This mage will be unlike the others of her kind. She will be special. She will have things that set her apart—a talent, per say. And she will be dangerous.

The next thing I knew, I was waking up in Koru’s cottage, I was bone-tired and sore all over, and my clothes were damp and sticky. I let out a low moan and rolled over, curling up on myself. I was tucked soundly into what felt like a soft bed and the entire room was dark. I burrowed deeper into the blankets and breathed in deeply. It smelled of soap and weapon polish and steel—and something darker that made me think of Rafe.

Rafe.

Calix.

The fire.

I bolted upright with a gasp. Pain shot up my back and through my body, and I let out a tiny whimper, curling up on myself. It was intense, like I was getting burned everywhere at once. My arms hugged my torso and cradled the parts of me that felt bruised—then, everywhere. I took a few slow breaths, waiting for the pain to subside. While I was doing that, I managed to take in the fact that the full moon was spilling milky light into the room and the stars twinkled in a navy blue expanse outside the window over the bed.

Did I put the fire out?

“Someone’s awake.”

I waited until the pain in my neck lessened enough for me to slowly raise my head. Calix was leaning against the doorframe, and his outline was barely visible against the darkness of the room.

“The fields,” I said—or rather, tried to say. The words caught in my throat and choked me, and I broke off coughing harshly. Calix made a low sound in his throat, and then there was a cup held under my lips.

“Drink this,” he said. “It’s not poisoned—Rafe made it. It’ll help your throat.”

His fingers went under my chin and tipped my head up, and some of the warm liquid from the cup flowed through my lips. It was bitter and sharp, and I immediately coughed it back. Calix jerked away to avoid the fine mist I sent spraying over the blankets.

“No,” I ground out through a throat that felt rubbed with sand. “Can’t.”

“Too bad,” he said unsympathetically. “And that’s Rafe’s blanket you’re spitting all over, so you can explain to him why he has to sleep in a wet bed.”

I shook my head, and then stopped due to pain in my neck. “Can’t—drink.”

“Well then, you can sit here and suffer.” He set the cup down on the table beside the head of Rafe’s bed. “I was going to nurse you back to health, but you obviously don’t want me to.” He turned around and started to walk out.

“Fire,” I croaked, letting my eyes painfully follow every movement of his. He stopped. His back remained turned to me, one hand resting gently on the doorframe.

“You put it out,” Calix finally said. “The crops are the healthiest they’ve been in months. Some of them are still growing.” He paused again. “There aren’t any mages around here that can control the elements like you can, are there?”

I didn’t answer. Calix’s fingers drummed lightly against the doorframe before he spoke again.

“Drink that. It’ll make you feel better. Rafe said he’ll be in later.”

And he was gone, silent as a shadow. I eyed the cup with some distrust, but I picked it up and took a careful sip nonetheless. It burned for a moment, but a cool sensation like ice followed it, soothing my throat like honey. Closing my eyes, I drained the whole think in a few slow swallows. I felt the cold-heat flowing through my bones and muscles, and everything stopped aching. I let the cup fall from my lips and gently caressed the smooth stone, thinking.

Calix was the last person I had expected to help me or bring me something that would help. I figured he hated me.

“It’s not poisoned—Rafe made it.”

I had also thought Rafe was mad at me for reasons I didn’t quite understand—yet here he was helping me as well. They were a pretty interesting duo.

That seemed like a hypocritical statement coming from myself.

“There aren’t any mages around here that can control the elements like you can, are there?”

Speaking of mages.

My head jerked around, eyes suddenly wide. My staff. I kicked the blankets back and hopped to my feet, looking around. I didn’t see it in the room. I couldn’t have lost it!

“Looking for something?” a new voice asked in amusement—and this time, it wasn’t Calix. I froze, my back to the doorway.

“Maybe,” I said. There were three footsteps and then I felt the familiar wood of my staff brush my hand. I snatched it instantly and pulled it from Rafe’s grip, swinging it around in front of me. The wood was smooth and gleamed in the faint light in the room. The stone nestled between the Taurein horns glinted with a wicked light.

“What did you do to it?” I asked.

“I polished the wood and shined the stone,” Rafe explained. His voice softened a bit. “You’re good with your magic. There aren’t any other mages—”

“Who can do what I do, I know,” I cut him off. “How are the crops?”

“Healthy and thriving and still growing,” he said. “They slowed down drastically after you collapsed, but they’re still creeping up slowly.” He hesitated before asking, “Why did you pass out after using your magic for such a short time?”

“Fire, earth, and water are the three most powerful elements,” I told him. “I tried to harness two at the same time and it exhausted me. My body couldn’t take the strain.”

“You worried all of us when you collapsed.” His voice was so soft that I almost couldn’t hear him. I felt his hand rest gently on my shoulder, his other hand on my opposite arm, the one that was holding my staff. “You were completely unresponsive to anything for half a day.”

“I’m fine,” I muttered, feeling an odd flush spread throughout my body from where he touched me. “I was just tired.”

