‘Go and rest,’ she said with a wave of her hand.
‘What will you do?’
‘What I must.’
‘Could you not be what you thought this hidden princess to be? You have the skill.’
Wei-Song smiled bitterly. ‘I am an unknown. She already holds the love of the people in this time. Even if the people don’t know what happened to their prince, they hold the traditions close.’
‘They could come to know you, if only…’
She held up her hand, and he stopped. ‘I have heard of the visions, just as you have. I am not the hidden princess to save the people.’
He bowed low and left her. She looked over the papers before her, but she couldn’t focus on the content. Long Lisabet was a girl who didn’t know what power she had and didn’t want to be in the position she was. But she was there, and it would be up to Wei-Song to ensure she answered her calling.
The dreams had stopped for Lis, because she was no longer able to sleep. Was the woman she had met another hidden princess? Did the prince know of her existence or identity? The man had not reappeared, and Lis knew that the healer would soon return to determine whether she was well enough to continue her studies.
She wondered just what they would attempt to teach her, and she hoped the prince was able to talk to his mother about what she needed. He seemed certain enough that she didn’t have too much to learn.
She sighed and rubbed at her heavy eyes. He would be here soon enough. Despite his mother’s strong words, he was always close. He had even started to take his breakfast with her. He would grumble as he had the day before that she still looked tired, and she wondered again what the healer would do if she was deemed too unwell.
But she didn’t want to dream. The last one had left her scared. The prince had been clearer amidst the flames.
‘Are you awake already?’ Mu-Phi asked from the other side of the room.
Lis nodded and rubbed again at her face.
‘Have you slept?’ the maid asked, coming over and kneeling before her.
‘I’m not sure,’ Lis lied. The girl was loyal to the prince first. Although she was not to leave the room, Lis often heard their whispered conversations in the hallway. She had been tempted to sneak out to hear the details of their discussions, but she wasn’t sure how it would affect her, and she didn’t want to risk the prince discovering her.
She almost laughed at the idea. She had been so worried—her whole family had—and yet she had walked past him using her magic and he’d had no idea.
‘I will start your breakfast.’
Lis nodded and watched the girl move back to the kettle. She stoked the small fire beneath the pot and then silently left the room. Lis lay back and tried to keep her eyes from closing. Mu-Phi would report to the prince that she hadn’t slept before she returned from the kitchens with her breakfast.
Lis could no longer fight the gritty feeling in her eyes, so she allowed them to close. A whole world sparked behind her lids, and she watched again as the world burned around her. Only this time, she didn’t feel the heat. She could sense the flames, but they didn’t touch her. She stepped closer to them, wondering at the lack of heat. The flames burned white before her, losing all hint of the oranges and reds, and the world went dark.
Then the sun shone bright in the sky, and Lis was standing at the school in a strange silence, as though her hands covered her ears. She moved through the corridors, looking over the artwork and wondering what they could teach her. Did she have an ability with fire? Was that why she dreamed of it?
But there was no one there to ask, and she sighed in the silence. Then she heard footsteps. When she turned, she saw a small child running past her wearing the grey uniform Lis wore as the hidden princess, her hair flowing behind her.
‘It will be as it must be,’ she called as she ran past Lis and disappeared through a doorway. Lis followed, but she couldn’t find the child.
‘What will?’ she called into the silence.
‘Everything,’ the child called back, and then Lis woke.
She blinked into the light. As the door opened and she sat up, Mu-Phi entered with the prince following close behind.
He nodded his head towards her and took his usual place by the table. Lis threw the covers back and stood slowly. She felt more refreshed than she had before. and she wondered if she had slept for a long time. She felt warm, but not hot or dry. Mu-Phi rushed forward and put a robe around her shoulders.
Lis glanced over her shoulder at the prince, with whom she didn’t feel as shy as she should. He had seen her in her undergarments before. She smiled her thanks to the girl and then sat down opposite the prince. He poured tea for them both as Mu-Phi moved one of the bowls she had carried in closer to Lis.
‘You look well,’ the prince said, confusion crossing his face as he looked up at Mu-Phi.
‘You sound disappointed,’ Lis answered, her voice clear. The heavy feeling of sleeplessness she had felt earlier, had lifted completely.
‘You have looked so tired of late.’
‘The healer returns today. I expect to be back to my studies.’
‘Your days will be filled with tutors,’ he sighed.
‘That is why I am here,’ she said, feeling the smile stretch her face. ‘I am to learn, and there is much to cover.’
He nodded once, pushing food into his mouth. She watched him as he ate, and she followed his example. The food tasted different, as though colour had come back into the world.
U’shi watched the soldier walk past her cell. It was not a place she thought would ever be used again. And now she was the only occupant. She had not been in the small palace very long before she had been returned to the cold cell. The soldiers had marched her through the streets towards her new home. She had tried not to look at the people who openly stared and whispered about her, not too quietly. Never in all the world had she imagined this would be her life.
She ran a hand over her stomach and looked back at the man who watched her too closely. The other soldiers had stood silently, but this one watched her and moved about far too much. A nervousness prickled the back of her neck. She stood slowly and stepped closer to the bars.
