need to get her to the nearest bathtub!”
“There are no bathtubs on this floor or in this building!” Trey shouts back at her as he does what she says.
“The quickest body of water you can get her to then. I don’t think it matters what the water is. Look at her! She is glowing!”
Fighting for consciousness, I sense everything that is going on around me, but I can't focus on it. It is like all the fire I held inside my entire life is trying to burst forth with energy from the node. If I lose consciousness, I will blow. I need to stay focused on my body and contain the magic. The cool wet blanket wrapping around me gives me temporary relief while also protecting Trey’s hands.
I feel fire begin to erupt from my toes and hear screams. Closing my eyes tightly, I try to stay aware and push the magic back down, but I am running out of the strength needed stop it. Right when I think I can’t hold on a moment longer, I become immersed in deep cool water. Instinctively, I hold my breath and allow the relief to wash over me. I am temporarily contained and can let go for the time being.
I open my eyes and remember I can’t swim. Before I can thrash in panic, strong arms wrap around me and push my head above water. I open my eyes, gasping for that first breath of air. They’ve done it, they have saved me and Cargil. Trey is holding me, “Put your feet down, Dina. You can stand,” he says.
He is right, I can stand in the water. “Thank you. I'm so stupid. I have no idea what I was thinking." The words rush out of me before everything blurs again. I use all my strength fighting the last bout of fire and emotions. I know what is coming, “Catch me,” is all I say before my body drifts back into a deep sleep.
Chapter Six
I awake in the biggest bed I have ever been in with only a light sheet covering my body. I inch my way up the bed to a sitting position. Bee is asleep next to me.
There is a mystic healer sitting in the corner watching me closely. I can feel the disdain dripping off of her. I am reading people's emotions better after I tapped into the node energy. Empathy is one of my gifts, and now I can’t seem to shut it off.
“Look, I get it. I screwed up everything. Please take your disgust and leave. I can’t handle that emotion right now. I have to focus on stuff like not burning down Cargil.”
“Your gift is off. I'm not disgusted by you. I'm upset someone like you, who had the best instructors, is so naïve you tapped into a node. I am also angry you could tap into a node as a virgin. I took three husbands before I could tap into a node. Do you have any idea what is going on in the mystic world right now?”
“I don’t know who you are, but I like you,” I respond.
“What?” The mystic looks surprised by my words.
“I like how you told me exactly what you thought, knowing who I am. You didn’t refer to me as Princess, or try to baby me. On another note, I have a hard time keeping my emotions in check, so now is not the time to fill me in on mystic gossip or politics.”
“So be it. My name is Ayla.”
“Nice to meet you, Ayla. Since Bee is sleeping can you tell me where I am and what day of this node battle I am on?”
“It is the second day, and you are in the royal quarters per your station.”
"I am in my mother’s room? That cannot be right. Even when visiting Lorcan or any other major city I never stayed in my mother’s room. As far as I know, none of her children were ever permitted. There should be a room that is a step below this one, this can’t be right." I shake my head as I talk.
“It is the only room with a big enough bathing tub to immerse you if you overheat. Hoda insisted and then scried Queen Maris to confirm her choice.”
“Wh
at time of day is it? I think when they carried me outside it was dark?”
“Yes, you overheated after the dinner bell. Everyone in Cargil knows who you are now.”
“You didn’t have to add that. What time is it?”
“Lunch bell rang recently. If you want food, you need to wake your handmaiden. I can't leave until my shift is up.”
“Why are you stuck here if I have Bee?”
“I am a healer. If your emotions get worked up, I can calm them. All Bee can do is throw you in water. I'll try to calm you first and then I will toss you in water.”
She gets up from her seat and walks over to a floor to ceiling window that has a closed curtain hanging from it. She pulls a chord, and the window curtains open. I prepare for the onslaught of the midday sun, but it never comes. My mother’s floor to ceiling window is tinted. That would have taken an excessive amount of magic to make.
Ayla’s blonde hair reflects the tinted light that filters into the room. She is beautiful and built small like Bee. I chuckle at the thought of her being able to toss me into the water.
“What?” she asks me again.
“I doubt you could toss me into the water even if your life depended on it.”
“I wouldn’t doubt the person charged to keep you safe,” Ayla retorts haughtily.
I can’t resist laughing again, allowing my concerns to slip my mind. I reach over and nudge Bee. I am surprised she is still sleeping. Bee is a light sleeper, so I know she must have been awake all night.
Part of me wants to let her sleep, but I am in need of lots of food. I haven’t had a complete meal in days. I nudge Bee one more time before she stirs. She takes a split-second to realize who woke her before jumping to her knees and throwing her arms around me. I can’t resist hugging Bee back.
“I was so worried about you. You fevered all night. Trey brought you from the pool to the infirmary. Hoda then had you brought here.”
"Ayla filled me in on the basics, and she is refusing to leave me. I can’t get up to leave, either. Do you think you could get me some food? By some food, I mean a lot of food. I need to eat."
