by Nina Walker
Published by Addison & Gray Press, LLC.
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
Ebook ISBN: 978-0-9992876-1-3
For Travis
1
Jessa
I bit my lip and rested my forehead on the large oak door. My first test in color alchemy waited on the other side. Nervous energy poured down my body in electric currents, setting me on edge. This was the beginning of my new life. I tapped my foot, ignoring the conversation that buzzed around me. I was surrounded by people who were taking bets—not on if I would fail, but how fast it would happen.
The other alchemists wanted me gone because I wasn’t like them. They’d grown up together, and I was the new girl, reminding them of everything they’d missed out on. Not to mention, a typical alchemist spent years honing their magic before initiation. So it came as no surprise that my quick rise into magic wasn’t well received. Of course, the king loved it. Everyone else? Not so much. Perhaps it was only natural for them to dislike the person who changed the way things were done—who cut in line. Because if I was initiated so quickly, then what else would change?
Ugh, this is so not how I thought my life would turn out.
As a prima ballerina, I’d been on the perfect track to living my dream. Sure, at times it isolated me from my peers. My single-minded passion wasn’t relatable to the average teenager. Dance was my world, and I loved it. But everything had been taken away from me the day my alchemy was discovered. The last few months had been torture. But, as devastating as it was, I’d finally accepted that my life was bigger than the stage: I had a king to take down.
I ignored the cold glares and hostile mutterings of the many guardians lining the corridor outside the testing room while we waited. Guardians. That’s what we called alchemists after they initiated into the Guardians of Color—GC for short. It was the elite organization, ruled by New Colony’s royal family. The GC kept our kingdom powerful and prosperous.
Or so they liked to think. I knew better.
“She’s going to crash and burn,” someone snickered from behind. A chorus of laugher broke out.
Back straight, head up; I couldn’t let them get to me. Still, an unwanted twinge of longing burned inside. Okay, if I was honest with myself, I shouldn’t care about their approval, but part of me did anyway. I hated that. I had a mission to complete. Getting initiated was the first step. Once that was done, King Richard would put me to work on GC assignments and heaven knows what else. The plan was to become stronger. I would get close enough to him to use my red alchemy against him, ultimately ending his corruption.
I shuddered as I let out an overdue breath. Defeating the king and his many loyal, some even magical, subjects was a big mission for anyone to accomplish, let alone for a new alchemist. If caught, I’d undoubtedly be killed for treason. The worried thoughts crossed my mind on more than one occasion. Is it really worth the risk? Maybe I should have stayed with my parents and the Resistance…
I cut off the thoughts right there. No regrets.
I focused again on the door in front of me. On the other side, my first test would either end in success or disaster. I sucked in a breath, hoping for the former. I straightened my spine and turned around to face the crowd. A sea of faces glared back at me. Faulk and a couple of her officers approached, arms crossed, brows furrowed in skeptical lines. They took their jobs very seriously. It was almost comical, except they had the power to ruin me and we all knew it.
Stand tall, Jessa. Don’t let them win.
“How’s it going, Faulk? What’s new in Officer Land?” I smiled inwardly at my sarcasm, knowing it would drive her nuts.
“Don’t be cute,” she replied curtly. Her eyes strained as she sized me up. I assumed the death of the queen and subsequent revelation that her own right-hand man, Thomas, had been the one to do it, were weighing on her career. I refused to feel sorry for her. At every turn, Faulk had made it clear that she wanted me locked up. Ever since the day she first met me, she’d hated my very existence. I was a dark stain on her otherwise shining record, the alchemist girl she’d missed.
The one who got away—kind of.
“We’ll be watching you from the observation room,” she continued, jabbing her finger at me as she spoke. “Don’t try anything stupid. You’re to get in and out as quickly as possible, obviously using alchemy to do it.”
“I’ll be fine,” I said, keeping my voice level.
Of course they chose to keep the details of the tests a secret. If I knew what I was walking into, I wouldn’t feel so unsettled.
