The Black Mage: Apprentice (35 page)

I had heard of families feuding in the old
scrolls, but there hadn't been a fight over the crown in ages.
Strife between the royal family was bad for politics, and it was
even more foolhardy while Darren was pursing magehood.

Would the Council of Magic force him to
give up his robe?
Council Law stated an heir could not be a
mage. But maybe they would change that. They'd already bent the
rules to let a member of the royal family participate.

Was everything Darren ever did a play for
power?

My head was spinning from the possibility and
Priscilla's words were ringing in my ears. Maybe I really didn't
know him.
Love must really be blind
. Four years of knowing
Darren and it had taken me until now to see him for who he really
was. A wolf; a power-hungry, ruthless wolf who had tricked
everyone, including his own flesh and blood. And I'd had to hear it
from the girl I had spent four years believing my enemy.

The irony was that my real enemy had been
there all along right in front of me. Smiling crookedly and
convincing me we were friends. Trying to seduce me for the thrill
of the chase. Chastising me for not trusting him that first year in
the tower stairs at the Academy… Telling me he loved me.

And then tossing me aside the second I
jeopardized his dreams. I wasn't what he had wanted all these
years. I'd merely been a diversion in his pursuit of the crown.

 I never should have trusted a
prince.

****

During the night of the ascension ceremony a
huge fight erupted in the great hall. I wasn't there to see but I
heard about it when Loren and Ray joined us in the tavern for a
nice dinner to celebrate our new status as fifth-years.

"You should have seen it!" Loren was
laughing. "Blayne may be fit but he doesn't have a chance when his
brother uses his magic!"

"Yes, but Blayne gave Darren a good shiner at
the beginning!"

"And then Blayne was out cold. The king
couldn't stop laughing! You would think he'd be angry but he
actually enjoyed his sons' brawl…"

I concentrated on my stew and tried not to
listen closely as Alex and Ella quizzed Loren and Ray on the
action. I didn't want to know. It just made Priscilla's words that
much more true.

I had just braved another large sip of the
steaming hot liquid when Ian swung open the tavern door. He looked
handsome in his black mage's robe - such a change from the training
breeches and linen shirts apprentices wore. He pushed back some
unruly curls and then spotted me at one of the far tables directly
across from him.

I had been so busy in the past couple of
months, training and training and not letting myself think about
anything except the apprenticeship, so it was a sudden jolt to the
system when he nodded in my direction and pointed to a small table
in the corner.

Ella and the rest of my friends were too
absorbed in conversation to notice. I didn't bother to excuse
myself before making my way over to the newly ascended mage.

I didn't know what Ian wanted but I thought
it was safe to congratulate him on his new status.

"Thanks." Ian cleared his throat,
gold-flecked green eyes bright. "Care to join me?"

I sat. And then waited, drumming my fingers
against the rough table's wood, waiting for him to say whatever it
was he had planned. I owed him that much.

Maybe he will finally tell me what he really
thinks of me.

Ian drew a long breath. "I'm sorry I was so
cold… I wish I could have said it sooner but I needed time."

"I'm sorry I hurt you." I forced myself to
speak. "You deserved much better than me, in any case."

"For what it's worth, I really thought the
prince cared. I know what I said, but at the time I was just trying
to hurt you."

"Well, it looks like we were both wrong."
I wonder
, I thought,
what it means that I chose someone
as cold as Darren over someone as kind as you
?

The Combat mage held up his drink. "A toast
to better love in our futures."

I joined him. "May the ones we love, love us
much better."

Silence.

Then: "Have you received any offers?"

"A personal request from Commander Chen in
Langli. Apparently my performance in the port's mock battle
impressed him."

"Are you going to take the position?"

"I already have. He was at the feast earlier
when I accepted."

"You'll have good company." I smiled.
"There's a mage who goes by Andy in their regiment. She's got the
same humor and reckless disregard for authority you and I share.
And you'll like Cethan, too. I served with him during that mission.
He's a quiet brute, but he's steady."

