“Princess Esofi?” asked Adale. “Are you going to be all right?”
“Let me,” said Lexandrie, and Esofi was suddenly aware of her cousin’s emerald eyes boring into hers. She brought their faces close together, and when she spoke, it was almost inaudible.
“Talcia has given you a gift,” Lexandrie hissed, too quietly for any but Esofi herself to hear. “And yet you are not satisfied because you believed yourself entitled to gaze upon her face? To waste her time with your impertinent questions? In a single grand, unprecedented gesture, she has shown Ieflaria that she favors you, and you still have the gall to pity yourself? You’re lucky there’s a room full of peasants here, else I would strike some sense into you!”
Esofi looked up at her cousin in shock. She was right, of course—and sounded eerily like Queen Gaelle. The only thing that had been missing from her speech was a comment about her weight. Esofi allowed her cousin to pull her back to her feet, and cleared her throat.
“All citizens who were visited by the goddess must report for training, even if they do not intend to become battlemages. Until construction of a university is complete, we will meet…” Esofi realized she had no idea where she could host the impromptu lessons. “—in the courtyard of the Great Temple of Talcia, I think. The priestesses should not complain.”
“They will have little reason to,” said King Dietrich.
“Then someone send for the instructors I brought and tell them their services are required,” said Esofi. Archmage Eads made a hurrying gesture to his apprentices, and they both bolted from the room, elbowing each other to be first. “All of the newly gifted citizens are to report to the temple immediately. I know you have livelihoods to attend to, but we simply cannot risk one of you losing control of your gift and causing harm to others.”
The new mages were quietly herded out by the medics to be taken to the temple by an escort of castle guards.
“We should send out heralds,” said Archmage Eads. “There could be more of the newly gifted scattered all across the country. They will need to be brought in or teachers sent to their towns.”
“How serious is the prospect of someone losing control?” asked King Dietrich.
“It is difficult to say,” admitted Esofi. “Traditionally, mages learn it when they are children. But these people have gone their entire lives with little need for mental discipline. We can only hope they have naturally cultivated the traits that make a good mage. Perhaps it is why they were selected by the goddess.”
King Dietrich was quiet for a moment, and Esofi could not guess what he was thinking.
“I would never have dreamed this would happen,” she added in a softer voice. “Especially so quickly.”
“Nevertheless, we should be able to turn it to our advantage,” said Captain Lehmann. “How long does it take for a mage to be fully trained?”
“A lifetime,” said Esofi. “It is like being a scholar. You will reach the end of your natural lifespan before you run out of knowledge to acquire. But if you’re asking how long before they are battle-ready…I could not say. I only know how our children are trained. I hope an adult will learn more quickly.”
“And then if they refuse to fight?” asked Lexandrie sharply. “You heard that woman. How will we convince them to fight dragons when they’ve spent their entire lives being laborers and craftsmen and shopkeepers? If protecting their own existences won’t compel them, what will?”
“Money,” said Adale. She looked a bit surprised when everyone stared at her, but then she shrugged. “It’s true, isn’t it? How much do we pay our soldiers? Offer them that, or maybe even more. Not all of them will accept, but many will.”
The doors opened again, and a wave of noise assaulted the healing ward—the sound of a woman screaming. There was a flurry of movement as the healers rushed forward, only to freeze at the sight of Lady Svana, her body awash in emerald magic that lashed out with glittering tendrils.
But Lexandrie was already moving, crimson light gathering at her hands. With just a few smooth motions, Svana and her magic were enclosed in a bubble. Only then did Esofi see that Svana had not come alone—her twin brother was just behind her, more emerald light streaming off him. For a moment, Esofi thought Lexandrie had not completely contained Svana’s magic, but then she realized that this magic, though identical in color to Svana’s, was Brandt’s.
“Oh no,” said Adale.
“You must calm yourself,” Lexandrie was saying to Svana through the ruby barrier. “Throwing a tantrum will only make it worse because control is dependent on your—stop screaming or I’ll drop this barrier and slap you!”
Svana fell abruptly silent, probably from sheer surprise, and the emerald light vanished. Lexandrie let the barrier down and Esofi stepped forward, hands out. Svana rushed into her arms, sobbing piteously. Esofi instinctively drew a handkerchief from her pocket and pressed it to Svana’s face.
“You’re going to be fine,” Esofi soothed. “Both of you. You’ve been given a gift; there’s nothing to be afraid of. And I’ll help you.”
“Brandt,” said King Dietrich. “When did you and your sister discover this?”
“It was that servant’s fault!” seethed Brandt. “Svana and I sent him to get tea, and it must have been half an hour before he returned. Naturally, we were upset. We’ve come to expect a higher quality of service.”
“So you threw a tantrum and the magic came,” said Adale.
Brandt turned on her, eyes full of rage. “I did not—” began Brandt, but now the emerald light was back, crackling around his face.
“Adale,” said Esofi reproachfully. “Perhaps it would be best not to provoke your cousins until they’ve learned to control their gifts.”
Adale looked like she wanted to object, but in the end, she was silent.
“You need to go to the temple,” Esofi told the twins. “That’s where we’ve sent everyone who has suddenly manifested a gift. We’re going to teach you control, so you’ll be safe.”
“You’ll come with us, won’t you?” warbled Svana.
“Of course I will,” soothed Esofi.
Svana seemed to brighten up a little. She sniffed deeply and wiped her eyes on a nearby servant’s sleeve.
“Is there any chance we can get it done before sunset?” she asked. “Brandt and I have a ball to host, after all.”
A CROWD OF curious citizens had gathered before the steps of the Temple of Talcia, but from the excess of guards that had been posted, it seemed that they were not being allowed on the temple grounds. Esofi supposed it was for the best. As much as the people might want the reassurance of their goddess, it wouldn’t be wise to have jittery citizens in the same building as a group of newly blessed adult mages.
Still, as the guards escorted her and the twins from their carriage to the courtyard, Esofi hoped that the archpriestess would come out and address the people soon.
The Rhodian mage instructors were waiting just inside the temple, speaking to each other in low, serious tones. The benches that normally filled the center of the temple had all been moved to one side in order to create a wide-open area. This was where the civilians had gathered.
Esofi approached the mages. They looked about as stunned as Esofi felt. Still, they bowed as she neared, though their eyes were somewhere far away.
“We are ready to begin when the last of the students arrive,” explained one of them. “Of course, we don’t know when that will be…”
“Then begin now,” said Esofi. “There’s no point in wasting time.”