Soul Blaze (25 page)

“I’m going to talk to Dustin,” she told Griffin. She
curtsied to me abruptly and then left to speak to her soul
mate.

It suddenly struck me that I’d never seen Griffin with
his soul mate. I opened my mouth to ask, but then thought
better of it. I’d known him for a few months now, and if I
hadn’t met them in that time…

“What are you thinking?” he asked, breaking me out of
my reverie.
“A myriad of things,” I responded, sipping my drink.
“How are you and Eleanora going?”

“I thought we were meant to be celebrating your
relationship,” he said, his tone making it sound like he was
joking, but none of the joviality reached his amber eyes.
“We’re going fine. We’ve been on a few dates. She’s a
remarkable woman.”

Something tightened uncomfortably in my chest, but I
smiled and nodded politely.

“Actually, I’ve noticed a few remarkable women
around this palace lately,” Griffin said, his eyes roving
around the garden. “Wouldn’t you agree?”

“My friends are all extraordinary,” I told him, thinking
of my group.

“I was thinking of one in particular.” He said, and
carefully, tentatively took my free hand in his. The way
we were standing meant that no one could see the contact.

My heart jumped into my throat. Feeling his skin on
mine suddenly made the whole situation uncomfortably
real.

I removed my hand from his.
“I would hope that you’re thinking of your girlfriend,” I
replied. “Eleanora is beautiful.”

“She is,” Griffin said softly, and his tone made it
extremely clear that he wasn’t thinking of her at all. I met
his eyes, and what I saw in them made me turn abruptly
and stride back to the rest of the guests.

“Are you alright?” Someone caught my elbow, and I
looked up into Petre’s concerned eyes.
“I’m fine. Is there any wine?”

“A whole barrel of it,” he towed me towards it and
poured me a glass. I drained the glass, grimaced at the
taste, and then held out the cup for more. Petre took it
without question and refilled it. Once I’d emptied that, he
took me elbow and steered me towards a bench. “Now,
talk.”

I fiddled with the wine glass, looking up at my friend.
It was his brother I’d saved, and he’d been my second
during my fight with – I blanched – Griffin.

“Pre-wedding jitters,” I said finally. “Just needed a
drink. It’s all very real now, isn’t it?”
“Yes it is,” he responded, removing the empty glass
from my grip. “I thought you would have been pleased.”
“Oh, I am. It’s just nerve-racking, is all.”

Petre smiled and put his arm around me. I rested my
head on his shoulder, content with the comfortable
friendship.

“You and Phoenix were made for each other, alright?
None of this panicking.”
I nodded, a small smile beginning to grow on my lips.
“Now, come dance with me,” he stood and held his
hand out. “Then I shall release you back your fiancé.”
I laughed and took his hand. We danced, and he made
sure to make me laugh even more by pulling silly moves.

“I return her to you in one piece,” Petre declared
afterwards, handing me over to Phoenix, who grinned and
swept me away.

We managed to sneak a few moments in the trees, out
of the candlelight. As he kissed me softly and carefully, all
of my uneasiness melted away. I nestled into his embrace
and he rested his chin on top of my head. I’d never felt
safer in my life.

“Phoenix,” I murmured. “I love you.”
He kissed my hair.
“I love you too.” He whispered.

We could hear voices calling us back, so I wrapped my
arms around his neck and stole one last kiss before we
slunk back to the party like guilty teenagers.

My father wanted a dance, and so I happily obliged. I
burst out laughing when I saw my mother and Phoenix
dancing, as did Jett. He mock bowed to me when the song
ended, and I punched him playfully, half remembering
our training sessions and musing on how far we’d come;
from mentor and student to father and daughter.

The night was getting on, and Phoenix and I were in
the midst of talking to a nobleman from Orthandrell when
I heard a murmur of discontent rumble through the
crowd. I searched for the disturbance and found it in a
small man hurrying through the people, dressed in robes
from the Magic Testers Guild and carrying a small satchel.
By the time he had reached Phoenix and I, he was red
faced and out of breath.

“Your Majesties,” he wheezed. “May I have a moment?”

I saw Griffin frown and start towards him, but Eleanora
put her hand on his arm and shook her head. I understood
why Griffin was annoyed; this was a closed party with
guards surrounding it. This man had somehow slipped
through those guards, which meant bribery.

