CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
I shoved the pile of books from my desk. They crashed to the floor in a heap of broken spines, creased pages, and pathetic dreams. Across the room, Anna whimpered softly in her sleep.
My chest burned.
Thomas would regret this.
He’d forever remember the day he crushed my heart. He’d regret rejecting the greatest pupil a master could ask for.
Out the window, the pond glimmered amidst a sea of darkness.
I rolled my eyes, fire burning in my veins, and turned my face away.
I would make him wish he’d never tutored me as I flew high above his unreasonable expectations.
I bit my cheek, breathing deeply as I forced myself to sink onto my bed, even as my knee bounced with fury. I closed my eyes, imagining myself seated next to him on the Mage Council, vetoing his decisions, my peers clapping for me as he fumed.
I imagined running against him, stepping into the role of Grand Mage—
I drew in a sharp breath.
When had all of this ambition arrived? Had it been within me all along?
I dwelt on the smothered daydream longer, slipping underneath the covers in the darkness of my room. As I did so, my anger slowly dwindled, tamed by a goal bigger than my present fury.
Grand Mage.
To be Grand Mage was to advise the crown in all magical affairs, chosen by the Mage Council as the realm’s most accomplished mage.
It was a position that I’d never even dreamed of until this summer, but even then, it was dismissed in light of Thomas’s superiority in every way.
Yet hadn’t I surpassed all of his expectations? Mastered his most complicated of spellwork?
The idea of beating a prince to Grand Mage, of achieving it all by my own ambition, of having that kind of power and sway…
Everyone believed Thomas was guaranteed to achieve the position by the time he qualified. But that would be at least two decades away.
And a lot could happen in two decades…
I grabbed Papa’s journal, pulling it into bed and bringing the covers over my head. I whispered a soft enchantment that conjured a soft magelight. My eyes scanned the final few pages I had yet to reach.
Kelara’s handwriting had taken over Papa’s by now, and she chronicled our family history in columns.
Our family, as I already knew, immigrated to Amouridia a few generations back, but I didn’t know exactly who or why. I now read the names of my great grandparents, and their great grandparents, the spelling and sounds so different from the ones I was used to.
They’d come from the Wild Lands. My mind flashed back to Thom’s lesson by the pond, the map he’d drawn in the air with mere mist. Mountain ranges bordered Amouridia, wild and treacherous. He’d told me of the raw magic that existed there.
I wondered why and how my ancestors had survived in such cold isolation. I wondered why they’d moved.
Beside each name, Kelara had listed their mage specialties. My eyes skimmed down the column. Fire. Fire. Water. Fire. Earth. Fire. Fire. Fire.
My gaze halted.
Fortune-teller.
The air turned thin in my lungs.
I flipped to the next page, desperate to see if any more information existed about my great great grandmother, but it seemed as though that was all my father had considered important to say.
I wished more than anything he were still alive to answer the questions I now allowed myself to ask.
I wished I’d been brave enough to discuss them, to reach for more than I thought I could, when he was around and eager to help.
You’re made for more.
I knew I was. I wasn’t just a charity case, a commoner lucky to converse with the prince, let alone train under him.
I was a mage with impressive drive, a woman with wild magic flowing in her veins, a fortune-teller who was just beginning to believe she could one day become Grand Mage.
I finally understood Papa’s words—I was made for greatness that only he could see.
A greatness I was only just beginning to believe in for myself.
The banquet hall was a cacophony of excited chatter, echoing through the thick palace walls and into the night air outside. Much of the court had gathered to celebrate the kingdom’s top mages as they began their internships abroad.
Anna and I watched the bright lights in the windows flicker as the shadows of nobility danced within. I sighed.
“It’s probably beautiful,” she said.
“Most likely.”
“Do you think that the princes will dance?”
“Maybe.” The world was cloaked in darkness above us as the moon hid its face behind heavy clouds.
“I wish I could join.”
I put my hand on her knee. “You’ll find someone to dance with you eventually, Anna.”
She snorted. “I appreciate the optimism but don’t bother.” She turned to me. “Don’t you want to go in and give Prince Thomas a real goodbye?”
My ribs ached. “Why?”
“Because from what you’ve told me, last night was not a real goodbye.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “He kissed me, then reminded me why I’m not good enough for him. Why would I ever want to speak to him again?”
“Because you love him.”
“I do not love him.”
She raised her hands. “Alright.”
“I could never love such a pompous—”
“Ladies.”
I whirled toward the intruder, my spirit chilling at the sight of a noble who’d wandered out for a breath of fresh air. In the fallen darkness, away from the palace’s torches, he must have failed to realize we were merely service staff.
“Did I overhear the two of you discussing Prince Thomas, perchance?”
As the man stepped closer, I made out a small frame and mage robes that billowed down to his feet.
“Do you know him?” I asked.
He nodded with a laugh. “Of course. He was once like a brother to me.”
Interest stirred in my chest. “And you are?”
“Mage Lee,” he said with a bow. “At your service.”
“I’m Miss Smyth, and this is Miss Crowley."
