Sabine

The dragon lock stared back at me, its iron eyes crusted with green tarnish. The book hadn't been opened in a long time.

I closed my eyes and held my hands above the tome. The air around it hummed and the energy around the chains and lock was thick and sticky. Both the chains and lock were spelled.

Reinier dismissed me from my studies until I could open the book and read it. Since then, the dragon and I had many staring contests. I kept losing.

With a deep breath, I focused on the threads of the magic. My fingers followed the small vibrations along one solid thread that tied the entire spell together. I sensed the natural energy that filled the spell, fueled by the earth itself.

If I could just sever the main thread...

I pinched the thread between my fingers, feeling it hum and tremble in my grasp. The energy was potent but now that I had it in my clutches, I could feel its weaknesses. Elemental earth magic was strong and steady but it could be crumbled apart by a single twisting fiber.

My magic swelled and I directed it to my fingertips. Like sprouting roots, magic wormed from my fingertips, burrowing into the thick thread and unwinding it.

Click!

I opened my eyes. The massive dragon lock stared at me still but now, it no longer bound the chains around the book.

I'd cast every spell I knew to unlock the blasted thing. Unweaving spells was harder than breaking them but it was a last resort.

Smiling, I opened the old, dusty tome and read the title of the book for the first time: A History of Weaponizing Magic in Telasia.

"Hmm..." I tapped my cheek and turned the yellowed, brittle page to the table of contents.

Chapter One: A History of Telasia's Military and Combat

Chapter Two: Telasia's Greatest Military Achievements

Chapter Three: An Introduction to Magical Warfare

Chapter Four: Weather Warfare

Chapter Five: Magical Maladies – Biological Warfare

Chapter Six: Weaponizing Magic on a Mass Scale

I closed the book without looking at the rest of the chapters. So, this was what the king wanted from me.

When I brought the book to Reinier, his eyes lit up and he set his pipe in a clay dish.

"Wonderful work. You got it open far quicker than any other pupil I've had. The ones who managed, anyway. The War Dragon held the record, until now."

"Is this the kind of magic I'll be studying from now on?" I slammed the book on his desk. His pipe clattered over and his goblet sloshed.

"As a royal mage, you are free to study whatever you'd like. This," he tapped the tome, "is what the king wants you well versed on for when you are called to duty."

"Called to duty?" My fingers curled around the edges of the book. "What does that mean?"

Reinier grinned and held his arms out to the sides. "You're in the service of the crown as a royal mage. A condition of your freedom, if I recall. You have all the privileges of a noble but you are still at the king's command, as are we all."

"Invisible chains," I muttered.

"What was that?"

"Nothing." I shook my head.

"Good. Get to work reading that book. I will test you on the advanced casting techniques and the history once you're done." He waved me into the corner where a stiff couch and a few dusty cushions were pressed against the wall.

I opened the book on my lap and began reading. The text was dry and full of facts and dates. It was hard to remember it all. I hoped Reinier would give me more time to absorb it.

The sun moved from one window to the next along the wall of Reinier's study. My eyes itched and I stretched my back until my spine popped. I rubbed my eyes and turned to Chapter Four.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Knock. Knock.

Master Reinier's study door opened and Prince Cole strode in. He barely cast a look in my direction before positioning himself in front of the royal mage's desk.

I went back to reading but I couldn't concentrate the moment the prince opened his mouth.

"My father sent me for a status report on your new pupil."

Reinier chuckled. "Are you concerned someone will unseat you at the top of the class?"

The prince growled. "No."

"Well, Sabine, what chapter did you make it to?"

"Chapter Four." I tapped the page.

The prince pursed his lips, his eyes narrowed at the text in my lap. "Already?" He muttered.

"Good, you're just getting to the good part. That's enough reading for today. The Prince seems to want a demonstration of what you've been learning."

"All you've taught me are the basics," I pointed out, snapping the book closed.

Reinier snarled a little and crossed his arms. "We both know you're more competent than that."

"As does the prince," I pointed out. "He was there when I stopped Princess Cara and her mages."

A smile tugged at the corner of Cole's mouth and his eyes slid sideways to me.

"I just want your personal assessment of her abilities. I don't need a demonstration." He waved his hand back and forth in front of his face.

"She's impressive. A natural-born talent with raw power that will soon surpass my own. You were foolish to keep such a rare find hidden in your quarters."

The prince scoffed. "What are the king's plans for her?"

