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

say another word, Eira handed them each a sheet of paper. Their expressions quickly turned serious.

“This is…” Marcus murmured, stepping to read over Alyss’s shoulder. The two compared papers and Eira handed them the third. Marcus’s eyes turned up to hers. “How do you have these?”

“I can’t say.” Eira glanced askance. Then quickly added, “But I didn’t do anything that would get me in trouble.”

“Did he give them—”

“Shhh,” Eira made the noise with a finger against her lips and a glare at Alyss.

Alyss had the audacity to laugh.

“Who’s he?”

“No one,” Eira said quickly to Marcus, before Alyss could get a word in. “Can we focus, please? These are the notes on our next trial. They’re going to blindfold us and fill our ears with cotton. We’ll be taken out into the wilds surrounding Solarin and have to use our magic and wits to find our way back.”

“But what are these?” Alyss pointed to various markers on the map.

“They’re going to be challenges that stand in our way. Either traps laid, or actual sorcerers who will try and impede our progress.”

“So with this we can prepare for the challenges.” Marcus stroked his chin, exchanging pages again with Alyss.

“Somewhat… We aren’t going to be allowed to take anything with us. You know how guarded they’re keeping this trial. If we go in with supplies, they’re going to know we had an edge.”

“Then we each train in a different area of survival for the next few days.”

“No, we’re all going to be dropped in different spots,” Eira said. “We won’t go in as a group.”

“The more you explain this trial, the more it seems…dangerous.” Marcus frowned.

“It’s only the illusion of danger, like the second trial.” Eira couldn’t help the defensive edge in her voice. Ferro had designed the final two trials.

“They’re putting people as young as fifteen out in the wilds alone.”

“If there are sorcerers out there to give us challenges along the way then I’m sure we’ll be watched every step,” Eira countered.

Marcus just shrugged. Alyss gave her a sly smile. Her friend had figured out why she was defensive.

“At least this way we can see the paths of least resistance back.” Alyss brought a page close to her face, narrowing her eyes. “Now, if only my sense of direction wasn’t so terrible.”

The three of them spent the rest of the night going over the pages. They made a brief excursion to the library to get some cartography books, followed shortly after by dinner. The clocks had chimed eleven when Alyss and Marcus finally bid their goodbyes. Eira didn’t allow them to take the papers, so they vowed to go over everything again the next night.

Eira was exhausted, but she pulled herself from her bed and crept up the Tower. Moving in and out of Adela’s secret chambers was second nature to her now. But every time she did, she always paused by the bookshelf, staring at the journals and wondering what other secrets they held that Eira had yet to see.

It was nearly midnight by the time she arrived in the long-forgotten royal passages.

“You’re late.” Deneya leaned against a wall, waiting. “I was about to give up on you.”

“I’m glad you didn’t. I thought we might do something else tonight?”

“Getting tired of the shield?” Deneya grinned. “What do you have in mind?”

“You seem capable of making more than a shield—like the dagger, from the first night we met.”

“Mysst soto larrk.” Deneya raised her hand and threads of light collected into a dagger in her palm.

“Teach me how to use it.” Eira raised her own hand, summoning a shard of ice.

Deneya tilted her head, arching her eyebrows. “Are you asking me to teach you how to fight?”

“You know how, don’t you?”

“I do.” Deneya chuckled. “Why do you want to know, is the real question.”

“Teach me something I could use to defend myself against an attacker.” Ferro had given Eira the tip that their final trial might pit the candidates against each other. She didn’t know the first thing about dueling.

“You’re not defending anything with a stance like that.” Deneya looked Eira over from head to toe. She slowly approached. “If you want to learn combat, I’ll teach you. But it’ll be much harder than trying to break a shield.”

“I’m ready.”

“Are you?” Deneya chuckled. “I doubt it.”

“I have to do this.”

“Why?”

“Because I must go to Meru.” Eira wasn’t about to let anything stop her. “There are answers for me there, I can feel it.”

“A bit of advice.” Deneya paused, a step away from Eira. Up close, the woman looked ten times stronger. The moonlight outlined the muscles of her shoulders and arms. She could easily hoist much heavier weapons than the dagger. “Be careful when you go hunting for the truth. It’s rarely what you expect.”

“I know that better than anyone.”

“So you should heed my warning better than anyone.” Deneya nodded. “Now, hit me.”

“What?”

“Hit me. Though I warn you it’ll only be a slightly less impossible task than breaking the shield.”

Eira had always known the shield was impossible. But she’d tried anyway. She’d thrown herself against it night after night and hadn’t realized why Deneya had put her through the exercise until that moment.

Her magic had been honed with each attempt. Every time she’d attacked the shield, she’d summoned more strength. By day, she’d thought of new techniques. Even if Deneya was giving her an insurmountable task, Eira was striving to new heights just trying to reach it.

Determined, emboldened, Eira threw her weight behind a jab. Deneya didn’t even lift her dagger to parry. She dodged backward, sidestepped, turned, and, without so much as a whisper of air, was behind Eira. The sharp blade of Deneya’s weapon pressed into her throat.

“Again,” Deneya whispered.

So Eira moved once more.

* * *

Everything ached. Over the past week she’d sparred against Deneya every night. Tonight had been her last showing and far from her best. Deneya had sent her back to her room early and instructed her not to return the next night.

She needed a