Kiss The Rain

Kiss the Rain

Megan Derr Sels or's only drea m growing up wa s to be a ma ge, to bond with a wa rrior a nd drive ba ck the mons ters in the Territories , a nd live the life his pa rents ha d s o loved. His drea ms fa lter, however, when he dis pla ys no ma gic des pite pos s es s ing the a bility to us e it. His drea ms a re los t when, during a n a a ck by bullies , he la s hes out with uncontrolled ma gic a nd a ccidenta lly kills a n innocent bys ta nder. His jewels bla ckened, ba nning him forever from us ing ma gic, Sels or is thrown out to s urvive on the s treets a s bes t he is a ble…

Table of Contents Kiss the Rain Book Details Kiss the Rain About the Author

Book Details Kis s the Ra in By Mega n Derr Publis hed by Les s Tha n Three Pres s All rights res erved. No pa rt of this book ma y be us ed or reproduced in a ny ma nner without wri en permis s ion of the publis her, except for the purpos e of reviews . Edited by Sa ma ntha M. Derr Cover des igned by Mega n Derr This book is a work of fic on a nd a s s uch a ll cha ra cters a nd s itua ons a re fic ous . Any res embla nce to a ctua l people, pla ces , or events is coincidenta l. Second Edition November 2011 Copyright © 2011 by Mega n Derr Printed in the United Sta tes of America ISBN 978-1-936202-86-7

Kiss the Rain “Stop it! Stop it!” “What's the ma er, rag boy? Fail another test?” Rough hands shoved him hard, sending Selsor crashing into another of his tormentors, who shoved him into yet another boy, turning Selsor around and around in a dizzying circle of bruising shoves and cruel taunts. He tried in vain to block them out: the comments about his parents, how they'd died, how he didn't belong, that he was poor and dirty and had hair like a girl. He stumbled, crying out in pain when one of the brutes kept him from falling by grabbing his hair. “Maybe we should call you rag girl, huh? You can't do magic, but with a bath and some proper manners I might let you clean my room.” The young man leered. “Why, can't find anyone willing to fuck you for money?" Stars of pain exploded behind his eyes, and he tasted cooper in his mouth, mixed with the mud and rain water on the stone les of the courtyard. Selsor choked back tears, remembering with painful clarity what had happened the last me he'd cried. They just loved it when he cried, loved to say he was nineteen but acting like a little girl. Why couldn't they just leave him alone? He was failing his magic classes, he was probably going to be thrown out soon—why this too? He just wanted to be le alone, to crawl back to his li le space above the school stable and study the small bit of healing that was all he could manage.

Someone kicked him in the ribs, and Selsor curled into a ball, wishing —willing—for them to go away. For something to make them go away. Like the flash spell he'd seen teachers use to startle first years. Something like that. Brilliant, blinding, and certain to scare them off. He saw a flash of bright light and heard a loud, sha ering CRACK, followed by the sound of people screaming and someone crying out in pain. Then an awful silence. Selsor slowly sat up, staring wide-eyed at the figure lying on the ground not twelve paces away. He was lying far too still. There was blood and the smell of burned flesh.

”He did it!” “The rag boy did it!” “He tried to kill us!” “No,” Selsor cried in horror. “I didn't—" “ That's enough,” a cold voice said, and Selsor stared miserably up at Professor Rhea, his advisor. Rhea stared grimly back. “Come with me." “I didn't do it.” “Yes, you did, Selsor,” Rhea said, voice so cold Selsor shivered. “I saw you cast a spell. Didn't I warn you that temper would cause you trouble one day? Look at what you've done!” He shook Selsor hard and turned him to look at where the Healers were working diligently on the figured sprawled on the pavement. “If he lives, Selsor, it will be a miracle. You let a few bullies get to you, and instead of figh ng properly you tried to

