“That’s enough!” Paige stepped in front of me to glare at the soldier. “She isn’t useless, and your shouting isn’t going to help her any so why don’t you shut your big, ugly mouth before I am forced to do it for you!”
I swallowed. She was wrong. I was useless. This wasn’t about my pride. I couldn’t care less what that soldier or any of his friends thought of me. I was a fool to wish for conflict. The gods had done this on purpose to punish me. Silly girl wishes for battle to impress the others and this is what she gets. Stuck, useless, listening as innocents are slaughtered just a few paces away.
All my years of training had never prepared me for this.
I was helpless.
I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know how. I didn’t know anything.
My whole body was erupting in shakes and anxiety was seizing my veins. Think, Ryiah. I fought against the fear that was building, praying to the gods that my knees didn’t give out in the face of my panic. I have to do something.
My audience’s faces danced in and out of my sight, blurring and clearing as I held still. I couldn’t do this now. I needed to be strong. I needed to think of something. Not to impress the others but to save them.
“My lady,” Paige said softly, “you can’t save everyone.”
She was right. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t try. I breathed in and out through my nose, ten times. Then I squared my shoulders. “Everyone away from the boulder now!”
Three soldiers that had been trying to climb scattered and the rest backed away from the rock. I strode forward and placed my palms directly against the rock. Normally I wouldn’t need to touch something to cast, but the amount of magic I was about to attempt would require every advantage available.
Let’s hope I haven’t reached my potential yet…
Clenching my eyes shut I called upon my magic slowly, piece by piece like kindling to a flame. I built up the projection in my mind, fanning the image until it was as real as the object pressed against my hands. I envisioned the casting I wanted to create, taking extra care to make sure my magic was equally projected along the five points in my mind.
Then I took a step back and threw my energy into the cold, gravelly surface for all I was worth.
The boulder started to… quiver? It was emitting just the slightest tremor, and I could hear the murmur of voices behind me. I dug my heels into the ground and forced my mind into a blank slate, wiping out the commotion of noises and smells and the beads of sweat condensing along my brow line. I ignored everything but my magic and strained against the headache that was building and building…
My legs started to tremble, blood pounded against my temples, a rush of hot and cold swamped my skin… but I kept focus and clenched my jaw, forcing my magic to stay with me even as I was ready to fall.
Someone gripped me by my armpits and held as my body set into convulsive shakes. “It’s working,” Paige whispered.
I peeked out beneath my lashes, and I fought to stay calm. I had never even remotely attempted something this heavy during my apprenticeship. Darren had, but even he had his limits. The rock was close to four tons—and the most I had ever lifted was two. Still… the boulder was hovering—albeit very shakily—a couple inches above the ground.
By the gods!
Behind me I could vaguely hear Avery giving orders for the others to take off their extra mail and plates. I swallowed. They needed at least a foot and a half—not two—to fit through the small crawl space.
“Paige,” I croaked. “Your knife.”
My knight wasted no time in placing the weapon into my shaking fist. I pressed the sharp edge into the palm of my hand. Lightly. Feather-soft at first, careful not to exert too much pressure and collapse the casting I had worked so hard to control.
The rock jolted for just a moment. It jumped another inch, and then three, before settling back a couple inches above the ground.
Ignoring the gasps behind me I let Paige take on the brunt of my weight as I dug the blade deeper and deeper—until blood was dripping down my wrist and the pain of metal against bone and muscle was almost too much to bear.
I opened my eyes again and saw the boulder was hovering two feet above the ground. Everyone was crawling as fast as they could to reach the other side.
A flare of white slammed against my eyes and everything became muted… Past experience taught me I had only seconds before my magic would end.
I stuck out the casting for as long as I could, gritting my teeth and willing it to stay, praying the others had finished making it across. The slight tremors in my legs and arms became sporadic jerks, and Paige struggled to hold on as I lost control of my limbs. I couldn’t stop my body’s response to the magic much longer...
No. I had to hold on. You can do this, Ryiah. I braced myself against the darkness for as long as—
Paige’s awed voice broke the silence: “They made it, my lady, you can let go now.”
And so I did.
Chapter Four