Chapter Seventeen

“Come, Highness,” said Fredrik, easily blocking her move. “You can do better than that.”

Keeping her expression neutral, Leah stood her ground, her wooden practice sword held ready before her. The sleeves of her tunic were rolled up, exposing her arms, glistening with sweat; the damp cloth clung to her sides and back hinting at the curves concealed beneath. She made as if to lunge to the right; he sidestepped, but she spun around and slammed her body against him.

With a surprised grunt, Fredrik stumbled away, tripped over his own feet, and fell on his side. He stared at her.

She grinned in reply, her sword’s tip resting on the ground so she could lean on the weapon. “I suppose I can do better than that.”

He hauled himself to his feet. “Very amusing...” he said as he went to pick up his towel.

Leah couldn’t help her laugh of delight; it wasn’t every day she could best her tutor and literally knock him over. Her successful training was an effective counter to the agony and remorse she was suffering, first with Edmon, and then Conor. “I’ve been practising that move for ages. I can’t believe it actually worked.”

“Whom were you practicing against?” His voice was muffled where his face was still buried in the towel.

Fidgeting, she mumbled an inaudible reply.

“Well?”

“No one... the padded pillar...” She quickly pointed to one of the pillars that had been bound by yards of cloth.

“I wondered what that... was...” His voice faded and he fell silent.

Leah looked across at him, wondering why he’d stopped in mid-sentence. In the same instant, she sensed a strangeness around her. She frowned at him as he stared blankly into space.

“I need to go.” His voice was hollow, expressionless.

“Go where?”

“Must go now.” Without another word, he dropped his sword on the floor and proceeded woodenly out of the training compound.

“Master Fredrik?” Leah’s voice was little more than a whisper. She didn’t know why, but she felt cold.

“Finally... we are alone.” A voice, sweet as honey and dripping with charm, glided towards her.

She spun around, automatically holding her wooden sword ready before her.

The owner of the voice stood with arms crossed. He was a head taller than Leah, slim but well-muscled. His short, black hair curled slightly over his ears. Eyes that matched the midnight-black of his clothes seemed to glow from within. His aquiline nose was near perfect and the strong chin completed the noble look. But the dimple in his left cheek countered the seriousness. He was achingly beautiful; Leah had to fight the sudden desire to be close to him.

“Who–?”

“I, Highness, am your other tutor.” He bowed slightly, but his eyes remained fixed on her face.

“What did you do to Fredrik?” she demanded, quickly regaining her composure.

He shrugged. “Planted a thought in his mind that he has to be elsewhere, that is all.”

She eyed him. “He sent you, didn’t he?”

“If you are referring to my master, Belosh, then yes, you are right.” He gestured dismissively at her sword. “Your mortal skills are more than adequate. But to fight Shalyer you need to hone your magic skills.”

“I don’t need or want your help. I can work this out on my own.”

“On the contrary, you have no idea where to start. Come now...” His tone changed, softened. “There is no cause for such stubbornness. Besides you must know it will not go well at all if you have to be forced.”

Her defiant stare turned fearful. “My family?”

He nodded once.

Leah’s whole body sagged. “Alright.”

“Good. Now the term ‘highness’ does not sit well with me. I shall call you Leah, and you shall call me–”

“Nothing. I will call you nothing. I do not want to know your name or anything about you.”

He regarded her with an amused smile then shrugged. “You are already aware of the energy-streams, yes?”

“Those ribbon-like things?”

“The largest ones have attached themselves to you and through them, you have become aware of any disturbances in the surrounding aura. Significant disruptions will reveal themselves to you regardless of whether or not you are seeking them out. But to discover smaller, more subtle ones will require great concentration on your part. It appears that you have already worked out how to move objects around...”

Leah nodded.

“Have you tried to manipulate a person? Change their thoughts or actions?”

“No. I mean, I don’t think so...”

He raised a brow then chuckled. “But it is so simple. By projecting your thoughts, your feelings along the energy-streams, which flow closest to the person, you will change their own thoughts subtly. Your projected thoughts will feel like their own. You might want to try it some time.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Oh, do not be so... noble.” He made it sound like a great failing.

“What would you know about being noble?” she said with a snort of disgust.

He regarded her with narrowed eyes before relaxing. “Now I will explain how to use magic in battle. Observe where the energy-streams collide with one another.”

Leah was already aware of the myriad flashes of energy being discharged continuously each time the energy-streams collided. She watched as he gathered the energy flashes and formed a glowing orb.

“You use these to hurl at your enemy. The size of each orb depends on the amount of energy you use.”

“How harmful are they?”

“That depends on you. If you merely want to slow your opponent down, then the orb will maim him sufficiently for that. But if your intention is to kill, and your will is as strong as your intention, then the orb will kill.”

After a moment’s silence, she said, “Can I use it for protection?”

He showed her how to gather the energy to form a shield. “Now you try.”

Her first few attempts were laughable. But she persevered. The quicker she mastered this, the quicker she would be able to leave. Then she would be free, able to dispense with this forced duty, and return to some semblance of normality.

“Enough for now. But you must keep utilising your power for as your skill increases so will the pain you experience diminish. Return tonight; I will show you how to use the energy through your sword. Be sure to have it with you.”

“We’ll be doing this again tonight?”

He nodded. “You are far from ready, Leah. From now on, every moment you can spare, you will spend training with me. To the outside eye, it will appear as nothing more than you training on your own, for none but you will be able to see me. And I will create an illusion of what people are expecting to see.”

Leah started. How unnerving: one second he was there and then he was gone. And with his departure, she felt the strangeness lift.