“Faylee,” Zakary said slowly. “Yes, I suppose I can see how a mix-up like that might happen if someone got involved who wasn’t normally part of the process.”
“But never mind,” I said, too elated to dwell on anything negative. “It doesn’t matter because it all worked out.”
He smiled down at me, the warmth in his eyes suggesting my overwhelming joy was infectious. “Thank goodness for that.” His lips twitched again, and he leaned forward, reaching for my hair.
For a moment, my breath caught in my throat, all thoughts of the sealing ceremony driven impossibly from my mind. Then he pulled back, a small piece of scrambled egg in his hand.
“I think you ran out of your house in such a rush that some of your breakfast went with you.”
“What?!” I screeched, my hands flying to my hair as the awareness of my disheveled appearance crashed over me.
“Don’t worry,” Zakary said quickly, his lips still twitching. “You still look enchanting, I swear.”
“You don’t understand!” I wailed. “The Spoken Mage just saw me with breakfast in my hair!”
He swallowed the laugh that clearly wanted to come. “Never mind,” he said. “She must meet hundreds of people. She probably won’t even remember you.”
I glared at him. “Is that supposed to be reassurance? Because if so, you’re terrible at it.”
He laughed. “My apologies.” He glanced up the road, his expression regretful. “I’d walk you home, but I have to get back to the Academy. My days there aren’t quite over, and my combat instructor doesn’t believe in tardiness.”
I gasped. “You have classes today? What are you doing standing around here then? Quick, Zakary! Hurry!”
He threw one last look at me, half-full of laughter, half regret, and then began jogging away, back toward South Road. He stopped after a few steps, though, looking back over his shoulder.
“You should call me Zak. All my friends do.”
Before I could think of a reply, he was jogging again. I watched him go in bemusement. What had he meant by that? Were wefriendsnow?
And what had he been doing in the lower city on a class day?
A thought crept through my mind. Was it possible he had come especially to see me? Had he heard I was being sealed, even though I hadn’t heard myself? He could read, so he might have seen the list.
I turned back toward home, floating rather than walking after the unexpected encounter. Zakary wouldn’t have told me to call him Zak unless he thought we would see each other again. Maybe being sealed really did make a difference.
CHAPTER 7
Ellis was feted by my family almost as much as I was that evening, and not even Timothy mentioned a word about treachery. If Ellis hadn’t gone to wait outside the ceremony, our family would have missed our chance.
I was floating so high in the air I could even forgive Gina and Byron. I might forget that the next time I saw Byron strutting down the street, but for one night at least, everyone who passed through my mind was covered in a reflected glow.
I told the story of my conversation with the Spoken Mage over and over again at the demand of my brothers and parents, and my brothers pestered me for any detail of the Shrouded Mage’s appearance as well. But I didn’t mention meeting Zakary to anyone. I still hadn’t told my family what had happened on my birthday, and none of them knew I had met a mage.
Not just met.I whispered to myself.Befriended.
They probably wouldn’t believe it if I told them, and I wasn’t yet confident to share my secret with anyone. Part of me still expected Zakary to forget about me once he graduated. He would be starting his adult life and would have little reason to think about a commonborn girl he had met a handful of times.
If I was smart, I would do the same and put him out of my mind. But it wasn’t so easy to do. For as long as I could remember, I had driven myself forward in pursuit of one goal. Even during summer breaks, I never let my studies slip.
And now I had finally achieved that goal. The constant focus of my life had gone, and my mind seemed determined to put Zakary into the empty space. But while I had made it over the finish line, I couldn’t allow myself to collapse. Because it wasn’t actually a finish line but a starting post.
In the autumn I would start at the University—my sealing had guaranteed me a place in their commonborn class. I had no idea how difficult the classes would be, but I did know that if I wanted to keep up, I needed to learn to read and write before I started. Sealing had given me the ability to write safely, but it hadn’t instantly granted me the knowledge of words. I would have to do the work to acquire that myself.
I knew what that meant, but I procrastinated doing it. I didn’t normally let myself procrastinate—I couldn’t afford the time. But on this occasion, I couldn’t seem to force myself to take the action I needed to take.
“Any news from any of your friends, Ellis?” My mother asked one evening over the dining table.
Her odd question would have made me curious except for the obvious look she directed at Ellis, inclining her head in my direction. I sighed and took another mouthful. There was no point trying to stop whatever was coming. There never was where Mother was concerned.
