“No mention of Windwalkers,” Alyss muttered. “He’s not going to have to compete in these trials, is he?”
Eira knew exactly who Alyss meant when she said he. “Of course not; they’re not going to send the empress. And Cullen is the strongest, oldest, and most skilled of the Windwalkers that have awoken. He’s the only viable option.” Eira grimaced. “Maybe we shouldn’t sign up. If we were chosen, we’d have to compete alongside Cullen.”
“It’d be worth putting up with him as a teammate for a chance to compete against the other sorcerers from other kingdoms,” Alyss said with a shake of her head.
“If you have any questions, please direct them to your instructors. Good luck, everyone. You have a chance to represent Solaris on the greatest stage ever known,” Fritz finished, his voice echoing overhead with the weight of destiny.
5
Eira and Alyss weren’t the only ones curious about what “sign-ups” meant. The next evening they hovered with other apprentices up on the walkway where they’d listened to Fritz the night before. All eyes were focused on the board surrounded by a ring of fire.
“I wonder if this counts as the first trial,” Alyss said.
“Hmm?” Eira had yet to look away from the sign-up board.
“The minister said there would be five trials to narrow down the candidates to four final competitors. I wonder if crossing the fire counts as the first trial.”
“I don’t think so. He said the trials would begin after sign-ups.”
“Oh, right. He did.” Alyss glanced up from the wood she was magically whittling away, a rain of sawdust pooling at her feet. “Look, he’s going to try.”
A young apprentice walked forward, hesitating at the edge of the flames. He had the capped sleeves of a Firebearer. Yet, apprehension radiated off of him. He looked like he was barely fifteen.
Naturally occurring fire, water, wind, and earth couldn’t hurt sorcerers within their own affinities. A Firebearer couldn’t be burned by the flame of a candle, or flames they created. However, if the fire was created by another sorcerer, then it became a battle of strength.
Focus overcame the young man’s face. Sweat dripped down his neck as he stared intently at the flames. They flickered, wavering a moment. He stuck his hand forward and pulled it back with a hiss. The fire roared, brighter than before. The young man walked away, dejected, giving up on signing his name.
“Not strong enough.” Alyss clicked her tongue. “Interesting. I wonder who’s making that fire.”
“Does it matter?” Eira asked, watching the next young woman approach.
She was a little older, and far more confident. She raised her hand and the flames parted, shrinking to a dull smolder around the board at their center. The apprentice passed over them, unharmed, and wrote her name on the list. From where Eira was standing, she counted about ten Firebearers’ names.
“Of course it does.” Alyss frowned. “Because it means they already have front-runners for competitors.”
“How do you figure?”
“Think about it. Someone is making that flame that they’re using as a benchmark for power. Who? Likely the person that they think would be strong enough to represent the Tower.”
“So that’s it then. We have no shot.” Eira wanted to feel relieved. But the fantasy of being a competitor and going to Meru clung to her with determination.
The young woman left the circle of flames to a small round of applause. She bowed with a flourish and then stepped aside for the next person to try.
“Of course that’s not it.” Alyss glared at her. “We’re going to be competitors, you and I. You have two days to practice for whatever they’re going to throw at you. I only have one.”
“Right…” Eira murmured. But her mind was already on what would block her sign-up board in two days. No…her mind was on who was behind it. Was it Fritz? That was the likely choice. But Eira had a nagging feeling deep in her gut that she knew who would be making the barricade for the Waterrunners. She pushed away from the wall.
“Where are you going?” Alyss called up after her.
“To see my brother.”
Marcus was with Cullen in the library. They sat facing each other, each on a different sofa, huddled around the fireplace on the right-hand side of the room. Eira could see them well before they would see her. Perhaps because of the bookshelves. Most likely because she was an unwanted person and they were too engrossed in each other’s conversation to notice her.
“…I’m just not sure if my parents will really let me go,” Marcus said quietly.
“Of course they will,” Cullen whispered back. “Look, you said you wanted to make a name for your family, right? This is the chance of a lifetime, and a supreme honor. You’ll be representing all of Solaris. This is what you’ve been waiting for.”
“But my sister… I told my family I would—”
“Your sister can look after herself.”
Eira never thought she’d find herself agreeing with Cullen. But it turned out impossible things were happening left and right.
He continued, “You can’t keep letting her hold you back.”
“She’s not.”
“She is. That’s why you’re still here, isn’t it?”
Eira crouched down, creeping the long way around and stopping behind a bookcase. From this vantage she could peer over the tops of the books to spy on the small sitting area. She barely breathed so she didn’t make a sound.
“I’m here because I want to be.”
“And you ‘want to be’ because you feel like you have to look after her because she’s not all there and you’re
