Out of the Mountain (11 page)

***

Back in my room, I paced the floor at the foot of my bed for a long while. Kieran had the staff and even after all this time he seemed to be right back on track with his plan—whatever that may be. He had waited years for his opportunity, and I was the one who had inadvertently given it to him. I absentmindedly thumbed the coin at my neck that Master Liung had given me. What would these people think of me if they knew I had given the enemy his weapon and was drawing him to their door?

The next morning I awoke to find a single flower on the pillow next to my head. A tiger lily. I smiled at the sentiment and picked the lily up to smell it, immediately thinking of Rowan. It was odd, but the thought made me smile just the same. If only Rowan was leaving me flowers to wake up to! I snorted aloud at myself before throwing back the covers and hopping out of the bed.

It was officially my birthday! I was twenty, a mature adult by law and magical standards (if I had any to speak of), responsible for myself in every way. Before all of this happened, my birthday was going to be important. It was going to mark my freedom from the mountain, and I was going to go off on journeys like in the books I read and find myself and my purpose on this earth. The irony of my current situation was not lost on me. I was already on my journey, finding myself as trapped as ever.

I saw a package on my desk and rushed to open it. I laughed when I saw that it was only more training gear and got dressed with single-minded purpose to take control of my life today. How I was going to do that I was unsure, but it comforted me to think I had a chance. I pulled open my door and let out a yelp when I saw Farran waiting on the other side.

“Surprise!” he yelled, dragging me back into my room and waving his hand at my bed. I watched as packages appeared in front of me.

“You’re back!” I yipped happily, glad to see him.

“Of course I am. Just had to get a few things for the birthday girl while I was gone.” He winked, pointing to the stack of gifts. “Go ahead! Open them!” he said cheerfully, and my smile faltered. I suddenly felt awkward and overwhelmed. The monks didn’t give birthday gifts, and there were a lot here. I wasn’t sure how to respond.

“This is too much,” I said, trying to count the packages that seemed to keep appearing.

“I missed a lot of birthdays,” he replied sadly, and my heart ached.

“You didn’t have to do this,” I protested, and he snorted.

“I know I didn’t have to, and besides, these are things I kept put away for when I could celebrate with you safely,” he said, smiling shyly. I blinked back tears and shook my head, reaching for a package. I couldn’t help but feel kind of excited. The first I opened was a doll, handmade with beautiful shining buttons for eyes and ribbons for hair.

“This was your doll as a child, the one from the story. I added to it with your father’s and mother’s clothing . . . ,” he said, and I hugged it to me before laying it on my pillow. He beamed, handing me more gifts to open. There was an array of gifts, from small to large. I opened a set of hairpins that were my mother’s, a stationary set that was originally King Killian’s, my mother’s favorite boots, my father’s satchel filled with drawings of the forest and palace, of me and my mother. I tucked them back into the pocket of the satchel to peruse later. I teared up again when I came upon a ring made from the metal of my mother’s and father’s wedding bands joined together.

“I had that made recently,” he said as I slipped it onto my thumb. I smiled when it felt like it belonged there.

My eyes widened when I opened the set of daggers next. The larger of the duo’s blade was the length of my forearm, the hilt was ornately carved into what appeared to be the eyes of a tiger, and two sapphires were set into each side, mimicking my own eye color uncannily. The smaller blade was the length of my hand; it curled at the end of the thin hilt, like the swishing of a tail. They were beautiful.

“These were made for my mother and passed down to yours. Your mother made a sheath for the smaller one in her boot.” He smiled ruefully as he pointed out the boots that were lying on the bed.

“The other fits into either of these, depending on the occasion,” he continued, pulling a set of sheaths from the box, one for the waist and the other for the thigh. I laughed at the idea of wearing it at all, but when I touched the blade, I saw a flash of something. Good and comforting magic, as pure as light.

“This is amazing,” I said honestly, pulling him into a hug, which he returned easily.

“I’m glad you like them,” he replied, and we heard a knock at the already-open door.

“My apologies for the interruption, but the princess is needed at training,” Rowan said, eyeing the dagger on my lap.

