A Trial of Sorcerers: Book One by Kova, Elise (universal ebook reader .txt) 📕

7

“That. Was. Brilliant.” Alyss grabbed both of Eira’s hands and spun Eira around her room. “The way you didn’t just move the barrier but shattered the whole thing! I didn’t know if you had it in you to even sign up. But, wow, what a statement. You just walked in there and pow—” Alyss thrust out a hand, punching the air. “Barrier gone. Look out, other Waterrunners. Eira is here to stay!”

Eira laughed nervously. “I don’t think my uncle was as amused as you are.” Her parents wouldn’t be either.

“He didn’t stop you.”

“He couldn’t stop me, not really.” Eira paced back and forth between Alyss and the window. “At the end of the day, he can’t show me favoritism, or the opposite. I have to be the same as any other apprentice.” And if that were true, why was Eira so nervous? Likely because she had just, very publicly, disobeyed the request of her entire family.

In the three years since the incident, Eira had worked to honor every expectation set out for her. But Gwen was right. Wasn’t she? Eventually Eira had to stand on her own. She had to break away from her family’s desires of her and show them who she really was without being tethered to Marcus.

“I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

“I—” Eira didn’t get to finish. Fate decided to explain for her instead.

A flurry of four knocks on the door, a pause, and then two slow knocks interrupted her. Before she could tell her brother to come in, he entered. Marcus’s eyes glossed over Alyss and landed on her.

“Uncle wants you.”

“I bet he does,” Eira mumbled.

“Don’t let her be in trouble.” Alyss wedged herself between Eira and Marcus. “She’s allowed to compete in the trials if she wants to.”

“Go back to your room, Alyss,” Marcus said in his no-nonsense tone. “Convincing her to sign up was no doubt your brilliant idea.”

“I am brilliant, thank you for noticing.” Alyss completely ignored the sarcasm that hung on the word “brilliant” when Marcus said it. She squeezed past Marcus and called back from the hall, “Good job, Eira. Can’t wait to be your teammate for the Tournament of Five Kingdoms!”

Eira didn’t say anything; she was too focused on guarding herself against the daggers that Marcus was glaring into her.

“Let’s go.” Marcus put his back to her and started up the Tower.

Eira scampered behind him. “Marcus—”

“Save it, Eira.”

“Marcus, I know you’re angry with me.”

“You have no idea what I feel.” Marcus’s voice pitched upward and then took an immediate dive. He rounded on her. “There’s no way you could because I have no idea what I feel.”

“I know you didn’t want me to compete.” Eira stared her brother in the eyes. After her growth spurts the past two years, she was nearly his height.

“Of course I didn’t. I don’t want you to do anything that could put you at risk. I can’t let you do anything risky. That is one thing that’s been made very clear to me by Mom and Dad and everyone else, so I thought it was to you, too.” Marcus continued upward again.

“Life is full of risks,” Eira hissed, dropping her voice as they passed by other sorcerers. “You can’t protect me from all of them.”

“Don’t tell me what I can’t do,” he grumbled.

“Yeah, it’s not fun, is it? Someone telling you what you can and can’t do.”

“Eira—”

“Maybe you’ll get it now.” She glared at him. “I am my own person. I don’t just jump when asked and I won’t neatly exist only where and how you or anyone else wants me to.”

“You don’t think I know that? That we know that?” Marcus shook his head. Disappointment radiated off of him with more strength than his magic earlier. “But you also have to trust us when we’re looking out for your best interests.”

“What about your best interests?” Eira hated that she was echoing Cullen. “When will you stop worrying about me and start focusing on you?”

“When I can trust that you won’t accidentally kill people!” he snapped, and then instantly backed away.

“I didn’t mean to, you know I didn’t.” Eira wrapped her arms around herself, as if she could ward off the waves of guilt that crashed down on her with every reminder of that day. “It wasn’t—”

“I know. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have brought it up.” Marcus shook his head. “But…there is that incident. And the ‘voices’ you hear all around.”

“I really do hear voices. You know I do,” she whispered, breathless. One remark after the next was a gut punch, hitting harder than he likely intended and leaving her windless. Out of everyone, he was the one who said he believed her. She needed someone in her family to believe her, and if not Marcus, then who? “I’ve told you, the voices come from unintentional vessels made by people’s magic without them realizing… That’s why the Tower is nosier than anywhere else.”

“Eira.” He sighed and slowed to a stop. They were nearing Uncle’s office. Marcus’s hands clasped over her shoulders and he looked her in the eye. “I know you believe that, but no one else has ever heard voices like that. Not one Waterrunner. And unintentional vessels are very difficult to make.”

“Maybe not as difficult as people think. Maybe someone else heard the voices and they were too afraid of being treated like this to say anything.”

Pain flashed across his expression, chased by guilt. Still, Marcus didn’t relent. “Which do you think is more reasonable? You have some kind of ability that no one else has ever had? Or that you’re hearing things that…”

“That aren’t real?” she finished, as frigid as the tides within her.

“That you want to hear,” he said firmly. “I know things haven’t been easy for you. It’s natural to want friends. Or to want to feel special.”

“I’m not making this up. And I don’t have imaginary friends.” Eira pulled away from him. Pain seared up her chest, infiltrating the numbing barriers she tried