by Kay L Moody
FIVE
TEN YEARS LATER
MRS. DEW ALWAYS POINTED TO THE SLATE board as if it held the key to life’s mysteries. Talise preferred the academy lessons that included actual shaping. Mrs. Dew had taught them nothing but theory for the past month. It didn’t seem very smart when the competition was only a month away, but Mrs. Dew had been the top instructor at the elite academy for twenty-five years. Her methods weren’t up for debate.
Talise sighed and started shaping little bursts of air from her palm. The bursts reached just high enough to tickle her hair before they would fizzle out.
Mrs. Dew slapped her palm against the slate. “That is why you must never attempt to freeze water while you’re shaping it. You’ll give yourself hypothermia and your fingers could break clean off.”
She emphasized the point by making some gesture with her hands. She was probably miming her fingers falling off, but since Talise sat in the back of the classroom, she couldn’t tell for sure.
Talise pulled a letter from the front pocket of her school uniform. Her latest letter from Marmie. She traced a finger over her favorite paragraph, trying to carve the words into her mind so she’d never forget them.
Anyway, I’m sure you don’t care about all that, but the point is it worked! I finally grew a flower in the Storm. I’ve learned a lot from living here, and the most interesting thing is this: without hope, people have nothing. They aren’t happy; they don’t live. But the smallest things can change that. You should see what this little flower has done to the neighborhood. It’s like there’s magic all around us now.
Magic. Talise loved that part. Marmie had never sent such a happy letter in the ten years since Talise had gone to the academy. Maybe it was just because the competition was so close. Talise knew Marmie never expected to live long enough to see Talise compete. But she had. Just like magic.
Talise had saved just enough money for riverboat ride from the Storm to the Crown. Soon, Marmie would use it to travel to Ridgerock Palace for a temporary visit. Long enough to see Talise in the competition.
After several more slaps to the slate board, Mrs. Dew released them for lunch. Talise bowed to the portrait of Emperor Flarius as she left the room. His golden crown never seemed oppressive to her, but every so often, his eyes did.
Shrugging away the feeling, Talise went through the doorway to find Wendy.
Just outside the classroom, Talise bumped into a student whose eyes were on the ground. He had light brown skin and a thin mustache and goatee. He held his shoulders back with an easy confidence that usually came from those born in the Crown. Aaden. At least she thought his name was Aaden.
Earlier that week, all the top students in the final year of the third stage were combined into one class. Students from academies all over Kamdaria were now in one class at the elite academy, and Talise only knew a handful of them. Based on his demeanor, she guessed he came from another academy in the Crown.
“Sorry about that,” Talise said as she passed him.
Aaden scowled as he trudged past her.
Rude.
Marmie would have scolded her for making such a harsh judgment. As Talise wandered down the hallway, she opened her mind to other possibilities. Maybe he was nervous about being at a new academy. Maybe he just needed a friend.
Talise finally found Wendy at the end of the hall. She was checking on a pastry in her school bag. “Just a little something to add to my lunch,” Wendy said as she looked away with a smile. They walked side by side as they headed for the dining courtyard.
Luckily, the academy paid for their lunches or Talise might never have eaten. Marmie sent her money as often as she could. And Talise always sent it back, except when she was desperate. The academy also paid for her school uniforms. They spent so much time in training, no one ever realized Talise only had two dresses apart from her school clothes. Her other possessions were fewer than the fingers on her hands.
“Fish again?” Talise asked as she wrinkled her nose. Fish always reminded her of the Storm.
Wendy giggled and tugged her through the gate. “What do you expect when we live so close to the palace? Ridgerock Lake is full of fish.”
Talise scowled, not caring if Wendy noticed how her feet were dragging.
Wendy did notice. She shot Talise a disapproving look before erasing it with a smile. “At least there’s noodle soup to go along with it. You love the noodle soup.” Her eyebrows teetered upward, begging Talise to agree.
Unable to stop herself, Talise let out a chuckle. “Yes, I do like the noodle soup.”
Wendy always had a way of scolding without making it feel like a drudgery. Just like Marmie. Talise had been drawn to Wendy for that exact reason. Wendy was sweet and gentle like Marmie.
“And look,” Wendy said, bouncing on her heels. “They’re even serving the soup in the round bowls instead of the square. You love the round bowls.”
Talise shook her head but let out another chuckle. “I don’t love them. I just think they’re easier to hold. And I only said that one time.”
After receiving their food, Talise quickly scanned the courtyard for a place to eat. One end of the courtyard looked empty except for a single person. Aaden. Maybe she had been right about him needing a friend.
“Do you know him?” Talise asked, pointing to the lonely young man.
Wendy nodded. Of course she did. Wendy knew everyone. It was part of her charm.
“Aaden,” Wendy said. “He’s from the other academy in the Crown.”
“Let’s go sit with him.”
Wendy’s eyes widened, but she tried to smile the expression away. “I don’t know him that well.”
Talise started walking toward him. “Maybe he doesn’t know anyone in the new class. We should be friends with him.”
