He was the one whose name her mother cringed to speak, and her father scowled to hear. He had been the source of suffering in their lives. Vi could only wonder what he’d end up being to her now.
His eyes met hers as Victor entered the room with a relaxed gait. She kept her face passive save for the small smile that had worked its way onto her lips. In this world, she would be the one to find the crystal crown, not him.
“Good morning, Egmun.”
Another voice stole Vi’s attention. Her gaze shifted and Vi saw Aldrik clearly for the first time. His dark eyes settled on her and Aldrik froze in place.
“Who’s she?”
“She’s a recent graduate of the Academy of Arcane Arts in Norin,” Egmun lied deftly.
“Does the Academy still accept students?” Aldrik asked, clearly unsure of the answer.
“Graduate? You don’t look like you could be any older than I am.” Victor rubbed the makings of a goatee on his chin, which was currently little more than a ghost of stubble.
“We all progress differently.” Egmun said, going behind his desk. The two young men assumed their seats in the chairs opposite. Vi remained poised, her folio at the ready to take notes as instructed.
“Yes, not everyone is as slow as you, Victor,” Aldrik said with a grin. He clearly intended the words to be mischievous, but even Vi could tell they struck a sensitive spot instead.
“And what is your name?” Victor asked her, pointedly ignoring the prince. He clearly had a well-established relationship with Aldrik, seeing as the prince let his doggedness slide.
“Vivian.” Vi bowed her head. “It is an honor to be observing two of the Tower’s most illustrious students.”
“So you told her about us?” Aldrik lounged, looking between Vi and the box. “About everything?”
“She has a good handle of the situation herself.” Egmun gave a nod. “Vivian is well studied on the matter of crystals.” Just the word “crystals” felt like crossing a threshold from which there was no turning back. “She’s my new research assistant.”
“I thought you knew everything?” Aldrik quipped. He was the epitome of a young prince, from the way he draped himself across the chair to the way he said the first thing that flew into his mind without any concern or filter. Vi felt herself inwardly cringe in embarrassment on Aldrik’s behalf… and her own. She was old and wise enough now to know that she had been much the same once. “Isn’t that why we’re bothering to learn from you?”
“We all have something more we can learn,” Victor said firmly. “Now, don’t embarrass yourself in front of our guest.”
Aldrik glanced back at her, awareness of how he had sounded appearing across his face. Vi held his eyes for a long moment—long enough that he was the one to break the stare.
Egmun slid the box across the desk and clicked it open. “Shall we begin?”
Vi watched with a mixture of curiosity and horror as the two young men picked up the stones. They each held them in their open palms and closed their eyes, an intense look of focus overtaking them. She twisted the quill between her fingers, eventually forcing herself to jot down a note. Writing after living in the woods for so long felt uncomfortable and awkward.
Perhaps it was just the situation that was uncomfortable.
“Good, join your power with the stone’s. Try to connect your channel with it.”
Egmun was stealing her words, though it did the young men little good. Vi kept her eyes on the crystals. They didn’t change in the slightest.
“Let’s start slow,” Egmun continued.
Victor and Aldrik conjured ice and flame respectively, sometimes pitting their elements against each other, sometimes seeing how long they could sustain frost and blaze, and how intensely the magic could collect. Vi made some arbitrary scribbles, but mostly just gnawed on the end of the quill in thought. They weren’t accomplishing much other than exposing themselves needlessly to the crystals for about half an hour in the name of seeing how crystals impacted their magic.
“That’s enough for today. We don’t want to risk your minds and bodies becoming corrupted from crystal taint.” The minister finally stood, motioning to the box. “Please, return them.”
“It feels strange… letting it go after you’ve had it.” Aldrik curled and uncurled his fingers as if he were still imagining holding the stone.
“Strange how?” Vi asked.
“I forgot you were there.” Aldrik blinked at her several times, as if he’d just returned to the plane of existence. Then, realizing he hadn’t answered her question, continued, “You can feel it fueling your magic, making it stronger, sharper. When I hold it, I almost feel like I could make or do anything.”
Victor was intensely focused on the box.
“And you, Victor?” Vi asked. “What do you feel?”