He was quiet. “Yes,” he murmured. “Just tired.”

I felt a strange pang of disappointment when his hands pulled away, and then he said, “Come into the eating room when you’re ready—Koru, Saeun, and Hikara would like to speak with you.”

And he left too, leaving me alone with my thoughts and the moon.

I sat in Rafe’s bedroom for a little while longer, until dawn was creeping over the horizon, before I got up the courage to walk into the eating room. I wasn’t scared of the people in it—I was scared of the thoughts in their heads. Here was a mage who came out of the woods and killed a Taurein with a twist of a staff, and then they realized that she had the ability to control the elements as well. They were probably scared of me.

I was almost to the room when I heard voices drifting down the hallway. The door was closed, and I leaned up against it, pressing my ear against the wood.

“…isn’t a danger.” Calix sounded angry. “She’s just like we are—she is just more skilled.”

“Calix, be sensible,” Koru said firmly. “She’s a mage who we know nothing about—”

“She saved Casimir!” Calix cried desperately. “Without her, my little brother would be dead! She saved our fields—and thanks to her, we aren’t going to go hungry anymore! How can you say she’s evil?”

“As much as I hate to admit it,” Hikara said softly, her voice almost lost in Calix’s strangled cry of frustration, “Koru does have a point. You remember what happened the last time a stranger was brought into our village.”

“Yes—but—he was in league with the Pixies,” Calix stammered. “Mireille—”

“Calix.” Rafe’s voice was soft and calm, the voice of reason. “Stop shouting. You’ll wake Casimir.”

“We shall talk to her.” That was a new woman’s voice—I recognized it faintly from when I had arrived earlier that morning. It was the woman who had been with Koru and the other guard.

“What do you plan to find out from talking to her, Saeun?” Calix demanded. “Exactly what I’ve told you for the past hour?”

“Calix, stop,” Rafe said again. This time his voice held a hard edge. “This isn’t making things better.”

“And what do you reckon we do?” Calix said, and there was a hard sound like something hitting the floor. Someone gasped. “Kick her out? Leave her to fend for herself against the beasts that are out there? You’re a heartless bastard, Rafe.”

I narrowed my eyes. Drawing back a bit, I lightly tapped my staff against the door. A spiral of magic spun from the center of the door, wider and wider until it formed a transparent window—one I could see them through, but not the other way around.

Calix was flushed with anger, his hair loose from its ponytail and falling around his shoulders. He was facing Rafe, one hand fisted in the front of the other boy’s shirt. Rafe was calmly looking at Calix with unreadable dark eyes, not raising a hand against the archer. Hikara had one hand over her mouth, staring at them with big eyes. The woman Calix called Saeun—the elderly woman I had met when I first entered the town—was watching them calmly. Koru was standing by the table, one hand on his sword hilt, the other arm limply at his side.

“Calix, let me go,” Rafe said very softly. With a growl of anger, Calix shoved Rafe away from him. The swordsman took a step backwards, smoothing out his ruffled shirt. “We aren’t planning on doing anything to Mireille,” he continued. “We just don’t know anything about her.”

“Then ask her!” Calix shouted, whipping around to stare desperately at the other three people in the room. Hikara looked down at her feet. Koru stared at a spot five feet over Calix’s head. Only Saeun met his eyes, and even she eventually looked away.

“That’s all we’re going to do,” Rafe soothed, shaking his head as Calix turned back to him. “I’m not any happier about the situation than you are, but—”

“This is your fault!” Calix suddenly cried, grabbing up Rafe’s shirt in one hand again and drawing back an arm to hit him. “If you had never come—!”

“Calix!” Hikara gasped, but it was too late. Calix had struck Rafe with all the force he could muster. It made an ugly sound like brick striking wood. Rafe fell backwards against the table, his fair hair falling around his face and hiding it. He made no sound.

“Calix,” Koru said, sounding angry as he took a step forward. Calix shoved him away and ran out through the other hallway. A moment later, the front door slammed.

That was all I could take. I shoved open the door I had been spying through and stalked into the room. They all—with the exception of Rafe, who had a hand up to his face and was otherwise still—turned to me, shocked.

“You’re right,” I said flatly. “You don’t know anything about me. Yes, I’m a mage who can control the elements. But I did save Casimir. You have been nothing but kind to me since I’ve arrived. I helped with the fields. I won’t stay if I’m not welcome, but I won’t have you decide my future for me. People tried that before.”

And I stalked out in Calix’s footsteps. I was halfway down the hallway when I turned around and snapped, “And don’t follow me.”

I left after that.

The rising sun was struggling to stretch over the treetops as I wound my way around the side of the field that had been ravaged by the fire. It was lush and green, and the ground was still damp underfoot. I picked my way to the back and proceeded to cut down a fair amount of the crops at ground level. After making more small plants pop up in their place, I heaped the freshly cut stalks together in a pile—a safe distance away from the other crops and any buildings.

