It was a relief to be inside, even if the walls and ceiling appeared to be ice. The lack of wind made it feel much warmer.

Paydamat stopped in the centre of the room and turned to face the two of them. “Conjuration or enchantment? Not mentalism I think, despite your recognising my spell.”

Meleng blinked. “What? Oh, yes, you’re right. Enchantment.”

Paydamat nodded. “We will put you both in the same section then.”

There were three doors—all of ice—in the room, one in the centre of each of the other three walls. Paydamat went to the one to the right of the entrance. She gave it a light push and it swung open. She stood to the side to let Meleng and Sinitïa pass.

Meleng motioned to Sinitïa to go ahead and then followed her. He stopped at the door to look at a symbol carved in it. It was like a narrow slice of pie, the upper straight edge running horizontal, with the point at the left. Inside the pie slice were two parallel vertical lines, the one on the right having a small hook at its top. The lines were like the symbols used in enchantment magic, though Meleng didn’t know the meaning of these ones.

“Enndir,” Paydamat said. “It means enchantment.”

“Thank you,” Meleng said.

Paydamat merely nodded, and Meleng followed Sinitïa into the hall beyond. Fevionawishtensen followed them and closed the door.

Paydamat led them down the corridor, up a flight of stairs, and down another corridor. The walls, ceiling, and even the floor of this storey were all ice, though the floor was not slippery. Meleng found himself wanting to run a finger along the walls to check to confirm they really were ice. There were occasional markings on the walls, all of them enchantment markings. It was unusual for such markings to be carved directly into a surface, since they only needed to be traced with a finger to a work. He wondered if they were carved in for a reason, or if they were just intended for decoration.

“It’s getting warmer,” Sinitïa said, pulling away her scarves and shawls.

She was right. He had been too busy pondering the walls to notice, but it was much warmer now.

“Yes, it is,” Paydamat said.

Sinitïa scrunched her nose. “But it’s all ice.”

Meleng pulled his left hand out of his coat. The feeling had returned now. He ran a finger along the wall. It was either ice or something with the same properties.

“Ice is a good insulator,” Paydamat said. “Plus, spells are in place to both raise the temperature and keep the ice from melting. Your rooms will gradually adjust themselves to temperatures you each find most comfortable. Be patient though. It can take a few hours.”

Meleng gaped. “The magic here is unbelievable.” And he doubted anyone here would be willing to talk to him in detail about how it worked.

“So I have heard,” Paydamat said. She stopped in front of a door. “This will be your room, Sinitïa. Meleng Drago, yours is the next one.”

“I get my own, separate room?” Sinitïa said.

“Of course,” Paydamat said.

Sinitïa clapped her hands. “Finally!” She looked at Meleng and blushed. “Sorry. It’s not that I don’t like sharing a cabin, but…”

“It’s fine. You deserve your own space.” He’d be glad to have his own space too.

Paydamat bowed her head to Sinitïa. “I will take my leave of you, Sinitïa. I am sure we will speak again soon. Pleasant thoughts.” She placed a left hand over her chest.

Sinitïa curtsied. “Thank you, Lamdir Paydamat.”

“The correct custom is to place your left hand on your chest as I have done.”

Sinitïa grimaced. “Sorry.” She quickly placed her hand over her chest.

“No apology necessary. You will learn. Meleng Drago, I would ask to speak to you privately.”

Meleng nodded. “Sure.”

“We will go in your room.” Paydamat motioned to Fevionawishtensen. “Remain out here.”

“Is it okay if I talk to her?” Sinitïa asked.

A flash of annoyance passed over Paydamat’s face before she turned to Sinitïa with a smile. “You will not have the benefit of my translation spell. She will not understand you.”

Sinitïa frowned. “Oh, okay. I don’t get why people speak different languages. Everyone should speak the same one.”

“Alas, it is not the way of things.” Paydamat turned back to Meleng and motioned to the next door in the hallway. “Shall we?”

Meleng nodded. “I’ll see you soon, Sinitïa, okay?”

“See you soon,” Sinitïa said with a wave.

Paydamat loomed beside him, somehow looking down at him even though she was the shorter. Meleng nodded to her again and hurried over to his door. There was no door handle like the other doors in the building, so he tried giving it a push. It swung open without resistance. He stepped through and Paydamat followed.

“Hi! I’m Sinitïa!” was the last sound from the hall before Paydamat pushed the door closed again.

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Meleng took a quick look at the rest of the room. It wasn’t large, but it was bigger than the cabin he’d been sharing for the past few weeks. There was a single window in the wall opposite the door and a mattress lay on the floor in a corner. There was also a stool and a small table, and not much else.

“It is clear Princess Sinitïa Alessia Deanna Folith does not understand the gravity of her situation,” Paydamat said, “but I am quite certain you do.”

Meleng groaned. “You mean the extent of her potential and how she could accidentally tap into it, and...um...cause a lot of damage?”

Paydamat glared at him. “What else would I mean?”

Meleng gulped.

“Why has she not been trained? And don’t give me some nonsense about royalty not being allowed. Such a ridiculous rule places people in jeopardy.”

“We didn’t know!” Meleng said. “Honestly. Humans can’t see magical potential the way Isyar can. We have to test people for it.”

Paydamat scowled. “I am aware of this.”

“I didn’t know until Jorvan saw her just before we started this trip. I—” Meleng dropped to his knees, his legs moving of their own accord. “I...what…” He had to gasp at the words, his mouth and throat unwilling to follow his instructions. He stared at Paydamat. What had she done to him?

