First Year (3 page)

He was also a good three inches taller, and with broad shoulders I envied. No matter how hard
I
trained, my build remained stubbornly slim. Alex, on the other hand, gained muscle at the slightest effort. He also had our parents’ soft brown locks and easy blue eyes that girls, including many of my friends back home, found “handsome.”

And it was those eyes that had won him many an admirer. Well, that and his humor. My eyes were blue too, but they were so light it was more common to think of them as gray than anything else. Take into account my quick temper, and it was no wonder people did not take to me the same.

In a lot of ways I was more like my younger brother Derrick than my twin.

The second Alex had finished cleansing my wounds, he gave me a wry smile. “You are not going to like this next part,” he warned.

I nodded absentmindedly.

My twin pressed two fingers to my burnt palm. The added pressure stung sharply, and my pain flared. It seemed to go on for ages. I bit my tongue. A mage of Combat would not cry out and so neither would I.

The ache continued to build for another minute, almost unbearably, and then it suddenly ebbed, a trickle of coolness seeping out and enveloping my hand.

Alex kept the pressure steady until my pain had completely subsided, and then got up to grab the tray the serving maid had left behind.

My brother filled a warm glass with water and mixed it with salt. He poured the mixture over my skin. It wasn’t a pleasant sensation, but more tolerable than before. He dabbed the inflamed flesh with a cold poultice a few seconds longer, and then spread a bit of honey over the top, wrapping my hand in a thin cloth when he was satisfied.

“Now I’ve taken the heat out of the burn,” Alex said, “so you should not feel quite as much hurt.”

“Thank you.”

Alex shook his head. “It’s a shame this couldn’t have happened
after
we started the Academy. If it had, I’d be able to do a lot more than this. You are still going to have to let the rest of those cuts heal naturally.”

I waved his apology away. “Just be lucky you have magic, brother. In two days’ time I am going to be made the biggest fool in the history of that school when I walk in without the slightest whiff of magic.”

Alex sighed at the familiar argument. “You
have
magic, Ry. You just haven’t found it. Everyone knows twins always share it.”

“But who is to say the Council’s scrolls were talking about us?” For all we knew, they could have been referring to
identical
twins.” I fingered my red locks, a sharp contrast to the muted brown of my brother.

We couldn’t be more different there.

Alex gave my knee a reassuring pat. “Gods help us, Ry. Even if you
did
have magic, it isn’t as if we have a
real
shot at the apprenticeships. We are just two lowborn kids without any formal training. Mark my words, this time next year we’ll be applying to the Cavalry.”

The next morning came much too soon. I had barely shut my eyes before Alex was back, shaking me awake with the reminder that we still had sixty miles of riding left, and two days to do it.

“And if we fall behind now, we’ll miss the admission period,” he joked.

I glared at my twin. “
Not
funny.” I had said the very same two mornings before, which had led us to that overpass and the bandits in the first place.

He grinned in reply.

Grumbling, I dressed and walked the room, helping to gather the rest of the supplies until we were ready to leave. Alex handed me our breakfast as we exited the inn, the same stale bread as every meal before. I eyed it unhappily. If I never saw a piece of rye again, it would be too soon.

Leading the horses from their stable, I met my twin out front.

The two of us set to checking the fit of our straps and loading the saddlebags. Alex finished much sooner than me. He volunteered to assist, but I refused. Warriors dealt with pain every day, and now that the worst of mine was gone, I was determined to do the same.

Exhaling loudly, my twin mounted his charge, muttering about mule-headed sisters that were too stubborn for their own good.

I finished a couple minutes later, and then swung myself into the saddle, wincing. My body was still sore, but for the most part, a full day and night of rest had done me well. My ribs were only a little bit tender, and most of my wounds had closed. Even the burn on my hand, while still a glistening shade of pink, didn’t sting.

It did itch, unfortunately. But I had enough sense not to scratch it. I’d learned that lesson plenty of times before.

“What I wouldn’t give for some creamed porridge right now,” Alex declared as we started out onto the main road.

