Voice of Life (The Spoken Mage Book 4) Read online

  He gave me a curt nod and strode off down the corridor, leaving me blinking in surprise. I understood his words. I would always be there for Jasper and Clementine, no matter what. But it was a little hard to imagine applying that instinct to Calix or Natalya. Or Julian, who I barely even knew. If I failed to show enough loyalty, would the Devoras family disown me?

  If Lucas was tested, he didn’t tell me about it, but I didn’t waste any concern on him. I doubted Thornton was game to send surprise attackers after a member of the royal family. And even if he did, Lucas was always prepared. I suspected he had kept a collection of defensive compositions on his person long before he could create them himself. Ardann wouldn’t leave a member of its royal family vulnerable.

  I did, however, find a moment to whisper to him about my experiments with Walden. He looked intrigued, but also displeased.

  “Does it really strike you as a good idea to go around siphoning energy from senior members of one of the great families?” he asked. “Even with their permission? If word of your ability does get out, that’s not going to look good.”

  I stared at him. “You wanted me to practice on you!”

  He shook his head. “That’s different. I would never tell anyone.”

  I frowned at him, but he pulled away as several of our year mates moved into earshot, and we had to leave it there. Clearly he was concerned about word spreading. Perhaps it was a good thing, then, that I had been put off telling Acacia.

  When I thought about it, I had to concede his point, though. Walden wasn’t a good test subject. When I told Walden as much, he suggested I use someone else, but I wasn’t about to drain my friends when classes already required so much from them. And I wasn’t willing to experiment on anyone else without their knowledge. I had been used as a test subject before without my permission, and I didn’t intend to do that to anyone else.

  As the days shortened toward the darkest, coldest part of the year, a new distraction took my thoughts away from my efforts to train. A rumor swept through the Academy that the Sekali delegation had expressed interest in the prince’s training and had requested a tour.

  All of the trainees were curious to see more of our mysterious northern neighbors, and Damon even told me that most of the servants were buzzing with interest in the supposed visit.

  “Is it true?” Finnian asked Lucas one day, leaning back in his chair at the beginning of composition and speaking across Coralie and me. “Is the delegation coming to the Academy?”

  Lucas nodded. “I believe so. They have requested a tour.”

  “And what does the royal family want from us?” Finnian asked. “Should we appear as strong as possible? The bright future of Ardann and all that?”

  He flexed his muscles and winked at Coralie who snorted.

  “If there are any young ladies among their number, I give you permission to charm them,” she said. “I promise not to be jealous if you bat your eyelids in their direction.”

  Lucas coughed, clearly hiding a chuckle, his amused gaze catching on mine for a minute. I grinned back, wishing the light-hearted moment didn’t send a stab of pain through me.

  If only it could always be like this. Me, my friends, and Lucas. Finnian would be good for him—teach him to take life a little less seriously. Together we would have had an amazing final year at the Academy.

  “Unfortunately, the members of the delegation are a little too old for your charms, Finnian,” said Lucas.

  “You’ve never seen me charm any grandmothers, then,” Finnian assured him seriously.

  “I think Lucas is trying to ask you not to create any diplomatic incidents,” I told him. “Who knows what the Sekalis find charming?”

  “Well, Lucas will have to learn soon enough,” said Calix, entering the room late and taking the seat next to the prince that usually sat empty. He raised and lowered his eyebrows suggestively at Lucas, whose face immediately closed off, resuming its usual court mask.

  The smile dropped off Finnian’s face, and Coralie glanced quickly at me. Thankfully I was spared whatever might have been said next by a significant throat clearing from Redmond. Our instructor glared at Calix until he took his own seat, and then began his lecture.

  I didn’t hear a word, all my attention focused on keeping my eyes on my desk. They seemed determined to look right, toward Lucas, but I could feel his eyes already boring into the side of my head, and I wasn’t sure I could meet his gaze without tearing up.

  Thankfully Redmond was teaching on an element of written compositions that didn’t apply to me because I barely heard one word in ten. I dreaded the delegation’s arrival—their presence made the upcoming marriage alliance all too real. But at the same time, I was consumed with curiosity. Would the mage in the pale green robe still feel muted and strange? Would he look ill? With everything else going on, I still hadn’t found a chance to ask for a tour of the city’s healing clinics to see if I could find anyone else who felt the same way.

  Two mornings later I walked into the dining hall to a widespread air of excitement. I had no sooner slid into my seat than Coralie announced the reason why.

  “The delegation is here. A group of second years saw them going into Lorcan’s office.”

  “The entire delegation?” I asked.

  “I don’t think so,” said Finnian. “Apparently there are only seven of them here, and more than that are in residence at the palace.”

  “Seven is plenty,” said Araminta, sounding glum.

  I glanced over at her, and she grimaced.

  “I just know I’m going to embarrass Ardann.”

  “Don’t be silly,” I said. “They’re not here to assess us.”

  “Aren’t they?” Saffron asked quietly, and we all fell into an uneasy silence.

  I suspected she was right, and they were here to assess one of our number, at least. And despite my selfish desires, for the sake of our kingdom and everyone else I loved, I couldn’t wish for Lucas to make a bad impression.

