from Gowar,” piped up Ispin.
“And I’m from the islands east of here,” Rain said. “The
Tsalski Islands. My parents came here when I was little
and never left.”
“So much to take in,” Yasmin said quietly, resting her
cheek on her hand, observing the vegetable map. “So what
do you do here?”
The three looked at her, puzzled.
“What do you mean?” Petre asked her.
“What do you do? For fun, I mean.”
“Well, I used to go to Moon Bay and the Paw Islands all
the time,” Ispin said, his boyish face lit up with
excitement. “With my mother, father and younger sister.
She’ll be joining the Academy when I leave.”
“Moon Bay and the Paw Islands?” I asked. “Where are
they?”
Petre pointed to a spot to the east of Castor.
“Why are they called the Paw Islands?” Theresa asked.
“Because they’re four islands shaped like a paw,” Ispin
explained. “And Moon Bay is in the shape of a crescent
moon.”
“White sands stretching for miles,” Rain said with her
eyes closed, a thousand years away. “Water so clear you
can see the bottom of the ocean. And the Paw Islands have
the most magnificent wildlife-“
She was cut off by a bell.
“I take it that means dinner is over,” Dena said,
standing up. “Thank you for talking to us. This is all a bit
new.”
I nodded in agreement.
“Our pleasure,” Petre said pompously. “See you
tomorrow in class.”
“I’m going to head to the stables,” I told Dena and
Theresa. “Do you want to come with me?”
Turned out they wanted to head to the library, which I
was yet to investigate and so I headed to the stables alone.
They were alight when I got there, soft light glimmering
with no visible source.
Echo was waiting for me as though she remembered my
promise. Her ears flicked forward when she saw me, and
when I produced the two carrots I’d stolen from the mess
hall, she reached over to lift them neatly out of my
outstretched palm. As she crunched on them, I let myself
into her stall, pulling my hood off of my head and finger
combing my hair. I was glad Larni had found me a cloak;
the night was brisk with a taste of frost.
Finished with the carrots, Echo began inspecting me to
see if I had any more secreted on my person. I giggled as
she whuffed my hair, nibbling bits of it.
The sound of the stable door opening and closing made
me remove Echo’s teeth from my hair. I peered around
her, curious as to whom this visitor was.
It was Phoenix.
For some inexplicable reason, I hid. Because we were
soul mates, his horse’s stall was right next door to Echo’s. I
heard him pass the stall, inches above my head. Echo
snorted at him as he passed.
“Validus,” he murmured, and I frowned for a second
until I realised that was what he’d called his horse. “It has
been a strange day.”
His horse whickered in reply. I heard the stall door
open and close, and glanced up fearfully. Between each
stall were wrought iron bars; I could see Phoenix standing
next to his horse. If he looked down and saw me...
I could just stand and announce my presence, I
thought. But then it was weird, because I’d hidden. I
decided it would be best to remain in the straw. Echo
lowered her head to sniff me curiously.
Phoenix remained there for the better part of an hour,
murmuring to Validus, sometimes in English and
sometimes in a language I didn’t understand; for the first
time I noticed he had an accent unlike Ispin or Rain. I
curled up in the straw, pulling my cloak over me. Beside
me, Echo was beginning to go to sleep, bored with me. I
felt my eyelids drooping, and after a while I noticed that I
was alone in the stable with only slumbering horses for
company.
~
“No, the energy comes from the heart,” Yu snapped at
us. “Your whole diaphragm. Use it!”
I focussed once again on the target that I had been
assigned. Yu was teaching us how to project our magic.
This involved standing in a stance that was making my
legs wobble and ache. I
“And I’m from the islands east of here,” Rain said. “The
Tsalski Islands. My parents came here when I was little
and never left.”
“So much to take in,” Yasmin said quietly, resting her
cheek on her hand, observing the vegetable map. “So what
do you do here?”
The three looked at her, puzzled.
“What do you mean?” Petre asked her.
“What do you do? For fun, I mean.”
“Well, I used to go to Moon Bay and the Paw Islands all
the time,” Ispin said, his boyish face lit up with
excitement. “With my mother, father and younger sister.
She’ll be joining the Academy when I leave.”
“Moon Bay and the Paw Islands?” I asked. “Where are
they?”
Petre pointed to a spot to the east of Castor.
“Why are they called the Paw Islands?” Theresa asked.
“Because they’re four islands shaped like a paw,” Ispin
explained. “And Moon Bay is in the shape of a crescent
moon.”
“White sands stretching for miles,” Rain said with her
eyes closed, a thousand years away. “Water so clear you
can see the bottom of the ocean. And the Paw Islands have
the most magnificent wildlife-“
She was cut off by a bell.
“I take it that means dinner is over,” Dena said,
standing up. “Thank you for talking to us. This is all a bit
new.”
I nodded in agreement.
“Our pleasure,” Petre said pompously. “See you
tomorrow in class.”
“I’m going to head to the stables,” I told Dena and
Theresa. “Do you want to come with me?”
Turned out they wanted to head to the library, which I
was yet to investigate and so I headed to the stables alone.
They were alight when I got there, soft light glimmering
with no visible source.
Echo was waiting for me as though she remembered my
promise. Her ears flicked forward when she saw me, and
when I produced the two carrots I’d stolen from the mess
hall, she reached over to lift them neatly out of my
outstretched palm. As she crunched on them, I let myself
into her stall, pulling my hood off of my head and finger
combing my hair. I was glad Larni had found me a cloak;
the night was brisk with a taste of frost.
Finished with the carrots, Echo began inspecting me to
see if I had any more secreted on my person. I giggled as
she whuffed my hair, nibbling bits of it.
The sound of the stable door opening and closing made
me remove Echo’s teeth from my hair. I peered around
her, curious as to whom this visitor was.
It was Phoenix.
For some inexplicable reason, I hid. Because we were
soul mates, his horse’s stall was right next door to Echo’s. I
heard him pass the stall, inches above my head. Echo
snorted at him as he passed.
“Validus,” he murmured, and I frowned for a second
until I realised that was what he’d called his horse. “It has
been a strange day.”
His horse whickered in reply. I heard the stall door
open and close, and glanced up fearfully. Between each
stall were wrought iron bars; I could see Phoenix standing
next to his horse. If he looked down and saw me...
I could just stand and announce my presence, I
thought. But then it was weird, because I’d hidden. I
decided it would be best to remain in the straw. Echo
lowered her head to sniff me curiously.
Phoenix remained there for the better part of an hour,
murmuring to Validus, sometimes in English and
sometimes in a language I didn’t understand; for the first
time I noticed he had an accent unlike Ispin or Rain. I
curled up in the straw, pulling my cloak over me. Beside
me, Echo was beginning to go to sleep, bored with me. I
felt my eyelids drooping, and after a while I noticed that I
was alone in the stable with only slumbering horses for
company.
~
“No, the energy comes from the heart,” Yu snapped at
us. “Your whole diaphragm. Use it!”
I focussed once again on the target that I had been
assigned. Yu was teaching us how to project our magic.
This involved standing in a stance that was making my
legs wobble and ache. I
Similar Books
