CHAPTER 12
I was awake and dressed before the crack of dawn, a fiery determination singing in my bones.
I couldn’t believe I had talked for so long with Kilian the night before.
I had let him hold my hand and speak about his dreams like a besotted teenager.
So what if his little monologue about his envisioned mortal life was moving?
It didn’t make him less responsible for everything that had happened since Augustine.
Valhan House was dead quiet as I exited through the courtyard, not a soul stirring. I tied my hair into a high knot above my head and stretched. I pulled at my hamstrings, the muscles aching. And then I ran.
The air was cold, the mountain snow drifting like someone had tipped a snow globe upside down.
It ripped at my exposed flesh, the cold turning the tips of my fingers pale, but I thought that maybe my body was beginning to adjust somewhat to the chill.
I pushed my muscles just as I had in the woods, running faster and faster.
I ran for Anama and the pain she had endured.
I ran from the shitty things I had said to Lana, things I could never take back.
I ran from the confusing, messy emotions I felt toward Kilian, who got under my skin like no one else ever had.
And I ran for the girl who had died the moment she was taken from Serila. I ran for me.
My muscles burned as I reached Pyxis. I leaned against the library wall to catch my breath.
“You’re still wearing it,” a female voice called.
I looked up to find the elven who had gifted me the protection bracelet. The charm dangled from my wrist, silver catching in the light.
“Yes,” I replied. “Thank you for it.”
“Did it work like it was supposed to?”
“I don’t–” I began, but… I was still alive. “Yes. It did.”
The elven smiled. “I am glad. The upper magic is potent, it should keep you safe from all sorts of dangers and malevolent spells.”
“You mentioned that it did not belong to you. Who did it belong to?”
The female paused in arranging her stock. “Another mortal girl, who dwelled here so long ago only the trees and the old elven of Lomask remember.”
A mortal. There was only ever one reason why a mortal would set foot on Lortan.
“She died in the Trials,” I whispered.
“Yes.” The elven nodded. “A tragic loss of life. You remind me of her. She, too, had fire in her eyes and a restless soul. I hope this bracelet serves you better than it did her.”
That the female could glean so much of my soul intrigued me, but there was also sadness for the girl who had not survived.
I pulled my sleeve down, covering the bracelet, and the elven gave me an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable.”
“It’s fine. Thank you again.” I pushed off the brick wall, ignoring the stab in my heart as I recalled that the last time I had been here was with my friends. It felt like everywhere I looked there was a reminder of death.
I sprinted back to Valhan House, not pausing to catch my breath. There would be no time to rest if something was chasing me. My muscles and lungs had to learn.
So, I pushed, and I ran. Chasing nothing and everything.
Sweat was streaming down my brow by the time I returned. At the sight of the archway, I swore. I should have never left Pyxis. A golden-eyed elven, dressed in sparring leathers, was waiting in the courtyard. “You’re late.”
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” I muttered. “He sent you to train me?”
“Expecting someone else?” Septimus drawled. “Trust me, there are places I’d much rather be.”
“Like my best friend’s bed?”
He gave me a wicked grin the devil himself would be proud of. “How quickly you catch on.”
“Fetch Syrina. I’d rather train with her.”
“Syrina’s mortal is dead. She is visiting friends in Dalhur.”
I flinched at the casualness in Septimus’ tone. Syrina’s mortal had been Anama. “Fuck you.”
Septimus grinned. “Aaaand there she is. Kilian told me you were giving him a hard time, but I said, ‘No way. Not sweet little Lirahna.’”
“I’m not sweet.”
“No,” he agreed, “You’re rather prickly. But that’s not my business.”
“None of this is your business. Go back inside and leave me alone. Tell Kilian that if he wants me to train, I will do it by myself.”
Septimus lifted two fingers, dropping one on each count. “One: I don’t know if you’ve seen yourself train, but you’re kind of shit. And two: I don’t take orders from you.”
I ignored his jab. “You just take orders from Kilian? Then be a good little golden retriever and run back to your master and tell him I’m not playing this game.”
Septimus whistled, long and low. “Someone’s in a bad mood this morning. You know, exercise is supposed to release endorphins. Maybe you need to take another lap.”
“What I need is for you to disappear.”
“Are you about done?” Septimus’ golden eyes were light with amusement. If I had hoped to rile him up, I had not succeeded. In fact, he looked downright entertained. “Because we can banter all day long. I don’t have any plans until tomorrow morning.”