My tongue salivated. “Or a honey bun.”

Alex’s stomach roared loudly in accord. The bread hadn’t done very much to slake his hunger. “The first thing I’m going to ask the masters to teach me is how to conjure food—
good
food.”

I raised a brow. We both knew the Academy only taught war casting. Even if he chose Restoration, they would never waste his lessons on something so silly.

“I look forward to hearing their response.”

Alex chucked the last bit of his roll at me.

Laughing, I managed to catch it and then paused at his somber expression.

“So,” he said, “are you ready to tell me what happened?”

I wasn’t, but I was going to anyway.

I, at least, knew the truth. Alex had only my injuries and his wild imagination to explain them. If our roles had been reversed, I would have insisted as much.

I proceeded to tell him everything.

“That cowardly whelp,” Alex snarled, “he deserved much worse than what he got!”

I cringed, remembering the strange turn of events. They still didn’t make sense even now in retelling. How exactly
had
Jared caught fire? We had been scuffling close to the fire, but had he really been so senseless to roll his entire body in flame? Alex seemed to assume as much.

Or had the bandit fallen?

But that didn’t make sense. He hadn’t been standing.

In the heat of the moment I hadn’t bothered to question it.

But now I wondered. Was there another explanation for what I’d seen? The others were well enough for Alex—he hadn’t been there. I had though, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was still something missing.

Like magic.
 

“Ryiah?”

I glanced at my brother. We had been riding in silence for the last couple of minutes. Now he was watching me curiously.

I stared at the grassy plains ahead of us, wondering if I should say the last thought aloud. It seemed too much to hope, and I would be aghast if it weren’t. There had been a couple of times since Alex had found his own powers… but each time I had been wrong, and the disappointment had been crippling.

No. It was better left unsaid.

And then Alex said it anyway: “You think it was magic, don’t you?”

Am I really so obvious?
I flushed. “I know how it sounds mad.”

“But it makes more sense than the others.”

“It does!”

He was quiet. Then: “Are you sure about this?”

I played with the reins in my lap. “No. But the man didn’t roll. Or fall. And he wasn’t close enough to the pit for the flames to reach him.”

“But didn’t you lose sight when he hit you?” my brother asked gently. “He could have lost balance when you were unconscious.”

“But I didn’t the second time,” I countered. “I’m not sure exactly how… but instead of darkness I saw light.
Lots of it.
I—I think it was from the fire, and then he was screaming and running around the camp in flames.”

“Did anything feel different?” my brother pressed. “Were you unusually hot or lightheaded? Did you think of fire?”

“My hand burned, and just about everything hurt…I wasn’t lightheaded exactly, but my head did really ache afterward.” I paused. “And no, I was too angry and afraid to be thinking of anything except what was happening.”

Alex frowned. “That doesn’t sound like a casting, or at least what it’s like for me.”

An idea hit me. “Do you think my pain released the magic?”

Alex appeared thoughtful. “Maybe… but then how is it that it only worked once? He hurt you several times before it occurred.”

That was true, but then nothing about magic made sense. Maybe there was an answer, and I would find out at the Academy. Groping around in my bags, I eagerly pulled out my father’s hunting knife.

“Ryiah,” my brother yelped, “what are you—”

Ignoring Alex’s cry of alarm, I dug the blade into the center of my good palm, reopening freshly sealed wounds as blood dripped down past my wrist.

At the same time I observed a yellowish-green mass that clung to a nearby tree. The moss looked like a perfect target, a furry patch of flammable tendrils.

Almost immediately the moss began to shrivel and smoke. As I pushed down with the blade, tiny flames sprouted forth, engulfing the plant.

“ALEX!”

My brother’s jaw dropped as he followed my gaze.

I continued to add pressure, hardly conscious of pain in light of my new discovery. Blood continued to puddle below me.
“Alex, I have magic!”
 

Breaking free from his initial shock, my twin rode over and snatched the knife away, giving me a dark look as he brandished the weapon.

The fire ceased immediately as what remained of the moss crumbled to the ground in a withered heap.