‘Who sent you?’ she asked, her voice stronger than she felt.
He grinned at her before holding out his hand. She thought he might have a note or similar from her lover. She had no idea where Nizen was, or even if he had survived this long. She could remember the anger on the prince’s face. The empress would have protected her—she knew what she was—but the prince’s hate was too much for the emperor to ignore.
They should never have selected another, she determined as she stepped forward to see what he held in his hand. He was close to the bars, but he had not put his hand through, although there was sufficient room between the bars to do so. If she had been thinner, U’shi wondered if she could have squeezed through herself. But there was nowhere to go now and no one to go to.
He started to laugh when she reached the bars, and then he suddenly reached through and grabbed her wrist.
His hold burned her skin, and she shrieked. ‘Don’t you know who I am?’
He only laughed louder. U’shi tried to pull from his hold, but her arm burned hotter and she dropped to her knees. The heat pulsed through her.
‘Magic,’ she whispered.
‘You are nothing,’ he said, ‘but a step between me and the princess.’
‘I was your princess,’ she snapped, despite the pain. She knew what she had been and what she should have remained. The country girl would not be what U’shi could have been as Empress.
‘You were never my princess. You would have done nothing for this Empire.’
‘I could have,’ she said through gritted teeth as another wave of heat covered her body. U’shi felt a sharp pain in her chest and then in her stomach. She clutched at it as she doubled over, her arm still held above her. ‘Stop,’ she breathed. Her voice had no weight to it, no strength left. But the pai
n continued, and the heat intensified until the world went dark around her. ‘Please stop,’ she whispered. He released her, and her hand dropped back through the bars to her chest. There was nothing but fire and darkness.
The guard raced through the door, then stopped and bowed low as Lis jumped up from the table. She could see his hesitation as to whether he should step back and knock or continue. No, she could feel it. She took a deep breath and sat back at the table.
The prince opened his mouth to chastise him, but the guard motioned to the door, looking more at Lis than his prince. ‘I think this best outside,’ he murmured.
Lis looked to the prince as he raised his eyebrows.
‘It is the maid, U’shi,’ the guard said, and Lis could sense his heart beating fast.
She took a careful sip of her tea. The whole room seemed to buzz with magic, which she tried not to notice. The prince had climbed to his feet, and Mu-Phi stood directly behind her.
‘Go on,’ the prince said, his voice calm and level, as though there were nothing Lis could not hear.
‘She is dead,’ he whispered.
Lis put the cup down carefully. ‘The tutor?’ she asked, unsure why she needed to know anything of him.
‘He was put to death last week, Your Highness,’ the guard said, turning and bowing again to her.
She nodded, wondering when it had happened and why she hadn’t been told. But then, she wasn’t told very much. Lis stopped and took a deep breath; this was not the time to worry about what was shared with her. She had always known it would be very little. It was only because the crown prince worried for her that she was privy to such matters now.
She felt the crackle around him, as though he stretched and hunted with his skill while standing stock still. She could taste it on the air, something beyond the prince and his searching skills. It burned like the flames of her dreams, and she wondered if she too had an ability to hunt.
‘Magic,’ the prince murmured, and the guard nodded.
‘There are marks on her arm where she was burnt. But it was more than that. It appears to have pushed right through her, burning her from the inside.’
‘How did we not know there was a fire bearer in the palace?’ the prince asked, his level voice carrying his anger.
The guard shook his head.
‘He walked right into the prison?’
‘I don’t understand how it was done. One soldier is missing.’
The prince huffed then, letting his frustration show, and he stomped to the door. The guard bowed again to Lis before following him out. It was only as Mu-Phi poured more tea that she realised the prince had said nothing to her before leaving.
‘There is still magic here,’ Lis whispered before picking up her cup.
‘The prince will hunt it out,’ the maid said, picking up his plates and placing them in her corner.
Lis was actually quite hungry, and she continued to eat as Mu-Phi folded the covers on her bed and poured ink into the pot. She also unfurled fresh paper on her desk. Lis watched her silently. She wondered if she should be sad for U’shi, but she couldn’t feel anything for the woman who had made things so difficult for her. She hadn’t wished such an end on her or her child, but she was more curious about what Mu-Phi knew of her future.
‘What are you doing?’ Lis asked.
‘Preparing for your day,’ Mu-Phi said, looking up from the desk with a confused expression.
‘The healer is yet to come.’
‘He will come soon. Although I know you haven’t slept for days, you appear to be what you were.’
Lis nodded. Could one dream have turned her around so completely?
Chapter 26
Lis was excited to see the healer enter the room, although his face was dark before he even focused on her. She wondered if she looked as bad as she had felt when she first woke, if the feeling of strength and control was just an illusion left over from the dream.
The high priestess following him in caused her heart to race, and she clutched her hands in her lap as they entered.
‘Your Highness,’ the healer said, bowing low before her. ‘It is nice to see you are rested.’