The man was waiting for an answer, his eyes imploring.

“Of course,” I said gently, handing my glass to a nearby
servant, who took it wordlessly. “Excuse us for a moment.”
I called to our guests.

The band, who had gone quiet, started up again, and
everyone began talking softly albeit suspiciously. Phoenix
offered me his arm and I took it. The man led us back to
the palace, seemingly knowing his way around. I kept my
magic just below my skin, ready to ignite it should I need
to. I could tell Phoenix was doing the same.

“My name is Icarus,” the man began when we reached a
small hall cut off from the outside. He was twisting his
plum coloured robes in his hands, and his eyes were jittery
and unfocused. “I’m part of the Magic Testers Guild here
in Castor.”

“We know,” Phoenix said. “Your robes.”
“Oh… yes… of course…” Icarus stuttered. “I’ve… I’ve
come to the palace to ask you a favour.”
“We were holding court tomorrow-” Phoenix began,
but Icarus cut him off.

“This couldn’t be discussed in public!” he shrieked, and
Phoenix bristled. Icarus seemed to remember who he was
speaking to then. “My apologies, Your Majesties. I’m a bit
frazzled.”

“What would you ask of us?” I prompted gently.
The robe twisting increased.
“My niece is a non-magi,” he began. “Her master treats
her unfairly. I wish for this to stop.”

“It will,” I told him, the tension in my body sliding
away. “The new non-magi laws have been passed; she will
be protected by them.”

“Her master pays her wages, but he continues to beat
her. Twice she has had to go to the hospital in Castor,”
tears filled his bright blue eyes. “She was going to have a
child… she has just been told that she lost it due to the last
beating.”

I felt my stomach fill with lead and then slowly sink to
the floor.
“Who is her master?” I demanded, anger beginning to
rise in my throat. “Tell us.”

“You already have him in the Coffin Cells,” Icarus said,
the tears sliding down his cheeks freely. “I have no
children, my niece is like my daughter… I cannot watch
her suffer this hardship any longer.”

“She won’t,” I promised fiercely. “Meric will never see
the light of day again as far as I’m concerned.”

“But what about the others?” Icarus pressed. “There are
hundreds of non-magi like Nerra, and without someone to
stand up for them… No… I can’t do this any longer,” he
was visibly trembling now. “I’ve been part of the Guild for
fifty years and I cannot go on with this lie!”

He seemed to be talking mostly to himself, as though
trying to convince someone. His robes were frayed and
split now, falling through his fingers, but he continued to
twist them.

“Icarus,” I gripped his hands tightly, stopping him.
“What lie?”

My tone was firm, and with my court shoes on, I
topped him by a centimetre. The little man looked up at
me with hopelessness in his eyes.

“She will be furious with me,” he whispered. “But I
can’t do it anymore.”
He could’ve been talking about anyone. I was more
concerned with the lie.
“We can help you,” I told him. “If you tell us.”

“The Magic Testers have been lying about who has
magic and who doesn’t,” he blurted suddenly. I felt my
blood run cold. “Everyone has magic, everyone in Lotheria
as far as we know, but we were told to keep it secret, to
keep it hidden-”

“Slow down,” I ordered. My heart was racing. “Start
from the beginning.”

“It was Queen Arietta,” he said. “She and King Elijah
found that the world was being thrown out of balance.
The mana, the energy responsible for our magic, was being
drained. The world was starting to destroy itself. They
decided to limit who had magic and who didn’t.

“They died peacefully, together. They didn’t see the
next few years of the ‘non-magi’ children being sold off to
wealthy families, a disgrace to their mage family. The
world resettled, we restored the balance. Queen Fleur and
King Morgan came into power, and they didn’t know, we
didn’t tell them, we kept it secret in the Guild. They
fought a war over something else entirely. The King
wanted to keep magical tutoring in this world, but Fleur
fought for the human mages to be educated as well.
Morgan was killed in the subsequent war and Fleur lived
out her days as a sole ruler. When she died, she left Iain
and Netalia in charge, knowing they had Ancient blood in
their veins. She hoped that they would be able to rule the
country as needed.