kill them and instead probably killed an innocent bystander.” “But—that's not—I was just—I can't do magic!" Selsor choked back further protests when it became obvious Rhea wasn't listening and let himself be dragged away, wiping the tears from his face as Rhea's recrimina ons mingled with the awful words pouring from the crowd gathered to see the spectacle. Several hours later, he'd given up hope that anyone would listen to him. Why didn't anyone care that he had used magic? Shouldn't they be helping him with it? But he knew why they were throwing him out— they'd never wanted him there to begin with, not when he was poor and had grown up mostly in the Territories and was too much like his rebellious parents. If he were rich, with obedient, well-connected parents, they would probably be fawning over him and telling him of course it wasn't his fault. Selsor choked back his rage, but only because he was afraid that he would repeat whatever had happened in the courtyard. He said nothing when they announced that he was being expelled, and his cas ng stones would be turned black. Should he ever a empt to prac ce magic, they would be torn out. He wondered bi erly why they didn't just tear them out right then, given how much they loathed him. Looking up, searching valiantly for some show of so ness, of understanding, in the eyes of the Academic Council, Selsor swallowed nervously and licked his dry lips. “Could I… could I see the person I hurt? To say I'm sorry?” “Sorry?” The Headmaster's eyes were hard. “What good would sorry do? He will be lucky if he survives ‘ l morning, Selsor. He wants nothing to do with you. This discussion is over. You will collect your things and

be gone from the city by dawn. Is that understood?” Selsor stood up, spine s ff and head held high. “It's understood. Perfectly. It's no wonder my mother hated this place. She was right. You're not interested in what's fair or right. I'd rather be banished than spend another day here.” Which wasn't true. It felt like no pain he'd ever experienced before to collect his two shirts, extra pair of breeches, and his mother's old comb, and leave behind the city he'd once thought was the most beau ful thing in the world. His mother had hated all of this, had much preferred wandering the world with just her husband and son, but she had understood when he said he wanted to try it. Selsor wiped away angry tears as he le the stable and slunk off into the night, wondering where in the name of the gods he was supposed to go.

Three yea rs la ter Sels or s cowled, bit ba ck s evera l colorful epithets , a nd thought na s ty thoughts a bout the group of s oldiers who ha d jus t tra cked mud a nd wa ter over the floors he'd jus t finis hed clea ning. Des pa ir a nd a nger a nd depres s ion wa s hed over him, but they were old, fa milia r emo ons , a nd he s hoved them ba ck a s he a lwa ys did a nd s imply returned to his ha nds a nd knees on the floor to clea n up the new mes s . The innkeeper a ppea red a nd s poke with the s oldiers , who

s e led thems elves loudly a nd mes s ily a t a ta ble a ga ins t the fa r wa ll. Sels or gla nced up briefly to gla re in their direc on—a nd a ccidenta lly ca ught the eyes of one. Bright, bright blue eyes , like the s ea where he us ed to pla y a s a child. He jerked his ga ze a wa y a nd returned a ll his a en on to the floor. Stupid s oldiers , s tupid ra in tha t wouldn't s top, s tupid inn, s tupid innkeeper—a nd mos t of a ll, s tupid him. Life would be s o much gra nder if he were dea d a nd no longer forced to put up with it, but he couldn't quite bring hims elf to do the deed. Oh, he'd tried ha lf-hea rtedly. He'd s pend hours wa lking a round in the ra in, hoping the cold a nd the wet a nd the s heer mis ery of it would do him in. No s uch luck. He mus t be the hea lthies t ba s ta rd in the kingdom, minus the nea r-cons ta nt hea da ches a nd mild dizzines s tha t ca me with being perpetua lly tired a nd hungry. A er tha t, he'd been too worried tha t further a empts would a ls o end in fa ilure, a nd he a lrea dy fa iled a t everything els e—he rea lly didn't need to fa il a t dying, a s well. S fling a s igh, he threw his us ed ra g down a nd he ed his bucket, trekking pa s t the odious s oldiers towa rd the ba ck, ignoring the cooks a nd ma ids pa cked into the wa rm kitchen a nd s tepping out into the ya rd. There, he tos s ed the dirty wa ter to join the verita ble la ke into which the countrys ide ha d been turning ever s ince the ra ins ha d begun a week a go a nd never s topped. Only the fra n c work of the people a nd ha lf a dozen ma ges kept the flooding from rea ching the point it drowned the whole

