Page 63 of The Song of Sunrise
I stare at his blue tweed coat in disbelief. I want nothing more than to cut him down with the words bubbling on my lips. Rip him in half with the same hateful rhetoric, but I hold my tongue and clench my fists so hard my knuckles pop.
Elder Markus opens the door back to the warmly lit celebration. He pauses and speaks so low, I can barely hear him. “You have been warned,” he says, then disappears into the ballroom beyond.
I turn back to the forest and pinch the bridge of my nose. This is it. Tonight, I need to be selected and make it into the Summit or face the risk of being expelled. And then what? All of this effort will have been for nothing. Sure, I could find some other Midland town to live in, work at a tavern… but can I? Can I really go back to living within the confines of a small town after traveling so far? No possibility to experience this world on a larger scale and make memories that I can shape into Tellings later.
Staying is power.
Learning to harness the source is power.
And I need power if I’m going to make a difference in this world.
A wolf howls in the distance. Bats scatter from the treetops. Without prompting, my heart aches against my chest. I wish Marrow was here to guide me.
You already know what I would say, Prentice,his sweet tenor voice rings from somewhere in my mind, as if he is standing right next to me.
“I know, I know. You would tell me to stay. To fight. To make this my story. Not Elder Markus’s, not yours, but mine. Not let anyone else dictate my life as if I’m standing off stage instead of right in the middle of it.”
I hear his approval in the rush of wind as it sweeps up the castle. In the gentle hooting of an owl. In the ripples of the part of the lake not yet frozen over.
My arms curl tightly around my stomach, ignoring the cold. I have to be selected tonight as a champion. But most importantly, I have to win.
“Akemi? Is that you?” a voice calls from behind.
I turn to find Castor standing in a dark blue suit, complete with three shoulder patches to designate his Moon’cher field achievements. Once students move to a higher rank, they gain in-field experience. Castor clearly has already proven himself a worthy asset to the Watch. He looks handsome, more like a prince than a warrior. Nothing like his father.
“You must be freezing. Come inside, the feast is beginning.” Castor wraps me in his coat and ushers me inside toward a round table where Selene and Ramona are chatting, all previous awkwardness from their summer relationship gone. Leaf, on the other hand, is glaring at Ramona from the other side of the table, arms tucked within his deep orange suit pockets.
Our table is in the front corner of the lavish dining hall with a good view of the room. A small group of musicians play in the other corner, causing my heart to twist with joy and pain at the same time. Elevated at the front of the hall is a long tabledecorated in all of the house colors: the cobalt blue of the Watch, dark blue and ivory of the River Tribe, brown and leaf green of the Forest Tribe, blood red for the Jord Court, and black for the Terraguard Court.
I gasp at the sudden touch of wide hands on my shoulders, and my heart jumps into my throat. Castor removes his coat carefully from me like I’m a prized possession. His calloused fingers brush my bare shoulder, and my breath catches once more.
Most of the room is seated while Castor walks me to a cobalt velvet chair, pulling it out from under the white linen table cloth, offering me a seat. The sudden loss of heat from Castor’s coat causes shivers to crawl across my exposed low back, from the delicate chain between the wide silk straps near my shoulders to the golden silk draping just above my tailbone.
Ramona was right. Clothing is a weapon.
The music stops, and the chatter ceases almost instantaneously.
The Summit sponsors begin filtering into the hall, first with the Elders. All seven stroll in full military formals, though only three get to participate as sponsors. They wear cobalt from head to toe with a cape clasped with their respective Watcher symbol. Markus’s moon sigil looks like a freshly polished badge of honor. Pride seeps from each heavy step as he leads the procession to the long table. Once at their seats, they lift their hands, shooting out a mixture ofmystandsunfyrethat form a large “W” lighting up the room in sparks.
They receive a polite applause.
The Elves follow, Lord Clayoq looking bored and regal as ever, in a long green robe that drags along the floor. Opita’s bright green eyes dance across the room, scanning until they look just past me, likely to Castor, whom she had been tossing glances to all luncheon. Her sister looks like a goddess, wrapped in swaths of green and glittering jewels, like a goddess of the forest.
The air shimmers around them, and the sounds of birds, tussling leaves and bubbling creeks fill the air. I can almost smell the fresh, earthy scent of the woods. I’m reminded once again that elves can use Source magic organically instead of channeling stones.
The Elders watch with strained expressions. Attempting to look polite, but I know how to read faces and reactions well enough to sense unease and contempt when I see it.
This isn’t just an entrance; it’s a display of might.
As if my thoughts prompted it, Lord Clayoq claps his hands high above his head, and suddenly, the high ceilings of the hall are filled with hundreds of glittering birds. Cadets gasp, laugh, and clap at the birds now circling and spinning in an organized dance. Leaf looks unimpressed and moody as ever.
Lady Neda, Lord Neilos, and Prince Ladon of the River Tribe enter next. Lady Neda wastes no time displaying her immense power, cloaking the whole room in hues of blue. Pockets of light flicker around us, as if submerged under water.
The room fills with a chorus of“oohs.”
All three river royals are gliding across the floor, carried by a near-transparent stream of water. Neda turns and curtsies to the room, releasing the hold of her magic, restoring the blue washed effect back to normal.
“Impressive!” Selene says from the other side of the table, eyes wide as moons. Selene is one of the top Moon’chers in our class. Rumors are that she may be the best water wielder at the Watch. Her eyes trail the River Tribe in awe as they take their place at the head table.
