by Lisa Cassidy
“Tell me about DarkSkull,” Cayr said instead. “Alyx, you said something about an incident with spiders in someone’s beer?”
“That was one of Dash’s finest hours.” Finn laughed.
“Now there’s someone I bet has been to the party district many times,” Tarrick said.
“You’re not wrong.” Cayr smiled easily. The cavalier words irritated Alyx—all anyone ever focused on when it came to Dashan, even his friends, was his less ideal behaviour. He was so much more than that. “So who ended up with spiders in their ale?”
“Only the most powerful apprentice at DarkSkull, and he has a nasty temper, too.” Finn grimaced.
While Finn and Tarrick eagerly recounted a slightly-embellished version of the story, Alyx leaned over to Dawn. “Your parents must be thrilled to have you home early.”
Dawn smiled. “They were. It was hard to separate ourselves from them to come here tonight. What about you?”
“My father was happy to see me,” Alyx said.
“But?” Dawn asked, sensing her unspoken thought.
“He seems different. He reprimanded me last night, like I was a child. I didn’t react well, which made it worse, but even so… he hasn’t spoken that way to me in years.”
“He’s probably under a lot of stress,” Dawn said. “Think about it from his perspective—being forced to send his daughter away and learning where his son is, all in the space of a year. Then add the increasing threat from Shivasa, finding out the Mage Council has been hunting Taliath and now having his influence at court eroded by Casovar.”
“When you put it like that...” Alyx sighed. She got so caught up in herself sometimes, she didn’t think what other people might be going through. The past year must have been just as awful for her father as it had been for her. Speaking of others, Dawn’s smile wasn’t as bright as usual. “Is everything all right with you?”
Her friend made a visible effort to shake off her disquiet. “I’m struggling to forget what happened yesterday is all. But I’m determined to take advantage of the extra-long break from DarkSkull.”
“I want to as well, but... ” Alyx hesitated, then shook her head and straightened her shoulders, forcing a smile to her face. She didn’t want to ruin Dawn’s night, and what Dashan had told her could wait until morning. “You’re absolutely right.”
“There’s something I’ve been wanting to tell you.” Dawn leaned closer, pink tinting her cheeks. “Rickin kissed me at the dance.”
Alyx’s eyebrows shot up, and she was so surprised it took her several moments to work out what to say. “What?”
“Shh.” Dawn giggled.
“Right, sorry.” Alyx lowered her voice to a whisper, astonishment colouring her tone. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me!”
If possible, Dawn turned even pinker. “I wanted to, but we were so busy with Third Patrol after the festival, and then the sudden summons home. Besides, I kind of wanted to keep it to myself for a little while, you know? My own little happy secret.”
“I know exactly what you mean.” Alyx reached out to squeeze Dawn’s arm in excitement. What had happened was obviously making her friend happy, and she wanted to share that. “Tell me everything. At once!”
Dawn turned in her chair to face Alyx, her blue eyes alight. “After you left early, Rickin asked me to dance, and we ended up dancing for ages. And it was so romantic with the candles in the garden, and he was being so sweet.” Dawn sighed, her expression turning dreamy.
“I take it this was a good kiss, then,” Alyx teased.
“It was wonderful.” Dawn sighed again. “But you already know what I’m talking about. Your first kiss must have been just as wonderful.”
“It was.” Alyx glanced sideways at Cayr, who was still engrossed by the spider tale. The sight of him made her spin back to Dawn. “Wait, I thought you liked Dash?”
“That was just a silly crush.” Dawn chuckled. “And Dash made it clear in his own charming way that he wasn’t interested.”
“Oh.” Alyx swallowed, suddenly fascinated by the table top in front of her. Dawn wasn’t really interested in Dashan. I wouldn’t be hurting her if... and there she cut her thoughts off ruthlessly, forcing herself to pay attention to Dawn.
“Rickin is different. I think I might really like him. He wants to spend more time together when I go back.” Dawn gave a little smile. “You know, he was so great with the Galien thing, supporting us, and he really helped Finn this year in sparring class.”