of the villa ge. Tha t wa s a ll tha t wa s being done, however. To da te, no one ha d been a ble to figure out the ca us e of it a ll. Tha t the ra in wa s unna tura l wa s certa in, but beyond tha t, nothing wa s known. To Sels or, it wa s s heer a gony. His jewels ha d been bla ck for over three yea rs now; ma gic wa s firmly in his pa s t. He could s ll feel the fa int itch of s pell work, however. The lingering taste tha t hovered in the a ir, hinting a t wha tever wa s ca us ing the ra in. He ha d been a us eles s ma ge ba ck in thos e da ys . The mos t he'd ever been a ble to do wa s a bit of hea ling. By the s econd term of his third yea r, his a ffinity s hould ha ve been obvious . It wa s ra re for s tudents to figure out their a ffini es s o la te, but not en rely unhea rd of—s o he ha dn't known wha t to do when he s howed zero a p tude for a nything. His profes s ors ha d a ll but given up on him in dis gus t; Sels or ha d ha ted hims elf. How could he ha ve the a bility for ma gic, but be una ble to do a nything except hea l s ma ll wounds ? The only thing tha t ha d s a ved him the s lightes t bit wa s a n impres s ive a bility to s ens e a nd feel ma gic. He'd a lwa ys known wha t s omeone wa s a bout to ca s t; no s pell ever ca me a s a s urpris e to him. Now, however, he could ba rely even do tha t. The bla ckening of his jewels ha d reduced even tha t a bility. He could feel it, ta s te it, but the a bility wa s ba rely a s hred of wha t it ha d been once. It would ta ke reviving his jewels to get a ny of his mea ger a bility ba ck, a nd there wa s zero cha nce of tha t ever ha ppening. Why would a nyone revive the jewels of a n incompetent ma ge who ha d proba bly killed s omeone?

It wa s three yea rs pa s t, he told hims elf vicious ly. Over, finis hed, a nd nothing to be done a bout it. Why did ba d wea ther a lwa ys bring out the gloomies t of his thoughts a nd memories ? Des pite tha t, the cold ra in felt good a ga ins t his hea ted s kin, a nd it wa s hed a wa y the dirt a nd s cum he'd a ccumula ted while s crubbing the wa lls a nd floor. He could not, however, linger long. Sighing, Sels or dra gged hims elf ba ck ins ide, bucket ha lf full of cold ra in wa ter. At the ma s s ive cook fire, he s wung out the enormous ca uldron a nd la dled out hot wa ter un l the bucket wa s mos tly full. Then he threw in a fres h chunk of s oa p a nd ha uled it ba ck into the ma in room of the inn. The s oldiers were s ll there, s pea king in low tones a ccompa nied by ha nd ges tures a nd s cowls . Sels or wa tched them s urrep ous ly, curios ity ge ng the be er of him a s the ha rd la bor a bs orbed mos t of his a nger. Something mus t ha ve been figured out if the ca pita l wa s s ending s oldiers —s ix of them in tota l, a nd none of them a ppea red to be even the s lightes t bit green. Experienced s oldiers a nd s uch a s ma ll number. To mos t idiots , tha t would not s eem like much, but to thos e who knew s oldiers , tha t s a id the problem wa s no trifling thing, a nd it would be dea lt with a ccordingly. Their lea der s eemed to be the centra l blonde-ha ired ma n with pa le brown eyes a nd a wiry build. He looked va guely fa milia r, but Sels or could not pla ce him, which irrita ted him. On either s ide of him were two men with da rk-red ha ir, obvious ly twins . To the le were two more men, one da rk-ha ired, the other

