“Perhaps you might care to introduce yourself before you speak out of turn and interrupt the lesson?” she said.
She had to stand her ground. If she did not quell the rumors quickly, she would have a full-fledged rebellion on her hand. She would not allow any of the true-bloods to intimidate her, nor to exert their influence on the other apprentices.
There was a ringing silence as the boy looked at her, torn between insolence and embarrassment. Everyone was watching him, and Elizabeth waited with bated breath, wondering what she was going to do if he did not back down. Her resolution strengthened. If necessary, she would set an example of him.
“I am Lord Stoke,” he said. “And I have no intention of allowing you to damage my mind.”
“Very well.” She made her tone deliberately offhand. “Then you will very probably perish when Napoleon’s mages attack. I would rather not instruct you if you are afraid to learn. You may leave the class.”
Lord Stoke spun around and left, his cheeks a blotchy red.
She looked around at the rest of the students. “If anyone else is afraid to learn how to defend themselves against the French mages, I would rather discover it sooner than later.”
The uncertainty on the faces around her almost made her smile. They were young, and precarious, teetering on the edge of adulthood. She thought of Lydia and what she would say to her if she was here.
“What I will be teaching cannot injure you. It will help you, because it will give you the ability to find help in an emergency. But I cannot promise that you will not be injured in battle. Three of the mages were bespelled when we were taken by surprise in an attack. Luckily, we have found a way to unravel the spell. But that is not always the case. Sometimes, the worst will happen. We are at war, after all. If that is the case, you will be considered heroes and will receive medals for bravery. We are the Royal Mages. We are fighting for the Kingdom. You cannot slink away and hide from what you have been trained to do since birth. The truth of the matter is that when we confront Napoleon’s mages, some of you may be injured. Some of you may die. It is the nature of battles. But without you, the Kingdom will be forced to bow to Napoleon’s rule. As mages, you will be forced to become Imperial Mages and fight for him. Is that what you wish for?”
“We truly have no choice in the matter. If we are to defeat Napoleon and keep this country free, we will have to use every weapon we have. Only by being united can we accomplish this.”
She looked around. They looked solemn and determined.
“We may be attacked at any moment. We have no time to lose. Who of you wants to see Netherfield crumble under the attack? Which one of you is prepared to fail your fellow mages? By refusing to learn, you will be putting yourselves – and all those around you – in danger. You are young, you can learn quickly. Some of the older mages would find it more difficult. The fate of the Kingdom rests on your shoulders.”
She had not planned to say these things. The words had come unbidden. They were from the heart. She would not allow anyone to stand in her way.
Two of the mages looked downward, avoiding her eye, but the majority had decided. She could tell from the hardened resolve in their expression that her words had reached them.
No one else left the room.
She remembered Lord Matlock’s rallying cry. She felt awkward using it, but she knew they would expect it.
“We are the Royal Mages, and we will not be defeated!”
The apprentices, relieved to hear something familiar, replied in one voice.
“We will not be defeated!”
She smiled.
“Good, then let us begin.”
***
DARCY WAS WAITING FORher when she finished her lesson. His expression was grave, his eyes turbulent.
“Elizabeth, I have been thinking about what you said, and about my behavior, especially during the duel. I should not have kept things from you.”
“No, you should not.” She let out a long breath. “I am yourTwin, the other half of you as a Janus Mage. I should be able to trust you completely.”
The hurt was still there, along with the sense of betrayal.
“Matlock and I were too focused on trying to entrap the traitor, I did not consider all the implications. I did not think of the suffering you might go through, believing something might happen to me. I should have told you the rules of magical duels. They are never to the death. Matlock would have put a stop to it, if it had gone too far. Everyone knew that. I assumed – wrongly—that you did as well.”
“Wait, so the duel would never have resulted in you being killed?”
“No.”
It was Sudbury who had said so when she had consulted with him. She felt a surge of anger. And to think she had trusted him! “Lord Sudbury told me otherwise.”
