I expected to find people bunched up before me, but the room held another door on the opposite wall, allowing the flow of movement to pass smoothly through one door and out another. Inside the room, we were ushered into two lines, filing past two desks that each held a large stack of parchments. A clerk sat behind each desk, and as a person approached them, they ripped one of the parchments, flicking their fingers toward the person.
I craned my head to the side, staring with fascination at the people ahead of me. Within seconds of a composition being worked, the skin pigment around the indicated person’s wrists changed. I took a step sideways to get a better view, but a guard frowned at me, and I shuffled back into line.
“Keep moving!” another guard called, clearly trying to keep the line moving as efficiently as possible.
They had their job cut out for them since everyone who had passed the desks moved slowly, their eyes glued to their wrists. I determined I would keep up my pace, regardless, but when the clerk’s fingers flicked in my direction, I nearly stumbled over my own feet, despite my intentions.
Unlike the power from the pain relief composition which Zakary had flicked toward me, there was no physical sensation to accompany the working this time. But I could see its result, and as I shuffled forward, I couldn’t tear my eyes away fromthe intricate pattern of darker skin pigment that would mark me forever as a sealed commonborn.
Once we exited the room on the far side, we were set free to mill into the foyer and spill out into the street. Crowds of people waited, either in the foyer or just outside the building—friends and family gathered to congratulate those newly sealed.
I caught sight of Teacher Wendell standing with a small clump of people who I was fairly certain were Robarts, reminding me that Byron must have been in the crowd with me somewhere. I hadn’t caught sight of him, and I didn’t make any effort to do so now, ducking sideways to stay out of my old teacher’s line of vision.
Whatever had happened to get my name on the list for the sealing ceremony, I was certain it wasn’t through the efforts of my teacher. He didn’t have that kind of influence.
As I descended the steps of the law enforcement building, the answer hit me, blindingly obvious. It must have been Faylee. She was the only person I knew with enough power to get a name added to the list, and she had always felt guilty for what had happened with Gina. She must have felt even worse when she heard another cousin of hers had been chosen over me. She might still be angry at what I’d done, but she was a fair dealer.
I floated down the steps in a daze. I would have to find some way to thank her. She’d only just left on a trade expedition to the Sekali Empire that would take the whole summer at least, but that would just give me time to think of an appropriate gesture of gratitude. It didn’t matter how long it was until I saw her again. Just like the marks on my wrists, my gratitude would never fade.
I wove through the crowds on South Road at a much more reasonable pace than my headlong flight to the ceremony. I didn’t notice any details of the people around me, though, my shock muting my surroundings.
Thankfully, my feet knew the path home, and I made it off South Road and into the quieter back streets. Turning onto the largest of the roads in my district, I vaguely noted someone tall in my path. Stepping to the side, I tried to skirt around them, but the figure stepped sideways at the same moment I did, and I collided with a firm chest.
Bouncing back, I gasped and looked up into a familiar face. Zakary.
He grinned down at me, catching me around my forearms to steady me while I stared up at him. His appearance was yet another shock in a day that had been full of them. While I couldn’t have failed to recognize him, he looked completely different from the times I’d seen him previously.
“You’re wearing a white robe,” I said blankly. “You’re a trainee at the Academy.”
“And you’re sealed.” His hands ran lightly down to my wrists, lingering for the briefest second on the marked skin there. A shiver ran up my arms.
“But if you’re a trainee, how come you weren’t wearing your white robe before?” I asked, my mind determinedly stuck on this small detail.
“We aren’t required by law to wear them at all times.” He chuckled. “And they’re rather conspicuous.”
“You didn’t mention you were a trainee either,” I said stubbornly, and he shook his head.
“Has being sealed made you more suspicious?” He grinned. “My status as a trainee isn’t a conspiracy, I promise. But if it makes you feel better, I’ll only be a trainee for a few more days.”
I stared at him. So he was a fourth year, about to graduate the Mage Academy. That meant I had been right in my first assessment that he was a couple of years older than me.
He chuckled again. “You seem excessively shocked. Are mage trainees so very shocking?”
I shook my head, holding up my wrists. “I was sealed today.”
A grin pulled at his mouth. “I noticed. Congratulations.”
“But I didn’t know about it.” The words tumbled over each other now that I’d started. “I had no idea and was just sitting at home eating my breakfast! Can you imagine? I nearly missed my own ceremony.”
“What?” His brows drew together, but I barely heard him, the flow of words continuing.
“I was just sitting there when my brother burst in to say my name was on the list. They all started shouting to run, and I sprinted through half the city to get there in time.” I barely paused for breath. “Well, it felt like half the city. I’ve never run so fast in my life! I was almost dying by the time I got there, but I made it. And then they brought the Shrouded Mage in. But I couldn’t see his face. And I couldn’t feel anything when he sealed me, but then the Spoken Mage appeared.”
I grabbed his arm, my eyes shining up at him. “She spoke to me, Zakary! The Spoken Mage spoke tome! And she checked I was really sealed, and I really, truly am. And she has lots of brothers too! I didn’t know that.”
Zakary chuckled. “That does all sound very shocking.” A shadow crossed over his face. “I’m just glad you made it.”
I gave a shuddering sigh. “Me too. Can you imagine?” I shook my head, distracted for a moment at the awfulness of the possibility. “Faylee must have gotten my name included, but she’s just left for a trip to the Sekali Empire. She must have assumed the officials would contact me, and they must have assumed she’d tell me herself.”
