Chapter 1 #2
Discomfort washed over Alina. She should have set a better example.
Benji knew from an unguarded conversation once that over her years of honing her craft, she’d reached a point where she could manage with a considerably smaller amount of magic-fueled energy.
Of course he would try to match her. She should have guessed as much.
“I’m fortunate to have an unusually high energy capacity,” she said curtly.
“But that’s not standard, Benji, and it doesn’t give you a free pass to be irresponsible.
We all have our aptitudes. I don’t have the finesse to do what you just did with the pebble.
The skills you’ll learn at the training program in Sindon will outstrip what I can do in no time, so there’s no need for you to feel like you have to chase me. ”
“That’s if I can actually win one of the scholarships to go there,” Benji said heavily.
“You will.” Lilah’s voice was firm. “I have faith in you.”
He sent his sister a wan smile, but Alina just bit her lip.
She wanted to encourage the teenager, but the truth was she had misgivings.
A scholarship would be amazing, and Benji’s skills merited it.
But in her experience, miraculous solutions to life’s problems shouldn’t be relied on.
You shouldn’t count on anything more than what you had in your hands, and even that could be stripped away more easily than most people imagined. As the twins already knew.
“Just remember to be careful when you’re in public,” she told Benji. “Don’t practice where strangers could see you.”
“I know, I know.” Benji pushed the sticks to one side of the table, the movement impatient. “It’s ridiculous, though. We’re all acting like magic is outlawed or something. What’s the use of having this skill if we can’t use it?”
“It’s not forever,” Alina reminded him. “When it’s safe again—”
“And when will that be?” Benji cut her off.
“When the crown takes all the disappearances seriously and figures out what’s causing them,” Alina said. There wasn’t much conviction in her words, though. Relying on the crown for anything was another approach her experience didn’t encourage.
“I need to get going.” Alina cast another glance at Lilah’s glorious curls, then held out her hand toward Benji. “Can I borrow the fan?”
He handed it over, and she started to swirl it between her fingers, letting her eyes glaze over as she concentrated on the steady stream of Dust issuing invisibly from it.
She wove the fan in a curving trail, replicating the pattern she would make if she was braiding her hair with her hands.
Which she could do, of course. For most people, it would make much more sense to do that.
But today, Alina wanted to use magic for the task.
There was something satisfyingly rhythmic about the way her hair responded to the magic she teased into it, weaving in sections, pulling tight here, looping over the top there.
For many, it would be an exhausting task, but for her it made little dent on her energy.
Besides which, it was a soothing sensation, like someone running their fingers through her hair. It reminded her of her mother, stirring a soft ache. She hadn’t been touched in a comforting, familiar way like that since her parents died.
“Beautiful,” said Lilah admiringly, when the braid was finished. “That’s such a neat trick, Alina.”
“The trick might be neat, but I’m sure the braid isn’t,” Alina said ruefully. “I never can get the knack of intricate tasks.”
“Well, count your blessings, because I can’t get the knack of magic craft at all,” Lilah said frankly. “Try as I might, it’s just never clicked for me like it does for Benji. And you,” she added, her eyes back on Alina. “And my hair would never cooperate for a respectable braid like that.”
Alina had to laugh. “Lilah, I think you must be trying to boost my vanity as well. As if you could ever be jealous of my hair! It’s common knowledge that golden curls are preferable over dark, spiritless hair like mine.”
“It’s not common knowledge.” Lilah looked bewildered. “Preferable according to whom?”
“Oh, well.” Alina felt her face warming slightly. What was wrong with her this morning? “Everyone, I suppose.”
“Not at all,” Lilah said staunchly. “Just the other day I overheard some of the local teenagers talking about a girl their age, from one of the nearby farms. They said that the prince’s reputation has made golden hair fashionable, but they thought she was the prettiest girl in town, and her hair is jet-black. ”
“The prince’s reputation?” Benji repeated with disapproval. “I don’t know what sordid things you’ve been listening to, Lilah, but you really shouldn’t encourage local teenagers to talk to you about that kind of thing.”
His sister gave him an impatient look. “They weren’t talking to me, and they weren’t saying anything sordid. They just meant that everyone knows the crown prince is flirtatious to a fault, and that he has a reputation for losing his heart to every golden head that comes through the court.”