I held out my hand in a lightly cupped shape and whispered, “Fire.”

A tiny fireball formed in my palm; I tossed it onto the pile. It burst into flames, burning in magic colors of blue, gold, and green.

I looked up at the sky. “Thank you, Goddess Anlienisse, for bringing me to these people and keeping me safe from the fire. This is the offering I promised earlier. I hope it’s to your liking.”

A warm breeze stirred up and the fire twisted around the air currents, burning brighter for a moment before dying back down. Once the wind had dissipated, a soft voice came from behind me for the second time in a few minutes.

“So you pray to Anlienisse.”

My shoulders tensed. “Something like that.”

Rafe came up to my side. His hair was tied back again, and the light from the fire danced in odd shadows over his face. There was an ugly sort of bruise that covered his right eye and cheekbone from where Calix had punched him, and his cheek was slightly swollen. “When you said not to follow you, I hope that only meant Koru and the others.”

“It did,” I said, planting the butt of my staff in the ground and leaning on it. “I’m sorry I lost my temper back there.”

“Calix does it all the time—we’re used to it.” Rafe stared into the fire, carefully avoiding my gaze as I let it trail over his face.

“Does he get violent often?” I asked, only half joking.

“Yes,” Rafe said without preamble. “He beats me up a fair amount. Of course, I bruise him back in return, but I didn’t get a chance to today.”

I made a small, amused noise.

“Anlienisse is the goddess of magic-wielders, isn’t she?” he continued. “Did you come from a family of magic-wielders?”

A sudden, very sharp pull in my chest made me want to cry. “My mother was one. My father was a blacksmith. He made me this staff. Mother taught me how to wield magic. They were killed—two summers ago.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” he said, and he truly sounded sorry. “I know how it feels to lose one’s parents.”

I turned and stared back into the fire, which was slowly dying. I tossed another fireball into it. It roared back up.

“My parents were hunters,” Rafe explained. The dancing flames of the fire drew me into a slowly hypnotic state. “I look like my father physically. My mother was tall and blonde, with pretty brown eyes. Father always said that you could see into someone’s soul by looking into their eyes.”

I blinked a bit, my eyes watering from the brightness of the fire. In the back of my mind, I could see a man that looked like Rafe and a woman with long hair and brown eyes, dressed in battlegear and holding a small child.

“They weren’t from this village. Neither am I. Our village is…was…a long trip from here. My parents left on a raid shortly after I was born, leaving me home with a friend. While they were out, they were attacked—and killed—by a band of Orcs.”

“Rafe,” I whispered, but he wasn’t done.

“Koru told me all of this. That same day, the leader of this village had received a distress signal from mine, and a small party came at once. However, it took them a day to get to my village. They were a bit too late.

“The lycanthropes had attacked while our fighters were out, fighting the Orcs. They had killed—everyone”—his voice broke a little—“and burned our whole village to the ground. Those who they hadn’t killed ran away and were killed by the Orcs. I was the only living thing in the ruins of the village. My parents and I had lived in a house at the edge of the village, built into the side of a hill. Our house hadn’t been touched.

“Koru had a dog that died not long later, but he was the one who found me. He was trained to search out living things. I survived—and according to the legends of our village, whatever can survive a fire is considered a bad omen, because fire is used to expel the evil from the world. Our village was still smoldering when they arrived.

“The name ‘Rafe’ means ‘shield wolf’.” Rafe’s hand went to his neck and down into the neck of his shirt, pulling out a small circular pendant that was attached to a string. He lifted the necklace over his head, handing it to me. I took it in my hand and turned the pendant over. His name was carved into the silver in beautiful letters, and on the back there was a carving of a wolf.

“I was born under the full moon. In our village, wolves were a source of power and were never to be killed—always respected and treated like the village dogs.”

My fingers went up to my wolf-skin cape self-consciously.

“The full moon was the sign of the wolf,” he explained. “I was destined to be a knight—that’s where the name came from. ‘Shield’ for the knight in me, ‘wolf’ for being born under a full moon.” His lips twisted into a wry smile. “Kind of ironic seeing as how my whole village was killed by lycanthropes.”

“I’m sorry, Rafe, that’s awful,” I said, wanting to reach out and touch him but worried about what his reaction would be. Instead, I handed him back his pendant and asked tenderly, “Is that what Calix meant—something about if you hadn’t come?”

Rafe was silent for a long time, staring unblinkingly at the fire.

“In this village, wolves are a bad omen,” he said simply. Then he turned away, towards the horizon. “Looks like the sun is up.”

I followed his gaze and realized that the sky was slowly lightening as the dawn lengthened. The sun had nearly cleared the horizon. How long had we stood here talking? I didn’t know.

“Let’s go back into the village,” Rafe continued. “There are things that lurk around here at dawn that we don’t want to run into.”

