It was late into the starry night when Gavon knocked on the unlocked door and said he had to tell her something. This was the first time he had reached out to her since the day he taught her how to bewitch the blazing torches.

He didn’t even pay a visit the day they declared the prince dead. This was why his belated arrival caught her off guard. She didn’t expect to see him anymore. His deal with the late prince was no longer binding, and so he had no obligation to take her on as his apprentice.

She even thought of running away before the humans came for her head but decided against it. Whether she stayed in Belzcakir or at Céinai with her kinsmen, the sorcerers were too busy preparing for war to care for someone like her.

Gavon skipped the pleasantries and told her that all apprentices were told to come to Mahgrad in less than half an hour. They were one of the last ones to reach the bottom of the keep.

Gavon taught her how to raise the hatch without holding it, then instructed her to jump into the opening while reiterating a certain spell. She was hesitant, for good reasons, since they were several feet from the ground, so it ended with Gavon pushing her down.

It was no mystery that she forgot the spell that instant and hurled down like a rag doll. She was inches from hitting the ground headfirst when she finally recalled the spell.

Gavon descended next to her as gracefully as a swan while she stared at him upside down and wondered whether he pushed her down to get rid of her or to test her reflexes. Either way, she resented him more than she already did.

As the spell wore out, she hit her head and rolled sideways to the ground. She caught the dark mage stifling a burst of laughter and bore her eyes into his. His smile faded, and he turned his face away from her as she stood up in a jiffy and pushed her auburn locks away from her eyes.

Gavon turned his back to her and took the lead through the aisleway, which snaked in three other directions. She sprinted to catch up to the wizard, who kept going straight until they finally reached the heart of Mahgrad.

The end of the middle path led to a huge parlour with a chandelier in the centre, several rows of oblong tables, and wall-length, drawn curtains. She sat down at the nearest table next to kids her age, while Gavon continued down the myriad of rows to sit with the mages at the far end of the great hall.

Her eyes landed on Malakai, who sat at the centre of the table and watched over the apprentices, who broke into a deafening chatter. Her heart was in her mouth.

On their way to the keep, she had asked the dark-eyed wizard why Malakai had summoned them without the company of the rest of the royal court, but he said he didn’t know the reason. It was a bare-faced lie.

He knew why they were called to the keep and why no one besides the masters and apprentices knew about their private gathering.

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She heaved a sigh and rested her head on her palm as the rows of tables filled up in no time. Her eyes wandered across the sizeable crowd of people until they landed on the boy she had brought to Belzcakir. He was still limping.

“I heard from my master that they’re looking for volunteers.”

Arlena shifted her attention to a stout boy two seats over as he caught the entire row’s attention. Someone asked what the chubby fella meant with volunteers. The boy slouched forward as he whispered so that the other rows wouldn’t hear him.

“The beasts have attacked several towns overnight. They’re heading towards Belzcakir right now, from what I’ve heard. The king has ordered Mahgrad to find their whereabouts and protect the rest of the villages.”

“They’re sending us to be slain?” another boy asked.

“Exactly that. I don’t know ‘bout you guys, but I’m not going anywhere! I’ve talked to my dad already, but you never know with Archmage Malakai, he’d rather do as he pleases than follow orders. I hope the beasts claim his head!”

Arlena smirked unwittingly. Her subtle grin lasted only a split second, but the spoiled guy caught a glimpse of her. He glowered. She returned his conceited glare. She despised these kinds of people the most – those who thought themselves above others and treated people as garbage.

He distorted his face as she didn’t shy away from meeting his eyes and buttoned up. For the briefest of moments, she hoped Malakai would choose her table and send this guy to his death.

No matter how she twisted and turned her head around it, she was certain that this snobbish kid wouldn’t last a second in the presence of the beasts, which now prowled in Gartâr and looked for prey.

Her thoughts were interrupted as Malakai stood up and revealed the reason he summoned them here. The snotty boy was right. No one made a single sound until the archmage finished his speech.

He wanted volunteers to raise their hands, but no one did. The apprentices looked at one another instead; everyone was aware of the perils beyond the fortress and that death was inevitable once they left Belzcakir. But then, when all hopes were lost, someone put up his hand.

Everyone turned their heads to the middle row, and an ominous babble broke out. Arlena frowned. It was Derrick. Has he lost his mind, she wondered, and couldn’t help but think of his injured leg. That guy couldn’t even stand straight, so what was he even trying to prove by volunteering for this quest, which was obviously a death trap?

She stood up without even grasping what she was doing and was about to go over and beat some sense into him when all heads turned to her this time, and she became rooted in place. Malakai thanked her and Derrick for standing up and blathering on about how brave they were for volunteering.

She broke into a cold sweat upon realising that the archmage had misunderstood her, but before she could correct him and explain herself, he told her to sit down.

As she bit her lips and plonked down, Malakai thanked her again and then picked her entire row as volunteers. She covered her face with a sweaty palm and swore under her breath.

The boys eyed her down like they wanted to rip her into pieces. The stout boy, especially, looked daggers at her – ready to eat her up before the beasts got to her!

She shuffled to the middle row as soon as the gathering was over and headed towards Derrick, who was about to leave the premises when she caught up with him. Her eyes landed on his limping leg.

“I can’t believe I’ve got myself into this mess because of you! Just look at you! Your leg isn’t even healed! Do you have a death wish or something?”

Derrick stared at her as if he didn’t quite understand what she was saying or why she was saying these things to him. She grunted and was ready to chew him up, but none of this was his fault – not entirely.

She should’ve remained in her seat. But she was so hot-tempered that she did all sorts of things without thinking about the consequences of her actions. This impulsive nature of hers had led her to Mahgrad, after all.

“Never mind,” she began and added before vanishing at breakneck speed to hide from Gavon. “Just know that you owe me for this!”