“I like Rickin. I’m really happy for you.” Alyx found a smile and leaned over to give her friend a hug.
Cayr laughed loudly as Finn and Tarrick came to the end of their tale, jostling into Alyx and breaking the hug. She and Dawn shared a secret smile before re-joining the main conversation.
“Everything all right, Alyx?” Cayr asked, leaning closer to her and lowering his voice. “You seem a bit down this evening.”
“I’m all right. It’s really good to see you again.” She meant those words.
His smiled widened. “Me too. Welcome home.”
“Thanks.” She leaned into him slightly, feeling comforted by his presence beside her. Despite that, her eyes were continually drawn to the door Dashan had disappeared through and she had to keep fighting the urge to go and look for him, make sure he was all right.
“What fun things have we missed while we were gone?” Dawn asked Cayr. “Any more scandals with Lord what’s-his-name and the kitchen maids?”
“Lord Ragarn?” Alyx grinned, glancing at Cayr. “I told them what you wrote in your letters about him. They’re even more invested in the story than I am.”
“I have a great story to tell you about him,” he promised. “After this last incident, my father had to send him back to his estate in the south. I don’t think he’ll be welcome back in Alistriem anytime soon.”
The story about Lord Ragarn was juicy, and Alyx laughed as loudly as the others during Cayr’s exaggerated telling of it. But as the night passed, she couldn’t help her continued glances at the door. She tried not to wonder where Dashan had gone, tried not to want to be wherever that was, but it was impossible. He was hurting, and that meant she was hurting too.
Chapter 6
Cayr rode in as Alyx headed out to the stables the next morning. Tarrick was inside finishing up his breakfast and she expected the twins to appear any minute. As tempting as it was to be deliberately late to get under Casovar’s skin, Alyx had resolved to keep the peace. At least until they went back to DarkSkull. Antagonising the lord-mage wasn’t going to help Rionn against the Shiven.
“Morning!” Cayr greeted her as he swung down from the saddle. His blue eyes sparkled with pleasure at the sight of her, and she couldn’t help but feel the same way—it was so nice to be able to see him so regularly again. Even better, it was an opportunity to talk to him about what she’d learned from Dashan the night before. She waved a greeting, but he was in an energetic mood and started talking before she could.
“I know Lord-Mage Casovar wants to see you this morning, but Mira and Lissa are planning a welcome home picnic for you this afternoon,” he said. “I wanted to come and tell you straight away—it’s such a beautiful day.”
“Oh, I was actually intending to ride out and visit Astor after we finish with Casovar.” Alyx headed towards the stables and he fell into step beside her. Beyond wanting to see her godfather after so long, she was keen to get his take on the changes in Alistriem. “And then I’ve already made plans to go swimming with Tarrick and the twins.”
“Really?” Cayr stopped walking, a frown creasing his forehead.
“Sure. The weather is getting warm enough. It will be fun.” She hesitated. “Why do you look so shocked? I’m sorry for upsetting your plans, but I didn’t know about the picnic.”
“I just... Mira and Lissa are your friends, and you haven’t seen them for months.”
Alyx laughed and continued walking. “If Mira and Lissa have planned a picnic for me, the
n it’s only to look good in front of you. I remember well the delight they took in gossiping about you and Jenna behind my back. They weren’t my friends, not truly.”
Silence greeted her words, and she glanced back to realise he hadn’t kept walking with her. She stopped at the concern written in his blue eyes. “What is it?”
“You never used to talk like this. You loved picnics with Lissa and the other girls—you all used to conspire against Luden to get out of lessons early so that you could go on picnics, or shopping in the city.”
She sighed. It was too easy to forget that Cayr hadn’t been there to see how her time at DarkSkull had changed her, changed her perspective on things. “If I truly thought they’d missed me and wanted to see me, of course I’d go. But my absence was simply fodder for their gossip. That’s fine, really, but I don’t want to go to a picnic and listen to them chatter for hours on end about the latest court scandal or what the new fashion in gloves is.”
