By the fourth time she’d iced over her bandages, Liv could no longer deny that it was time for her to call it an evening. Another two bottles of wine had been ordered and then consumed, and a dessert consisting of three kinds of berry tarts had been soundly demolished by the table.

“I can’t believe how casually you do that,” Rosamund said, from Liv’s left. “Aren’t you afraid you’re going to freeze your arm off or something? It’s such delicate work.”

“I’ve had a lot of practice,” Liv told her. “A lot of practice, and a lot of training.”

Rosamund huffed. “I had to beg my brother to teach me anything at all.”

Liv opened her mouth to ask why, but at that moment, Wren stood up from the table, her eyes fixed on something over Liv’s shoulder. “Stop right there,” the dark-haired huntress called out. “Who are you, and what’s your business?”

That stopped all conversation, and Liv turned about on the bench to get a look. It took a moment for her to recognize who she was seeing: six years had streaked his beard with gray, added a few scars, and somehow weathered his face even more.

“Captain Athearn!” Liv couldn’t help but smile. “I didn’t expect to see you here. It’s alright, Wren, he’s a friend.”

“It’s a seaport, isn’t it, m’lady?” the captain asked, doffing his hat and bowing.

“Somehow I don’t think it's entirely a coincidence that you happen to walk up to this particular inn just when I’m here,” Liv pressed.

“Not entirely, no,” Coram Athearn admitted, and straightened. “Lord Talbot, good to see you again.”

“Better that none of our party are bleeding out on the floor at the moment,” Cade said. “But yes, I remember you, Captain. What brings you here?”

“Well, at the beginning of the summer, while I was anchored at Freeport to take on a load of passengers for Calder’s Landing, imagine my surprise to receive a message from the duchess,” Athearn told them. “She asked me to see if I could manage to be docked at Coral Bay for the arrival of the first years - you among them, Lady Brodbeck.”

“Why?” Liv asked, puzzled. “Not that I’m not happy to see you - but I don’t understand. Did she need something delivered?”

“Nothing like that,” Athearn said. “Only this. To let you know that the Annie Gallant will be coming by way of Coral Bay every few months. If at any point you find yourself in need of passage, or perhaps a crew of brawlers to clear your way of some trouble, send someone down to the docks when we’re in port.”

“Thank you.” Liv reached out with her left hand, instead of her right, and allowed the sea captain to bend over it. “The woman with the purple streak of hair is Wren, my bodyguard while I’m here, and Thora there is my maid. I’d likely send either of them if I needed you.”

“And of course I’d recognize Lord Talbot, as well,” Athearn told her, releasing her hand. “I see you’ve already found a spot of trouble.” He nodded to her splinted and bandaged right arm.

“A student named Merek Sherard,” Liv said, and couldn’t help but scowl. “You’d think it would be enough to get him kicked out of the college, but Master Jurian didn’t think it would be.”

Athearn scratched at his beard. “What’s the boy look like? I could have a few of the lads keep an eye out for him, if he comes into town.”

“Blonde and insufferable,” Wren commented.

“Please don’t,” Liv said. “At least not until we know what the Archmagus’ decision is.” She could feel the tension in Cade’s body, where he was pressed up against her on the bench, and she reached out for his hand. “That goes for you, as well. Don’t get yourself in trouble over him.”

“I won’t do anything that will get back to the school,” Cade said, which Liv noticed was not quite what she’d asked.

“And now, Captain Athearn,” Liv said, “It’s been good to see you, but I’m tired and need to see to this arm.” She fished the three silvers Master Jurian had given her out of her purse, then looked over the extent of the table and added four more. Cade stood, and helped her to her feet. Everyone else followed suit, and once the sea-captain had said his farewells, the party walked back up the road to the college walls. They weren’t alone: there were clusters of students everywhere, including plenty of unchaperoned couples who would have caused scandal by their behavior in Whitehill. There was conversation, but Liv was so sleepy she couldn’t keep track of any of it. Arjun and Rosamund had to turn aside first, as neither of them roomed in the High Hall.

“Don’t take the splint off until you’ve been down to the infirmary,” Arjun warned her, examining Liv’s arm one last time in the light of the glowing mana-stones fixed around the perimeter of the central courtyard. He chanted an incantation, and Liv felt another wave of warmth rise up from her hand, past her elbow, and nearly to her shoulder. “There. That should help you sleep, I think, even if I don’t have a willow-bark wand like the professor.”

“I look forward to watching you annihilate someone tomorrow,” Rosamund said, and gave Liv a quick hug. Then, the two of them hurried across the courtyard, leaving Tephania, Wren, Thora and Cade to get her upstairs.

Whether it was the food, the wine, the excitement of fighting, the pain of her wound, or simply the toll taken by all the healing she’d received, Liv found she could hardly keep her eyes open.

“Come along, then,” Cade said, and scooped her up in his arms. Before Liv could object, Tephania held the door open, and he carried her up the stairs to the second floor. Perhaps she should have minded more, but she found that it actually felt quite nice to snuggle into his shoulder. “Which room?” she heard him ask.