Ian took another sip of his drink
thoughtfully. "Where do you think you'll end up?"

 "Wherever they'll have me."

Ian gave me a strange look. "Ryiah, you and
Darren are the top of your year. You'll have commanders lining up
to beg you. Don't forget it was
your
pain casting that won
two mock battles, and you've still got another year to add another
victory to your belt."

"I won't get any good offers when Byron gives
me my ranking. Even if I am second only to Darren – which I'm not
sure that I am - it doesn't mean much if I am at the bottom of the
list during the ceremony. Byron despises you but he still gave Lynn
the worst rank because she's a girl. Everyone knows the two of you
should have placed first and second. Me? I'm a girl
and
he
hates me – I'll be dead last in a procession of six."

Ian shrugged. "It won't matter. It didn't for
me. Chen didn't choose me because I placed fourth, he chose from
what he saw when I trained in Langli."

I sighed. "Well then, I definitely won't be
stationed near you. We lost the mock battle that year – and Ella
and I were the ones to cause it."

Ian gave me a crooked smile. "I guess not.
But I'm certain tonight won't be the last time we cross paths. The
Candidacy is only two years away. Maybe we'll finally get to have
our duel? I know you've been dying to test your prowess in an
arena. We are each one of the best in our years, after all. Who
knows which one of us would win?"

I lifted my mug. "To our future match."

Ian winked. "To my beating you."

In the four years since I had walked through
the Academy's doors, I had come a long way from the girl who had
struggled to cast a tree limb on fire. Unfortunately, my first day
in Ferren's Keep did not attest to that… I was too busy counting
down the hours until I could see a certain young man with dancing
blue eyes and blonde curls that was three years my junior.

"Apprentice Ryiah, if you fancy my lessons
pleasant enough to daydream in, then clearly I have been too soft
on you. This is the third time today your head has been in the
clouds. One week polishing the regiment's armory starting tomorrow
- and if I catch you at it again I will not hesitate to triple your
time!"

Of course he wouldn't, the old crow.

Ella elbowed me lightly in the stomach and I
gave her a helpless shrug as soon as Master Byron's back was
turned.

"Pay attention!" she hissed. "You really
don't want to spend the next year scrubbing mail, do you?"

Another voice chimed in. "Yes, and
I
will never forgive you for jeopardizing my training, Ryiah!"

I glared at the sour-faced boy in front of
me. Another of Priscilla's bratty cousin Merrick's fourth-year
friends. Not once had I been bestowed with a sweet-faced mentee to
train.

Byron had undoubtedly chosen this one on
purpose.

I made a face. "Your training was already
jeopardized long before you met me, Radley."

The rest of the day's lessons finished with
much difficulty on my end. My overconfident mentee had a flagrant
disregard for all of Byron's cautionary measures and I spent a good
amount of time nursing injuries when he went too far in his
castings. Especially during the final drill.

Radley still seemed to think the only thing
that mattered in pain casting was power. Which meant that he didn't
bother to practice any semblance of control.

I had to remind myself that revenge was less
important than performance. I needed to spend my final year
carefully crafting my own pain castings. I had improved greatly
over the last four, but so had Darren and Eve - and I so
desperately wanted to excel in something.

I was tired of being third in everything, and
I would have been lying if I didn't admit it would be nice to watch
the look on the prince's face when he lost. Someone needed to knock
Darren off that pedestal - he'd been enjoying its light for far too
long. It was time for someone else to shine and I wanted it to be
me.

I could have sent my ungrateful mentee flying
into the tall pines behind us, but I chose to focus my energies on
a carefully exerted force. Stop and start, change direction, send
my crackling lightning flying to the side only just in time – all
from a small blade's pressure on my forearm.

I glanced to watch Darren with Merrick. He
and Ray were sharing the same mentee this year. Another stark clash
of light and the familiar smell of burning wood where his bolt
landed just inches from mine.
Was that deliberate?
I stared
at the prince and saw a small upturn at the corner of his mouth. He
was trying hard not to smirk, but I knew, I just knew, that he had
done that last casting on purpose.

