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

their faces, but nothing about their abilities. Was one of them the one Fritz had chosen to make the barrier? If so, that was the person Alyss needed to watch. Then again, it was also possible that person didn’t make it past the first trial. They could have been strong, but knew nothing about Meru.

“Minister, are there still to be five trials in total?” Cullen’s deep voice was auditory velvet. He didn’t need to speak loudly to command a room to a hush.

“Yes. The first three trials are decided on by the Tower and Imperial family,” Fritz continued. “The final two will be decided by the elfin ambassador from Meru.”

Murmurs at this. Eira’s heart raced. Even Alyss shot her a knowing grin. If the elfin determined the last two, then she had to have a leg up, right? No one knew more about Meru than her, as was shown by her score today. She must have an advantage on whatever the elfin came up with.

Alyss wasn’t the only one looking her way. Other candidates were casting glances over their shoulders. Eira was forced to wonder if the reason her family had pushed so hard for her not to compete was because they knew it was the only way she wouldn’t be chosen.

“More information will follow in the days and weeks to come. For now, enjoy your celebration and rest well on your laurels.”

The room cleared out shortly after. Apprentices parted ways. Marcus and Cullen headed toward the library. Alyss declared she wanted to focus on “finishing her cat because she actually liked this one”—the one she had started sculpting over dinner—and departed.

Eira returned to her room alone, pin still glistening on her breast. She was so distracted with it that she didn’t notice the sealed envelope on her bed until she was reaching for the book on Lightspinning still tucked underneath her bed frame. She glanced around the room, as if the person who sent the note could be hiding somewhere in a dormitory that was three steps wide.

The wax seal was a deep purple. The symbol was simple—three circles, stacked vertically, with a line drawn through them. It was the symbol of Yargen, and of Meru.

Eira slid her finger under and opened the letter. It was one line long:

Meet me at the Sunlit Stage.

10

The Sunlit Stage at night was beautiful in an unnerving way. The moon turned the marble and alabaster into bone and the gilding silvery. Long shadows clung to the seats where people should be sitting—where they’d watched her test hours ago.

Eira moved silently through the empty hallways and stairwells, emerging onto the lower arena space. She stepped timidly into the moonlight. The letter was clutched in her hand as she spun, searching for a sign of its sender.

“You came.”

Eira nearly jumped out of her skin at the man’s voice. She turned. Even though she’d only seen him four times, Eira knew Ambassador Ferro by accent alone, no pointed ears necessary.

“This was from you?” she asked softly. Yet her words echoed across the empty stage.

“It was.”

“How did you get in the Tower?” Eira doubted an elfin ambassador would be able to sneak in without being noticed. Then again, if he’d used Lightspinning… Or perhaps his guard had been the one to deliver it, through the secret passage Eira knew about, and that was why she’d been there in the first place?

“I have my ways.” He smirked, as if reading her mind. “Let’s sojourn to somewhere more comfortable so you and I might have a word.” Ferro turned, walking under the shadow of the colonnade of the back half of the stage. He didn’t once look back at her.

Eira worried her bottom lip between her teeth. Should she go with him? She could already hear Alyss saying no. Even if the elfin were friends of Solaris and he was clearly a nobleman, she should definitely not sneak off into the night following a stranger.

So, of course, Eira did.

She raced through the moonlight and into the shadow as Ferro opened one of the large doors on the back of the stage. He disappeared inside, leaving her sprinting to keep up with him. He was already several paces down a long palace hall as she closed the door behind her.

Eira had never been in this section of the palace before—she didn’t even know if she was allowed to be—but she kept up anyway. She followed him deeper into the palace, up a flight of stairs, down a sculpture gallery, and through a gaming parlor. Eventually, they came to a sitting room where a fire crackled warmly in the hearth, fighting against the night’s chill.

“You’re bolder than you look,” Ferro said softly as he closed the doors to the parlor behind her. “I didn’t expect you to actually come all this way.”

“Should I be nervous?” Eira was grateful her voice didn’t quiver.

“No, I mean you no harm. Please, sit.” He motioned to the chairs situated around the hearth with a smile.

Eira did as instructed. She bunched her dress in her fists and then forced herself to relax. The new room was filled with sounds she’d never heard before and she had to guard herself against. It was an easy task whenever Ferro spoke, because her focus was solely on him.

“Why did you send me this letter?” Eira asked. He held out his hand and she passed the letter to him. Ferro cast it in the fire. Eira barely resisted the urge to snuff the fire instantly with her magic. “I’d been meaning to save it as a keepsake.”

“Were you?” He chuckled. The sound made her toes curl. “Why is that?”

“Because…” She hated every way the truth could be phrased. She’d wanted to keep it because he—an elfin—had written it. So, instead, she lied. “Because I’m trying to save everything I can to commemorate the trials.”

“Is that the reason? Or is it because someone from Meru gave you that letter?” Ferro sat back in his chair. She