  Glancing around the dining hall, I realized he was absent.

  “I suppose Lucas is with the delegation?” I whispered to Coralie.

  “I think so.” She gave me a look of such sympathy that I quickly turned away.

  My eyes fell on Saffron who was watching the door as if she expected the Sekalis to join us for breakfast.

  “Do you think we’ll meet them?” she asked.

  “I don’t know. Princess Lucienne didn’t seem too keen on the idea of my meeting them at the Devoras party,” I said. “Even the general didn’t try to introduce me, despite my new family status.”

  “I can imagine the palace is doing their best to pretend you don’t exist,” Coralie said.

  Finnian looked from her to me. “Pretending Elena doesn’t exist? No doubt. The Spoken Mage, on the other hand…” He frowned thoughtfully. “Somehow I imagine that’s not so easy to do.”

  A server arrived to clear our table, and I realized with a start that half of the trainees in the hall had already left. We all hurriedly stood and made our way out of the room.

  “Everyone seems to be in a rush today,” Finnian said dryly. “I can’t imagine why that might be. You’d think something interesting was going on.”

  We exited into the large entrance hall just in time to see the delegation enter it from the other side, Lorcan at their head. He looked up and saw me, and his stride faltered for the briefest moment before he ushered them toward the main doors.

  I watched them move ahead of us, my eyes lingering on Lucas who walked next to the oldest Sekali, listening respectfully to something he said. I thought he hadn’t seen me until his eyes flashed up at the last moment, meeting mine for the briefest instant with such longing and regret that it took my breath away.

  I stumbled down the stairs and out into the grounds, not really listening to my friends’ whispers as they discussed the Sekalis. But a cheerful voice hailed me, calling me by name and demanding my attention. I picked Walden out from among the Sekalis, and he
gestured for me to come forward and join them.

  I quickened my pace with equal measures of anticipation and reluctance. As I came closer, I realized Walden walked beside the Sekali in the pale green robe. His energy still felt muted and strange, although it was almost hard to tell beneath the blaze of power that surrounded him.

  Away from the crowded, power-filled atmosphere of the party, it was even more obvious that Finnian had been right. The delegation had come with layer on layer of compositions to protect them instead of commonborn guards. I itched to do some workings and see if I could decipher what protections they had hedged themselves with, but I knew better than to even think of trying such a thing.

  I reached them just in time to see Lorcan cast a disapproving look at the oblivious Walden. Clearly I had been correct in thinking that the royal family had given instructions to try to keep me from too much close contact with the visitors. Too bad no one had informed the librarian.

  The oldest of the group turned from Lucas with interest at my arrival, and Walden introduced me. The group halted, and each Sekali bowed from the waist, murmuring, “Spoken Mage. We are honored,” as they did so.

  I squirmed and went to protest, but a swift look from Lucas stopped me, and I remembered I had seen them greet many of the mages at the party with the same bow. When Lucas flicked his eyes down and back up, I quickly mirrored their movement, murmuring that it was I who was honored to meet them.

  My response seemed to meet with their approval, but before they could address me further, Lorcan stepped in.

  “Elena, you should hurry to catch up with your year mates or risk being late for class.”

  He gestured toward my friends who had passed us, watching with interest out of the corners of their eyes.

  “And you, too, Lucas,” he added.

  As we moved away together, I heard him murmuring to the older man who Walden had introduced as Chen. “They must have time to prepare…”

  “That sounds ominous,” I said to Lucas quietly. “Are we going to be doing some sort of display?”

  His court mask remained in place, but he glanced sideways at me.

  “My parents wanted to keep them away from the Academy, but they were persistent in their requests to visit, and we don’t want to risk offending them. No one’s given me any details, but given we had to accommodate the visit, I believe my parents want some sort of display of power. Something to make me look strong and make Ardann look like a desirable ally and partner.”

  My heart sank. I didn’t like the sound of that.

  “I don’t care what’s at stake, Elena,” Lucas whispered suddenly. “I won’t fight you, if that’s what they ask.”

  I turned fully to stare at him. I hadn’t even thought of that.

  “Do you think they would?”

  His bearing didn’t change, the mask still in place, but I could see the tension in his shoulders.

  “Not if they have any sense. Because I’ll refuse, no matter what’s at stake. There’s only so much I can take.”

  I bit my lip. “No. If it comes to that, I’ll refuse. Better me than you.”

  He turned his head quickly before looking back toward the arena.

  “I don’t want any repercussions falling on you.”

  “It’s better for Ardann this way,” I said tightly. “And we’re doing all this for Ardann, aren’t we?”

  Lucas nodded, reluctance clear in every line of his body.

  “Very well. If you insist. For Ardann.” This time when he looked at me, his gaze lingered for a second longer, its fire burning into me. “But one of these days my sense of duty is going to hit its limit.”

  I forced myself to stand straight, not to buckle beneath the intensity of his gaze and his words.

  “Then for the sake of the kingdom, let us hope it lasts a little longer.” My voice dropped. “Because if it fails, I’m not sure I’ll have the strength to do what’s needed.”