His frown deepened. “You used to enjoy that chatter as much as you did buying a new dress. Is... is this about Jenna?”
Alyx smiled. “No, it’s not about Jenna. I’m not jealous of her anymore, and while I doubt I’ll ever like her, I don’t want to hold a grudge.”
“You don’t?” Hurt flashed on his face.
Sudden panic tightened her stomach. She’d spoken without thinking, but the words were truer than she realised. Now when she thought of Jenna, she felt only a mild dislike. There was not even a flicker of jealousy, not even at the thought of her kissing Cayr. That acknowledgement was too dangerous to pursue, and she ruthlessly pushed it out of her mind.
“I’ve been away for months,” she tried to explain, to herself as much as to him.
“What happened with you and Jenna is in the past as far as I’m concerned.”
“All right.” He sighed. “I’ll tell them you’re busy. They’ll probably still have the picnic anyway.”
“Exactly,” Alyx pointed out. “And if you’d like to escape their mindless chatter this afternoon, you’re more than welcome to come swimming with us. I was planning on inviting you.”
Instead of the smile she’d been aiming for, the concern on his face deepened. “I can’t simply walk away from social engagements like you seem to have suddenly decided to. My behaviour reflects on my father and my future as king, and those people you’re calling mindless will be my future allies at court. I can’t afford to offend them.”
His words stung, and forced a disturbing realisation on her. She’d changed in her time away, but he hadn’t, or at least not in the same ways. Two years ago she’d have been spouting the exact same sentiments.
“You do know that you’re not just going to be king of Alistriem’s court, right?” she said sharply. “You’ll be responsible for many other people, including the Shiven half-bloods the Mage Guard have been dragging out of homes in their ‘search’ for spies.”
He took a step back. “What are you talking about?”
“Dashan told me last night—he spoke to a friend of his in the City Guard. What we saw with the jeweller wasn’t an isolated incident, Cayr.”
“So now you’re taking some City Guard officer’s word over that of Rionn’s lord-mage? Over mine?”
The genuine hurt in his voice drained her anger as quickly as it had come, leaving her weary. She hadn’t wanted this, hadn’t wanted to come home and find herself at such odds with the most solid, constant person in her life apart from her father.
“Cayr, we both grew up in the same world, and it took me leaving to see how narrow and small that world is. I miss it—I miss the simplicity and ease of it, of delighting over beautiful dresses and going to picnics and being the girl everyone admired.” She took a breath, the words coming easier now. “But I can’t ever go back to that, not anymore, because that would mean leaving behind people like the twins and Tarrick, and even Dashan, eventually. It would mean treating people according to their wealth and power instead of how they stood unflinching at my shoulder in the most terrifying moments of my life.”
His eyes were fixed on her, at once both intense and bewildered. “And you think because I haven’t experienced ‘real life’ like you have, I don’t care about anyone outside my friends and those of my social standing?”
“I didn’t,” she said simply. “And it wasn’t even a choice. I simply didn’t think about anything outside my own world.”
“You sound so... ” He stumbled to a halt. “I’ve known you my whole life, known you better than anyone else in the world, and I never imagined I would hear anything like that come out of your mouth.”
“Going away changed me,” she said simply. “I won’t go back to what I was.”
“No,” he said, voice aching with sadness. “You shouldn’t.”
The moment held, their wordless communication as easy as it had always been despite everything. A flicker of movement in the periphery of her vision caused Alyx to step back. “The twins are here. I need to fetch Tingo, and then we really have to go.” She hesitated, reluctant to end their conversation. “But we really need to talk about the Mage Guard. I don’t think Dashan’s friend was lying.”
Cayr’s expression remained pensive as he nodded. “I’ll do my best to meet you for swimming later. We can talk more then.”
“We’ll look out for you.” She held her smile a moment longer, trying to convey reassurance, before turning away and heading to the stables.
Lord-Mage Casovar greeted them at the door to his offices. “Please come through.”
