Page 23 of The Gilded Cage

No, no, no.

Kiva gritted her teeth against the tingling sensation, her hands trembling as she fought for control over her power. It was an effort of sheer will to keep from panicking as she made herself methodically finish bandaging Caldon’s wound, the light fading just in time for his attention to return to her.

“You have the magic touch.”

Kiva nearly fainted. “What?” she breathed, heart thundering in her chest.

Caldon rotated his shoulder. “Whatever you did, it’s already feeling much better. Thanks, Sunshine.”

“I —” Kiva cut herself off, before weakly saying, “I really didn’t do much.”

In truth, she hadn’t done anythingat all. Nothing mundane, at least. But ... her magic ...

Kiva wouldn’t think about it, fearing that doing so might encourage the golden light to return.

It was a fluke, she told herself. Last night and today, both unfortunate coincidences, the result of fatigue and stress, and nothing else. For ten years, she’d managed to hide her power. There was no reason to fear that anything had changed, not when —

“How was your first day of training?”

Kiva gave a quiet yelp as Jaren stepped up beside her, even sweatier than when she’d last seen him. Unlike how she felt, he appeared invigorated from his exertions, his hair damp, cheeks flushed, and eyes crystal clear in the morning sunshine.

For once, Kiva wasn’t distracted by his appearance, instead studying his face to see if he’d witnessed anything strange on approach. He was looking at her no differently from normal, so she pushed away her magical misgivings, reassuring herself that it was nothing a good night’s sleep couldn’t fix.

“She gets top marks for staying,” Caldon answered Jaren. “But there’s definite room for improvement.”

He was being generous, Kiva thought, fully aware of how much work she had ahead of her.

“Ready to get out of here?” Jaren asked her.

“You have no idea,” she replied, meaning every word.

“Same time tomorrow, Sunshine,” Caldon said, unsheathing his sword and, heedless of his injured shoulder, starting off toward where Naari waited with her own weapon ready. He winked back at Kiva and finished, “It’ll be the highlight of your day.”

She watched him walk away before turning to Jaren and asking, “How close are you two?”

He angled his head to the side. “Why?”

“I’m just wondering how you’d feel if something happened to him,” Kiva said. “Like an accident.” Quickly, she added, “Hypothetically, of course.”

“Of course,” Jaren repeated, lips twitching.

Kiva toed the dirt with her boot and mumbled, “Never mind.”

Jaren chuckled and began leading the way back toward the barracks. “Hypothetically,I’d say he probably deserves whatever misfortune comes his way.”

Nodding emphatically, Kiva said, “That’s my thinking.”

Jaren chuckled again, before sobering. “You don’t have to train with him, you know.”

“WhyamI training with him?” Kiva asked. “Why not with you or Naari or ... or ... anyone else?”

“It’s always better to learn from the best,” Jaren answered, guiding her around a pair of guards, one male, the other female, locked in unarmed combat. “Cal’s one of the greatest warriors in the kingdom. His mother — my mother’s sister — was the general of our armies, his father was the commander of our armadas. His childhood was spent learning the art of fighting and strategic warfare. He’s been training since he came out of the womb, which makes him the most qualified to teach you. To teachanyone.”

Kiva frowned. “Are we talking about the same person?”

Jaren shook his head — not in the negative, but as if he found her amusing. “I know he comes across as, well ...”

“An arrogant, self-absorbed reprobate?” Kiva supplied helpfully. “And then some,” Jaren said, grinning. “But there’s a lot more to my cousin than meets the eye.”

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