A shiver traveled down my spine. Carefully, I set a spell that would prevent the offering fire from spreading when it burned the crops out. Rafe turned and walked away, and I followed him closely. I opened my mouth to say something when my boot stuck into a small impression in the dirt. With a yelp, I tripped forward.

Rafe spun around, darting back a step, and caught me against his chest. I let out a soft gasp, looking up at him. His eyes were wide and dark, reflecting the sunrise.

“I’m sorry,” I stammered, staggering to my feet. His hands never left my arms, where they had landed when he caught me.

“Mireille, I—” he began, his voice a rough whisper.

“Rafe!”

He snapped around. I peered over his shoulder. Calix was jogging towards us, his dark hair spread out behind him like a flag, but he skidded to a halt when he saw us standing as close as we were, Rafe’s hands on my arms.

“Sorry,” he said, and his voice was suddenly short. “Didn’t realize I was interrupting anything.” He turned and started to walk off again.

I pushed Rafe away, pretending I didn’t see the hurt flash across his eyes. “You’re not, Calix,” I said. “I just tripped and Rafe caught me is all.”

Calix shot me a look that told me he didn’t believe me, but turned to Rafe and then took to ignoring me. His eyes trailed over the injury marring Rafe’s pretty face and a hint of guilt flickered in his eyes. “Sorry I hit you earlier,” he said.

“Let me hit you back and we’ll be even,” Rafe said, sounding very serious. Calix opened his mouth to respond when a loud sound like a horn blew over the grounds. They both shot to attention. Rafe flicked a knife from nowhere and immediately ran off towards the city, his fair hair shining in the milky dawn light.

“What is that?” I demanded as Calix took off too. I ran after them.

“We’re under attack!” Rafe shouted over his shoulder.

The minute I reached the site of the carnage, my staff hit the ground and I screamed, “Lightning!” The bolt that cascaded from the clouds was bright blue, screeched with energy, and slammed into a group of Orcs, throwing them to all sides.

The Orcs were huge, ugly, lumbering things that made Taureins look beautiful in comparison. They looked like an ugly cross between a bull, a goblin, and a human. They had green skin, huge noses pierced with rings, eyes that were set very close together, pointed ears, and jagged teeth that stuck up over their upper lips in a serious underbite. Most of them carried clubs.

And the thing about Orcs—they weren’t very smart.

“Hey, ugly!” I cried at one close to me. It turned around, snarling. Its spiked club was covered in blood. Everyone from the village that was trained to fight—which was everyone over sixteen summers—was fighting. We were felling Orcs faster than we fell, but we were still losing some people. A woman screamed as an Orc struck her with a club. She fell to the ground and didn’t move again.

“When was the last time you bathed?” I taunted the Orc that had turned to me. “Let me guess—Last summer? Before that? Never?”

It let out an enraged bellow and charged me. I did a nimble backflip and thrust out my staff. The arc of magic that erupted at it threw it backwards, impaling one of its own with its spiked club. (Like I mentioned, they aren’t very bright.)

Calix was at my side, launching two arrows from his bow at once. One sank into my Orc’s chest, the other into the throat of one behind it. They both collapsed, and the second halved its remaining life by pulling out the arrow and drowning on its own blood. I saw one Orc get trampled to death by its teammates.

Calix went down on his knees very suddenly and for a moment I thought he was injured as he fell to his forearms. But Rafe appeared out of nowhere, landing lightly on Calix’s back with both feet on his shoulder blades. Calix somersaulted forward, the momentum launching Rafe into the air. The fair haired boy beheaded one particularly ugly Orc with a slash of his sword, and another caught his leg and jerked him out of the air. Rafe cried out once, and then the attacking Orc was dead.

“You alright?” Rafe shouted at me over the din of battle. Calix sprang away, shoving another arrow into his bow as he went.

“Fine!” I shouted back at him. He nodded once and sprang away.

I managed to call down one more lightning bolt before I was dizzy with exhaustion. No more of that, then. I resorted to spin-kicking a short Orc in the face and then setting it on fire. As it lay burning, I dashed around it and ran for a girl I saw on the ground, laying under an Orc with a large tree branch that had it raised for another blow.

Something caught me around the waist. With a scream, my staff fell from my hands. I was lifted off my feet and a rough, dumb Orc voice said, “Pretty girl! Eat pretty girl!”

I struggled and kicked, but my wolf-fur boots weren’t made for hurting. They were made for traveling. “Let me go!” I shrieked.

“Eat pretty girl,” he said again, and his grubby paws brought me closer to my demise. With another shriek, I realized only later that what I screamed was a name.

“Rafe!”

A sword sang past my face, and the Orc made a strange choking sound. I fell to the ground with a cry. Something in my knee snapped and I hit the ground hard. Strong hands lifted me up and then I was whisked off.

“They’re retreating!” someone shouted from our side. Sure enough, as I fought off the pain and shock enough to see straight, I saw the remaining Orcs stagger away and lumber off into the woods, tripping over the bodies of their fallen comrades and impaling themselves on their own weapons as they fell. In the end, only about twenty escaped alive.