Alyx followed the others down a short corridor that led into a much larger, rectangular space. Arched windows lined the wall to her left, allowing in the morning sunlight and providing a view into a neatly-tended garden. The sounds of horses and stable-workers could be heard drifting through a partially opened window—
the palace stables were on the other side of the garden wall.
Long tables covered with parchment and maps filled the space, chairs scattered around them. Two soldiers wearing dark red leather tunics stood studying a particularly large map hanging on the opposite wall, their scarlet cloaks discarded nearby in the warmth of the room.
“This is where I spend most of my time,” Casovar explained. “As will all of you, going forward.” He waited for their nods before continuing. “I realise that I may have come across as... overbearing yesterday. I was merely attempting to establish, from the beginning, that I am in ultimate charge here, of you and the Mage Guard. Provided you can accept that, I believe we can make an effective team. Do you agree?”
“Yes, sir,” Tarrick spoke for them. At his side, Alyx nodded and smiled, keeping her hands relaxed at her sides. Nobody owned her, but she’d grown accustomed to swallowing her pride at DarkSkull, and she could do that here for the short time until they returned.
A cool smile flickered over Casovar’s face as he regarded Tarrick. “You’re the designated spokesperson, are you? I suppose that makes sense, given you’re a Tylender.”
“We can all speak for ourselves, sir.” This, surprisingly, from Dawn, the edge to her voice barely hidden.
“Good.” His gaze lingered on her for a single, intense moment, then he lifted his head. “Firstly, then, I’d like to have a brief discussion with you about your talents. Finn, you’re a healer, yes?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Dawn, you’re a telepath, and Tarrick a warrior mage with concussive power?”
“That’s right,” Tarrick spoke again, perfectly polite.
“And Alyx?” Casovar turned to her. “I recall you didn’t develop much in your first year, have you made any progress?”
Irritation surged at being addressed on a first name basis, but she pushed it away. “I’ve had some success doing what Tarrick does. I haven’t actually managed to create a concussion ball yet, but I can create the light.”
The lie came easily off her tongue, and at her side, Dawn’s shoulders relaxed.
“That’s not promising, and I’m surprised t
he masters let you back for a second year. Perhaps I can help develop you further,” Casovar said briskly. “I’m hoping your lessons at DarkSkull have at least given you a grounding in rational and strategic thinking.”
A door at the opposite end of the room opened and a member of the Mage Guard entered. Alyx’s heart sank when she recognised Captain Dunnat. He looked equally displeased to see her and the others.
“Good timing, Captain,” Casovar said crisply. “You’ve met my apprentice mages, I understand?”
Dunnat’s gaze flickered over them in distaste. “Yes, sir.”
“You’ll be working together closely,” Casovar said.
“What will we be doing exactly?” Alyx asked, avoiding Dunnat’s glare and trying to remain polite.
“I created the Mage Guard to track down and arrest the Shiven spies I believe have infiltrated Alistriem,” Casovar said. “You will work alongside Captain Dunnat to assist in that endeavour. Dawn, your telepathic powers will be especially useful.”
“Is that all?” Tarrick frowned.
Casovar gave him an appraising look. “For now. Once I have had time to assess your abilities, your duties will expand. Is there a problem with that, Apprentice?”
“No, sir.” Tarrick’s voice was neutral.
“Good. Let’s all sit. I’d like to discuss in some more detail the training that you undertook at DarkSkull this year. Captain, you’re dismissed for now.”
Alyx kicked Tingo into a gallop out of the city, hoping the ride to Astor’s property would clear her head. Casovar had left them at midday in the hands of Dunnat, instructing the captain to brief them on the structure and activities of the Mage Guard. Contempt had dripped from his every word as he addressed them, and the feeling was mutual.
Where Tarrick and the twins were respectful enough of Casovar’s rank and power to swallow their dislike around him, they seemed to have no such compunctions with Dunnat. Their briefing had ended after one particularly scornful comment from Tarrick—Dunnat had flushed red, his hand dropping to his sword momentarily before he’d thought better of it.