“Good luck,” Faulk said bitterly. Then she and her underlings marched away and through a door farther down the hallway, slamming it behind them. The observation room, no doubt.
“Are you scared?” a voice snickered.
“You should be,” another called from the group.
These lame alchemists apparently had nothing better to do.
“She’s not ready,” another added with a chuckle.
I didn’t bother to reply because I sort of agreed with them. Since when had I ever been ready for this? Ready was of little consequence. The king wouldn’t wait for ready. Neither would I.
I pushed open the heavy metallic door, anxious to discover what color I’d be working with first. I had to show strong proficiency in at least three colors to make it to initiation. I knew red and white weren’t on that list, as those magics weren’t accessible to the typical alchemist. In fact, I was one of the only known alchemists able to access red. And white? That was unchartered territory as well, though Lucas had his own closely hidden ability with it. That left me with purple, blue, green, yellow, and orange. There would be tests for all of those. Three was doable. However, uncertainty burned in my body.
I stepped inside.
The room was dark. As I moved in farther, a rush of humid air kicked my senses into awareness. A large space, bigger than my old dance studio. A gymnasium, I guessed. Harsh chemicals assaulted my lungs. Chlorine?
I took another tentative step forward. Blazing lights shot through my vision, and I stumbled back. Of course…
I exhaled slowly. It was only a swimming pool, nothing to worry about. And yellow.
Yellow flowers, plants, and stones lined the edge of the pool. My gaze rapidly raced across the room, assessing the situation. They wanted me to perform yellow alchemy, but what was the test? What did yellow have anything to do with swimming?
A digital clock illuminated red numbers on a black square screen across from the pool. A countdown: 20:00.
19:59…
Twenty minutes! Only twenty minutes to accomplish what exactly?
The door slammed. A loud click echoed through the room. Panic threatened to tear me apart. I was locked in here. Why?
Breathing deeply, I peered over the edge of the pool. Hundreds of keys twinkled in a layer of scattered gold across the cobalt blue tiles, at least fifteen feet under water, like spilled treasure. The purpose of the test tumbled into place in my mind. It was so obvious.
I wasn’t a good swimmer, but I needed to get to those keys. Fast.
I wracked my brain, drawing upon all my studies. What did I know about yellow? It was connected to energy and willpower, and, most importantly, it was an amplifier. Yellow alchemy had given me the strength to break through the wall surrounding the palace. Of course, I’d wanted to break through that wall. That was critical. Still, it was solid stone, and I’d been able to crumble it with superhuman strength. It was just one of the many miraculous things alchemy could do. At the time, I was convinced Lacey’s survival depended on me getting to the other side of that wall.
Could I draw upon the same inner willpower again?
This time, it was my survival at stake. I had to pass this test. Although I was a dancer and quite athletic, I wasn’t fond of water. I was a terrible swimmer. Finding the right key to open the door
would take time, and the eighteen minutes I had left wouldn’t cut it under normal circumstances.
I inhaled a deep breath. You can do this. No more analyzing.
I ripped a flower from its stem and crushed it between two fingers. It only took a moment for the yellow to lift from the broken petals and rise into the air. Another moment and the color drifted into my body. I closed my eyes, breathing in the magic, willing the yellow to enter my lungs, my bloodstream, anything to make me a faster, stronger, and better swimmer. A burst of adrenaline pulsed through my veins. The magic ignited.
I dove into the water.
Swimming down, I ignored the immediate sweep of ice that attacked my body. The water was frigid! The biting sensation cut across my skin like a million needles, stinging. I fought the distraction, the instinct to flee, and swam deeper. I refused to be bothered by the black uniform that weighed me down. Determination raced through every cell of my body. I would not fail.
If I ever wanted to see my family again, to help Lacey, to save New Colony from the manipulation of the GC and the king, then I had to keep swimming. And I wasn’t alone. Knowing an entire resistance of people was out there somewhere bolstered my spirits. I didn’t know them all yet, but I felt their solidarity with every stroke.