The hands set me down on the ground and a voice gasped, “You—stupid…”

I looked up. “Rafe, I—” Then I stopped.

Calix stared back at me. His light eyes were dilated and his hair was streaked with blood. His chest was rising and falling fast, and he looked scared, furious, and shocked all at once.

“You—I’m not Rafe.” His voice turned venomous. “Rafe was off saving his own back. Why did you think I was—I’m not— “

“The sword,” I gasped out, startled. “You have a bow—I thought—!”

“You thought I couldn’t use a sword?” He took a step back, shaking his head angrily. “I don’t know what I expected from an outsider. Someone dropped their weapon—I seized my chance. Anyone who knows me knows that I care more about other people than Rafe does. Anyone who knows me knows that I can use a sword.”

“Mireille!” Rafe ran up to us, limping a bit and clutching his longsword. He had a slash on his cheek that was bleeding, the blood marring his pretty skin and dripping onto his clothes. The bruise on his face looked darker than ever. “Mireille, are you okay?”

“She’s fine, no thanks to you,” Calix snarled furiously. Rafe stared at him with big, startled eyes, skidding to a clumsy halt. “She almost got eaten.”

“She—what?” Rafe turned to me, still looking startled. Calix glared at us both furiously before turning and stalking away with a growl.

“Calix!” I cried, trying to struggle to my feet and follow him. My knee gave out and I collapsed again with a gasp. Rafe dropped his bow and knelt beside me, his hands meeting my shoulders.

“Don’t bother,” he said softly. “When he gets scared, he turns it into anger. He feels like he can control his anger better than he can his fear.” He pushed my long blonde hair out of my eyes. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” I stretched my leg out in front of me. My knee was bruising badly already, and it hurt to exist. “I need my staff. I dropped it when—” When the Orc grabbed me.

“I see it—I’ll get it.” Rafe hopped to his feet and darted off, out of my line of sight. When he came back, he held it out to me. “Here.”

I took it from him and held it close to the head. Laying the sapphire on the top gently on my bruised knee, I prayed to Anlienisse for this to work without any flaws before pushing all of my willpower into healing magic. It was one of the lesser-used magicks, but it was useful as all get-out.

The pain intensified for a moment before dissipating. My knee first felt very hot, then quite cold. The bruise faded from black and purple into a nasty yellow color, and then back to skin tone. When I bent my leg, it didn’t hurt anymore. I rose shakily to my feet, feeling trembles run through my body all over.

Rafe rose with me, staying close. “Need help?” he asked.

“No—thank you, Rafe. I’m okay now.”

“You’re sure?” He dropped his voice. “Did Calix say something to you?”

“Anyone who knows me knows that I care more about other people than Rafe does.”

Swallowing, I hesitated. What did Calix mean? Why did he save me? Is Rafe just pretending to care for me?

“Mireille?”

I jerked back to the present, where Rafe was staring at me with concern in his eyes. I shook my head.

“I’m okay now,” I repeated softly, clutching my staff. I can puzzle that out later, when I’m alone.

“If you’re sure. Come find me if you need me,” he said, nodding and turning away from me.

He headed off, slinging his sword into the sheath on his back. I stared after him until he joined a group of other fighters, and they began talking and examining each others’ wounds.

Shaking my thoughts from Rafe, I took a few shaky steps, clinging to my staff, before I walked more confidently without it. I turned and headed for a small group of fighters—two girls and three boys, looking a little older than Calix and Rafe.

I healed one boy’s shattered leg and the oldest girl’s broken arm before standing back up and glancing around. The sun was clearing the horizon and casting forlorn shadows over the entire village. Koru broke away from a group of older guards and approached me.

“Are you injured?” he asked me. I shook my head.

“Not as badly as some of the others,” I replied. “I’m just a bit shaken is all.”

“Understandable,” he said, putting a hand lightly on my shoulder. “I saw you fighting. You did well.”

“Thank you,” I said, pleased by the compliment. He paused for a moment, obviously thinking hard about something, before he cleared his throat.

“Are you planning on staying with us?” he asked without preamble. “I know—we upset you earlier, and I apologize deeply.”

I gave a tiny start. The conversation I had eavesdropped on seemed like hours ago, what with Rafe and Calix, and the fight to boot. Some of my earlier resentment returned, but not much.

“I don’t know,” I answered honestly.

Koru nodded once, slowly. “I understand,” he repeated softly. He removed his hand from my shoulder and sheathed his blood-stained sword. “Do you know where Calix is?”

“He took off in a huff just a bit ago,” I replied, glancing around. “I don’t know where he went.”

“Probably home,” Koru murmured, and then nodded again. “You must be exhausted. There is a spare bedroom in my cottage if you’d like to sleep there. If you do, we’ll make sure you’re awake for midday meal.”