He leaned against a nearby trellis, his eyes scanning the gardens in the distance. “My apologies, but I believe I heard something about Prince Thomas’s indecency toward you. You didn’t sound especially fond of him.”
“I don’t believe that’s any of your business,” I replied.
“I wouldn’t dare pry where it’s not wanted. I simply wanted to know if others had seen the prince for who he truly was.”
My jaw, previously clenched tight, loosened slightly. “What occurred between you and the prince?”
“That’s a long history.”
My eyes flicked back to the twirling silhouettes in the palace windows. “We have time.”
He exhaled loudly. “I can share a little, but know that I am entrusting you with a private matter.”
“Of course.” My soul itched for comfort. Thom had spent the summer insisting he knew better than everyone else. It was time for the truth to come out.
“If you know him, you may already know the story,” he said. “Thom and I were meant to work together on a treatise, one we would co-present for the Mage Council to help certify us as Masters ahead of our classmates.”
“A treatise?”
“On magic plagues. Do you know of it?”
My chest tightened. “Not at all.”
“That doesn’t surprise me. He wouldn’t want to risk such confidential research.”
My fingers began to tremble. I clutched them together. “Then why are you no longer working as partners?”
He sat on a bench, only a few feet from Anna and I. I shifted closer to hear him better.
“When I revealed my findings to the prince, he realized I’d found incredible links.
However, despite the imbalance, I still meant to continue our original plan and present our research together.
I’d done the brunt of the work,” he said quietly.
“But still intended to honor our agreement.” He cleared his throat, ducking his head as if shy.
“I ended up creating the first cure with a thirty percent chance of full recovery. I’d done the experiment right here at the palace. ”
“Wow,” Anna breathed.
“Thank you,” he murmured, looking away. “However, when I returned home to visit my family estate, my research was no longer in my pack. It was gone.”
I raised a brow. “But surely…”
“No one else knew of our studies. We’d kept them secret on purpose.
He had motive, time, and resources. I’d been staying here, watched by his staff.
It would have been incredibly easy. And the final nail in the coffin was that he refused to discuss what happened with me.
He pretends that it was his research all this time, that I am the one trying to steal credit for his treatise. ”
“That’s awful,” Anna murmured.
I thought back to everything Thom had revealed so far about his research. How could Lee have known about the treatise topic? Or Thomas’s inefficient cure? He’d been reticent enough even sharing that information with me.
“Surely if you brought the matter before your master, before the King—”
He laughed bitterly. “Oh yes, I, a minor Lord’s son, am going to be believed over a prince. One that everyone is desperate to make Grand Mage one day.”
The world began to tilt. “When did this happen?” I asked.
“Just before the summer,” he said. “I suspect he picked me because my family is famous for its potionwork. He wanted access to my equipment, to my family’s library. He took me for a fool.”
I remained silent.
“I’d imagine Thomas is desperate to finish the research without my assistance. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s enlisted the help of close friends to assist him.” His gaze was heavy on me. I held my breath.
“I know nothing of the matter,” I lied. “Though I am very sorry you have been treated so poorly.” My skin felt clammy as I forced the words out.
“It’s no matter,” he professed. “Not anymore. I’ve spent the summer on a new treatise that will blow his out of the water.”
“Good,” I said, curiosity rising, knowing he wouldn’t tell me if I asked anyway.
A distant frog’s croak broke the silence that weighed on us.
Lee snickered. “Thom once told me he’d prefer to be a toad.”
“I beg your pardon?” It was something he’d once told me, too, in the privacy of our pond. A sentiment I’d found similarly strange.
“He said he’d prefer to be a toad rather than one of us. He’s always been odd.”
“I suppose.” But in my mind, odd didn’t cut it. He was a rude, demeaning know-it-all.
“It’s too bad he’s so close to the throne. He might be better off with a life spent in nature.”
“I don’t think we should discuss this anymore.” Anna’s voice cut through the tension in the air.
Lee shook his head out of a stupor. “Of course,” he said. “I apologize.” He blinked a few times, his eyes returning to that steady peace and familiarity from a mere few moments before. “The Great Mage will provide justice in due time, I trust,” he said.
“I hope he does for you, Lee. I can’t imagine how difficult his betrayal must have been,” I said, my chest turning.
The orchestra came to a stop, answered by a loud round of applause.
“They must be starting speeches. Shall I escort you back?”
“Miss Crowley here was just feeling faint,” I said. “We shall return shortly.”
He bowed. “Of course.” He pivoted and walked away, leaving us behind. As soon as he re-entered the palace, Anna pinched my arm.
“Do you think it’s true?” she whispered.
“I don’t know.”
“Well, you know about this whole treatise thing. I could tell by your expression. Did his story match the one you know?”
“It didn’t contradict anything.”
She let go of my arm to stand. A cold gust made me shiver, and I crossed my arms tighter over my chest. “Knowing Thom, the accusation didn’t even contradict his character.”
My shoulders sank under the weight of realizing the Thom I’d dreamed of had never existed at all.