Wendy blinked and glanced around the courtyard. “Maybe he wants to be alone.”
Talise gave her friend a sideways glance. Usually Wendy was the one who wanted to make new friends.
“Look, there’s Claye over there. Let’s go sit with him.” Even with her hands full of dishes, Wendy managed to nudge Talise away from that part of the courtyard.
“What are you grinning about?” Wendy asked as she settled into the seat next to Claye.
His brown eyes looked bright with a joke that would probably befit a ten-year-old boy. “I just slurped my noodle the wrong way and it came out my nose.”
“That’s disgusting.” Talise tried not to think about it too much or she wouldn’t be able to eat anything at this meal.
Claye snickered, seeming to care even less than usual about her opinion. “And,” he said rounding on Wendy. “Mr. Cobble confirmed that training the day before a competition can weaken your muscles.”
Wendy stiffened before she shook her head firmly. “Only if you train too much. Surely, no training at all hurts more than it helps.”
Talise idly put the spoon to her lips as Wendy and Clayed jumped into a deep discussion on which was best. They both had compelling arguments that had been picked apart in detail over the last year by every student in the final year of the third stage.
Right now, Talise was more captivated by the young man who stared at the ground and ate alone. So quiet. If he had so little to say, he must have had mountains of things going on in his head.
What secrets did he hold?
SIX
WHEN TALISE FINISHED THE LAST OF HER noodle soup, she pushed the plate of grilled fish over to Wendy and Claye. “You two share this,” she said as she stood up.
She cleaned her soup dish at the washing station and watched Aaden as she worked. His neatly trimmed hair had been combed with precision. The black strands were so shiny, they gleamed in the sunlight. His clothes hung stiffer than hers, which could only mean his school uniform had recently been pressed.
He was definitely from the Crown then. Only someone from the inner circle of Kamdaria could afford such a luxury. She didn’t know whether to be awed or angry by how casually he broadcast
ed his privilege.
Instead, she focused on the one thing she knew for sure. He ate his entire lunch alone. Someone like that must have needed a friend. She tried to smile with the same warmth Marmie had taught her as she headed his way. He stood up even before she got to him, as if eager to avoid any interaction. Hopefully, he only wanted to avoid her because he was nervous.
“I’m Talise,” she said when she reached him.
Aaden gave her a short glance through the side of his eye. “I don’t care.”
She raised an eyebrow.
He began marching toward the washing station, and his body language didn’t invite her to join. But she did anyway. Her lips twitched at the corners while she tried to decide if she should be offended or humored by his brash words.
Not funny, she finally decided. But maybe he only pushed her away because he was nervous. Attempting a friendly smirk, she asked, “Is that how you greet everyone?”
“No,” he said with utterly no explanation at all.
They had reached the washing station now, and Aaden kept his eyes down as he scrubbed his dishes clean.
Everything in her told Talise to give up. This young man smelled like trouble and it wrinkled her nose even more than the grilled fish had. She wanted to walk away. She almost did when some of Aaden’s washing water splashed onto her. It didn’t seem like an accident.
But then she remembered Marmie and the Storm. She knew desperation when she saw it. It looked like anger when it was really fear. It looked like hatred when it was really sadness. One more time, she thought. I’ll try one more time to befriend him.
Talise shaped the splashed water out of her clothes and back into the washing bin. “What’s your primary?”
“Fire,” Aaden said, putting as much heat into the word as an actual flame. He dropped his clean dishes onto the pile and whirled around to face her. “Just like you.”
Such simple words. How did he make them sound like a threat?
Her lips parted as their eyes met. With his earlier words, he had pushed her away. Now, he practically begged her to respond. For once, she had no idea what to say.
How did he know her primary? What else did he know about her?
She opened her mouth to ask, but his eagerness for a response evaporated. He turned his back on her and said, “Leave me alone.”
He stalked off with his shoulders hunched forward and a fist forming in one hand. For a moment, she almost followed him. His anger only made her think he was really desperate. For something.
The only thing holding her in place were those words he spoke that felt like a threat. Just like you.
If he was so quick to threaten, maybe it was because he felt threatened by her. Maybe he wanted the title of Master Shaper. Talise had been the top of her class for so long, she couldn’t even remember what real competition felt like.
This, she thought. It feels like this.
* * * * *
TWO WEEKS LATER, Talise rummaged through the books in the library. All she needed was a book that classified the different wind types. If she could just understand where the different types of wind came from, it would be easier to shape air in the same way.
She almost rolled her eyes at the thought. Apparently, Mrs. Dew had been right about theory. It really did help with technique.
Biting her bottom lip, she opened another air book. She slammed it shut a moment later when it showed the same diagram the rest of the books showed. Air shaping must come from the lungs. She knew all that. It didn’t help her understand wind any better.
The golden spine of another book caught her eye. The title looked promising. Air Shaping Origins. Before she could grab it off the shelf, a clatter from a nearby aisle caught her attention. She peeked around the bookshelf, expecting to see one of the younger students. Instead she saw Aaden.