She smiled her thanks, but she couldn’t maintain it. Her eyes flickered to the woman behind him.
‘She wishes to examine you herself,’ he said, his voice tight.
Lis nodded once, to show her understanding. ‘But you will examine me first,’ she said. She had meant it as a question, yet it sounded more like a directive, and he smiled as he bowed again. He knelt before her at the table and placed a small cushion down. She wondered for a moment where it had come from, somewhere secret in his robes perhaps. She wondered what else he may have hidden away.
She tried to focus on his face, old and lined and kind. His narrow, pointed beard was white and, although it looked soft, she doubted it was. As tempted as she was to run her fingers through it, she maintained her stillness.
‘Perfect,’ he whispered. ‘Did you go to the baths?’ he asked, looking up at her.
She nodded and smiled. It had actually been quite calming once she had allowed herself to relax, and Mu-Phi had not left her side.
‘You may return to your studies,’ he said kindly, and she nodded her thanks.
‘You are sure?’ the high priestess asked. He scowled as he stood back and gestured to the patient.
She nodded her thanks and stepped forward. Lis’s arm still rested on the cushion, but the high priestess placed her hand on her forehead. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Lis wondered just what this woman could sense in her. She could almost feel the buzz of magic as she did around the prince. Almost, but she wasn’t certain. How many in the Empire had some magic they could explain as something else?
The woman smiled, and then it slipped from her face. Her brow drew together and although her eyes remained closed, Lis could feel them searching her. She held tight to her own magic, pulling it deep inside and imagining a wall between herself and the priestess.
The woman pulled her hand back with a frustrated sigh.
‘Do you think her unwell?’ the healer asked.
She shook her head and stepped back. ‘She is not what I thought,’ she said softly, but the frustration and anger was deep in her voice. The healer seemed to relax more at her words, and he nodded.
‘You may do as you need,’ the healer said with a bow. ‘I must report to the empress. She is keen to visit with you and check upon you herself.’
‘I would not want to be of trouble to the empress.’
‘You are no trouble. You are her charge to train,’ he said with a friendly smile, which Lis returned easily.
‘I must pray,’ the high priestess said, walking slowly from the room.
The old healer shook his head. ‘They do as they like,’ he said. ‘She should follow protocol, but she sees herself above the rest of us—even the royal family.’
Lis stared at him, surprised by his honesty.
‘She must bow and show respect,’ he said. ‘You must demand it,’ he added more gently.
Lis didn’t think she could take the priestess to task. The healer bowed and then backed out of the room. ‘Thank you,’ she called after him, and he paused in the doorway.
‘There is no need for thanks. I live to serve,’ he said before the door closed behind him.
Two very different people, Lis thought. She had a memory of her father being somewhat surprised that the high priestess had been involved in the Choosing, and she wondered if he had experienced anything with them during the magic war. She wouldn’t be able to ask him now, but she wondered if the prince would be able, or willing, to answer her questions. Although she wasn’t sure how she could phrase something like that so clearly.
Lis was sitting at the desk reading a text about the magic war when there was a gentle knock. The door opened, and the empress entered. Lis stood quickly from her place behind the desk and knelt before her. Tutor Na was a nice surprise following her in.
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��You appear much better,’ the empress said, looking Lis over and offering her a hand to stand.
‘Thank you, Your Highness. It appears all I needed was rest.’ Lis bowed again and noticed Mu-Phi watching her from the corner of the room. ‘May I offer you tea?’ she asked.
‘We are here to serve you,’ the empress said, then waited.
‘Sit, please,’ the tutor said, indicating the desk. Lis sat back down and closed the book she had been reading.
‘What is it you study?’ the empress asked.
‘More on the magic war,’ Lis said, placing the book back on the pile before her. ‘I was curious about the role the priestesses played.’
‘I do not know that they played any role,’ the empress said softly, still standing before Lis, and Lis wondered if she would stand and teach beside the tutor. ‘They train far from the main islands of the Empire,’ she continued, moving over and sitting at the table. Mu-Phi sat a cup of hot tea before her, and she nodded thanks. ‘It was thought that there was magic there, but it was at the end of the war. There was little evidence other than the hunters, but they could not find the magic makers. It was not long after that the hunters declared they could no longer detect magic.’
‘And so, the war ended.’
‘Yes,’ the empress said.
‘But does that mean magic is gone?’ Lis asked.
Tutor Na opened her mouth as though to chastise her, but the empress held up her hand.
‘Living in this place, you have heard things,’ the empress said, ‘about the former crown prince, perhaps.’
Lis nodded.
‘Remi feels strongly that there is still magic in the Empire, but he cannot produce it.’
‘He is a hunter,’ Lis said.
‘Of great skill. And his brother’s death touched him.’ The empress looked away, and Lis could see the pain on her face. She understood that to a degree, thinking of her own mother. But to lose a child appeared out of balance, Lis thought.
‘He worries for me,’ Lis said softly.
‘He does.’ The empress sighed. ‘But it is without reason, and it goes against so many traditions.’
The Magics of Rei-Een Box Set Page 20
