Being given a choice was a very good sign.
The messenger paused, probably realizing that I hadn’t even read the letter yet, then shook his head. He reached into his satchel again and handed my mother a cloth bundle and bade us farewell with a wave.
After Tegil mutely shut the door, everyone stared at me. My mother clutched the bundle tightly to her chest, and my brother chewed on one ragged fingernail. My father shook his head ever so slightly like he knew more than the rest of us.
Not wanting to hear either of my parents start in on me again, I slid one fingernail under the still-glowing seal. Light and magic flared from the wax as I opened it, briefly illuminating the room.
With shaky hands, I examined the letter. At the top was an unfamiliar, official-looking emblem. Scrolling shapes and flowing lines were seamlessly integrated into a design that looked drawn in one stroke.
I read it aloud.
“Mage Isca, daughter of Taig, daughter of Mage Heleth,
By order of the Mage Assembly, you are hereby summoned to attend Chancellor Maeron when the sun stands at its zenith on the morrow.
Present yourself at the Western Gate, where you will be received and guided within. Attire yourself in the garment enclosed and no other.
The nature of our request shall be made clear upon your arrival. Until such time, no further details shall be given.
Let your steps be swift and your presence punctual.
By my hand, Pasgen, Scribe for Chancellor Maeron Caervorn, this 40th day of Spring.”
My mother unfolded the cloth bundle she’d been clutching. We had only one precious candle burning, so it was dim in our small home, but both my parents reacted to the dress immediately.
“That gown is for high-ranking magical servants!”
“Isca,” my mother’s tone took on an edge, “whatdid you do?”
Mouthed off to a man who is probably a neighboring nobleman and cast a wave of magic over the entire marketplace in my terror.I’d conveniently left that last part out when talking to her last night.
But my mouth formed a single word. “Nothing!”
This had to have something to do with the feeling that I’d been watched for the second day in a row, with the rounds of fortress guards coming by my stall. A wave of nausea washed over me again. I doubted this meeting would be a good thing, but telling my family about the guards would only make them worry more.
While my parents made a big to-do about getting me ready to meet the chancellor the next day, I worried about the day of lost wages. “Is Tegil going to mind the market stall tomorrow? He doesn’t even know the prices.”
“No,” Papa spoke up. “Your brother will work with me at the stall in the morning and do his foraging in the afternoon. Your mother will help you get washed up then join me at the stall later.”
I couldn’t help but smile because that was the most he’d said at once since losing his leg below the knee. Papa had been the Assembly’s best mundane fighter before his injury. He’d been proud, a bear of a man whose firm embrace always made you feel safe, and the best example of a caring father. After nearly dying from the amputation, he’d been sick with fevers for months, barely rousing some days. But now, it was as if seeing that dress had unlocked a bit of his old self.
The steady strength in his eyes, the quiet confidence in his posture, and a surety I hadn’t seen in months stole any complaints I’d been about to make from my mouth. The change was so welcome that the sudden lift in my chest nearly eclipsed the worry the letter had sparked.
“Now, what’s done is done,” Papa said, his voice a low rumble that soothed my anxieties. “Everyone, to bed. We all have an early morning tomorrow.”
Chapter 6
Emrys
Isca. I tested the name silently on my lips—half poison, half prayer.
I’d mocked it when I first heard it. I’d mocked her work, too, even though her tincture had been effective. It hadn’t silenced the monster, but it had soothed it—temporarily. Not something to be undervalued for a monster like me.
I must’ve looked like a wretched fool as I watched her from the hill where the Mage fortress crouched above the city. The entire time I fought the war that raged within me. The beast in me lunged for her then shrank back, as if she were both danger and succor at once. Its tension was so great, I feared it would tear me in two.
I’d had to choke both desires down with every scrap of willpower I could bring to bear just so I could speak to her in the market. But of course, I’d snarled like a rabid animal and watched her flinch—just as I always did when something human tried to reach me.
Maeron’s dogs had already sniffed around her once, but nothing had seemed to come of it after that first day. Perhaps my second visit to her stall had been unwise, but I couldn’t stay away.
