lisa sat cross-legged on her dorm room floor, a small bowl of her own blood in front of her. Three drops. That's all she figured she'd need to make this spell work. The goal was simple: turn the blood in the bowl into a projectile that wouldn't make her look like a complete psychopath when she used it.
"Sanguis, lun, vitae," she whispered, drawing the spellsign in the air above the bowl.
The blood shimred, then rose, forming a small, pulsing red sphere that hovered at eye level.
[Hell yes. Step one: don't fuck up imdiately. Check.]
But as she prepared to move to the next stage, Vira's voice sliced through her concentration.
"You're the princess's fucking advisor. You live in the Academy. You've got it made."
Sothing like that, though maybe lisa was making it sound angrier than it was.
The blood sphere wobbled dangerously.
"Shit," she muttered, frantically retracing the spellsign to stabilize it.
[Focus, lisa. FOCUS.]
This was the third ti her thoughts had drifted back to that conversation at the Full Moon Inn. Two days had passed, and she still hadn't figured out how to approach Aria again about Koros.
Which ant the execution was tomorrow.
The blood sphere quivered with her anxiety, picking up on her emotional state like so kind of fucked-up mood ring.
She took a deep breath and tried again.
"Sanguis, mutare, forma."
The blood sphere stretched and reshaped itself, forming a small, crimson bird that flapped its wings experintally.
lisa smiled despite herself. Creating shapes from blood was an advanced technique, one she'd been practicing for weeks. The bird wouldn't last long—maybe a minute at most—but it was progress.
The hope, obviously, was that she'd soon have so badass blood swords or blood daggers or blood whatever to work with, once she got this spell down.
The tiny creature fluttered around the room, leaving a faint trail of red particles like so morbid fairy dust. lisa watched it, montarily distracted from her worries.
A knock at the door shattered her concentration. The blood bird dissolved mid-flight, its essence splattering harmlessly to the floor where it quickly evaporated.
[Dammit! I almost had it that ti.]
"Who is it?" she called, not bothering to hide her irritation.
"ssage delivery," ca the response.
lisa sighed and got to her feet, wiping her hands on a towel before opening the door. A young page boy stood there looking like he might piss himself—probably because everyone knew this was the nim mage's room, and rumors about her were getting wilder every week.
"From Her Majesty," the boy said, thrusting a sealed letter at her like it might bite him. "She requests a prompt response."
lisa took the letter, recognizing the royal seal imdiately.
"Thanks," she said, already breaking the seal as the boy practically sprinted away.
The letter was brief and to the point:
lisa Blackfla,
I have given consideration to our previous discussion. I believe I have a solution that may satisfy all parties concerned. Please attend at the palace at your earliest convenience today.
Aria, Queen of Syux
lisa read the letter twice, her heart racing.
[She found a solution? For Koros?]
She glanced at the clock. Just past noon. Raven wouldn't be back from her training run for at least another hour. Plenty of ti to visit the palace and return before her roommate noticed she was gone... Maybe. Not that Raven would care too much, but still.
lisa quickly changed out of her practice clothes into sothing more suitable for a royal audience—though nothing too formal. One of the perks of being the queen's unofficial advisor was that Aria didn't stand on ceremony with her.
Ten minutes later, she was hurrying through the Academy gates, the queen's letter tucked safely in her pocket.
Queen Aria was in her private study when lisa arrived, surrounded by maps and reports. The bags under her eyes suggested she hadn't been sleeping well.
[Guess that makes two of us.]
"lisa," Aria greeted her, setting aside a report. "Thank you for coming so quickly."
"Your Majesty," lisa said with a small bow. "Your letter said you had a solution?"
Aria gestured for her to sit in the chair across from her desk.
"I do." The queen leaned back, studying lisa with those sharp grey eyes. "But first, I need to know sothing. Why do you care what happens to Koros? He tried to kill your family."
The direct question caught lisa off guard. She considered her words carefully.
