“Shield!” I yelled, grunting as I attempted to defend myself against Alice’s swift thrust.

“Sword Burst!” Shimmering energy gathered around her sword before a cracking boom echoed throughout the forest as she shattered the barrier.

While most of the mana stored in her sword dispersed, she still landed a solid blow on my shoulder, sending me tumbling back in defeat.

“Fuck,” I mumbled while getting up on one knee and glancing at Alice. “Didn’t know that could happen.”

“You keep blocking, so I had to switch it up,” she said, dropping the broken sword that shattered when it collided with the barrier. “You okay?”

“I’m alive.” I chuckled, still feeling the pain. “But shall we call this a tie?”

“A tie?” She looked confused.

“Well. . . Your sword broke, and I can’t seem to find mine-”

“Blink.” Alice greeted me with the sole of her boot, pinning me to the ground as I fell back. Looking at me from above while pushing her hair behind her ear, she smiled and said, “Care to rephrase that?”

“Shall we call this your win?” I laughed, knowing she was being nice and not pressing down on my chest.

“Good.” She smiled, moving her leg and giving me a hand.

“You really did a number on me. . .” I sighed, moving my shoulder around. “What gives?”

We trained alone in the forest as her father had things to do before we had the talk Alice wanted. She had the idea of switching up the terrain a bit because we got used to fighting in the training grounds, and as long as we were close to the city, it was safe.

“You caught me yesterday and revealed a power I didn’t know you had, so there’s no taking it easy anymore. Who knows what else you might be hiding from me.”

“I’m not hiding anything,” I said, but she knew that already.

“Can’t risk it.” She shrugged, tapping me on the back before slowly taking the lead to the city.

“Fine,” I said, keeping pace with her. “If that’s how you feel, then I’ll just have to beat you at your best.”

“If you can,” she teased.

“You’ll see. I-” My mind blanked as a chill passed through my spine.

“Alex?” Alice stopped to look at me, but my eyes darted to the ground.

What got me to stop suddenly was shock as a cloaked figure that I presumed to be an adult male elf, appeared out of thin air in front of us. Only when he got in range of my Mana Sense could I see him. With a sword strapped to his belt and a dagger tucked in his boot, he looked as if he was spying on us the entire time. Alice didn’t seem to be able to see him even though he was out in the open, making me believe he was cloaked by magic.

“Damn it. I completely forgot!” I yelled, surprising Alice.

“Forgot. . . what exactly?” She looked worried as my reaction wasn’t exactly normal.

The spy kept himself in check, unsure if he was spotted. Sadly, I couldn’t control my initial reaction as I wasn’t used to random elves appearing out of nowhere; however, it was up to me to get him deluded.

“When I wrote that letter to my family, I left out an important detail,” I said, slapping my forehead. “You think that once we get back, I could ask your father to send another one?”

“That’s. . . You know what. I’m not even going to ask,” she chuckled, grabbing my arm. “Come on. We’ll be late if we don’t hurry, and we still have to run by Cornella’s shop.”

“Cornella’s?” I allowed her to drag me.

“Don’t tell me you forgot that as well?” She sighed. “You said that if I won, you’d go with me to pick up some sweets.”

“Is that why you were going so hard at training?”

“Maybe?” She giggled.

“You know I would’ve gone with you anyway, right?”

“Yeah, but this way I feel rewarded for trying.”

“Oh, is beating me not enough anymore?”

“Who knows? Maybe I should give you a handicap.”

Alice kept teasing me, allowing me to act ignorant. It seemed to work as he kept following us back to the city. He disappeared as soon as he was out of range of Mana Sense and reappeared whenever we stopped for a second, allowing him to catch up. The crowded streets made it difficult for him to tail us as he had to avoid others from bumping into him. It made it clear that he wasn’t incorporeal like a ghost.

We stopped by Cornella’s, and I made sure we browsed for as long as possible. I wanted to see if he would leave, but he patiently waited for us to come out. The freakiest part was that even though I knew he was there, I couldn’t hear his footsteps. Alice reminded me that her parents were waiting, so we were forced to head back to the palace.

When we got to the entrance, the mysterious figure left, which made sense as I presumed there were countermeasures against invisibility magic all over the place. I was finally able to take a deep breath, feeling safer within the royal halls. Still, it felt weird knowing someone directly spied on me like that.

“You’re acting weird,” Alice whispered as we made our way to her mother’s office.