Reinier rose from his desk, his arms firmly crossed. "What business is that of yours?"

"It is a question I'd like to know the answer to as well." I stepped forward, holding the book up.

"My lesson plan is the same for all royal mages. Prince Cole, you went through the same teachings and know what is to come. You do not need me to remind you. As for the king's specific plans for her?" He shrugged. "I do not know." He licked his lips and gave a sly smile.

I got the feeling he did know but he wasn't going to tell us.

"Very well, I've held up your lesson long enough." He turned to me and nodded. "Sabine."

"Sire." I nodded back.

The prince left abruptly and the door shuddered in his wake.

Reinier sat back in his creaking chair and sighed. "That is probably enough for today. I want you to finish reading the book before your next lesson. I'll drill you on histories and warfare magic, so make sure to study it diligently."

"I will." I collected the heavy book and headed into the hall.

"How are things going?"

I started and clutched the book to my breast.

Prince Cole emerged from the shadows in the hall, a wide grin stretching his lips.

"Why are you lurking about?"

"Is it wrong of me to take an interest in your well-being?"

"If I thought it was my well-being you were interested in..."

Cole stroked his chin and circled around me. Torchlight flickered on the walls behind him and with the sun nearly completely below the horizon, he seemed taller, more ominous.

"You wound me." He clutched his chest.

"The all-powerful War Dragon, wounded by a few words?" I arched an eyebrow.

The prince threw his head back and laughed. "Don't throw stones. The last I checked you were the one to overpower a fleet of mages and a Stivalian royal. I don't have that kind of power."

I shrugged and turned away from him. I knew he wasn't there to check on me. He was more interested in the king's plans for me, as he had been from the moment he found out King Talis took an interest in me.

"You know, for someone who spent the majority of their life as a slave, you certainly have adjusted to the life of a noble quickly." He kept pace beside me.

"I wasn't born a slave," I reminded him.

"You weren't born a noble, either. And yet your transition from rags and servitude to propriety and etiquette is unusual."

I lifted my chin and paused.

He stopped beside me. The prince took my chin in his thumb and forefinger. "I always knew you had a defiant streak."

I pulled away from him, no longer bound by the law to stand there quietly and obediently. "What does that matter?"

"It is rare for a slave to be freed at all, let alone elevated to noble status. You should be taking classes in etiquette, how to hold yourself, eat properly at a table, and interact with those who are equals and those below your station. Instead, you're learning magic from the most powerful mages in Telasia. From the sounds of it, you don't need lessons in either."

My arms tightened around the book at my chest. I kept walking and cast my eyes down.

"The first night you spent in the palace, I fed you a meal and you showed an unusual familiarity with proper dining etiquette."

"Why is this of such interest to you? My mother taught me things other than magic." I stopped myself from saying more.

The signs were there to indicate that my mother wasn't who she pretended to be. Had she taught me those things because she was royalty?

"It matters because you remain a mystery. As the head of Telasian military and defense, I am inclined to take an interest in anything mysterious."

"I wish I could tell you more but as you know, my past is a mystery even to me."

The prince nodded. "Of course."

He walked with me to the edge of the mage's wing, just before the hallway split. One way led to my quarters and the other led to the rest of the palace.

This was getting dangerous. If there were things in my past that would make me a threat to Telasia, I doubted King Talis or the prince would see my ignorance as a reasonable defense. I would end up back in a slave collar or worse, confined to the dungeons like Princess Cara.

For my own safety, I needed to know more about my mother and my family history.

"Is Princess Cara still being held in the dungeons?"

"Yes..." A deep crease formed in the prince's brow.

"Has she... said anything?"

"About what?"

I shrugged one shoulder. "About why she attacked the royal family?"

"She is being interrogated for information but so far, she's been silent."

"Interrogated?" I scoffed and shook my head. "You mean tortured?"

"She did the same to you."

I turned away from the prince and blinked against the stinging in my eyes. "Which is why I'd never wish the same fate on anyone else." Instinctively, I reached for the ghost of the collar at my neck.

The prince's warm, heavy hand came down on my shoulder, his strong fingers curled against the fabric of my dress, pinning it to my skin. I sucked in a sharp breath.

"If you hadn't stopped her, my entire family would be..." He sighed and I glanced up in time to see him close his eyes and shake his head. "You did the right thing."

I bit my lower lip. "It doesn't make it feel any less... wrong."

"No, it doesn't, does it?"