“Okay, thank you,” I said, and then turned and walked away. I picked my way across the torn and bloodied grass, walking into the village. My knees began to shake for no reason, and I had to sit down about twenty strides in. Suddenly gasping for air, I bent down and put my forehead on my knees, my hands looping around the back of my neck. My stomach twisted uncomfortably and I fought the urge to be sick.

Inadvertently my thoughts turned to Rafe. He told me everything about his past, including how he came to live with Calix and his family, and poured out his heart without ever asking anything from me in return.

Calix, who acted like he hates me most of the time, saves my life and acts like an overprotective puppy. They were complete opposites, and so confusing, and…

I took a few shaky breaths, fighting the urge to either pass out or cry. I didn’t want to do either, so I just held my breath until I felt dizzy, and then let it out until I felt breathless and lightheaded. I repeated this process a few times and my stomach slowly started to settle.

I hated dealing with Calix and Rafe. They made me want to beat them senseless. I hated dealing with them—but I liked being around them. I had never felt this way about anything else in my life. It was confusing but sickening and lovely all at once. It was a feeling I both wanted to be rid of but couldn’t get enough of. I hated it and loved it.

And I hated myself for loving it.

I don’t know how long I sat there, but when I finally was able to stand up and continue toward Koru’s cottage, the heat of the day was settling over the village. Flies buzzed lazily around, and a gnat got tangled in my hair. I smacked at it and winced as I accidentally hit myself in the process.

The inside of Koru’s cottage was cool and shady, and I could hear someone moving in the back room. Figuring it was Calix, I shut the front door behind me and headed down the hallway, through the eating room, and back into the living quarters. The door to Rafe’s bedroom was open slightly and I peeked in.

A group of five candles was burning on top of his bedside table. It wasn’t Calix as I had originally expected—it was Rafe, kneeling on the floor by his bed, his legs tucked up under him and his shirt cast aside, his back to the door. There was a long slash across his back that was still bleeding and was red and inflamed. Rafe had his hair pulled over his shoulder and a cloth that was dripping with water in one hand, trying to twist around and clean the wound.

I must have made a nose, because Rafe paused and then said, “Calix, is that you?”

I didn’t say anything. Rafe rose up onto one knee and turned around. “Calix—” Then he stopped when he saw me. “Oh—Mireille.”

“Need some help?” I asked, pushing the door open some more and edging in. My staff knocked against the wood lightly.

“I can get it,” he said firmly, turning back away and pulling at his hair as it threatened to fall back against the slash.

“Let me heal it,” I insisted, coming in and tenderly kneeling behind him. “Hold still.”

“It’s not necessary—”

“Do you want it to get infected?” I took the cloth from his hand and laid my staff down, daubing at the swollen wound with the wet rag. His shoulders tensed and his hands curled into fists where they rested against the floor, but he didn’t make a sound.

“Did that hurt?” I asked immediately.

“No,” he said, sounding like his teeth were gritted. “I’m fine. Go on.”

“How did you get this?” I asked as I moved the cloth again. His back tensed again.

“One of the Orcs—had a glass and metal sword,” he said haltingly. “It shattered against my back as he hit me. I didn’t think it was that bad.”

Something glinted in the candlelight that wasn’t water or blood. I moved the cloth and went for it with my fingertips. Rafe made a strangled sort of noise in his throat as I freed the wickedly curved piece of glass from his skin. Tenderly, I wiped the blood off of my fingertips and laid the piece of glass on the floor.

“Why would you make a sword out of glass and metal?” I asked as I turned my attention back to the ugly wound. Rafe pulled on a lock of his long fair hair. “That seems dumb even for an Orc.”

“The Orcs didn’t make it—they got it from somewhere,” Rafe said, and then drew in a sharp breath as I accidentally shifted another piece of glass by brushing over it with the cloth. “It’s rather ingenious actually—when you hit someone with it—the metal cuts them”—he gasped sharply, and the relaxed again as I removed the glass shard— “and the glass shatters in their skin.”

I sat back on my heels for a moment, examining the wound with a critical eye. “Even if I healed this with my magic, you’d still have a wicked scar,” I commented.

“I don’t care.” One of Rafe’s hands knotted into the blankets on his bed. “Just—get the glass out—and heal it.”

We sat in silence as I picked out some of the larger pieces, and then picked up my staff. “Let me try something.” I held the sapphire on the end of my staff close to his back and whispered, “Stone—come to me.”

The house shivered and let out a small moan. Rafe let out a loud, startled cry of pain, arching his spine up and away from me, but my magic had done its work. The bug-sized bits of glass shot up through the air and stuck to the head of my staff like metals to a blacksmith’s magnet. Both of his hands clutched onto the blankets, almost dragging them off of the bed frame, as he hung his head between his shoulders, panting lightly and shivering.

“I’m sorry,” I apologized suddenly, my eyes wide as I suddenly wondered if I’d hurt him more than I’d helped.

“Is—all the glass out?” he asked. Each word sounded like it was being dragged through his teeth.