“I know.” I smiled meekly, which only had her worried more about me.

----------------------------------------

“Someone was standing so close to us?” Alice kept looking at me, shocked that she didn’t notice anyone.

“Is it safe to talk here?” I looked at Queen Sylphena, who sat with one leg over the other.

“The office is warded against divination magic,” she reassured me as we sat around the table. “There’s no safer place than here.”

“Good.” I sighed in relief.

“Was it your Mana Sense that allowed you to see him?” King Elwyn asked.

“Yeah, but only within a ten-meter radius. Beyond that, he became invisible again.”

“And would you be able to recognize him if you saw him again?”

“No. He wore a mask.”

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“It seems someone made a move,” the Queen said, tapping her fingers on the table.

“It must be Elder Zavix!” Alice raised her voice, annoyed at the mere thought of the Gelisar family.

“We can’t go around pointing fingers like that, Alice.” Her father sighed. “If we do that, we’ll spark conflict. You'll need proof.”

“But there’s proof,” Alice reassured him, calming her tone. “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”

“Go on,” her mother said as she moved her arm back.

“It all happened during the Spirit Hunt when those id-. . . I mean, those three ganged up on Alex. They knew what he was capable of even though they still lost.”

“Alex?” the Queen looked at me.

“It’s true. They knew I was able to cast three spells and wanted to waste my mana so I couldn’t catch up to Aymon.”

“What does that have to do with Elder Zavix?” Elwyn asked.

“Who else would be able to spy on him within the Royal Palace if not for an elder?” Alice pointed out the obvious.

“Something doesn’t add up,” Queen Sylphena mumbled but inevitably came up with a question to ask me. “Tell me. If it’s true and they knew, why would Aymon ask them to do that? He could’ve easily restrained you himself if they were going to break the rules anyway.”

“Because he knew I’d be angry,” Alice said confidently. “Aymon is still pushing the marriage proposal, and he wanted to be sure his odds of winning were as high as possible.”

“You think they consider him a hindrance to their plan?” Elwyn asked, smirking at me. “Hear that Alex. They think you might steal her away.”

My eyes went wide with disbelief when I heard him joke about something like that in front of her. Sure, it was a joke I expected him to make during training when we’re alone, but in front of the Queen too? He left me speechless.

“He can’t steal me from whom I don’t belong in the first place,” Alice said sternly.

“So, let me get this straight,” the Queen interrupted, paying no attention to her husband’s words. “You believe that it was Elder Zavix that plotted against Alex?”

“It all adds up,” Alice said. “Besides, just look at who the three that followed along represented.”

“It’s true,” Elwyn said. “Morgan, Galborn, and Sirist represented the three Houses that sided with the Gelisar family during our last few meetings.”

“Is it okay for me to listen to this?” I asked, worried they might spill some secrets I shouldn’t know.

There was something odd with our conversation from the very beginning. Queen Sylphena didn't show a hint of surprise, and in fact I'd say quite the opposite. It made me wonder if she was in a way testing Alice to see how she'd handle the pressure which explained why Noir was so close by. Realistically, Aymon's proposal had no weight to it unless Alice accepted or her parents decided to marry her. But why would she do that, I wondered. Was she trying to pile up the evidence before making a move against the elders, or was she trying to resolve things peacefully if possible? Were the elders even powerful enough to overthrow her if that was their goal? King Elwyn was the strongest man in Thysa and a tactical genius on top of being a hero respected by all. And while he lacked political sense, Queen Sylphena's eyes looked as if they saw through everything.

“He’s right, and neither should Alice,” her mother said, gazing into my eyes as if she could read my mind.

“What? Why?” Alice asked, a bit too emotionally invested.

“Leave the politics to us for now and focus on your training. You’re going to the Academy next year, and I want you to be ready. When you’re done with your studies, I’ll allow you to attend any political meetings you wish. Okay?” Queen Sylphena seemed determined to keep her out of it.

“But we’re directly involved in this,” she argued. “You could use our help-”

“You’re right Alice. We could use your help, but there’s someone who needs it more than us,” he said, looking at me while still talking to her. “You’ve been progressing significantly faster while training by his side, and if you wish for both of you to attend the Academy together, you need to help him get strong enough.”

“But. . . Fine.” Alice sighed, accepting only because of me.

“Have faith in your mother. She’s much wiser than me when it comes to stuff like this, so don’t worry about it. Okay?