“What happened to her?” It was Edith’s voice, with a shrill edge to it, but Liv didn’t want to deal with her right then. Another door swung open, and then Liv was lowered down onto her bed.

“Off with you, now, Cade,” Sidonie’s voice carried across the room. “Thank you, but you shouldn’t be up here. We’ll put her to bed.”

“Goodnight, Liv,” Cade murmured, and she felt his lips pressed to her forehead. The feeling reminded her of their kiss on her first day at Coral Bay, and she sleepily reached an arm out, but he’d already moved out of reach. The sound of his boots on the floor receded.

“Let’s get you undressed, m’lady,” Thora said.

I can’t sleep, Liv reminded herself. Not yet. While the maid and Sidonie pulled her stockings off, she reached inside herself to take hold of the mana that she needed. There was enough, now, after dinner, and Liv began to push it down from her shoulder to that wrecked and painful elbow. There was quite a bit of work to do. She could tell where the successive waves of healing magic had been applied: it was as if a week or more of natural healing had taken place in only a few hours. Still, it wasn’t enough.

Liv never felt Thora and Sidonie tuck her into the blankets: she was lost to the world, entirely focused on healing her wounds.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

☙

It was the seventh bell that finally brought Liv awake, again. She blinked eyes clogged with grit and gunk, and went to raise her right hand to her face before realizing what she was doing. Thankfully, there was no sudden spike of pain. The swelling was nearly entirely gone, and all that Liv could feel from her elbow was a dull ache.

She rolled out of bed, and found she was wearing only yesterday’s dirty shift. Liv padded barefoot across the rug to her jewelry box, where she found that Thora had tucked away the set of bracelet and chained golden rings that had once belonged to the princess. Liv slipped it onto her left hand, and began to pull the mana out.

“Oh good, you’re awake,” Thora said, bustling in. “You shouldn’t have had so much to drink last night, m’lady. And that young man carrying you - people will talk, if you aren’t careful.” She occupied herself with pulling out a new dress and bodice for the day. Liv glanced over, and shook her head.

“Not the gray,” she said. “There’s no point in trying to keep my head low, now, anyway. The white and blue, please. And fetch me whatever jerky we have left from Whitehill.” Eight rings of mana was hardly enough for Liv to feel comfortable going into another day of dueling.

“You’ve two notes, as well,” Thora told her. She took two folded pieces of paper out of her pocket and put them on the vanity. Liv carefully placed the jewelry back in the box, then opened the first letter with her left hand.

“The bill from the blacksmith. Fetch me the inkpot and quill,” Liv said. Once she’d signed it, authorizing money to be transferred by the bankers’ guild, she read the second note. “And Archmagus Loredan wishes to speak to me in his office once I’ve finished dueling for the day. I can’t say that’s a surprise. Where’s Wren?”

“She left early,” Thora said. “To go down to the training grounds and meet with Professor Jurian.”

“Blood and shadows,” Liv cursed. “I was supposed to speak to him about those armed men she found the other night. I can’t believe I forgot.”

“You did have quite an eventful day,” Thora pointed out. “I wouldn’t be too hard on yourself, m’lady. Now, let’s get your hair done.”

By the time Liv was dressed - she didn’t even bother waiting with her armor, this morning, and just wore it out the door - breakfast was already on the table in the common room on the second floor. The other girls were chatting while they ate, but Liv took a single look at the spread, then turned and headed for the staircase.

“Too good to eat with us, or just still drunk from last night?” Edith asked, and Liv made herself take three slow breaths before turning around.

“I haven’t had a chance to arrange the food I need with the kitchen yet,” Liv explained, “so I’m walking down to get something at the Crab and Gull.”

“I could walk with you, if you like?” Sidonie offered.

“It’s fine,” Liv said, waving her off. “I need a lot of mana this morning. Tephania, I’ll see you down at the training grounds?” The blonde girl nodded, and Liv went on her way. There was a table of boys eating on the first floor, in a dining room behind the grand staircase, and for a moment Liv considered going in to see whether Cade was there. In the end, rather than brave an entire crowd of men she didn’t know, she just hurried out of the building with Thora at her heels.

By the time she’d gotten to the inn, there was less time to spare than Liv would have liked, but the most important thing was to not be going into a fight empty. She hadn’t even had the mana to spare to load her wand up with spells using the future tense, and even after devouring a plate of eggs scrambled with crab meat and cheese, and a side of venison sausages from the north, Liv knew that she was going to have to cut corners. That meant she had to think things through carefully.

“I need speed,” she muttered. “If I wind up against that Ward girl. And if the fast boy comes at me, I’ve got to have something to stop him.” Eight rings from her jewelry, and Liv estimated she’d recovered half that again between her meal and the jerky she’d gnawed on during the walk down. That made twelve rings. She had one more in her guild ring, on her left hand, but the pommel of the wand had been exhausted so that Rosamund could fill in her trench after their match. It wasn't much to work with. A single sphere of ice, to ward off the boy whose name she didn’t know, and a single frozen shard, both cast using the future tense, would leave her with only four rings to spare. Enough for a single, modest spell on the fly.

