Chapter Eight Riela
Chapter Eight
Riela
With a belly full of warm food, all things seemed possible, so I decided to conjure up another sticky bun for dessert. But
without Garrick’s help, my magic was far more uncooperative.
I could see the castle’s magic, and I could see my magic, but I couldn’t merge the two, no matter what I tried. Blue and silver
danced in my mind’s eye, but they refused to combine.
The mage had made it seem so easy. He’d likely had far more practice, but I had stubbornness, persistence, and an abhorrence
of failure.
But after two hours without any progress, I slumped over on the table and buried my head in my arms, exhausted and frustrated.
The castle had been so helpful earlier. What had changed?
I slowly sat up. When I’d needed cleaning supplies, I had asked.
“Could I have a sticky bun, please?” I whispered. “I’ll give you magic for it, but I don’t know how.”
I didn’t hear or feel anything, but when I glanced down, an apple had appeared next to my elbow. I tipped my head to the side
and carefully picked it up. It wasn’t quite what I’d asked for, but it was food, so I murmured my thanks.
The first bite was bliss, crisp and tart. It wasn’t a sugary pastry, but it was still delicious.
“I don’t suppose you could make something more substantial, could you?” If I couldn’t figure out how to make food before the
supplies in my pack ran out, then I was either going to have to brave the forest or remain dependent on the mage. Neither
option was appealing.
Another apple appeared at my elbow. It appeared that the castle was limited in what it could produce without my help, and
I didn’t know how to help.
I blew out a frustrated breath, then tucked the apple in my pocket. Food was food, after all. I drank another cup of water and contemplated the best way forward.
I didn’t think the castle would be giving me apples if it didn’t want to help, but it was up to me to figure out how to help
it in return. “Okay, neither of us want to bother the grumpy mage again, so let’s figure this out.”
I focused my thoughts on a bowl of porridge. It was a simple dish, easily created. I tried to remember exactly how it had
felt when Garrick had merged our magic with the castle’s. My magic rose, and I could see the silver of the castle’s magic.
I tried combining the two while focusing on my desire for a bowl of porridge.
Nothing happened.
And though I tried everything I could think of, I couldn’t summon a single item, not even an apple on my own. After another
frustrating hour, I patted the table. “It’s okay. We’ll try again tomorrow.”
An apple appeared in the middle of the table, and it felt like an apology. I picked it up with a smile. “Thank you.”
I stood, then paused. Neither the mage nor the wolf was around, which meant I could see if the mage had kept his word about
my ability to leave. I didn’t want to actually cross the bridge into the forest—I wasn’t as foolish as Hector—but I wanted
to see if I could.
I opened the kitchen door and stepped outside. No one stopped me. The air was cold against my cheeks, and I snuggled deeper
into the cloak Garrick had given me. The Protectress had barely started her nightly journey, and stars glittered in the inky
black sky, but they didn’t provide enough light to see, so after admiring them for a minute, I summoned a magical light.
Shadows leapt up the stone walls, and I found myself jumping at nothing more than once. The walk had seemed much shorter in
the light of day, and I hurried onward before my imagination got the best of me.
The bridge looked far more sinister in the dark. My light barely pierced the shadows clinging to it, and the far side was lost in a sea of gloom. Anything could be waiting just out of sight, ready to gobble up a weak, hapless mage like myself.
Stung pride straightened my spine. It wasn’t my fault I was untrained.
Well, it was, but only because I didn’t want to become a pawn for the king.
I raised my magic, but the whole bridge glowed silver. I held out a hand and moved cautiously forward. At the first sign of
resistance, I would have my answer.
I was so focused on getting ready to jump back that I took several steps onto the bridge itself before I realized what that
meant. Garrick hadn’t lied. The barrier was gone. I was not a prisoner—at least, not of the castle. The forest remained to
be seen.
Relief unknotted some of the tension in my back, and I tipped my head to the sky for a moment in silent thanks before turning
back to the castle.
Except I couldn’t step forward. Now, rather than keeping me in, Garrick’s magic seemed to be keeping me out.
I raised my magic higher and reached out to prod the silvery, magical barrier, but before I could make contact, Garrick’s
voice floated from the darkness. “I wouldn’t.”
I jerked my fingers back as Garrick emerged from the shadows like a wraith, a deeply suspicious look on his face. He took
in my cloaked figure with a sweeping glance, then looked behind me, like he expected something to be there.
I nervously glanced over my shoulder. Could he see something I couldn’t?
