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

Which was why Eira didn’t miss the flash of magic up the mountain from her. Ice shot up like petals wrapping together into a bud with a point at its top. That was Marcus’s framework. She knew for certain it was even if she couldn’t get a good look before the rush of snow consumed the distant cocoon and her own ice closed around her.

Eira closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Either it was Marcus, and he’d be fine, or it was another candidate who didn’t have the ability to defend themselves in time and Fritz or Grahm was protecting them at the last minute. She’d find out later. For now, she needed to keep her focus on herself.

The walls of her ice fortress were so thick that when the avalanche reached her it was little more than a dull thud. She could hear the groan of snow, ice, and debris rushing around her. But Eira remained safe and insulated, waiting until the sounds had vanished and the world was still.

She walked up a spiral stair of her making, leaving through a small skylight she opened in the top of her bunker. The mountainside was washed away with a slough of snow. Eira squinted up it, looking to where she’d seen the magic spark.

Whoever it was would be all right. She’d already run the calculations in her mind. There was only the illusion of danger in the trials…nothing real.

She needed to worry about herself and keep going.

Eira turned, starting in the direction of Solarin, her magic shoring up her footing. But her feet stopped, refusing to move another step. Her gaze swung back to that distant point—at least, where she thought she remembered seeing the magic.

“Come on,” Eira murmured. She had to keep going. There were still eight Waterrunners in the competition and two were being cut. She had to be one of the first six to make it back.

Though…if she was the first or the sixth, it made no difference.

“Come on,” she repeated, louder.

Still, there was no movement in the snow.

Worry got the better of her. Eira raced up the mountainside, the snow and frost meeting her feet to support her sprint. She was over a third of the way there when she saw a spark of magic erupt through the snow like a frozen volcano.

Eira pressed on anyway. She wouldn’t leave until she made sure the other person was all right. Perhaps the avalanche wasn’t part of the trial and was merely a freak accident. If that was the case, someone might have been actually hurt. The proctors hiding in the forest might not have eyes on her and whoever this person was.

She was over halfway when she saw someone, finally, emerge from the snow. Eira ran faster and forced her eyes to focus on the individual. She’d know that silhouette anywhere.

“Marcus, you ass!” Eira shouted, her voice echoing across the snow. He spun, dazed, before his eyes landed on her.

“Eira?” he called back. “Wait there.” Marcus leapt in the air. When he landed, two strips of ice were underneath his feet, thin and strong; he skied down the mountainside to her. “What’re you doing here? Did you get caught in it too?”

“Yes, farther down… I saw your magic but you took forever to surface. I was worried.”

“I was pretty deep under. I tunneled slowly to make sure I didn’t get buried the moment I opened the shell.” His eyes scanned the track of the avalanche. “Do you think there was anyone else trapped in it?”

“Not that I saw.” Eira followed his gaze. “But I can’t be certain there wasn’t someone farther down from where I was.”

“I’m sure they’re all right. After all, the illusion of danger, right?”

“Yeah…assuming this was part of the trial.”

Marcus laughed. “I can imagine Uncle Fritz perched on a mountaintop delighting in messing with us all. I’m sure it’s fine.” He clasped a hand on her shoulder. “Now, we should go.”

“We’re supposed to do this alone. The point is to survive on our own,” Eira said as he moved to set out once more.

“No one should have to survive alone. The first step to survival is trying to find someone to do it with. It’s too unbearable otherwise.”

“You explain that to them when they’re trying to disqualify us,” Eira murmured, the wound of Fritz’s attempt still lingering.

“You were the one to help me first.” His hand was heavy on her shoulder. “Why did you?”

“I was worried you were trapped under the snow.”

“Not that… You helped Cullen find out about the second trial when I couldn’t.”

“You asked me to.” Eira glanced away, knowing where this was going. She didn’t expect to have this conversation here, now.

“You could’ve said no. I basically asked you to cheat.”

“You didn’t ‘basically’ ask me, you did ask me to cheat.” Eira rolled her eyes and Marcus gave a sheepish grin. “Plus, I cheated on my own later.”

“Yet you shared that advantage with me. Alyss I get you telling your insider information because she’s your best friend and she can’t take your spot as a final competitor. But I can. You want to win, don’t you?”

“More than anything.” Eira looked at him fiercely. “At first, I just wanted to show you that I could take care of myself. But then I…I wanted it for me. I wanted it because I thought I could win and deserved to. Then when I found out—when Mother and Father told me—well, you know…I think there may be a clue as to who my birth parents really are on Meru.”

“And you want to know?” he asked.

“I think so.” Eira shook her head. “It’s all a bit confusing still. I don’t know yet if I can live with not knowing… But even if I find I can, Meru calls to me in a way nothing else has before. I wanted to go before I found out all that and I still want to go now. I know that want is mine.”

“If you want all