"I don't care about Koros," she admitted. "Like I said before, I... I care about his sister. And about what his execution might an for nim-human relations."
Aria nodded, seemingly satisfied with the answer.
"Right. If I execute him, I make him a martyr. If I pardon him, I appear weak and invite more attacks." She tapped her fingers on the desk. "A dilemma."
"So what's your solution?" lisa asked.
"A trade." Aria's face gave away nothing. "I spare Koros's life, commuting his sentence to life imprisonnt, and in exchange, you provide a service to the crown."
lisa felt she probably should have seen this coming.
[Okay... Here we go.]
"What kind of service?"
Aria gestured to one of the maps spread across her desk.
"The darian attacks are becoming more frequent and bolder. The most recent raid hit a village called Villhem, near the eastern border. I've sent troops, but they'll need magical support."
"You want to go to Villhem," lisa said flatly.
"Yes. For two weeks. You'd be attached to Captain Fenris's unit as a combat mage."
[Just like Armia.]
lisa weighed it. Two weeks of military service in exchange for Koros's life. Aria spares the nim murderer without looking weak, lisa is portrayed by the papers as the "nim who went to war for another nim", though not everyone will take that kindly due to Koros's cris, but the nim in the city might appreciate the gesture.
Not a bad deal, all things considered.
And honestly, she was curious about the darians. Armia's mandatory service had changed sothing in her, given her a new perspective. Maybe lisa could gain sothing similar.
"Is that all?" she asked, waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Aria's lips quirked in a small smile.
"You'd be under military command, required to follow orders. I understand that's asking a lot."
"When would I leave?" lisa asked.
Aria's brows shot up.
"You've... made your decision? Already?"
"Yes," lisa nodded. "To be honest, I've been curious about the war for a while. Seeing it up close... Well, might be a bit closer than I would have wanted, but it's not horrible."
She nodded.
"Tomorrow morning. Which would an Koros's execution is postponed indefinitely until the official commutation is processed." Aria's eyes glead. "Convenient timing, wouldn't you say?"
By postponing rather than imdiately commuting, Aria gave herself leverage to ensure lisa actually went through with the mission. Clever.
"And if I refuse?" lisa asked. More out of curiosity than any intention to do so, given that she fully intended to go through with this. Aria, judging by her smirk, picked up on this fact.
"Then Koros loses his head at dawn, and we both deal with the consequences." Aria shrugged. "But I don't think you'll refuse."
"I'll do it," she said. "On one condition. I want a written guarantee that Koros will be spared if I complete this mission."
Aria smiled properly then.
"Already prepared." She slid a docunt across the desk. "Read it thoroughly. I expect nothing less."
lisa did, checking for any loopholes or tricks. But the agreent was straightforward: in exchange for her magical services with Captain Fenris's unit for a period not to exceed fourteen days, Koros's death sentence would be commuted to life imprisonnt.
She signed it.
Aria took the docunt and added her own signature, then her royal seal.
"It's done," the queen said. "Report to the eastern barracks at dawn tomorrow. Captain Fenris will brief you on the situation."
lisa stood, preparing to leave, but Aria stopped her with a raised hand.
"One more thing, lisa. Be careful out there. The darians aren't like the Shadow Mages or nim rebels. They're warriors born and bred. And they particularly dislike magic users."
"I'll keep that in mind," lisa replied, wondering what exactly she was getting herself into.
As she left the palace, her mind raced with preparations. She'd need to pack, tell her parents and friends where she was going, and maybe get in one last night with Isabella before leaving.
She smiled at that last thought. Isabella would probably insist on "giving her sothing to rember her by" before she left for the border.
But beneath the practical considerations and anticipation of Isabella's farewell, a deeper question nagged at her.
Was she making the right choice? Trading her safety for the life of soone who had tried to kill her family?
[Too late to second-guess now.]
She quickened her pace.
She had a lot to do before dawn.
Reviews
All reviews (0)