fa ir, both rela vely s ilent compa red to the more ta lka ve redhea ds a nd blonde. Off to the right wa s the ma n with the s ha rp blue eyes . His ha ir wa s da rk, but cropped s o s hort a nd clos e to his hea d tha t Sels or couldn't tell if it wa s brown or bla ck. He wa s the only one la ughing a nd s miling, lea ning ba ck in his cha ir a nd mo oning la zily. He s a id s omething to the others , which s et a ll their eyes to rolling. "You a nd tha t red theory—" Sels or ca ught before the voices once more dropped too low for him to hea r. He bent ba ck to his work, but the s ound of more la ughter drew his a ttention a ga in. It wa s wa rm la ughter, rea l a nd hea rty, with nothing cruel or mocking in it. Jus t ha ppines s a nd gentle a mus ement. Sels or s eldom hea rd s uch la ughter; in his experience, a ll la ughter ca me a t the expens e of s omeone's mis ery—us ua lly his . The blue-eyed ma n, obvious ly. He wa s the mos t ha nds ome one a t the ta ble, Sels or thought, if one went for the da rk-ha ired, blue-eyed, too-much mus cle s ort. Which, Sels or reminded hims elf, he mos t certa inly did not. Men like him didn't ha ve s orts a t a ll, es pecia lly s ince more tha n a few gues ts to the inn thought his s ort wa s a nyone willing to give him a bit of coin for a tumble. He'd s ucceed a t killing hims elf before he wa s reduced to tha t. Acros s the room, the blue-eyed ma n's ga ze a bruptly s hi ed, a nd Sels or once a ga in found hims elf ca ught by thos e eyes . Then the ma n grinned, a nd Sels or s cowled a nd jerked his ga ze ba ck to the floor he wa s s uppos ed to be clea ning.

Severa l minutes la ter, the innkeeper ca me in with a tra y a nd s o ea ger to plea s e Sels or wa s a ma zed he didn't s imply get down on his knees a nd offer to s ervice them. Lip curling in dis ta s te, Sels or s crubbed more vicious ly a t a s pot on the floor where s omeone's boot ha d dra gged in s omething tha t s melled rema rka bly unplea s a nt. He'd jus t s crubbed the la s t of it a wa y when a pa ir of muddy boots a ppea red in his field of vis ion—a nd he ba rely s fled a cry of pa in when he wa s a bruptly kicked ha rd in the ches t, ba rely ma na ging to a void knocking over the bucket a s he s tumbled ba ck. He grunted a nd bra ced a n a rm a cros s his ribs , dra gging his ga ze up to s cowl a t the innkeeper. "Wha t the hells a re you doing while I've got honored gues ts ? They don't wa nt to s ee your pa the c a s s s crubbing floors while they're trying to ea t." Sels or a lmos t pointed out tha t he'd been ins tructed to clea n the ma in room un l bid otherwis e, but decided it wa s n't worth being kicked a ga in. Something perta ining to the s oldiers ha d obvious ly a ngered old Ta m, a nd Sels or wa s n't going to ma ke hims elf even more of a ta rget for Ta m's ven ng tha n he wa s a lrea dy. Twenty-two, Sels or thought mis era bly, twenty-two a nd this wa s his life, a nd there wa s no hope it would ever rea lly cha nge. Not a ma ge, not out in the Territories . Jus t a pa thetic s la ve to the only ma n who wa s willing to give work to a ma ge with bla ckened s tones .