When Liv put her coins down to pay, she kept her purse out. “Do you have any tarts made with berries grown inside the shoals of a rift?” she asked the server girl. Not the one from the evening before, unfortunately.

“Blueberries, blackberries, and mulberries. Would you like one?”

“Pack me half a dozen - in a cloth, perhaps?” Liv asked, adding coins to the pile. She couldn’t possibly go on like this: whatever that dry goods merchant charged, it had to be cheaper than eating every meal at an inn. The Crab and Gull wasn’t even a normal inn, not really: it clearly catered to the wealthy students at the college, and prices reflected that.

Liv cast her contingent spells into the bone-wand before they left, so that at least the entire school wasn’t watching what she did. If she could preserve some element of surprise, she would. Then, with Thora in tow, carrying a basket of tarts wrapped in cheesecloth, Liv headed back up the hill to the training grounds, and found herself a seat.

With all the written examinations complete and, presumably, graded, the older students had been released to watch the dueling, as well. Liv guessed that it gave the other professors time to sort out the students’ schedules, for the only ones she saw were Annora and Jurian. The Professor of Healing rounded on Liv and stormed up to her as soon as she was seated.

“Let me see that arm,” Annora said. “I can’t believe Jurian let you compete yesterday, in your condition.” She unwrapped the bandages carefully, then began to probe Liv’s arm with her fingers.

“What did you do?” the professor asked, looking up at Liv with a frown. “Was that Arjun boy working on you?”

“Only a little, just before bed, to help me sleep,” Liv told her.

“That’s impossible. From the state of your arm, any chirurgeon would think you’d been hurt two weeks ago, and not yesterday.”

“I’ve always been a fast healer,” Liv put her off. “Master Cushing used to think it was my Elden blood.” She did her best to keep a carefully neutral expression while the professor stared her down.

“I know there are things the Eld can do that we can’t,” Annora finally said. “Anyone who’s spent time in the north does, even if they’re quite cagey about the specifics. I presume this has something to do with that.”

“You can presume whatever you like,” Liv told her. It was one thing to consider teaching Matthew and Triss how to avoid mana-poisoning in a rift, but she wasn’t going to tell her father’s secrets to a woman she’d met only yesterday.

“I’m putting the splint back on, and fresh bandages,” Annora said. “No more healing without speaking to me. It exhausts the body’s strength and resources. The splint stays on for another week, you understand?”

Liv did her best to nod meekly, and by the time the professor finally let her alone, most of her friends had arrived. Sidonie sat with them, today, which nearly made up for Wren’s absence. That concerned Liv a bit: she’d expected to find the huntress here with Master Jurian when she arrived.

“Did you get the kind of food you needed?” Tephania asked, as she settled into the row just behind Liv.

“I would have gone with you if you’d let me know you were leaving,” Cade commented, taking the spot next to her.

“Yes, I did,” Liv answered Tephania. “And I brought a half dozen tarts to help me get through the day. And I thought about it, Cade,” she said, “only I didn’t want to brave an entire dining room of boys I don’t know in order to find you.”

“I can understand that,” he said, with a sigh. “They’re like animals, the lot of them. Especially the first years.”

“Shh,” Rosamund broke in. “Look, the professor’s about to draw the first match.”

Liv leaned forward, and dropped her left hand to her wand. She’d worn the sheath on the opposite hip, this morning, to make drawing easier.

“We’ll begin the morning matches with Celestria Ward,” Jurian said, and Liv held her breath. “Against Harold Pearson.” She exhaled.

“Relieved?” Cade asked her.

“If I don’t have to fight her first, all the better,” Liv said. “It gives me more time to watch what she does, and try to think of solutions. In the end, however, the girl won the same way as she had before: a muttered incantation, and Pearson - the dark haired boy who’d made snide comments about her the day before - stumbled over and tried to kiss Celestria. He was only too happy to concede the match, and didn’t recover his wits until she’d already left the field, at which point he began cursing like a sailor.

Liv’s name wasn’t drawn until the third match of the morning, and she found herself facing the other student who’d worried her: the boy whose magic allowed him to move at blinding speeds. She hadn’t caught his name the day before, but now that she wasn’t gritting her teeth at the pain of a dislocated elbow, it was a great deal easier to pay attention.

“Good luck,” Rosamund said, when Liv’s name was called.

“You can do this,” Cade chimed in, giving Liv a kiss on the cheek before she strode out onto the training field. She felt her cheeks heat up, to have him do it in public, where everyone could see. She gripped her wand in her left hand, while the boy across from her held another practice rapier.

“Anson Fane,” Liv addressed him, once they were face to face. “I have to admit, I’m very curious about your word of power. I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

The boy was whip thin, long and lean, with tawny hair that fell in a mop about his ears. “You weren’t too bad yourself, yesterday,” he said. “But a few soldiers won’t stop me, you know.”

“Oh, I know,” Liv told him, with a smile. She looked to Master Jurian. “I’m ready.”