“Yes,” I replied, absently brushing the glass bits off of the sapphire. “I can heal it now—”

“Do it.” His voice held no wariness. “Just—make it stop—hurting.”

I rested the sapphire against his back, above the wound, and murmured, “Heal.” Blue magic pulsed from the head and danced over his back like little flickers of lightning. The skin began to knit back together and the swelling went down drastically. The red faded into a healthier skin color, but there was still a long line clawing down his back that stuck there in a scar. He let out a slow breath and his hands fell to the floor. His breathing evened out.

“Does that hurt less?” I asked, gently laying my hand against his back. His skin was hot, almost feverish to the touch.

“Yes,” Rafe replied, his voice a soft whisper. “Thank you, Mireille.” He turned his head over his shoulder. There was a light sheen of sweat across his forehead and his hair was sticking to his skin, but his eyes were bright and clear. “Thank you,” he repeated.

“It’s nothing,” I said, glancing away as I laid my staff across my folded legs.

“I wanted to talk to you earlier,” he said. “Before we got attacked.” I felt his hand lightly on my shoulder. Feelings like sparks of electricity spread from the feel of his skin on mine. I looked up. His clear gaze was locked on mine with a sort of emotion that said he didn’t want me to look away again.

“I…. There’s something I have to tell you. Something I haven’t told anyone. Not even Calix.” He stood up, towering over me. “It’s a secret.”

For a second, the light refracting in through the window made his eyes flash gold—and I could feel the grass under my feet again, the hot wind blowing across my skin as I ran through my town. I was fourteen summers old.

“Mother! Fa! Where are you? Fa? Fa! Mother!”

Golden eyes shining from a tree. A low, unearthly growl.

“Lightning!”

Screaming, crying—viscous lightning—burning and more screaming—and then running.

My chest tightened. Rafe had continued speaking but I wasn’t listening. I leapt to my feet and staggered away from him.

Shock and pain crossed his face. “Mireille, wait—”

I shook my head fiercely and ran out of the room.

I didn’t think before I ran into the room across the hallway, slamming the door just to put distance between Rafe and I. Shaking, I sank onto the bed with blankets soft enough to feel like down off of the fluffiest bird. I glanced around just to make sure this wasn’t Calix’s room. There wasn’t much of a sign that anyone lived in this room, and the shelves and tables in the room were bare except for a few books, which didn’t look like they’d be opened in ages.

My body was burning with a scary sort of fire I had never felt before. I both wanted to cry and to laugh at the same time, and I didn’t know why I wanted to do either. I felt bad for running from Rafe, but I couldn’t live through that day again, the day my village was killed, the day I discovered I could control the elements.

Besides, what ‘secret’ could he have to tell me? He didn’t know me. I had only met him the day before. He barely knew anything about me. Sure, he had been nice to me since I’d arrived here, and I’d been kind to him, but a lot of people seemed nice until your back was turned. Then they stabbed you with a double-edged sword. I had learned that lesson the hard way a few moons prior.

I shook my head hard and ran my hands through my free-flying blonde hair. Tangles snagged at my fingers and I flinched at a particularly large knot that caught on my hand. I knew I had a raven’s foot comb somewhere. Instinctively, I reached for my shoulder bag.

The bag that I had carried around before I had saved Casimir.

The bag that I had left behind when I had run to save him.

Yesterday.

I groaned audibly. More than likely it would be gone by now. If it wasn’t ruined by wild animals or the weather, it was probably taken or demolished by Taureins, Orcs, or something else.

I sighed and stood up, swinging my staff around my shoulder one way and back around the other. Holding it in one hand, I cautiously exited the room. Hikara probably had a comb I could borrow.
Rafe’s door was shut tightly when I emerged into the hallway, and when I pressed my ear against the cool wood, I heard a heavy sort of silence. I almost wanted to peek in at him, but something stopped me. I wasn’t sure what.

“Are you spying?”

I let out a short screech of surprise and spun around. Calix stood behind me, his arms crossed and one eyebrow raised so it blended into his dark hair. He had it tied back again, and it was damp and freshly combed. His bright eyes were unimpressed and he looked somewhat bored as he cocked his head to one side.

“I asked a question, and by the lack of an answer, I’m going to suspect that yes, you were.” He raised his eyes to Rafe’s closed door. “What did you do to anger him? He only ever shuts his door when he’s in one of his moods.”

I didn’t do anything. “I thought you were with the wounded,” I muttered as the sharp flashback of Rafe and my memories made my stomach turn violently. I looked up at Calix and said, “Look, I need to find Hikara.”

“She’s busy.” His eyes returned to me. “You want anything, you can ask me.”

“Who died and made you king?” I snapped. I was unsure why I was suddenly so angry, but Calix was the outlet for it. If he kept holding me up, I was going to end up venting on him and it wouldn’t end well for either of us.

“No one, but I will be captain of the guard in a few years.” He looked me over. “Are you hurt from the battle?”

