Page 8 of To Catch a Prince

“What is this and how do I ordermore?”

The Tutor had laughed, all the while strapping bonds around her wrists and ankles. “Mead. A brew made of honey. It’s produced by beekeepers south of theselands.”

She sipped more mead, to distract herself before he locked her second wrist inplace.

Talia’s heart beat fast and she couldn’t help a twitch. Still, she would have been more uncomfortable had she not been the last mage to suffer through this. She’d seen the others, one by one, strapped in this very chair, just like they watched her now, from the tiers of the amphitheater where they were passing their first and lasttest.

The eleven other mages weren’t the only spectators. Great men in long tunics covered in gold had come to watch, and fine women in grand gowns. It was a posh affair. Talia had never been more grateful to her friend’s generosity; at least she looked presentable in this majesticcompany.

The old, silver-haired mage, who still hadn’t given them a name to call him by, smiled reassuringly. “It’s not going to be painful,” he told her in a soft voice. “Your mind is going to go through a simulation of sorts. We’re strapping you in to avoid you kicking, screaming, and running like it wasreal.”

She inclined her head in understanding. The other mages had already spilled the beans, when they’d come back to their seats next to her, earlier. Still. Didn’t mean that she had to like the restraints, or the weird futuristic helmet he was strapping to her skull. The headpiece was attached to machines that beeped and lit up when the other mages had gone through theirtrial.

Talia hadn’t understood what it meant, at first, but the audience seemed well versed in science. They clapped their hands when one of the nine bubbles on top of the machine lip up green, nodded their appreciation when it went to orange, and seemed disappointed when it didn’t light up at all. Most of her friends only earned one green, others, a couple, and some, orange. The crowd was very impressed with Laya, who got four green and twoorange.

“What does this mean, do you think?” she’d whispered to Guillaume, who always seemed to knoweverything.

The boy had shrugged helplessly but a man sitting behind them was good enough to lean forward and explain, “Each of you are going through nine trials, that you may conquer, manage, or fail. Knowledge, wisdom, courage, ambition, loyalty, honesty, compassion, cunning, and the last one isselflessness.”

“Ambition, selflessness, cunning…” Talia frowned. “Some of these are almostopposite.”

“Indeed. It takes a very special person to exhibit each of these characteristics. We haven’t found anyone who did in ourlifetime.”

So, everyone was supposed to fail. She relaxed; there was no shame in coming up short today. No one expected theimpossible.

“This is going to hurt a little,” the Tutor admitted, plunging a syringe in her leftarm.

She looked away, unwilling to watch as the dark liquid was plunged inside her bloodstream, and before long, Talia was pulled into a deepslumber.

For atime.

She could feel eyes on her; she wasn’talone.

“Hello?”

There was someone watching her in thedark.

“Who areyou?”

A cold breeze of wind froze herbones.

Talia lifted her hand and called to fire. Now there was a light, she turned around and around, but there was no one that she could see nearher.

“Don’t be scared. Come out of the darkness. I won’t hurtyou.”

The presence felt strong, potent, and perhaps even dangerous, but Talia didn’t read it as something fundamentally malevolent. It was like being watched by Xandrie’s tiger cub, Claws. Not being wary of the powerful creature would have been foolish but that didn’t mean she had any quarrel withit.

“Are you afraid of fire?” sheguessed.

Her observer didn’t respond. Feeling half frustrated, half worried now, she sighed and lowered her arm, dismissing the fire with a wave of her hand. Okay. This obviously wasn’t going to beeasy.

Using her nail, pushing it on her skin as deep as she could, Talia traced a familiar rune on her forehead. She wasn’t drawing blood - it was unnecessary for a quick spell like this. The little bruised mark would last a fewminutes.

“Vide,”she whispered, closing her eyes. When she opened them again, they could see in thedark.

“There youare.”

Right in front of her there was a strange form, a spirit of some sort. It was a thing of Shadow, but still, Talia didn’t think it evil. Just frightened, vigilant, perhapslost.

---