The Black Mage: Candidate (16 page)

One of the many things the palace scholars had endlessly drilled into me was the importance of a bride possessing certain
qualities
. Qualities that were becoming increasingly hard to keep during moments the two of us were alone.

A sad smile lit the prince’s features, and when he met my eyes it wasn’t what I expected. “Are you happy here, Ryiah?"

Panic gripped my lungs. Was something wrong? Why was he looking at me like that? “O-of course.”
Liar
.

“What you did last night.” Darren cleared his throat. “It was amazing. Ryiah, my father was impressed…”

I never heard what came next—it was all I could do to stand still and scream a silent thanks to the gods above. For a moment…for a moment I had thought Darren might be here to tell me the king wanted to call off our engagement.

“He would never go so far as to actually praise a lowborn’s actions, but he’s agreed to your attendance for the remainder of the Pythian negotiations. I convinced him the etiquette lessons weren’t necessary to your stay. You will be placed in the King’s Regiment instead.”

I hesitated. The conversation had taken an unexpected turn. “Darren, your father granted me leave until Blayne’s wedding. Did he rescind his offer?”

The prince stared at me, a crease forming along his brow. “No, but…I thought you would want to stay.” He ran a hand along his jaw and he seemed to be struggling against something unsaid. “Even after six months apart, you would still prefer Ferren? Even if you could be a part of the Crown negotiations and the palace regiment?”

I swallowed, an uneasy feeling entering the pit of my stomach. “I know you don’t want to be here, either. Not truly.” He had said it more than once.

Darren’s jaw clenched. “Did you even miss me at all, Ryiah?”

“You know I did.” I frowned. Two days before he hadn’t seemed the least bit disturbed when we discussed my return to the keep. “What’s wrong?”
What changed?

“The two of us might as well be strangers for all the time we have shared since our engagement.” Darren’s gaze seared into mine. “And once King Horrace finds out the Pythians have extended their visit? It’s too dangerous to patrol up north. Caltoth can’t be trusted not to retaliate. I don’t want you there if something happens.”

“If anything, the Caltothians will be
more
likely to hold off now that their alliance is at risk.” I studied Darren’s defensive stance. I didn’t believe for a moment he thought the keep was dangerous. There was something else bothering him, and I was determined to get to the bottom of it.

“Darren…”

He started towards the door, and then paused, still facing the wall. “When were you going to tell me
he
was stationed there, too?”

I balked, thrown off by the sudden change of topic. “W-what?”

“Ian.” The non-heir spun around to face me, and his eyes were twin pools of fire.

“Ian?”
Was that all this was? Jealousy? I wanted to laugh but Darren looked so serious I thought better of it.

“Commander Nyx’s monthly report to the Crown arrived this morning.” Darren didn’t bother to hide his disdain. “
His
name was mentioned in your patrols. I checked the records and he accepted a post and sent word the day after your ascension. If I were a betting man I would say it was because he heard you were to take up at the keep.”

“It’s been three years. Ian doesn’t still harbor those feelings—”

Darren gave me a pitying look. “Believe me, Ryiah, a man can carry the sentiment a lot longer than that.”

I folded my arms. “Darren, Ian grew up in Ferren. His parents are blacksmiths there.” He had never once indicated feelings of any kind, and he had been as surprised as I when I arrived at the keep.

“And yet you felt guilty enough to hide his presence?” The prince’s expression was dubious.

I balked in offense. “I wasn’t hiding anything! My younger brother Derrick is there, too. Do you think I am hiding him?”

“I’m not a fool, Ryiah.” Darren scowled. “I trust
you
but that lowborn’s timing cannot be overlooked.”

I glared at the prince. “Ian has never lied to me. He has been open and honest with his intentions since the day we met. Perhaps you are confusing his motivations with your own.” I pointed a finger at the non-heir accusingly. “You were the one who pursued me
after
Ian and I got together, not the other way around—in this context only one of you has ever behaved honorably and it hasn’t been you.”