Settling on the bottom of the pool, the water pushed me down, even colder than before. It oppressed all my senses, caging me in. A thread of panic stitched its way into my burning chest, binding me. I forced myself to focus on the yellow magic supporting me and allowed it to strengthen my resolve. I grabbed as many keys as I could, pulling them into a makeshift pocket by tugging my shirt up around my torso. The keys were slippery and harder to pick up than I’d anticipated. I was running out of breath. I needed to move. The urge to breathe overpowered me. My eyeballs twitched, and the weight of the water caused panic to rip through my body. I positioned my feet on the bottom, pushed off, and rocketed to the surface. I flew out of the water, yelping in surprise, and landed with a thud on the concrete.
Wet keys clattered in a golden arc around me.
I patted my body frantically, expecting pain. There was none. Nothing was broken either. I couldn’t say the same for the concrete floor. A crack had formed where my body had taken the biggest hit.
Whoa… turns out I can control yellow alchemy. I paused for a momentary happy dance. Go me! Faulk was probably gritting her teeth in irritation by now. I grinned at the crushed floor, not hiding my gleeful smirk. I was going to own this test, and she was going to watch me.
I moved to pick keys up off the floor, my pace infinitely faster with the magic pulsing through me. With every handful, I sprinted to the door and tried to maneuver the lock into position with the different keys. None worked. Once I’d exhausted them all, I took another deep breath and dove back into the frosty water.
It wasn’t just possible that I wouldn’t make it out in twenty minutes; it was probable. Everywhere I looked, more keys reflected back at me. I swam anyway. As I got closer, it was as if they were mocking me and multiplying. Just how many were down here? Worry snaked through my thoughts, twisting me up and threatening to slow me down. Despite everything, the yellow energy kept me focused, moving quickly. I drew on it, the magic igniting confidence in me. And with each key I scooped up, I felt closer to my goal.
A few more flowers and three more trips into the pool, and I was starting to feel the magic wane. I was tired. The keys were beginning to slip through my fingers. I let out a frustrated yelp as yet another key proved incompatible with the lock. I shook away the urge to give up and pushed yet another into the keyhole. It clicked into the lock and turned with ease. My jaw dropped. This was it! I peered back—still ten minutes on the clock. I couldn’t believe my luck. The tension in my body was immediately washed away.
“Take that,” I muttered, “stupid lock.”
I pushed open the door and stepped into the crowd. Their conversations silenced as shock filled their stupid faces. No doubt they didn’t understand how a novice like me could complete such a difficult task.
“What? She didn’t fail?” a female voice blurted, disbelieving, as the group stared.
“Nope,” I boldly responded. “I didn’t even lose my breath.”
Then I glanced around at the thirty or so people, mostly teenagers, and winked. Okay, a little immature of me to rub it in their faces. But what did they expect? Just because I wasn’t as trained as they were, I wasn’t as powerful? Alchemy was still scary to me, but like it or not, it came naturally. I’d tried to fight my magic for so long, but I couldn’t anymore. I was hell-bent on learning to control it so I wouldn’t end up hurting someone again. I needed to be here for my own good. I needed to learn. And I wanted the chance.
A flip of silky yellow hair caught my attention. The flawless complexion behind them was familiar. Brooke. She’d made it clear she didn’t like me, so I wasn’t surprised to see she’d come to watch me fail. Too bad she hadn’t gotten her wish. She leaned into Reed, whispering. She flipped her shiny hair back again and sneered at me. “You think you’re something special, don’t you?”
I was dang tired of her nasty comments. I’d mostly kept my mouth shut, trying to take the higher road, but I couldn’t stand it any longer. “I don’t know what your problem is with me, Brooke, but get over yourself and accept that I’m good enough for the GC.” I glanced at Reed, my former friend. “That goes for both of you.”
She laughed. “Being a guardian is about more than alchemy. It’s about loyalty. We all know about your pathetic attempt to run away.”