“I somehow doubt the crown prince has ever lost his heart,” Alina said, her voice dry. Hopefully they didn’t hear the edge to her words.
“Yes, rumors do suggest it’s more the girls who lose their hearts, I suppose,” Lilah agreed.
Alina said nothing, wishing she’d stayed silent.
Prolonging the topic was the last thing she wanted to do.
It was uncomfortable that, even though she hadn’t said anything about the prince, Lilah had still been astute enough to figure out exactly whose preferences Alina had meant.
She felt pathetically relieved that the twins knew nothing of her history with Crown Prince Xavier.
Thankfully for her mood, Benji changed the subject, uninterested in princes or hairstyles.
“You always say you don’t have intricate magic skills, but you’re better than anyone else in town,” the teenager told her. “I think you’re being too humble. You should be the one applying for a scholarship at the Craftsman’s Guild in the capital.”
“Me?” Alina laughed. “No, no, I’m too old to be studying with teenagers like you.”
“I’m not that much younger than you,” Benji muttered, the offense in his voice making Alina hold back a smile.
“Of course not,” she said soothingly. “I’ll see you both later, all right?”
Lilah nodded. “Tell Mrs. Pincer I’ll be down shortly, would you?”
“Sure.” Alina cast a longing glance toward the water boiling over their little fire. She was expected at the market, and thanks to her distraction, she had no time left for tea or anything else. “Are you both still planning to meet me at the market for lunch?”
“I will,” Lilah said. “Benji has another day’s work on that farm just outside town, so he’ll be gone until supper.”
“That’s great,” Alina said encouragingly. Benji smiled, the expression not reaching his eyes. But he knew better than to complain about a day’s work.
Alina made her way down the narrow wooden stairs, emerging into the small dressmaker’s shop their rooms were perched on.
“Good morning, Alina.” The elderly owner, Mrs. Pincer, glanced up from her needlework. “Going to market day? Are you working, or shopping?”
“Working, ma’am,” Alina said, humor in her voice.
What would she be shopping for? The town’s weekly market attracted visitors from all over the area, and most of the wares were well beyond her slim means. She could get produce more cheaply from local suppliers on other days of the week.
“Well, you be careful,” Mrs. Pincer said darkly. “I heard another group of workers stayed at the inn last night, on their way to the desert. Best not be showing off any of your craftsmanship in front of strangers.”
“I won’t, Mrs. Pincer,” Alina assured her.
“Everyone who’s gone missing is young and on their own, just like you, Alina.”
Alina nodded dutifully, not needing the older woman’s caution. She was as on edge as everyone else in town over the disappearances.
“And handy with magic craft,” Mrs. Pincer added. She peered at Alina over her spectacles. “I do miss your tricks in my shop, you know. You were so quick with sorting the thread.”
“I’m grateful to you for giving Lilah the work,” Alina said quickly. “I know she wants to work hard for you. She’ll be down in just a minute.”
“She’s a good little worker, I’m not complaining,” the dressmaker said with a wave of her hand. “I’m just surprised you don’t miss the steady work. You seem to always be here and there, doing odd jobs now.”
“I manage just fine,” Alina said brightly. “Variety keeps life interesting.”
And more to the point, giving her position at the dressmaker to Lilah meant that the younger girl was kept safe and away from less desirable roles like serving in the tavern.
Alina made her way through the small shop, her eyes lingering for a moment too long on an emerald green gown in the window.
“Don’t think I don’t see you admiring that one every time you go past it,” Mrs. Pincer called out from behind her. “You should buy it one of these days!”
Alina just smiled, waving goodbye as she left the store.
The dressmaker was observant—Alina did love that gown.
It was nothing fancy, just a well cut linen garment with short sleeves and a flowing skirt.
But the fabric was her favorite color, the lush green reminding her of the forest town where she’d lived with her aunt’s family for a couple of years after her parents died.
Her new home was much less green, perched between the forest and the desert as it was.
But she couldn’t afford to buy that dress.
It would deplete almost her whole stash of saved coins, and she needed them in case of an emergency.
Or, if nothing drastic came up, to help cover costs for Benji and Lilah when the time came for Benji to travel to the capital to apply to the Craftsman’s Guild.