“What are you doing?” he asked, his voice deceptively mild.
My chin came up in a defensive reaction I had no control over. “You said I wasn’t a prisoner.” He didn’t respond, and I bit
my lip before I admitted, “I wanted to know if you were telling the truth.”
“Was I?”
There was something in his voice I couldn’t quite interpret, but I nodded. “It appears so. Except now I can’t return.”
His eyes glittered in the faint light. “Do you want to return?”
The answer was obvious, but he wanted me to beg, to grovel at his feet and plead for help, just like so many others before
him. My temper woke. “No, I prefer standing here in the cold with no food and no pack and no weapons like the weak, hapless
mage I am.”
“If that’s your preference.”
I clenched my fingers and counted to ten. “You didn’t warn me the magic would keep me out.”
“You didn’t ask.” The corner of his mouth tilted up. “Perhaps you should’ve thought—”
Fury overrode reason, and once again, I didn’t think, I just pulled the apple from my pocket and threw it directly at his
smirking face. Unfortunately, my hand smacked into the very barrier I’d been trying to avoid, and agony lit my body on fire.
I shrieked and my magic spiked, then the world went wobbly. When I came to, Garrick was crouched beside me, fury on his face
and worry in his eyes. I was splayed on the bridge with cold stone biting into my back.
The mage’s fingers were white around the apple I’d thrown, and I raised a shaking arm to reach for it. “I want my apple back.”
He lifted it away and shook his head. “It’s mine now, you tempest. You threw it at me.”
I groaned. Now that my temper had been burned away, I admitted, “Not my brightest hour.”
That surprised a rusty chuckle from him. “No, it doesn’t seem so. How are you feeling?”
“Like lightning decided to make its home in my veins.”
“It is meant as a deterrent.”
“Works great,” I mumbled. “Good job.” I looked up at the mage, who was still frowning at me, and summoned a weak smile. “You
won’t have to worry about anyone else sneaking in to steal your breakfast.”
Eyes that had gone somewhat soft hardened back into suspicious silver chips. “If you meant to take out half of my protection charms, you’ve succeeded.”
It was my turn to frown. “What’s a protection charm, and why would I want to take one out?”
“Why indeed,” he murmured. He stood and glanced down at me with his eyebrows raised. “Can you stand or will I have to carry
you?”
“I can stand.” Everything ached and my muscles wouldn’t stop twitching, but I was already dangerously far over the line between
asset and liability. Mages had no time for liabilities, so I climbed to my feet one agonizing motion at a time, then hesitantly
felt for the barrier that had stopped me before. My hand met nothing but air.
Whatever barrier had been here was now gone.
I stepped forward and stumbled as my knees buckled. I caught myself before I went down, but the effort cost me. Sweat dotted
my brow and my legs barely supported me. I squinted into the darkness. Only a hundred more steps to go.
I eyed the rocky ground. Maybe sleeping outside wouldn’t be so bad.
Garrick was hovering nearby while trying to look like he wasn’t. “I’m sorry I lost my temper,” I said after another few steps.
“And I’m sorry about the protection charms. I’ll fix them if you tell me how. Or maybe I can buy you new ones.” With what
money, I didn’t know, but I’d make it work. Somehow.
The mage shook his head, then sighed quietly. A heartbeat later, moonlit magic swept through me and the pain subsided. He
stumbled, and I instinctively lurched to catch him, but I hadn’t expected him to jerk away at the same moment.
I crashed into him, and we went down in a tangle of limbs. My elbow and knee hit the ground with painful force, but the rest
of me was cushioned against his firm body. His magic rose, cold and deadly, and I closed my eyes and waited for it to tear
into me.
After a moment of fraught silence and a distinct lack of rending magic, I cracked one eye open. Garrick was looking at me with something like bemusement. “Are you always so impulsive?”
I considered it. “Yes, but I usually hide it better.”
He barked out a laugh, and the feeling of it sent pleasant tingles skating over my skin, reminding me exactly where I was.
I scrambled up, and if his hands took an extra moment to release my hips, neither of us mentioned it.
I helped him up, face burning. “Thank you for healing me—again,” I murmured. “And I’m sorry about . . .” I waved vaguely at
him, the ground, and the bridge. “I’m going to return to my room now. Good night.”
I turned and left before I could do anything else impulsive.
Like see if his lips felt as good as they looked.
Searing embarrassment chased me back to the kitchen, where I remembered I’d also failed to make food. Tomorrow, I would have