Paydamat stepped up to him. “I am not interested in your protestations. You have put Isyar at risk, people I am responsible for. Does anyone else know she is untrained?”

Meleng coughed as control of his voice returned to him. “Just Jorvan, and it might have been mentioned to a couple of the Isyar who came to the ship to help unload it. But they didn’t believe it.”

Paydamat snarled. “I hope for your sake, you are right. If this causes a panic…” She turned away from him, going silent for a moment before hissing, “Oh, and the name of the Isyar you travelled here with is Jorvanultumn. You would do well to use his proper name.”

“Yes, sorry, force of habit.”

“He may not mind you mangling his name—even I don’t mind all that much—but there are others here who will take great offence, and you do not want that.”

“I’ll make sure to say it properly from now.” Meleng tried to move, but his legs and feet would still not respond.

Paydamat continued to face away from him. “And Princess Sinitïa Alessia Deanna Folith?”

“I’ll make sure she doesn’t tell anyone she can’t cast spells. We’ll try to hide it. And I intend to get her trained. Jorvan and...Jorvanultumn and I have discussed it. But I need to find her a teacher and there hasn’t been a chance yet. It’s not like an Isyar here would train her, right?”

Paydamat glared back at him, and Meleng gulped.

“I...I’d teach her myself, except…”

She turned to face him again. “Except?”

Meleng sighed. “She wants me to teach her, but enchantment’s not a good choice for her. She’d never be able to handle the equations. If I tell her that, though, she’ll think I’m calling her stupid, so it’s been hard to explain—”

“That is your problem, not mine.” Paydamat sighed. “However, I accept that enchantment is not a good choice for her, and there is little more you can do while she is here.”

Control of his legs returned and Meleng nearly fell over.

“Stay close to her. Watch her.” Paydamat’s tone had switched from harsh to comforting. “Make certain she doesn’t experiment with her abilities. And keep her calm. Extreme emotion can cause her to accidentally access her potential.”

Meleng climbed to his feet. “Yes, Jorvanultumn has told me the same.”

“It is more than either of us should be saying, but these are extenuating circumstances. Just look after her.”

Meleng nodded hastily. “I will.”

Paydamat placed her hand over her chest. “Pleasant thoughts, Meleng Drago.”

Meleng repeated the gesture. “Pleasant thoughts, Lamdir.”

She walked to the door, reached for it, but stopped and turned back to him. “I am sorry if I frightened you. However, she…” She took a deep breath. “She terrifies me, and she should terrify you too.” She bowed her head, then turned back to the door. It swung open in the opposite direction to how it had swung before, and she walked out.

Meleng closed his eyes for a moment and shuddered. He stumbled over to the mattress and sat down on it.

She had taken control of his body away and he hadn’t even noticed her do it. Mentalism was a very subtle discipline—he knew this—but when Felitïa cast spells, it was still possible to notice her small movements. There had been nothing with Paydamat. Nothing at all.

There was a knock at the door.

Meleng realised he was still shaking and did his best to stop. “Yes?”

The door opened a little and Sinitïa peered in. “Hey. I heard shouting. Is everything okay?”

Meleng nodded. “Yeah, yeah, it’s fine.”

She frowned and her usually wide eyes drooped. “You don’t look fine.” She hurried over to him, sat beside him, and put an arm around him. “You’re shaking.”

He must have been shaking a lot to feel it through the heavy coats he was still wearing, though she had removed hers, so that was one barrier gone, he supposed. “I’ll...I’ll be fine.”

She put her other arm around him and hugged him close, her face close to his. “Did she hurt you? What did she do? I’ve never seen you like this.” Tears were forming in her eyes.

“She didn’t hurt me. She just… She was angry.”

“About what?”

How was he supposed to tell her that it was because of her and her potential? How could he scare her like that? No extreme emotions, Paydamat had said. “I’ll tell you later, okay? I promise. I just need some time to...to process.”

She nodded, the tears dripping down her face now. She touched his face and wiped tears away from his eyes. “Okay. You don’t have to tell me right now.”

He forced a smile, then leaned forward and kissed her forehead. “Thank you.”

She smiled and blushed a little. “Better not let Miana see you do that.”

He groaned. “Sorry.”

She giggled. “It’s okay! Friends can kiss, silly. I kiss you all the time.”

It was true. She often gave him little kisses on the cheek or forehead. He had never really paid it much attention, though he had never done it back before.

She laid her head on his shoulder and hugged him tight again. “I don’t think I like Paydamat very much anymore.”

He should change the subject, avoid her getting angry. He’d never seen Sinitïa angry—not really angry—and he didn’t want to. He wanted her to stay happy. Could too much happiness count as an extreme emotion too? It probably did. Gods, what was he going to do? He wished Jorvan was here.

“Did you talk to Fevionawishtensen?” he asked.

She raised her head. “Yep! She didn’t understand me though, so she didn’t say anything. She smiled at me a couple times though, especially when I mentioned Jorvan’s name. Don’t worry, I was good and called him Jorvanultumn.” She smiled at him. “Do you want to go meet Etiënne like we planned? It might help you feel better, but we don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

“Let’s do that,” Meleng said. It would be a good way to distract her—and him too.

She kissed him on the cheek, then jumped to her feet. “I’ll go put my outdoor clothes back on. See you in a couple minutes!”

When she was gone, Meleng buried his face in his hands and let the last shivers from his encounter with Paydamat expire themselves. It seemed to take ages, but eventually they faded and stopped. One more thing to have nightmares about, he supposed. He was getting used to nightmares.

He stood up and went to join Sinitïa and Captain Gen.