Darren recoiled as if he’d been slapped. “I apologize for not being as honorable as
him
,” he snapped. “Not all of us had farmboy’s freedom to choose.”

“Darren, that’s not what I meant.” I scrambled forward to grab his wrist before he could storm out of the chamber. “Please.” I took a deep swallow. “Please believe me when I tell you that you have nothing to worry about.”

Darren’s expression softened. “I can have your brother stationed at the palace if that is what you wish.”

“I want to return to the keep, Darren.”

“Stay.” Darren weaved his fingers into my own. “I’ll make sure you have everything you need.”

I took a deep, steadying breath. “It’s not the same. The Crown takes precedence here. You can’t serve abroad. I’ve seen how little time you’ve had to yourself—even
you
have fallen behind in your training.”

Darren released me and fell back in reproach.
“I haven’t fallen behind!”

“And maybe I’m wrong.” I quickly retracted my words. “I just don’t want to squander my chance of winning the Candidacy.”

“Winning?” Darren arched a brow. “Love, I hardly think you need to worry about that.”

My face turned to flames, and before I could stop myself the words came spilling from my lips. “Why? Because
you
are the only one who can?”

“I believe you are a great mage, Ryiah.”

“But I’ll never be as good as you, is that it?”

The back of his neck was tinged red. “I never said that.”

I placed my hands on my hips. “You didn’t deny it either.”

Darren folded his arms and met my gaze head on. “This isn’t some game, Ryiah.”

“Some game?”
Hot rage sputtered from my lips before I could stop. “
How can you even say that?”

“Admit it, love.” His expression was dark. “The people who choose this career don’t do it for honor, they choose it for power. Prestige. The chance to make a name for themselves.”

I dropped his hand angrily. “And what makes you so different?”

“Expectation. I’ve spent a lifetime training for the role.”

Darren’s pride was so great he wouldn’t even acknowledge the
possibility
of me winning.

I swung my pack up over my shoulder. After everything we had been through Darren still managed to find just the right way to cut like a knife. There were words bubbling inside, words I knew I shouldn’t say but just then I wanted to hurt him. To hurt him like he had just hurt me. “You know the difference between a prodigy and a prince, Darren?”

His mouth formed a thin, hard line.

“You can have the best training, the best tutors, the private lessons during the apprenticeship with Master Byron, everything that the rest of us—even the highborns—never had.” My voice caught and I forced myself to continue, eyes blazing. “But none of that guarantees you a victory. None of that makes you a prodigy. It just means you were
privileged
.”

A flare of anger. “You have no idea what it’s like—”

I cut him off, a new surge of indignation rising to the surface. “You know what? You are right. I probably won’t win
the
Black Robe. But at least
I
will earn my place in that tourney. You? Well, you’ll never know. Because a boy with the world at his feet? He’s never truly earned anything.”

“Better to be the boy with the world at his feet than the reckless lowborn who wouldn’t amount to anything without my help.”
Darren’s snarl was the last thing I heard before the door slammed shut in my face.

He didn’t come back to apologize. I know because I waited. After fifteen minutes of hating myself, Paige burst through the door.

The knight ignored my red-rimmed eyes and started to drag me by the arm toward the castle exit.

“You’ll have plenty of time for that on the ride back.” For once she spoke without sarcasm, but her pity only made it worse.

I wiped my eyes, determined to keep from crying until we were on the road, and I could blame it on the bright winter sun. I didn’t want any of the servants to report back to Darren. I needed to look strong; I wanted the court to remember my moments standing up against the Pythians, not the crippled girl who let a prince get the best of her.

“Let’s get out of this place.” I would prove him wrong. The non-heir might have helped me initially, but I had clawed my way up from the very bottom rung of the Academy, and I wasn’t done. I had earned my rank and my potential was improving every day. I could still win.

He is just jealous.

Darren was falling behind, and I was in no mood to play the doting wife. I wasn’t going to remain at the palace to appease his insecurities. He could fret over Ian all he wanted. I would train in the north, and while Darren was busy with Crown affairs, I was going to pass his blasted potential and shock the whole country when the former lowborn Ryiah was declared Black Mage instead. And only after I wiped that insolent smirk off his face would I accept his long, drawn out apology.