She’d avoided him since their brief conversation. Not that it had been that hard. Aaden stayed away from her and everyone else. She learned that Wendy had already tried to befriend him and had failed as miserably as she had.
Aaden crouched over a painting of Ridgerock Palace that was supposed to be hanging on the wall. He glanced around from one end of the room to the next. Without thinking, Talise hid herself behind the bookshelf and then peeked out again.
Thinking he was alone, Aaden bent over the painting and ran a finger over the cherry trees standing like sentinels at the main gate of the palace.
After studying the painting, he did the unthinkable and pulled the painting from its frame. The canvas stretched as he rolled it up tight. He then stuck it into the jacket of his uniform.
Talise’s mouth was still hanging open when he left the library. He didn’t even bow to the emperor’s portrait on his way out. Her brain was busy processing what he had done, but it didn’t stop her feet from following. She put enough distance between them to not seem suspicious, but her ears were hyper aware of each of his movements.
He left the instructional building and flew through the gardens to get to the training building. She almost lost him when he made two sharp turns in the halls of the training building, but she found him again a moment later. He had settled into an empty training room that was a little smaller than the others. It stood in the back corner of the building. That, combined with its small size, meant hardly anyone used it.
Aaden had shut the door when he entered, but Talise managed to push it open slightly without his notice. He was too busy propping the painting up on a desk.
He traced his fingers over the cherry trees again. The pink blossoms burst out of the branches like little clouds of delight. He stared at the painting for so long, Talise was ready to give up and just tell Mrs. Dew how he had stolen the painting from the library.
Just when she lifted her foot to walk, Aaden took a step away from the painting and a fire burst out of his palm. The fire burned in a column, but little by little, bits of the column drifted away, and a tree began to form.
Fire sculpture.
When the tree was formed, it grew larger until it burned as high as Aaden’s chin. Then, he stared at the tree like a mother coaxing her baby to eat. When his eyes narrowed, the branches of the trees seemed to shudder. He clenched his jaw and one branch seemed to grow small pustules.
As impressive as it was, that didn’t seem to be what Aaden wanted. The fire vanished as he dropped his hand away and let out a groan. He kicked the wall twice and then did it again, all the way down to the pustules.
It didn’t matter if he was doing what he wanted or not, fire sculptures were hard. His were detailed and looked as though they were alive. On his fourth try, one of the pustules popped open and a blossom appeared.
Talise gasped.
She couldn’t help it. She had no idea he was attempting something so complex.
Aaden’s tree vanished as he whirled around to face her. His lips were pressed to a thin line while a huff of air burst from his nose. He worked his jaw up and down as he shaped a fireball in each of his hands.
The balls flew toward her, and she leapt back with a yelp. One of the balls hit the cement wall, but the other hit the door right next to her arm. It was close enough that it burned her forearm.
Aaden glared at her as he formed two more fireballs in his hands. Not needing anymore encouragement, she ducked away and ran out of the building.
With the fresh air blowing on the burn, the stinging decreased. She went straight for the kitchen building, hoping to find some ice. Even with such a direct mission, she could barely focus on the burn.
Aaden’s trees.
They were incredible, she had to admit it. And to emulate the same trees that stood in front of the palace was a stroke of genius. It was sure to catch the emperor’s eye.
The reality settled into her, leaving her insides a writhing mess. Aaden had a chance of winning Master Shaper. Maybe a better chance than her. Who was she kidding, he had a way better chance than her.
Just like anyone from the Crown, he had everything he ever needed without
even blinking. That’s why most people from the Crown didn’t care about becoming Master Shaper. They didn’t need it.
But when someone from the Crown wanted to become Master Shaper, they did. End of story. Aaden probably had a personal shaping tutor that had been teaching him for years.
Talise had spent the past ten years keeping her promise to Marmie, training hard with the intent to win. She’d been the best for so long, she stopped worrying about the competition years ago. Everyone knew she was going to win. And still she never stopped training as hard as she could.
Now, all that hard work fizzled out in just one afternoon. All along, there had been someone just as good as her at the other academy in the Crown.
If she was going to win the competition, she needed to up her game.
SEVEN
THE LAST PARAGRAPH OF HER LETTER TO Marmie seemed a little ridiculous. Truth laced every word, but that didn’t mean she should send it. But what else could she say? Talise read through it one last time.
He did fire sculptures like I’ve never seen before. Somehow, he managed to get little cherry blossoms to burst out of the fire branches. I’ll admit it, Marmie. I’m scared. I’ve tried so hard to win, but I think he’s better than me. At least I’m not a child anymore. If I have to go back to the Storm, I’d probably survive now. And then I’d get to be with you again. That doesn’t sound so bad.
Marmie would be angry. She’d scold and remind Talise of her promise, but none of that changed how Talise felt in this moment. Living in the Storm with Marmie really didn’t sound so bad. Certainly not as bad as it did when she was a child. She was stronger now.
Shaking her head, Talise got a blank sheet of paper to start a new letter. She couldn’t send something like that so close to the competition. Marmie would worry too much.
She had to say something else.