I glanced at the other alchemists, noting the interest rippling through the crowd. This was a dangerous topic. I needed to end it here and now. Of course, I didn’t. “What’s your point?”
“Loyal alchemists don’t run away from the palace. They’re honored to be here! You broke the rules. And we want to know why.”
I held back a response. I couldn’t give anything away. My secrets were more important than my ego, and even though I badly wanted to set Brooke straight, I didn’t know how many of these alchemists were here to spy on me. I had to assume their loyalty was to Richard and Faulk.
It was possible some of them could be Resistance members, but I couldn’t trust anyone until I knew for sure. Shaking my head, I pushed past her and through the hostile crowd. I held off the impulse to shiver, eager to get to my room. The adrenaline from the yellow was fading fast, and I needed to get out of my wet clothes and into a hot shower as quickly as possible.
“Jessa, fortunately for you, you’ve proven proficient in yellow.”
I turned to the agitated voice, my internal guard on red alert. Faulk stood at the edge of the crowd, surrounded by her officers.
“If I didn’t know you better, I’d think you were giving me a compliment.”
She was the head of the royal officers, and their number one job was to keep the alchemists in line. In her mind, I wasn’t an asset. I was a liability. I didn’t have as much control over my alchemy as she would have preferred—not to mention, I wasn’t easily controlled. And that’s what really bothered her.
Complimenting me? Never.
She frowned, studying me. “Brooke is right about the importance of loyalty in a guardian. I guess we’ll see how loyal you are during your next test.”
I could recognize a threat when I heard one. My brain scanned through everything I knew about alchemy and loyalty, but I found no definite link.
“Report to my office tomorrow morning for your second test.”
Tomorrow? A ripple of exhaustion pulsed through my muscles at the thought. I couldn’t imagine being ready for another test so quickly. “I’ll be there.” I nodded with a slow grin. I needed her to believe I was on her side. I had to gain her trust, as impossible as that seemed to me now. Passing these tests would be the first step.
She turned to go. “Oh, and Jessa, make sure to eat a good breakfast first. You’ll need the energy.” She smiled coolly and left me to my doubts.
I sat, soakin
g in the shower, allowing the hot steam from the water to thaw my frozen body, the adrenaline melting away. In the heat of the moment, I hadn’t allowed myself to fully consider the ramifications of my first test. The water had been frigid, nearly icy. And those cursed keys had been everywhere. If I hadn’t gotten control over the yellow alchemy so quickly, I would have failed. True, I only had to prove myself in three colors, and I had five chances. But I couldn’t afford any mistakes. And that cold water? It was dangerous! If the first test was that hard, that dangerous, how bad would the second one be?
The water began to lose its warmth; I peeled my exhausted butt off the floor and practically crawled out of the shower. I forced myself to dry off and dress in the black guardian uniform. Although I wasn’t technically one of them yet, I’d been allowed to wear the clothing for training. It was customary, and I’d found I actually liked it. The black material was surprisingly comfortable and easy to move in. And since it was black, it didn’t interfere with my magic. Alchemy required that I physically touch color, and more than once, I’d inadvertently used the color of my clothing. It was rare to be able to manipulate synthetics, but I could do it. The whole reason I’d blown my cover so easily to the royals in the first place had been because I’d turned my lavender ballet costume into a ball of volatile energy. I sucked in a breath. I couldn’t allow myself to think about ballet anymore. It used to be my life, but I needed to forget about it.
Peering around, I took in my newly acquired surroundings. I still had my own space, thankfully, but I wasn’t near the royal wing any longer. The luxurious room Lucas had set me up in upon my arrival to the palace was long gone. Now, I was housed in enemy territory: a small dorm located in the GC wing. The room was stark white and boxlike, with a bathroom and closet attached. Not that I was complaining. It was nice, but living in a box, surrounded by a bunch of less-than-trustworthy alchemists, bothered me to no end.
That didn’t change the fact that I was lucky to be here instead of in the prison below the palace. At least this way, I would be right where I needed to be.