“No.” Something struck me. “You were limping earlier.” I looked down at his legs suddenly.

“Just a knife wound. One of our guards’ hands slipped and his knife cut me. It’s not bad.” Calix looked me over. “So why were you spying on Rafe?”

“I’m not spying,” I said, my anger sharpening.

“That’s right,” Calix replied. “Standing at the door to someone’s bedroom with your ear up against it isn’t spying. It’s polite eavesdropping.”

“There’s nothing to eavesdrop on,” I told him. “He’s being quieter than a field mouse.”

“Technically, field mice squeak, especially when you kick them.” Calix pushed his bangs out of his face. “You could kick Rafe, although I’m sure he’d do more than just squeak at you.”

“What is your deal?” I asked.

His blue eyes searched my face. “I could ask you that.”

“What do you mean?”

Calix shook his head, his dark hair flying. “Nothing. Just thinking aloud.”

I stood my staff on the ground and looked up at Calix. He was already a few inches taller than me, and his fighting boots made him slightly taller than normal, so I had to arch my head to meet his gaze. His eyes sparkled with a bit of amusement and reached out. I almost flinched away.

His hand hesitated as he saw my almost imperceptible movement, and then he continued to pull a tiny leaf out of my hair. “It’s the only thing out of place,” he murmured, rolling the stem between his fingers so the leaf spun in dizzying circles.

Not the only thing. No matter how much they made me feel like I belonged here, I knew I didn’t. This was a village of archers and swordsmen, merchants and peddlers. There wasn’t room for a mage here.

I had once been traveling and come across a stream. A brown bear had been standing in the middle of it, staring down at the water. A few staff-lengths in front of him, there was a group of salmon. They were all fighting to go one way, but there was a catfish that was pushing them back and forcing them away. It was both depriving the salmon of their upstream journey and keeping the bear from a meal.

The salmon finally won and began pushing the catfish upstream, towards the bear. The catfish fought and tried to swim through, attacking the salmon and hurting a good few of them until the bear snatched it out of the water. The salmon then continued on their journey, safe and undisturbed, while the catfish was killed and eaten, feeding the bear.

I learned something from watching them. There is an order. Anything that disturbs that order will be eliminated to preserve the peace.


This village was the salmon.

I was the catfish.

And I had a feeling the bear was waiting just upstream.

By the time I got around Calix by telling him to check on Rafe and let me go find Hikara, the house was buzzing with noise. I heard Casimir shouting eagerly to Koru for details on what had happened while he was asleep. The hiss and bubble of something cooking was emitting from the kitchen, woven into Hikara’s voice. The chickens in the village began to cluck and crow the day. As I paused by a window, a small thrush landed on the sill, burst out a few notes, and flew away.

I pushed open the door that led into the kitchen and looked in awkwardly. Koru was swinging Casimir into his arms, half-turned toward Hikara while she spoke to him about something I didn’t care enough to listen to. None of them saw me except Casimir, who turned over his father’s shoulder and locked eyes with me.

“Mireille!” he cried, reaching out an arm for me. “Come in! Mama’s making breakfast!”

Hikara and Koru turned to me, their gazes brightening.

“If you want to wash up, Mireille dear,” Hikara said cheerfully, “I’ll have breakfast ready soon.”

I forced a smile. It was hard to do that when I knew I didn’t belong. They had survived without me and would survive after I was gone. As I slipped out of the kitchen to head for the washroom, I felt a ball settle in my stomach as I decided on what to do.

After breakfast, I’d leave. They wouldn’t know I was gone until this evening. I’d be long gone by then.

They could go back to surviving without me. I wouldn’t bring the bear down on the unsuspecting salmon. It was only the catfish that needed to go.

I had almost finished breakfast—ironically, smoked trout, along with a vegetable medley, toasted bread that was handmade, and milk from the village cows—when Koru cleared his throat. He sat at the head of the table with Hikara on the other end. We all fell quiet when he looked to us for attention. Rafe and Calix turned away from a map Calix had snuck under the table. Casimir stopped playing with his vegetables, where he had been sorting them by size and shape to avoid eating them.

“I just want to say a quick thank you to Mireille.” He raised his cup, tilting it towards me. “Without her and her magic, we wouldn’t be eating as rich as this for quite a long time.”

“Hear,” Calix said under his breath, raising his glass as well.

“Hear!” Casimir echoed, not knowing quite what that meant but thrusting his cup into the air and almost spilling his milk. Rafe looked at me evenly and inclined his head slightly. Hikara murmured something at me.

“I propose a toast,” Rafe continued, “even though I’ve already eaten mine.” He knocked cups with Calix. “To Mireille—for getting us all out of the drought.”

“To Mireille!” Casimir said excitedly, standing up in his chair and pushing his glass up against Calix’s. My face burned from the attention, and when Rafe tapped his cup against mine, I snatched it up and took a long drink to avoid looking at anyone.

Leaving was already going to be hard enough. They didn’t need to make it harder.