“Don’t worry, I won’t hurt anyone with it,” I joked, and he almost smiled.

“I am more worried that you will injure yourself with it,” he quipped, and I laughed out loud. Had he just made a joke? Farran’s eyes were as wide as mine.

“Did he just make a joke?” he asked, echoing what I had been thinking, and Rowan turned walking away from us without a word.

“I think he did, right? Or was it an outright insult?” I asked.

“I can’t be sure,” he replied.

***

When we arrived at the training field, I saw that there were quite a few obstacles set up. I tried to make out what they were, but the other novices were already there and chorused a “Happy birthday!” before converging on me in a wave and blocking my view. I laughed happily at their welcome, feeling almost giddy.

“Here, I made you something,” Briony said as she attempted to hand me a small box.

“Oh, you didn’t have to do that!” I said nervously. The presents from Farran was one thing; this was different.

“Oh, relax, it’s just something small!” Briony rolled her eyes, pushing the box into my hands. I smiled tentatively at her before I opened it and saw a large wire-wrapped tigereye stone attached to a long chain.

“It’s beautiful. I love it!” I told her as I slipped it over my head.

“I’ve had that particular stone for years. I knew I was saving it for something!” She laughed. I pulled her to me in a hug, fighting off an odd mix of emotions as I did so.

“Tigereye is considered the bravery stone. It supports courage, self-confidence, optimism, and it empowers the will as well as brings good luck. Along with the obvious tiger connection, I figured you could use all of that as well . . .” she whispered, and I nodded with a laugh. A tiger lily, a tiger stone, tiger daggers . . . I was noticing a recurring theme, but I didn’t mind.

“I thought we could have a little fun today.” Silas slapped his big hands together in excitement as more guards began showing up. I spotted Adelaide with Rowan once more and stiffened before mentally chastising myself. I didn’t like their proximity, but I had no right to be angry over it. I tried to relax myself as I watched the newcomers make their way to us as well.

“Vivienne, this is Malachi, Tamora, and Tasmin.” He continued, pointing to them in turn. Malachi had features that looked chiseled out of stone, he wasn’t a lot taller than me, but his body was thick with muscle. His jawline was square, and he had deep-blue eyes framed by long dark lashes that I instantly envied. His dark hair was buzzed close to his head and there was a sneaky smile on his full lips. He blew a kiss my way, and I stiffened, unable to stop myself from blushing as I smiled timidly at him in return. Tamora shoved him off balance before smiling and nodding tentatively at me. She was thick with muscle as well and her dark hair was cut short and tucked behind her ears. Tasmin looked like a carbon copy of Tamora with much less muscle and much longer hair. I did a double take.

“Yes, we are twins,” Tasmin said with a rueful smile as Rowan and Adelaide joined the group. I looked the twins over again quickly and decided I had never seen two people who looked so much alike and so different at the same time.

“There are three others in our troupe, but they are on duty today and have to miss out on the fun,” Tamora grumbled rolling her eyes as if she would rather be on duty as well.

“Tamora is all work and no play,” Malachi whined. He drew my attention as he looked me over from head to toe before crossing the distance between us and reaching out to grab my necklace with his hand.

“Lovely,” he said with his eyes still on me.

“It was a gift from Briony,” I said, looking to her for help. She shrugged, looking instead to Rowan for his reaction.

“Do not even think it. She is much too young,” Rowan warned and Malachi laughed.

“Maybe for you. I am only a few years older than our lovely princess, and besides, twenty means she’s fair game for all!” he joked, clapping Tamora on the back, and I blushed again, which only made his smile grow. There was a spark of anger in my stomach at Malachi for pointing out my age difference to Rowan, and I didn’t want to dwell on why it mattered to me. I barely knew him—any of them, really. I needed to get myself together.

“Stop it, Malachi,” Silas barked, and to him Malachi listened. Luca placed himself firmly at my side and bumped my shoulder. I returned the gesture with a grin, happy to be making friends.

“OK, let’s get down to it!” Briony yipped with excitement in her voice.

