{lisa}
Syux looked exactly the sa.
The carriage rolled through the city gates, past the guards who nodded respectfully at Zephyra’s sigil, and into streets lisa had walked a thousand tis. The sa rchants hawking their wares. The sa children running between legs, though a bit bigger now. The sa mix of humans and nim and kitsune going about their lives.
But sothing was different.
Billboards.
Massive painted fuckin’ signs on the sides of buildings, showing a pink-haired kitsune with a smug grin holding up a polished wooden wand.
"SUMR WANDS," the text proclaid. "MAGIC MADE EASY."
Isabella’s face was everywhere.
[Of course she plastered her face all over the city while I was gone. Of course she did.]
lisa laughed despite herself. It felt good to be ho.
The summons ca before she’d even finished unpacking.
A palace ssenger knocked on her door, delivering a scroll sealed with the royal crest. Queen Aria requested her presence imdiately.
So much for settling in first.
---
The throne room was emptier than lisa expected. No nobles lining the walls, no petitioners waiting their turn. Just Aria on her throne, a handful of guards, and Zephyra standing off to the side.
lisa approached and knelt.
"Your Majesty."
"Rise." Aria’s voice was warm, but her posture was formal. This was official business. "Court Sorceress Vortell has inford of her intention to resign."
Zephyra stepped forward.
"I’ve served Syux faithfully for many years, Your Majesty, but the ti has co for to pursue other interests. I formally tender my resignation, effective imdiately."
A murmur from the guards. Zephyra quitting wasn’t public knowledge yet. This would be news by nightfall.
"I accept your resignation with gratitude for your service," Aria said. The words were ceremonial, rehearsed. "Do you have a recomndation for your successor?"
"I do." Zephyra gestured toward lisa. "I recomnd lisa Blackfla. She has the power, the principles, and the trust of the crown necessary for this position."
Aria’s grey eyes found lisa’s.
"Do you accept this recomndation?"
[This is really happening.]
lisa’s throat was dry.
"Your Majesty, I’m honored, but I’m not sure I’m qualified to—"
"You saved my father’s life," Aria interrupted, her voice softening. "You cured a plague that would have killed thousands. You helped root out the Shadow Mages from my court." She paused. "And you did all of that before you turned twenty-one."
"That’s... I had help. I wasn’t alone—"
"Exactly. You inspire loyalty. You build alliances. You see the best in people while remaining clear-eyed about threats." Aria stood from her throne and descended the steps until she was standing directly in front of lisa. "I trust you, lisa. Completely."
[... Jesus.]
Their eyes t. Behind the formal mask, lisa could see the woman she’d kissed before leaving for Foxhollow. The woman who’d admitted this trip felt like a vacation because she got to spend ti with lisa.
"Will you accept?"
lisa took a breath.
"Yes, Your Majesty. I accept."
Aria smiled, small but genuine.
"Then by the authority vested in as Queen of Syux, I na you Court Mage, with all the rights, responsibilities, and resources that position entails." She raised her voice for the guards. "Let it be known throughout the kingdom."
Just like that, lisa beca the first nim to hold the position of Court Mage in Syux’s history.
The news spread fast.
By evening, it seed like everyone in the city knew. lisa’s na was on every tongue, in every tavern, in every noble household. So reactions were celebratory. Others were less so. But the appointnt stood, backed by the queen’s authority.
Isabella found her first.
"COURT MAGE!" she shrieked, launching herself at lisa the mont she walked through Javir’s door. "My cousin is the fucking COURT MAGE!"
"Isabella, I can’t breathe—"
"This is amazing! This is incredible! Do you know what this ans for my wand sales?" Isabella pulled back, her eyes gleaming. "I can put ’Official Supplier to the Court Mage’ on my advertisents!"
Armia arrived next, still in her knight’s uniform. She’d passed her trials, lisa realized. The royal guard sigil glead on her chest.
"Congratulations," Armia said, offering a formal bow. "Court Mage Blackfla."
"Armia, you don’t have to—"
"Protocol demands respect for your new station." Then, Armia smiled. "Okay, but seriously, congrats. That’s huge."
They hugged as well.
Raven was last.
She waited until the others had left, until lisa was alone in the hallway heading to her room. Then she stepped out of the shadows like she’d always been there.
"You’re back."
"I’m back."
They stood facing each other. Raven looked the sa as always, black hair, grey eyes, that perpetually blank expression. But sothing was different in the way she held herself.
"I felt strange while you were gone," Raven said. "Lost. I didn’t know what to do with myself. Javir gave work, protecting so scholar, but it wasn’t..." She trailed off, struggling for words. "I felt antsy."
"Raven."
"I think I missed you." She said it like she was reporting a weather phenonon. Sothing strange she’d observed and didn’t fully understand. "To a normal degree or not, I’m... not sure."
lisa crossed the distance between them and pulled Raven into a hug.
Raven stiffened at first, then slowly relaxed into it.
"Yes," lisa said. "That’s normal. I missed you too."
"Good." Raven’s arms ca up, awkwardly patting lisa’s back. "Don’t leave again."
"I’m not going anywhere. I promise."
---
That night, lisa stood on her balcony, looking out over Syux.
The city sprawled beneath her, lights twinkling, repelling the dark. Sowhere out there, Isabella was probably celebrating. Armia was standing guard at the palace. Raven was with Javir, probably.
And lisa was Court Mage.
[Court Mage. . The nim girl from a tiny village who, prior to that, was a human that got hit by a truck and woke up in a fantasy world.]
She thought about Sylra. About the choice she’d made in that clearing. About what it ant to stop soone who genuinely believed they were doing the right thing.
She thought about the position she now held. The resources at her disposal. The libraries she could access, the research she could conduct, the magic she could develop. More than any other mage in Syux, maybe more than any mage in the world.
She thought about her three wishes. All achieved, in their own ways. She had power she’d never dread of. She had lovers who cared about her. She had a family, both blood and chosen.
But the road ahead wouldn’t be easy. Being Court Mage ant responsibility. It ant making hard choices. It ant being a symbol whether she wanted to be or not.
Syux had changed her. She’d arrived as a scared kid with theories about magic and dreams about making a difference. Now she was one of the most powerful people in the kingdom.
And she’d changed Syux too. Nim children would grow up knowing that soone like them had reached the highest levels of magical authority. That it was possible.
The weight of it settled on her shoulders.
[I’ll do my best. That’s all I can promise. But I’ll do my best.]
She stayed on the balcony until the stars ca out, watching over her city, as court mage.
... Yeah, that was gonna take so getting used to.
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