"Close your eyes and try to clear your mind," Kai told her. Easier said than done, Sterling thought, but did as he said, attempting to empty her head of every thought, bouncing around and demanding attention.

The two of them were once again trying to call her magic. Ren had told her she’d inherited the elven magic—very powerful magic—but she’d never seen any sign of it. Kai insisted it had to be there, and he would help her access it.

Every day they practiced, and every day she failed.

She would much rather be training with Kestrel instead. That sort of physical training she understood. This she did not.

Sterling sighed and opened her eyes. Kai’s gray eyes, almost identical to her own, stared back at her.

He appeared about to say something, but she spoke first.

“Tell me about our family. How did I end up here in the human world?”

His brows shot up.

Good, she’d surprised him. Maybe if she could keep him talking, he would forget about practicing magic and what a failure she was.

She’d never asked him about their family before or anything about the elves, really. In truth, unless they were speaking about her magic, they didn’t talk at all. It was the same with Kestrel. They were too busy practicing fighting moves to have time to discuss anything else.

She also hadn’t worked up the courage yet. Sterling feared the answer to why her family had sent her away, especially now that she was unable to summon her magic, was because she was broken.

Not broken, the voices in her head whispered. You will show them all. Wait and sssee.

Those voices had been whispering to her for weeks now. Ever since they had crossed into the human world, or maybe a little before then. The harder she tried to clear her mind, the louder they became. They whispered to her, telling her lies and horrible things. She was hesitant to mention the voices to Kai or anyone else. She didn't want them to question her sanity and give them another reason to doubt her.

“Our mother was the Queen of Nyrene. Like you, she was very powerful, and the elves prospered during her reign. She changed many things for the better—though maybe not all would agree. You look just like her,” Kai added.

“And our father?”

Kai stared at a point on the wall, somewhere over her shoulder. “Unfortunately, there isn’t much I know about him. My memories of him are few. I don’t think he spent much time in the kingdom, and he disappeared not long after our mother became pregnant with you. No one seemed to know what had become of him, not even Mother.”

“Is that why I was sent away? Was it because I was a reminder of something bad that happened?” She wasn’t sure if this was any better than being sent away because she was broken.

Kai’s eyes cut to her again. “No. I mean, I don’t know why you were sent away, or if you were stolen away, but I don’t think that would be the reason.”

“I might have been kidnapped?” She’d never considered the possibility before.

Kai frowned. “Jensira was part of the Queen’s Guard. Perhaps the closest elf to the Queen. There was no reason to expect she might do something like this, but we also have no evidence that she didn’t kidnap you.”

Sterling flipped through the memories of the only mother she’d ever known. Jensira had been kind and loving, but maybe that didn’t mean anything. Perhaps she’d been jealous of the Queen’s baby and thought to take her for her own. If she had, she never would have done anything to let Sterling know the truth.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Another thought niggled at the back of her mind. How did Seraiah’s nightmare factor into all of this?

If Kai knew, he didn’t volunteer the information.

“When do you think we might go back there?” she asked. “To Nyrene, I mean.”

“Not any time soon. You aren’t ready. It isn’t safe there, and we will need your magic and likely an army to take back the city.”

There wasn’t much she could do about her lack of magic, but maybe there was something they could do about the army. “Why don’t we go somewhere else, then? We can’t gather an army in a city empty of people.”

Kai frowned. “We’re still looking for clues as to what happened here.”

“But we haven’t found anything. What if they all went south to the capital or if someone there might have heard something? We could work on our army and look for clues at the same time.”

“It’s a good suggestion,” he said slowly, “and I’ve considered it, but I would have to get Kestrel and Seraiah to agree.”

Sterling knew well enough from listening in on conversations that Kestrel wouldn’t be a problem. She wanted to get back to Nyrene as badly as Sterling did—maybe more. No, the problem would be convincing Seraiah. She knew Kai wouldn’t want to go against her sister. Sterling had seen the way the two of them looked at each other when they thought the other wasn’t paying attention. They were drawn to each other like moths to a flame. Something must have happened between them, but whatever it was, her sister refused to talk to her about it.

“For now, let’s get back to practicing your magic,” Kai said.

Sterling sighed, but closed her eyes.

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

Sterling’s eyes moved beneath her lids as she sat across the table from him, palms resting face up on the surface. In the few weeks since she’d asked him to teach her, they’d yet to be successful in calling her magic. He had tried everything he’d known to do, but none of it had worked.

It hadn’t been this hard for him when he was learning. The moment he’d reached for his magic, he’d felt its answering call. According to Sterling, she felt nothing, no matter how she tried.

Kai pursed his lips as he stared at her. It still troubled him how easily Gavaran had let her go. He hadn’t been able to make sense of it before, but now he wondered if this was the reason. Was there something wrong with Sterling’s magic or was there something else she wasn’t telling him? Perhaps she’d felt how strong it was and was afraid of it.

No, he decided. He’d know if she could feel it. His own magic would respond.

Kai tugged on his magic, feeling its sluggish response. It was better now that he was near her, but it wasn’t what it should be. If she had access to hers, his should be at full strength.

Sterling’s eyes popped open.

“Anything?”

She shook her head, looking down at the scarred tabletop.

“We can try again tomorrow if you want,” he offered. “It’s getting late anyway, and I know Kestrel likes you to get an early start.”

Sterling didn’t need to be told twice. She was up from the table and climbing the stairs so fast it was as though she couldn’t wait to escape.

He couldn’t blame her.

They’d all told her how powerful she was, and yet she couldn’t seem to harness any of it. He’d tried his best not to push her too much, but every day she remained unable to summon the magic, the more he worried.

With what power he had now, he would be unable to fix the portals by himself. Even with Kestrel’s help, he doubted they could do it. The longer the portals remained unattended, meant more opportunity for the barriers to fail completely. He feared whatever was the source of the winter weather here in Ratha and now Baromund would continue to spread. It wouldn’t be long before more creatures like the Varanem slipped through as well. They might even be here already.

Even before Sterling had brought it up, he’d been mulling over the idea of leaving Ratha. He didn’t believe he could gather an army in this world, as Sterling had suggested. Given the elves’ history with humans, he doubted any such conversations would go well, but it might be advantageous to be among others instead of isolated in an empty city. There was something to be said for safety in numbers, especially with the failing portals.

Kai drummed his fingers restlessly on the table.

Numbers may bring safety in some respects, but in others they also brought more danger. They wouldn’t be able to freely practice magic as they did here.

He’d spent enough time in the human lands while searching for Sterling to learn of the human king who hated magic. Even in cities a great distance from the capital, humans were afraid to so much as whisper the word for fear of punishment. Being found practicing magic would only make their problems worse, not solve them.

The fire crackled and hissed, shooting out a spray of sparks as a log broke apart.

There were many factors to weigh in deciding whether to leave, and Kai wasn’t sure it should be up to him.

Look at how everything in Nyrene had turned out. He’d lost control of the city and gotten them exiled. Many elves had died.

No, he should not be the one responsible for making the decision. He’d have to bring it to Seraiah and Kestrel as he’d told Sterling, because his judgment should not be trusted anymore.