I straightened and prepared for a cut that
would show that smug non-heir exactly who he was going up against…
and then stopped myself.
What am I doing?
I didn't let
Radley's castings get to me so I certainly wasn't going to let
Darren's.

Me. This year is about me
. I took a
deep breath and focused on imitating my last casting, flexing my
magic as I pulled back a second sooner. Perfect. Now just ten more
minutes and we would be dismissed.

And then I could finally seek out the one
person I had been looking forward to.

****

"Is this what my no good brother has become?
A soldier who falls asleep at pubs?"

Derrick's head shot up with a start and I
laughed as the drink he had been resting beside spilled all over
his table. "Ry!" He was out of his stool in a second.

Laughing, I embraced my younger brother, who
had grown even taller in my absence. And bigger. He now carried
twice as much muscle and my head only went up to his chin. When he
released me I stepped back in shock.

"You're huge!"

One of the soldiers who had been sitting next
to Derrick choked on his roast. "They feed us well. And this one
has an appetite. He won a contest against everyone else in our
station."

Just like Alex, I thought wryly.
Some
things never change
.

"Did you just arrive today?" Derrick dragged
me over to an empty chair.

"We did." I grinned. "I rode all night to get
here."

"By the gods, Ry, Ferren's Keep is a good
three hours from Tijan! You are mad! Weren't you riding two
straight weeks before this?"

I waved his shock away. "It was worth it to
see my favorite brother."

Derrick grinned, dimples forming at the
corner of his cheeks. "You are such a bad liar, Ry. You only say
that now because Alex is nowhere in sight… Where is that lug
anyway? Why isn't he here visiting me with you?"

"He's coming tomorrow. He told me to tell you
there was no way he was going to spend another night in the
saddle." I snorted. "He had really bad sores from this last ride in
the mountains and unlike us, he's not exactly warrior bred."

Derrick snickered. "Trust Alex to become a
healer. That's about as dandy as it gets."

I yawned. "We shouldn't mock our poor brother
just because he likes to be comfortable. I don't know about you,
but there are certainly days I dream of leaving Combat behind and
taking up something easier instead."

"But you never would."

"No. But it's a nice fantasy. Especially when
Byron spends all his time ripping me apart."

"Is he worse than Sir Piers?"

"You have no idea." I took a bite of my
brother's dinner, or what was left of it. "Besides, Piers always
believed in me. Byron is just looking for ways to make me
quit."

"Our commander out here is like that. But I
think it's because he cares and doesn't want to see us
unprepared."

"Byron doesn't care if I'm prepared or not,
he just wants me gone."

"Surely he's like that with everyone?" That
question came from one of Derrick's female comrades.

I smiled weakly. "Only the women. And one of
my friends when he was with us. But, no, it's mostly me. The master
loathes
me."

Derrick looked amused. "Because you are
stubborn."

I sighed. "Because I am everything he hates -
but enough about my miserable existence, let's hear what life is
like for a soldier in Tijan. How has the action been up north?"

I must have asked the right question because
the next thing I knew, every single soldier in the place was
bellowing over the other to tell me their wildest stories since
coming into service. My brother and his cohorts had had quite the
adventure in the year since they started and some of the older men
had tales as far back as twenty.

I spent the rest of the evening listening to
tales about Caltothian skirmishes and the pranks the soldiers liked
to play against one another in their down time. It was nice to see
how happy Derrick was with his new friends. While a soldier's life
was certainly challenging, they clearly knew how to smile at the
end of a long day.

Much glory was given to the mages, but it was
the soldiers who were always the first line of defense. It was a
fact I had tried not to ponder too heavily when I thought about
Derrick. Especially when I remembered that he was stationed along
the border where most of the fighting took place. Neither he nor
his comrades seemed too concerned, or if they were afraid, they hid
it well. But I worried. Because that was the only thing a big
sister could do.