“Yes, let’s begin the obstacle course!” Silas clapped, leading us to the opposite end of the field and the starting point.

The first obstacle was a series of walls that were meant to be scaled. One with ledges, one with a rope, and the last was just a curved ramp wall that had to be taken at a full run, so that you could jump up and hopefully grab the ledge, pulling yourself to the top. From there you crawled in what looked to be mud under a long fence pushed close to the ground. Past that was a thin and long log you had to keep your balance on as it moved freely, connected to poles allowing it to spin, at the end of which you had to jump onto a log turned up on its base. From there you had to jump from log to log, varying heights and distances, until you made it back down to the other side and safely back to the ground. Last but not least, there was a series of hurdles leading to a long jump over a pit of fire. No big deal. I gulped loudly, unable to stop myself.

“The two people who finish fastest get to pick teams in the tug of war,” said Silas happily. He was loving this. “Who wants to go first?”

“I’ll go,” said Finley, and we all stared, surprised at his confidence. He walked slowly to the starting line and abruptly vanished, and in his place was a giant hawk. Its wingspan was impressive as it flew easily over the course and landed at the end.

“Tada!” he said with a flourish when his original form replaced the hawk.

“That was awesome!” I exclaimed, unable to help myself. Everyone laughed at my expense, but I didn’t care. Finley was the first Shuni who had shown me his form. It was one thing to know that something was real, but to see it . . . wow!

“You haven’t seen anything yet, sweetheart.” Malachi grinned at my enthusiasm.

“That doesn’t count, does it?” Joel complained.

“No, it certainly doesn’t,” Silas replied. “Now get your butt back over to the starting line and get ready, boy,” he continued, and Finley groaned but complied. The obstacles proved to be much harder in human form, and he had a few hiccups but made it to the end once more. I watched as the rest of the novices went first and when it was my turn I was more than ready. Everyone had done well so far, with a few stumbles here and there. Some had problems with the ramp wall, and some had problems with balancing on the log. I felt confident that I was about to kick some major butt. These were the sorts of things I was taught as a child. Speed, agility, balance . . . I had learned all this in different forms multiple times over, and watching them had given me more than a few ideas of how to easily get through this course.

“You ready, Princess?” Silas asked, and I nodded, trying to act more humble than I was feeling at the moment. I could practically hear Master Liung in my head. “Always remain humble, for when you do not . . . your failure will come as no surprise to any but yourself.”

I centered myself at the starting line, tucking the necklace into my shirt and quickly entering the zone I found when training with Master Tatsu. All outside distraction slipped away, and when Silas yelled, “Go,” my entire body sprung forward like it had been coiled. I flew over the first wall with ease, jumping midway to a foot hold and using that leverage to catapult myself up and over the wall. I released a breath, dropping to the other side, and I grabbed the rope using my body as leverage to easily pull myself up and over, never stopping from one obstacle to the next. I ran up the ramp to the last wall, jumping as high as I could before grabbing the ledge and swinging myself to the top.

I felt exhilarated, as I always did when entering this state of mindfulness, and slid down the back side of the ramp quickly. I dove into the opening under the log fence, giving myself some extra push, and shimmied through the mud, not caring how much of a mess I would be afterward. In a stroke of genius, I turned on my back and pushed with my arms and legs as I used the top of the logs to propel myself faster through the tight space.

I slid out from under the logs quickly, jumping up and leaping onto the spinning log and running across it with ease. I had mapped out the easiest course through the jumping logs by watching all the others, and while it wasn’t exactly fair, I equated it to scouting. I sped through, making it easily to the ground.

I let out one last burst of speed as I made the hurdles and vaulted far over the pit landing in a crouch that would have done Master Tatsu proud. The outside world came rushing back as I let go of the transient state and smiled. I could have done that in my sleep. I turned and bowed low to the others as a joke, but when I saw the looks on their faces my smile quickly fell. After a moment of silence I felt the tension building in the air.

“My turn!” barked Malachi, running for the starting point. I joined the others who had ran the course, and they laughed, easing the tension I had been feeling.

“That was amazing!” Briony clapped and I shrugged.