“Ryiah!” Alex scolded. “You shouldn’t have to maim yourself to perform a casting!” Any joy he’d felt at my revelation had been lost in wake of my blood.

“I wasn’t even sure I had it,” I murmured. “But now…”

Now that I
knew
I had magic
…

Staring determinedly at a nearby trunk, I willed my magic to take flight naturally. Without inflicting pain.

Nothing.

I squinted harder, ignoring the throbbing of my hand and the pounding in my head as I ogled the yellow-green mound. Every thought, every part of me strained as I attempted to project my magic onto the patch.

Still, it remained unchanged.

I tried, again and again. And again.

Eventually we had passed a whole forest of moss-lined trees with not so much as the slightest hint of fire or casting of any nature.

By the time we made camp for the evening, I was frustrated beyond measure.

“What is wrong with me?” I griped, tossing a handful of wood into our fire. “Why can’t things ever come easy?”

Alex laughed loudly. “Because it’s you, Ry. Nothing about your choices has ever been simple.”

I made a frustrated sound. “It was never this hard for you!”

He gave me a wry smile. “True, but you haven’t given yourself much of a chance, either. It took me two months just to get a handle on my magic, and I never did anything half as impressive as what you did to that outlaw.” He reached out to take my hand. “Don’t worry, Ry. I’m sure the masters will be able to show you how to use it without hurting yourself.”

I hoped so. If not, I was in for a
very
rough year.

The next morning I was jolted awake by something that sounded oddly reminiscent of thunder. Jumping out of my bedroll, I found Alex awake beside me watching tremors on the ground beneath his feet.

“What is it?” I wondered at the same time that Alex said, “It sounds like a stampede.”

I left my brother and walked over to the center of the road, trying to discern where the noise was coming from. It was right around the corner, whatever it was. In seconds I would be able to see—

“Ry, get off the path!” My twin knocked me back just in time as nine tall, slick black horses emerged, taking up the entire trail with their riders. The men were riding in a two-columned formation with glistening livery that sparkled in the light.

Eight of the riders bore heavy chainmail with metal plates lining their arms and shoulders.
Knights.
The expression underneath their helmets was dark and unrelenting.

I felt a wave of nausea. If Alex hadn’t pulled me out of the way, I would have been trampled to death in their wake.

At the center of the procession rode a young man who looked not much older than me. Unlike his guards, he wore no livery. Still, there was something formidable enough about him, and I had the overwhelming impression that he was anything but helpless.

Everything about the rider’s dress unnerved me—his cloak, his pants, the boots, even his fastenings were black. What was even more unsettling, the stranger had the darkest eyes I’d ever seen. Matching his ink black, jaw-length locks, his garnet irises were the color of an endless night.

The stranger locked eyes with me as he spotted my brother and me in passing. He scowled, and I felt as if I had been kicked in the gut. I was used to the bizarre behavior of our nobles back home, but this rider’s condescension was much deeper.
What sort of person carried that much hostility toward strangers?
 

Still, I couldn’t seem to look away.

It was only after the group of riders had completely passed from sight that I recalled what the young man had been wearing. Hanging by a thick chain round his neck, there had been a hematite stone pendant.

There was only one family in the entire kingdom that was allowed to wear a black gem of that description.

Apparently, I had just watched one of the realm’s two princes pass me on horseback.

It took a moment for the shock to register.

“Do you know who that was?”

Alex nodded speechlessly.

“Do you think he’s going to the Academy…” I paused. What was I saying? Of course, he wasn’t.

No member of the royal family was allowed to participate. It had been that way since the school’s founding, and in the ninety years the school had existed, no one had ever questioned the Council’s ruling.

Alex seemed to be of the same mind: “There hasn’t ever been an issue between our king and the mages. I doubt one would arise now.”

I hesitated. “Well, that prince certainly looked unhappy about something.”

My brother yawned. “Maybe someone spit in his morning tea. Who cares?” He pointed to our camp. “We’ve still got a full day of riding in any case. Now help me ready the horses.”