force I can’t control. One force that
reminds me on the coldest nights that I'm still human.
My curiosity. My need to know more.
So, unable to control
it, I stand . “What of his niece?” I ask
directly.
Garl looks
momentarily confused . “His
niece?”
“Yin, the woman that
was brought in with him. His apprentice, the sorcerer,” I add with
a certain kick to my voice.
“She's nothing,” Garl
says without a pause. “We will see if she can be trained, and if
she can't, she will be dealt with.”
My eyebrows descend
low over my eyes . “And Castor Barr is
happy with this?”
“Castor knows his
duty. Now he understands the import of this situation, he is
committed to training the Princess, just as any good soldier would
be. He is willing to sacrifice everything to save her so that she
can sacrifice everything to save us all.”
The General's speech is compelling, and if I didn't
have direct experience of Castor and Yin, I would believe it. But
as it is, I can't.
I've seen the way Castor looks at me, and I've seen
the way he protects Yin. I could not imagine a man like that
walking away from someone he considered his own child.
“I see,” I say
carefully. “But who will train her? I know from experience that she
is . . .” I press my lips together briefly,
“boisterous.”
“One of the
trainers,” Garl says dismissively. “Now, I suggest you neaten
yourself up and go to the palace. The record keepers are waiting
for you. And once you are done with them, you will go and attend to
the Princess.”
I salute. As I do, I feel a twinge of nerves track
down my back.
Could this be real? By this afternoon, could I
actually be a guardian of the Savior?
It seems too fantastic to believe, but then again, it
doesn’t appear as if the General is lying.
I will simply have to find out.
As I salute and leave, I try to focus on what I have
to do next. Yet I can’t completely dismiss my curiosity. It's not
directed at the Savior, but at Yin.
Though I can easily conclude that she's one of the
most tiresome people I've ever met, a part of me is sorry I won't
be the one to train her. For a part of me, as wild as it sounds,
almost enjoyed facing off against her fire.
There was
something . . . almost
invigorating about standing next to her and not being
burned.
But with a sigh, I realize it's time to push those
thoughts away and look towards the future. For the future has just
changed completely.
Chapter 12
Yin
I wake early that morning, but they don't open my
door until midday.
For hours I sit there with no food, no water, and
nothing but those drab stone walls to keep me company.
At first I feel desperate, then I feel defeated, and
then, well, I feel angry.
I stay angry.
But the more that anger grows, the more I notice
something odd. Whereas at first the enchantments protecting this
room hold my magic back, the more I fight against them, the more it
works. Though the power still won't coil from my bangle, leap
across my skin, and sink into the stone, soon I can make them hiss
and crackle just under my flesh. I can feel them, see them, and
hear them. The more I try to push them out, the easier it
becomes.
As I sit there facing the door, I keep calling on the
power within until I hear the bolt grate back.
I expect to see Yang. In my mind, nobody else will
come to torment me.
But it isn't him. In fact, it isn't a man at all.
With soft footfall, a woman enters my room.
She is much older than me, possibly in her early 50s,
but she has an elegant grace about her. She's slim, and her
silver-flecked black hair is kept tied back in a neat bun adorned
with a jade studded comb. She's in a delicate light blue robe with
gold and black trimming, and she holds herself just like a statue.
I've never seen a back straighter, and nor have I seen an
expression haughtier.
“Who are you?” I ask
bluntly, in no mood to be polite. But then again, when am I ever in
a mood to be polite?
The woman
reminds me on the coldest nights that I'm still human.
My curiosity. My need to know more.
So, unable to control
it, I stand . “What of his niece?” I ask
directly.
Garl looks
momentarily confused . “His
niece?”
“Yin, the woman that
was brought in with him. His apprentice, the sorcerer,” I add with
a certain kick to my voice.
“She's nothing,” Garl
says without a pause. “We will see if she can be trained, and if
she can't, she will be dealt with.”
My eyebrows descend
low over my eyes . “And Castor Barr is
happy with this?”
“Castor knows his
duty. Now he understands the import of this situation, he is
committed to training the Princess, just as any good soldier would
be. He is willing to sacrifice everything to save her so that she
can sacrifice everything to save us all.”
The General's speech is compelling, and if I didn't
have direct experience of Castor and Yin, I would believe it. But
as it is, I can't.
I've seen the way Castor looks at me, and I've seen
the way he protects Yin. I could not imagine a man like that
walking away from someone he considered his own child.
“I see,” I say
carefully. “But who will train her? I know from experience that she
is . . .” I press my lips together briefly,
“boisterous.”
“One of the
trainers,” Garl says dismissively. “Now, I suggest you neaten
yourself up and go to the palace. The record keepers are waiting
for you. And once you are done with them, you will go and attend to
the Princess.”
I salute. As I do, I feel a twinge of nerves track
down my back.
Could this be real? By this afternoon, could I
actually be a guardian of the Savior?
It seems too fantastic to believe, but then again, it
doesn’t appear as if the General is lying.
I will simply have to find out.
As I salute and leave, I try to focus on what I have
to do next. Yet I can’t completely dismiss my curiosity. It's not
directed at the Savior, but at Yin.
Though I can easily conclude that she's one of the
most tiresome people I've ever met, a part of me is sorry I won't
be the one to train her. For a part of me, as wild as it sounds,
almost enjoyed facing off against her fire.
There was
something . . . almost
invigorating about standing next to her and not being
burned.
But with a sigh, I realize it's time to push those
thoughts away and look towards the future. For the future has just
changed completely.
Chapter 12
Yin
I wake early that morning, but they don't open my
door until midday.
For hours I sit there with no food, no water, and
nothing but those drab stone walls to keep me company.
At first I feel desperate, then I feel defeated, and
then, well, I feel angry.
I stay angry.
But the more that anger grows, the more I notice
something odd. Whereas at first the enchantments protecting this
room hold my magic back, the more I fight against them, the more it
works. Though the power still won't coil from my bangle, leap
across my skin, and sink into the stone, soon I can make them hiss
and crackle just under my flesh. I can feel them, see them, and
hear them. The more I try to push them out, the easier it
becomes.
As I sit there facing the door, I keep calling on the
power within until I hear the bolt grate back.
I expect to see Yang. In my mind, nobody else will
come to torment me.
But it isn't him. In fact, it isn't a man at all.
With soft footfall, a woman enters my room.
She is much older than me, possibly in her early 50s,
but she has an elegant grace about her. She's slim, and her
silver-flecked black hair is kept tied back in a neat bun adorned
with a jade studded comb. She's in a delicate light blue robe with
gold and black trimming, and she holds herself just like a statue.
I've never seen a back straighter, and nor have I seen an
expression haughtier.
“Who are you?” I ask
bluntly, in no mood to be polite. But then again, when am I ever in
a mood to be polite?
The woman
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