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

yesterday, she knew what to expect, but seeing Alyss’s below set her nerves ablaze.

She’ll be all right, Eira tried to reassure herself. Alyss hadn’t taken to the study of Meru and its history like Eira had. But she’d certainly been forced to listen to Eira’s enthusiasm over the years. Surely something—or several somethings—had sunk in. Plus, they had done nothing but cram for the past five days in preparation for the test.

Mister Levit stood in front of a table up on the actual stage. A large board was behind him, two Groundbreaker instructors on either side. Mister Levit waited to speak until the assistants finished passing out the examinations.

“You will have one hour to complete the exam. If you finish early, you may bring up your finished papers to me. Once you stand from your seat, you may not sit again. Any cheating or other foul play will be punished by both the Tower and the palace guard. You will be scored on what you complete within the hour. Those in the top fifty percent of scores will proceed on to the next trial. Are there any questions?”

No one spoke.

“I ask those in the audience to please remain silent as anything you say, even encouragement for a candidate, could result in their disqualification. If there is nothing further, Groundbreakers, you may begin.” Mister Levit flipped a large hourglass and went to sit behind the table. Just once, she could’ve sworn his eyes darted her way.

Eira grabbed the bench beneath her and tapped her feet, already restless. From her vantage, she couldn’t see a word of the actual examination, so she was left to guessing what had Alyss shaking her head and pausing. But, more often, Alyss’s quill moved quickly across the page.

About fifteen minutes in, a small group emerged from the back of the stage. Eira recognized the ambassador for Solaris, Cordon, and the pointy-eared ambassador for Meru, Ferro. They each had a guard in tow. Gwen stood near Cordon, a hand lazily resting on the pommel of her sword. And an elfin woman with black hair and dark skin was a step behind Ferro.

They walked to the edge of the stage, observing the competitors. Some paused their work, gaping up at the elfin. But most, including Alyss, remained steadfast, focused on the exam. Eira wondered if the presence of elfin wasn’t some part of the test—to see who could remain focused when presented with a distraction. After a brief, whispered discussion, the group crossed to Mister Levit to continue their conversation.

The first apprentice finished five minutes later, almost halfway through the examination time. She was young and Eira could tell by the way her shoulders slumped that she knew she was going to be cut. Eira admired her for deciding to try at all.

The girl walked up and handed her exam to Mister Levit. He scored it with both ambassadors and their guards looking over his shoulders. It had been the same the day before with the Firebearers—no doubt an attempt to curb any claims of favoritism from the proctor.

Mister Levit went to the Groundbreakers back by the blank stone tablet. They nodded at him, and then turned to the tablet. With a quick hand motion, a name magically appeared etched at the top with a score alongside it.

One by one, others finished and rose for their judgment. Mister Levit scored them silently, and their names were embossed in stone by the Groundbreakers for all to see. About forty minutes in and they had passed the halfway mark of total scores. At this time, a line appeared—the apprentices who made the cut were above. Those who didn’t were below.

The names continued to shuffle as the sand in the hourglass trickled down. Eira bit her lip, watching Alyss. Her friend had gone through her answers several times over. Finally satisfied, Alyss stood and approached the stage.

Eira held her breath for what felt like forever as Mister Levit went through Alyss’s scores. Yet, all too soon, it was over. Alyss’s name was shuffled on the board.

Top twenty percent.

Eira pressed both hands over her mouth to stop herself from shouting in excitement. There were only a handful of students left. Even if all of them did better than Alyss, she would make the cut.

She didn’t wait to see the final examinations be turned in. Eira jumped up from the bench and raced down through the palace wall, coming to a stop at the barricade erected by the palace guard.

“That concludes today’s examination. Congratulations to the competitors who are moving to the next round,” Mister Levit was saying as apprentices began to make their triumphant or disappointed path back to the Tower.

“You did it!” Eira hissed with excitement as she yanked Alyss her way. “You did it!”

“With your help!” Alyss wrapped her arms tightly around Eira and they jumped up and down together. “We did it.”

“You would’ve passed without me.”

“Maybe. But I certainly wouldn’t have scored so high. It would have been a nail-biter.” Alyss finally released her from the bone-crushing grip. “Now, you’re next.”

“We’ll see.” Her parents’ letter was still in her mind, stewing with the conversation she’d had with Marcus and her uncles.

“No false modesty. We both know you’re going to ace whatever is put in front of you with flying colors.”

* * *

Eira stretched out on her bed, flipping through the pages of the book Mister Levit had given her. It was a book on the strange magic of Meru—Lightspinning, they called it. Unlike the affinities of the Solaris Empire, which functioned on instinct and intention, Lightspinning was governed by a series of words. It was a logical, elegant system that Eira was constantly in awe of.

“Duro… Durroe.” She tried out the magic words like a new dress. They were awkward and didn’t fit quite right across her tongue. Moreover, they did nothing for her own magic. But she practiced them anyway. Saying them felt good, like some part of her could belong on that distant land.

A knock