Chapter
One
Taunting the Caputo Royal Guard was a good way to get a blast of magic in the face.
But here I was, pushing their buttons as always. How could I resist? They hated me, and I considered most of them to be pampered nobles who just wanted to lord their status and their limited power over anyone they considered “beneath” them.
As someone who had been powerless once, I considered it my civic duty to make them as angry as possible whenever I could. Considering my temperament and smart mouth, it wasn’t difficult.
The one on the left sighed through his nose. “Listen, rat. You know full well you aren’t allowed into this part of the palace without an invitation unless you’re a High Mage.”
His head jerked toward my uniform at the insignia on my arm that was very clearly not the golden pauldron of a High Mage.
“I’m not a rat. I’m a collie,” I said innocently, eliciting groans from both of them.
Most of the guards knew my name because of how often I made trouble for them, but the play on my name amused me.After all, with a name like Collie, either I made fun of it or someone else would.
“What are your orders?” The one on the left spoke slowly as if he were talking to a child.
I was significantly younger than most of the other Battle Mages and definitely younger than the guards, but I was not a child. I wanted to bristle, but instead, I tapped the tip of my finger on my chin and tilted my head, pretending to think.
“Honestly, I’d tell you if I knew. I can’t seem to remember. I just know I’m supposed to beright here.”I pointed straight down, the sigils on my fingers flashing and the gauntlet on my right wrist twisting with the movement.
The guard on the left glanced down at the ring of crystals on my gauntlet, the large black stone shining just behind my knuckles. Guards didn’t have magic; that was why they were guarding the gates and not standing on the front lines. I hated to break it to him, but no gauntlet, no matter how shiny, would give him magic.
“Not even General Ehuna’s pet is allowed through here. Now, go.”
“I’m named after a dog. It shouldn’t surprise you that I’m someone’s pet,” I mused, not offended at all.
Better to be a pet who got to see some action than some poor sap who had to deal with the likes of me while guarding the gates.
Although, judging by the look on General Ehuna’s face right now as she approached from the other side of the gates, she wasn’t overly happy for me to be her pet. Not furious, but with the kind of resigned irritation that I had grown used to.
Honestly, what had she expected, having pulled me from the streets and trained me? I did what she said, and I owed her my life, but there was only so much I could do about my natural disposition.
“Collie,” she said through the bars. “I should have known that I couldn’t trust you to stand here at the gates without causing trouble.”
“Yes, you should have,” I agreed cheerfully.
Both of the guards stepped aside as the gates opened, their staffs clicking on the cobbles as they bowed to General Ehuna.
As I mentioned, the guards didn’t have magic, but that didn’t mean they were unprotected. Battle Mages like me had imbued their staffs with lightning, and I spoke from experience when I said that lightning packed a hell of a punch. I even had the scars to prove it.
General Ehuna motioned for me to follow her, and I fell into step behind her. Technically, a Battle Mage like me should have been on the front lines with everyone else because we so desperately needed more people for this war, but no one could stop General Ehuna from calling back a soldier.
Especially when it came to a little gremlin like me who loved to cause chaos.
“Collie. All I asked is that you wait for me and not cause trouble.”
“Whose definition of trouble are we talking? I didn’t hit anyone, I didn’t get shocked, and I didn’t spell anyone. Actually, I consider this encounter a win.”
“I’m sure you do,” Ehuna muttered.
She clamped one hand on the back of my neck as we walked away from the inner courtyard and into the city. I wouldn’t intentionally walk away from her, not in terms of getting away, but I did have a habit of getting distracted and wandering. By holding on to me, she made sure she didn’t have to chase me down. She was pragmatic like that.
I was sure Ehuna and I made quite a pair, not that anyone in the market paid any attention to us. They had seen us togetheroften enough not to be bothered by how much she dragged me along.
She was far taller than I, with sigils painted neatly on her brown skin in white that flashed when she moved. I wouldn’t have been surprised if she’d been born a noble, given how carefully they were painted, not shoddy like mine because I’d barely been able to afford to have a drunk ex-Battle Mage paint mine in a back alley when I was a kid.