  Chapter 7

  “Elena and Lucas,” Thornton said, calling my name for a bout for the first time since the year began.

  My eyes flew to Lucas’s back, but he kept his own straight ahead, his fists tightening as he slowly stood. Thornton ignored our obvious reluctance, speaking again before I had the chance to protest.

  “If you will please stand to my left. The rest of you, please assemble to my right.”

  Lucas frowned and then glanced toward me. I hurried down the steps of the tiered seating to join him.

  “What’s going on?” I whispered before remembering he didn’t know what was coming any more than I did.

  He ignored my question, his attention focused on Thornton.

  “Any moment now our guests will arrive,” Thornton said. “They wish to watch our fourth years engage in practice combat.” His eyes lingered on Lucas. “We wish to give them a proper display and uphold the honor of our kingdom.” He paused while his stern gaze roamed over the nine trainees on his right.

  “To that end, we will begin a new style of bouts. I had intended to introduce this new element to our training next week anyway. You will no longer only bout as individuals but will instead engage in a series of group bouts with varying allies and opponents. You have already had a taste of this with the surprise engagement from the other week.”

  “It feels a little unfair,” Coralie muttered, eyeing Lucas and me standing alone.

  Despite her quiet volume, Thornton caught the words. He raised a single eyebrow.

  “I agree, and I would not have chosen to begin with such an unfairly weighted exercise in the normal course of things. But today is about more than just your training, and other considerations are at play.” He glared at them all again. “And so I expect you to conduct yourselves admirably despite your disadvantage.”

  Finnian tried to hide a snorted laugh. “Well, that’s put us in our place,” he whispered, earning an extra frown from Thornton.

  “Now is not the time for jokes,” he said, but cut himself off when Lorcan appeared with the Sekalis in tow.

  Welcoming the new arrivals, he indicated for them to take the seats we had previously occupied.

  “The training bout you are about to witness will take place between these two groups.” He swept his arms out to indicate us all. “Trainees are not permitted to dangerously wound or kill their fellow trainees, but they are otherwise without limits.”

  I raised both eyebrows and glanced nervously at my friends. No limits? So we could use as many compositions as we liked? Thornton had been serious about this being unlike our usual practice bouts. I hoped the others had come well-stocked because I knew Lucas would have.

  He turned to me, his face serious and focused. He hadn’t wasted any time worrying about the other team.

  “We’re seriously outnumbered here which is going to be our main disadvantage,” he said quietly.

  Out of the corner of my eye I saw the others form a large huddle, their usual divisions forgotten in the short unity of purpose. I tried to make my mind focus on potential strategy.

  “They’re going to come at us hard, and from all angles,” I said.

  He nodded once. “Which is why we need you on defense. I don’t have any shields that will last long against a nine-mage onslaught.”

  My surprise must have shown on my face because he amended his words.

  “Well, I have a couple of strong shields on me, of course, but they come from General Thaddeus. I can only use my own compositions in training.”

  “Oh, of course,” I said.

  It made sense. Not only would it defeat the purpose of training for him to use the defensive compositions supplied by the Royal Guard, but it might leave him vulnerable in case of a true threat. I didn’t like the idea of him depleting his own supplies, though. The idea that he might be left with no defenses other than those supplied by Thaddeus—a Stantorn—made me uncomfortable.

  He stepped closer, and my heart rate picked up. I glanced back at the stands of seating and then at the rest of our year mates
who were now spreading out—I had plenty of potential causes for the acceleration. I looked up into his eyes and saw the faintest hint of a smile in them and around his mouth.

  “This is going to be fun,” he breathed.

  I shook my head. “You’re crazed,” I muttered, but I could feel the smile on my own face too.

  “We need to stay close,” he said, speaking quickly. “Minimize the area you need to shield. If we go back to back, we’ll be able to keep eyes in all directions.”

  I nodded, but he gave me a stern look.

  “Don’t go rogue on me and try to take them out yourself. We’re a team, and it’s only a training exercise. So let me know if you see something coming your shield can’t handle.”

  I winced, remembering his reprimand after the gully attack. He was right, I wasn’t a great team player. If I thought my friends were in danger, I tended to just act.

  Except this time I was the one attacking my friends.

  The rest of our year mates had ranged themselves in a line, still on Thornton’s right. Their hands all lingered near sleeves or pockets, clearly poised to reach for a composition as soon as Thornton gave the word.

  I took a deep breath and spun to put myself back to back with Lucas. My mind raced through all the different ways I could approach the shielding as I readied the word in my mind’s eye. I lifted onto the balls of my feet, my body quivering in readiness from the surge of energy and anticipation racing through me.

  I wanted to win, but I didn’t want to exhaust myself. I’d learned my lesson on maintaining reserves last year, and it wouldn’t do Ardann any credit if I had to be carried from the arena when this was over.

  Thornton had crossed over to speak to Lorcan, but I could see his eyes on us, both sides now positioned for the bout to begin. I didn’t have long.

  Layers. I needed layers. It would give me more flexibility. I kept the single word I needed in my mind, while I adjusted the limitations that I placed over it.

  Thornton called for us to begin, and my words came out as a whisper, my focus too internal to put energy into volume.