“Okay. . .” Alice looked disappointed she wasn’t allowed to help, and being in her way felt. . .

“Alex,” the Queen called my name. “Don’t think that what my husband said is just for you. We want both of you to be safe, and it’s good for her to focus on training.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said, having no idea how she knew what I was thinking.

“Now.” King Elwyn clapped his hands. “I want to hear more about this fight that broke out.”

“Ugh. . . Here we go.” His wife sighed, placing two fingers on the bridge of her nose.

“What? It’s only natural that I, as his mentor, find out how he managed to best not only three mages but also come out on top against Aymon. You didn’t let him catch you, did you?” He looked at Alice.

“What? No.” She sounded flustered as he accused her of letting me win. “He surprised me with Blink by appearing in front of me while I focused on running. I practically fell into him.”

“She’s not the type to let me win,” I reminded, making him chuckle.

“That’s true. So, how’d you defeat them?”

“Well. . .” I looked at Alice and then back at him. “The truth is, they didn’t know everything about me. While I attacked first after I saw them preparing for an ambush, they still forced me to use up all my mana. Morgan mentioned that their loss didn’t matter as long as they wasted my mana, but that’s where he was wrong.”

“But you said he caught you using Blink, didn’t you?” Elwyn looked surprised.

“It’s your gift, isn’t it?” Queen Sylphena asked. “You’re able to absorb mana without meditation.”

“What?” King Elwyn turned to his wife, trusting her so much that he took her speculation for a fact. “How’s that even possible?”

“Is it that strange?” I looked puzzled.

“Told you,” Alice said smugly.

“I see I was right.” She looked at me and sighed. “It’s a unique ability that only those that reached the ninth circle and above can perform with enough practice. Not even half the professors at the Academy have such control. However, it must be because of your Mana Sense which I presume is a gift you possess.”

“A gift? I thought my original mana core was the gift I had.”

“There’s no reason to believe that those two are separate. Gifts are complex, and we still lack understanding. It’s also not unheard of that someone may possess two or even three gifts, but that’s not important right now.”

“Do you know anything more?” I asked, intrigued to learn more about my gift.

“I have a theory, but it’s too soon to tell. However, I’ll say it anyway.” She looked to her husband who gave her an approving nod. “Your Mana Sense allows you to see the world around you within a certain radius and empowers your eyes to help negate some of the blindness inflicted by poison. However, that’s not all it does, now is it? It also helps you perceive mana particles, allowing you to absorb them while on the move by performing an advanced technique used for mana recovery.”

“Then how was he able to see someone invisible?” Alice asked.

“He can sense mana fluctuations, so invisibility won’t work against him as long as they’re within a certain radius. There are spells we cast to be able to do the same, but it seems Alex inherited those traits.”

“Who else has these traits?” I asked since the word inherited caught my attention.

“Mana beasts are capable of absorbing mana from the atmosphere, but your Mana Sense as a whole resembles a trait possessed only by archfey and dragons if we’re discussing the mortal realm.” She tapped the table again with her fingers. “It could very well be thanks to your mother. Her family was known to have a strong bond with spirits, so when you get the chance to, you should ask her.”

“I’ll do that,” I said with a soft smile, looking down while remembering my mother. It made sense that someone like her, a woman who saw the world differently than others, passed on the ability that helped me overcome blindness and allowed me to witness something many couldn’t. I looked back at Alice’s mother and I asked, “Do you think my core is also a part of her bloodline?”

“As far as I know, having a second mana core is unheard of, so I doubt anyone could answer that question. It could very well be your unique gift that you manifested.”

“Is that even possible?” Alice asked.

“How do you think the first ever gift came to be?” her mother asked. “The world is a strange place full of mystery that we mortals seek to uncover, but behind every answer is another question, so our search never ends.”

The whole time we were together, I never bothered to ask Alice what her gift was or if she even had one, but now I was dying to know. Now I wondered if she would even tell me after I hid the fact that I could absorb mana while moving. The silly thought made me laugh in front of them without any context. I thought it would be embarrassing, but it somehow lightened the mood.

“Alright, you two,” King Elwyn said. “I think that’s enough talk for now. We must let your mother rest and in the meantime, you two should make your way to the training grounds. I’ll be joining you soon.”

We both nodded, eager to continue our training.

Whatever trouble awaited us within Thysa or back home, all we could do was make sure we were ready.

Chapter End.

Thank you for reading.