Because wrapped up in conceit the size of Jerar was
my
Darren. Somewhere. Deep,
deep
down. And that part I loved. With every bit of my being.

I just vehemently hated the rest.

Paige and I were five feet away from the palace doors when I realized who was waiting at their exit.

Would I never be free of the Crown?

I approached with caution. “Blayne.”

“So full of distrust.” The crown prince made a clucking noise at my leery expression. “And to think I came bearing gifts.”

I fought every instinct I had not to scoff. Any present from him was not without its price. I waited for him to reveal this “gift.”

The young man dug a drawstring purse from the satchel in his hands and tossed it my way. I reached out to catch it and almost dropped it from the unexpected weight.

Peeking inside I saw the leather pouch was stuffed to its brim with coin. Not just any coin, but gold. Enough to feed a village for a lifetime—enough to feed several villages, in fact. My arms sagged under its bulk, and it was all I could do not to gape.

“What—how?”

“It’s all my father would allow.” Blayne sounded pleased. “It’s not much, of course, but you did ask my brother for aid. For the north.”

“The north,” I echoed, still not quite comprehending the wealth in my hands. I had forgotten all about my request until this moment.

“Consider it a parting gift. After your speech the last night, it was the least that I could do.”

“T-thank you, truly—”

Blayne waved his hand in disregard. “Our interests are the same, Ryiah. Perhaps now you will be more willing to forgive the transgressions of our past.”

I nodded dumbly and watched as he peeled himself off the wall and faded into one of the corridors behind.

I finished stuffing the satchel into my now-overflowing pack and followed Paige to the waiting stable-hands and our mares outside.

She waited until we had passed through the palace gates and the main city onto the King’s Road itself before she finally spoke her opinion aloud.

“I thought you hated him.” She didn’t bother to say whom.

“I…” I paused. Anger at Darren was still taking up the majority of my thoughts, but Blayne was confusing me as well.
What was he up to?
Everything he did was surprising me. More than once he’d had the opportunity to make my stay difficult, and yet everything he did had been in my best interest. I didn’t trust him, but it really did seem as if he were trying to make amends.

I studied the white tree line ahead of us. “My feelings don’t matter one way or the other.” Blayne was to be king regardless. “If he wants to claim amity, who am I to refuse?”

Chapter Nine

When Paige and I returned to the keep, our arrival was met with enthusiasm. Correspondence from the capital had preceded our arrival, but the commander and her regiment were eager to hear the news first hand.

“Of course a treatise hasn’t been signed,” I finished, fumbling under the commander’s intense scrutiny. I could never tell what she was thinking. “But the Pythians agreed to extend their visit, and even their ambassador believes it is only a matter of time.”

“Well, this is quite a…development.” The commander grasped a hot mug of cider tightly in hand. “I think I speak for most when I say none of us anticipated this news.” She paused and took a long sip from her cup. Her knuckles were white. “We hoped, of course, but hope never wins a war.”

“That’s not all.”

The woman’s eyes bulged as I took out Prince Blayne’s purse and emptied its contents onto the table between us.

“W-what’s this?” she breathed.

“I petitioned Dar -the Crown- to help the North… The king couldn’t grant as much as I’m sure the border towns need—but I was hoping this would help?”

“Help?” The commander stared at me, studying my face for a sign of what, I wasn’t sure. “It has been a great many years since the north received attention from the Crown.” She inhaled sharply. “This will go a long way towards rebuilding their villages. I continue to underestimate your value to our keep.” She paused in afterthought. “And the Crown.”

“I-it wasn’t just me.” I scratched at my arm. I never would have even thought to ask without Ian’s prompting, and it was Darren and Blayne who had actually seen to the favor. I tried to explain, but she wouldn’t let me finish.

“We live in a world of kings. Like it or not, not everyone’s request would make such an impression.” Her expression was detached. “My men have sent the same petition for years, and this is the first time King Lucius has ever granted an exception.”