The elven needed to attend a seminar on what was considered banter, because they had a warped idea of it.
I groaned. “What do I have to do to get you to stop speaking?”
Septimus jerked his head toward the house. “Come for a walk with me. I can’t promise I’ll stop talking, but I’ll make it worth your while.”
I gave him a skeptical look. “A walk?”
“Yes, Lirahna. It’s when you put one foot in front of the other and–”
“Gods, you’re insufferable. What exactly will make this worth my while?”
Septimus considered me for a moment, finger tapping playfully against his chin.
“Hmm. What does Lirahna Aldhur want most desperately? Perhaps, the answers to some of her burning questions?” Septimus held his hand to his heart.
“I solemnly swear that if you are obedient and do your best to follow my training instructions this morning, I will truthfully answer any three questions you have.”
I rolled my eyes at him. “You’re lying.”
“Am not.”
“Fine. Then tell me, what’s the second challenge?”
Septimus tutted. “You didn’t listen to my rules. I said I will answer any three questions if you follow my training instructions. Have you followed them yet?”
“No,” I grumbled.
“Very good. Now.” Septimus rubbed his hands together and golden sparks danced from his fingertips. “Let’s go for that walk, shall we?”
I didn’t have much of a choice but to trust he would hold up his end of the bargain; I had too many questions spinning around my head to pass up the opportunity.
Following Septimus, my thoughts churned.
When he did not turn left at the stairwell like I had expected him to, I said, “We’re not going to the sparring room? ”
Septimus shook his head. “I’m taking you somewhere I’ve only ever taken a few people. My favorite place in the entire world.”
I wondered if he had taken Lana where he was leading me now. “What’s the deal with you and Lana?” The question rose as I trudged behind him, past Valhan House and up a steep slope, the mountains a towering beast above us.
“Is that one of your questions?”
“No. Just curious, I guess. She’s my best friend.” I didn’t know when that had happened, but somehow, Lana had wormed her way in and now she was the closest thing I had to family in this foreign land.
“And you want to know if my intentions are nefarious?”
“Not nefarious, just… I don’t know. It’s not my place. Forget I asked.”
Septimus extended a hand to help me over a particularly jagged rock on the slope. “I like Lana. She reminds me of what it feels like to be young again.”
Septimus hardly looked a day over twenty-five.
“How old are you, anyway?”
“So many questions from sweet little Lirahna.”
I glared at him. “Stop calling me sweet.”
“Of course,” he mocked. “You’re a vicious thing. Darkness scatters when you walk.”
I puffed out a breath, my calves aching from my earlier run and the grueling hike up the slope. “Is climbing a cliff part of my training, or is this just for your own amusement?”
“Amusement,” he sang. “We’re not too far off, though. It’s just a little farther up. And, for being such a great sport, I will answer one of your, hopefully very well thought-out, questions.”
“What’s the second challenge?” I repeated.
“It’s one of wit and quick thinking.”
Wit and quick thinking? “So, it’s a mental challenge? Like a puzzle?”
“Is that your second question?”
I glowered at his back, “No. You’re not playing fair. You said you’d answer truthfully.”
“And I have,” Septimus tossed over his shoulder. “It’s not my fault your questions are vague.”
I gave a frustrated huff. I should have known he would apply a loophole.
Septimus cleared the trail, stepping onto a small landing at the base of another towering mountain. He held his hand out once more, and I let him pull me up before he released his grip and slowly swiveled me around to take in the view.
I hadn’t realized how high up the slope had stretched. Looking down, I could see the top of Valhan House and, beyond that, the city of Lomask. Dawn had barely broken, and pale light gilded the treetops and slated roofs of townhouses in the distance.
Septimus pointed a ringed finger to the left, where a tall building jutted out against the skyline. “That’s Pyxis. And over there–” His hand swept right to where a thick forest sprouted. “Those are the Forests of Dalhur. Beyond those lies Dalhur, the city of magic.”
I breathed in deeply, taking it in. “I can see why this is your favorite place. Why did you bring me here?”
Septimus shrugged. “I thought you might feel more comfortable practicing lower magic up here than down there. It’s less noisy.”
That was weirdly considerate of him.
“You’ve been gifted a kernel of power through the sacred oath. Now, mortals can’t practice upper magic – your bodies can’t handle the current – but some have been known to perform lower magic, on occasion. I heard you already channeled during the first challenge?”
I nodded.
“So, this should be easy for you, then.”
“It was… involuntary. I wasn’t trying to cast magic.”