“They found out,” Icarus swallowed nervously. “As
descendents of the Ancients, they could sense the magic in
people. They questioned us. The Guild Master confessed
Arietta and Elijah’s secret.

“Iain and Netalia told us to continue, and they did
nothing to protect the non-magi, those we were declaring
non mages, who by now were nothing but slaves. They
told us that the world was too fragile for change.”

My head was reeling. I stumbled backwards and leant
against the wall. Phoenix was staring blankly at Icarus.

“But now,” Icarus continued, looking from me to
Phoenix. “Something has changed. The Balance is tilting
again, even with the mana being divided amongst the
people. We’re doing something wrong.”

“Prove it,” I heard Phoenix say, his deep voice a sudden
contrast to Icarus’ squeaky one.

Icarus reached into his satchel and withdrew a long,
thin object wrapped in canvas. He unwrapped it slowly,
reverently, and by the time the glass bar emerged, I knew
what it was.

“That’s the bar from Iain’s office at the Academy,” I
said. “Why have you brought it here?”

“This bar is the physical representation of the Balance,”
Icarus explained. “This is how Iain and Netalia were first
alerted of your presence.”

The green pebbles in the bar had shifted to the opposite
ends of the bar, trying as hard as they could to get away
from each other. They quivered even as we watched.

“The activity only started when both of you arrived at
the Academy in your first year. Since then, it has been
ongoing. These pebbles haven’t moved for over a thousand
years,” Icarus eyed them off apprehensively. “Now,
something has happened. Something is throwing off the
Balance; the world is shifting again even with our counter
measures.” He turned to us both, holding the bar carefully.
“And now, I think the universe is granting both of you a
choice.”

Phoenix and I both looked at each other as though
expecting an answer.
“What do you mean?” Phoenix asked.

Icarus put the bar away.
“The Guild has been monitoring your activities ever
since it became apparent that you were to be our next
monarchs. Your Majesty,” he bowed slightly to Phoenix.
“The incident involving your classmate, Eleanora, reached
our ears. I’m very sorry to hear that you applied your skill
to her accidentally, but it seems as though you have been
granted the ability to remove the magic from a mage,
permanently. This is a unique skill never seen before.”

“That’s not true,” I said quickly, butting in before
Phoenix could say anything. He was looking dark at the
mention of Eleanora. “Iain and Netalia removed my magic
from me when they banished me.”

“Yes, they removed it, and hoarded it for themselves.
His Majesty has the ability to extinguish it completely. We
fear that once removed by you, sire, it can never be
returned.”

It was devastating to hear. I knew that Phoenix and
Eleanora had been talking about it, and that Phoenix had
been hoping to rectify the problem in some way or
another. Now it sounded as if Eleanora would never again
hold her magic in her hands. It was going to be hard to tell
her.

“And you, Your Majesty,” now Icarus turned to me.
“You have been under observation since about halfway
through your school year. You remember, Larni, the
servant who was assigned to you?”

“She’s one of my closest friends and head of my staff
here at the palace,” I told him. “I’m assuming you mean
when she suddenly discovered she was a mage.”

“And her brother Niko. Discovered by our Tester in
Keyes to have an extremely potent vein of magic flowing
through him. The child will grow to be very powerful.

“But you didn’t stop there,” Icarus continued. “You
created an entire new species.”
“The mud people,” I breathed. “I knew there was
something about them.”

“Never before has a mage created new life. One would
almost go as far to say that you are on par with a deity.”
Icarus said, his eyes wide.

“Or one would keep his mouth closed and live to see
the light of the next day,” I responded, my voice cold.
“Continue, please.”

“Milady, you embody pure energy. This is why you can
control lightning; it recognises the power in your veins.

“You have been given two choices... You can remove
magic from Lotheria for good... or you can reinstate it in
everyone.”

Silence fell in the little hall.
“Which will balance the world?” Phoenix asked finally.
Icarus lifted his hands in a helpless sort of shrug.
“No one knows. I’m afraid that is the extent of my
knowledge, and a lot of that is guess work.”
“Why didn’t anyone tell us of this sooner?” I said softly.
“A lot of the Testers in the Guild remain loyal to Iain
and Netalia,” Icarus said.
“I want their names,” I said immediately.
“A lot of them are my friends.”