LITMIR.BIZ

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       Not without Peppermint Man. Smooth and fast with you both. I am strong.

       You are very strong. Perhaps I’ll stay with you.

      No, you won’t, Yelena. You’ve sulked enough, Irys’s voice said in my mind. Her contact was like a thick cool salve rubbed on an open wound.

       I’m not sulking.

      Then what would you call it? Irys demanded with annoyance.

       Protecting myself.

      She laughed. From what? Roze barely got through.

       Roze?

       Roze Featherstone, First Magician. And she’s been in a rage ever since. You’ve weathered worse things, Yelena. What’s the real problem?

      I felt helpless and alone with no one to watch my back. But I buried that thought deep, unwilling to share it with Irys. Instead, I ignored her question. Knowing my mentor was back, I rallied. She was the only person I could trust in the Keep.

      I’m coming with some food. You will let me in and you will eat. Irys ordered.

      Food? Topaz thought hopefully. Apple? Peppermints?

      I smiled. Later.

      My stomach grumbled. As I moved to sit on the edge of the bed, a wave of dizziness overcame me. I had lost track of the days and I was weak from hunger.

      Irys came as promised, carrying a tray laden with fruit and cold meats. She also brought a pitcher of pineapple juice and some cakes. As I ate, she told me about her trip to May’s home. May was the last of the kidnapped girls to find her lost family.

      “Five sisters just like her,” Irys said, shaking her head.

      I grinned, imagining May’s homecoming. Six girls squealing with delight, laughing and crying as they all talked at once.

      “Their beleaguered father wanted me to test all the girls for magical potential. May has some, but I want her to wait another year before coming to the school. The others were still too young.” Irys poured two cups of juice. “I had to cut my visit short when I felt your call for help.”

      “When Roze was invading?”

      “Yes. I was too far away to assist you, but it seems like you managed on your own.”

      “Valek helped me,” I said.

      “That’s impossible. I couldn’t reach you. Valek’s not a magician.”

      “But he was there and I drew on his strength.”

      Unwilling to believe me, Irys shook her head.

      I thought about how Irys had found me in the north. “You felt my power when I was in Ixia,” I said. “It’s the same distance for Valek to reach me.”

      She shook her head again. “Valek is resistant to magic so I think you used his image as a shield against Roze. When I felt you last year, you had no control over your powers. Uncontrolled bursts of magic cause ripples in the power source. All magicians, anywhere in the world can feel that, but only Master Magicians will know from which direction it comes.”

      That worried me. “You felt my call for help when you were at May’s home, though. Was I out of control to be able to reach you at that distance?” Loss of control led to flameout, which led to death for the magician and damaged the power source for all magicians.

      She looked startled. “No.” She frowned and stared at the wall, considering. “Yelena, what have you been doing with your magic since I left you?”

      I told her about the ambush, the escape and the truce with Cahil.

      “So you put all of Cahil’s men into a deep sleep?” she asked.

      “Well, there were only twelve. Did I do something wrong? Have I broken your Ethical Code?” There was so much I didn’t know about magic.

      Irys snorted, reading my mind. And you wanted to run away with a horse.

      “Better than staying here with Cahil and Leif,” I said aloud.

      “Those two.” Irys frowned again. “The Master Magicians had a discussion with both of them. Roze is furious that they misled her about you. Cahil actually had the audacity to demand a Council session in the middle of the hot season. He’ll just have to wait until the cooling season. Perhaps he’ll get on the agenda, or perhaps not.” Irys shrugged, seeming unconcerned.

      “Would the Sitians go to war for Cahil?” I asked.

      “We have no quarrel with the north, but no love for them either. The Council has been waiting for Cahil to mature. If he develops the charisma and strong leadership abilities, his plans to take back Ixia may be supported by the Council.” She cocked her head to the side as if considering the prospect of going to war.

      “The trade treaty is the first official contact we’ve had with Ixia in fifteen years,” she explained. “It’s a good beginning. We have always been worried that Commander Ambrose would try to take over Sitia as he did in the north, but he seems content.”

      “Would a Sitian army prevail against the north?”

      “What do you think?”

      “Sitia would have a difficult time. The Commander’s men are loyal, dedicated and well trained. To lose a battle, they would either need to be vastly outnumbered or be vastly outsmarted.”

      Irys nodded. “A campaign against them would have to be launched with the utmost care, which is why the Council is waiting. But that is not my concern today. My priority is to teach you magic, and discover your specialty. You’re stronger than I thought, Yelena. Putting twelve men to sleep is no easy task. And having a conversation with a horse …” Irys pulled her hair back from her face and held it behind her head. “If I hadn’t been listening in, I wouldn’t have believed you.”

      Irys rose and began to pile the dishes onto the tray. “What you did to Cahil’s men would normally be considered a breech of the Ethical Code, but you acted in self-defense, so it was acceptable.” She paused for a moment. “What Roze did to you was a clear violation of our ethics, but she thought you were a spy. The Code doesn’t apply to spies. All Sitians are united in their intolerance for espionage. The Commander gained power by infiltrating the monarchy and using assassination, so Sitia worries when a spy is uncovered that the Commander is trying to collect enough information to launch another takeover.”

      Picking up the tray of dirty plates, Irys said, “Tomorrow, I will show you the Keep and start your training. There are candles and flint in the armoire if you need a light, and there’s firewood behind the building for when it gets cold. I’ve assigned you to the apprentices’ wing because you’re too old for the first-years’ barracks. And I think by the start of school, you’ll be ready to join the apprentice class.”

      “What’s the apprentice class?”

      “The Keep has a five-year curriculum. Students start the program about a year after they reach maturity. Usually around the age of fourteen their magic has grown to a point where they can direct it. Each year of the Keep’s curriculum has a title. First year, novice, junior, senior and apprentice. You’ll be at the apprentice level, but your schooling will be different since you need to learn about our history and government.” Irys shook her head. “I’ll figure it out before classes start. You’ll probably be with students from different levels, depending on the subject. But don’t worry about that now. Why don’t you unpack and make yourself at home.”

      Her words reminded me that I had something for her in my pack. “Irys, wait a moment,” I said before she could leave. “My mother sent you some perfume.” I dug into my bag. By some stroke of luck, the bottles hadn’t been damaged during the trip to the Citadel. I gave Irys the Apple Berry perfume, and put my bottle of Lavender

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