"Here now," the blue-eyed ma n s a id s ha rply. "Don't go kicking him on our beha lf. We ha d no problem with his working while we a te. Don't s a y we did." Ta m s hrugged. "This one needs periodic bea tings , a nywa y." "The s a me could be s a id of mos t men," the blue-eyed ma n s a id with a wa rning tone. "Lea ve off, old ma n." Shrugging a ga in, Ta m motioned impa tiently. "Get on with you," he s na pped a t Sels or. "To the s ta bles . I'm done with you toda y. See you're here before firs t light to finis h the job." Sels or s a id nothing, merely ga thered up his bucket a nd ra gs a nd ca rried it a ll into the kitchen. Lea ving it in the li le corner where his s tuff wa s kept, he then s trode out of the kitchen, a nd pra ctica lly ha d to s wim to get a cros s the ya rd to the s ta ble. Thunder rumbled over hea d, a nd he ca ught a fla s h of lightning in the dis ta nce. His ches t grew ght, a nd he s tumbled to a ha lt in the knee-deep wa ter, too pa ra lyzed by fea r a nd guilt to move. Three yea rs a go he'd been expelled for us ing dea dly ma gic a nd killing—or nea rly killing, he'd never found out for certa in if the boy ha d lived—a nother s tudent. He ha dn't mea nt to, ha dn't even known he'd ca s t a s pell. He couldn't do ma gic like tha t. Since a cquiring his s tones he ha dn't been a ble to do more tha n the s imples t of hea ling. He'd overhea rd them dis cus s ing it, tha t he ha d ca s t s ome ma nner of s pell tha t res embled lightning, which wa s a bs urd. Sels or ha d rea d countles s his tory books ; no one ha d ever ca s t a s pell tha t res embled lightning. But tha t ha d ma ered to a nyone. They only ca red tha t he ha d

a ppa rently tried to kill s omeone. Like he'd done it on purpos e. They mus t ha ve been ecs ta c a t ha ving s uch a good rea s on to throw him out. A boy who couldn't us e his ma gic wa s one thing— tha t wa s on the s chool's hea d, to a point. But a boy who tried to us e his ma gic to commit murder? Out he went, s tra ight a wa y. Sels or remembered the fla s h, the s ound, the blood s mea red a cros s s ha ered les , the a wful s mell, a nd tha t s ingle terrible cry of pa in. He rea lly ha ted s torms . They reminded him fa r too much of tha t moment, of being told he'd killed s omeone with lightning, or a t lea s t a s pell clos e enough to it. When the la s t of the thunder ha d fa ded a wa y, a nd no more lightning s eemed eminent, he fina lly res umed ma king his wa y towa rd the s ta ble. All the buildings in the villa ge ha d been s pelled to keep the flood wa ters out, but the s pells were ge ng ha rder a nd ha rder to ma inta in a s the ra in grew wors e a nd the ma ges wore out. Tha t might ha ve been the rea s on the s oldiers were there, a t tha t. Six of them, a nd there were s ix rea l ma ges in town a t pres ent. Ma ybe the s oldiers were going to Bond with the ma ges a nd s ee if tha t combined s trength wa s enough to do s omething a bout the wea ther. Bonding wa s old-fa s hioned a nd no longer employed by credible ma ges a nd s oldiers , but it wa s es ta blis hed fa ct tha t a bonding could increa s e a ma ge's s trength. Bi er des pa ir wa s hed over him a ga in a s he s hucked his wet clothes , for bonding a lwa ys ma de him think of his pa rents . They ha d been

truly bonded, unca ring tha t the tra di on wa s outda ted. His mother's ma ge jewels ha d been the green of his s oldier fa ther's eyes ; they ha d been a perfect ma ge-s oldier tea m. He'd received word of their dea th jus t a yea r a fter entering the Univers ity. Since then, life ha d only gotten progres s ively wors e. Old-fa s hioned, people ha d ca lled his pa rents —ha d ca lled him, a t s chool. Outda ted, s tuck in the pa s t, clinging to the old wa ys for no good rea s on. Jus t like his long ha ir, which he s tubbornly refus ed to cut, even now. Everything els e which ma ered ha d been ta ken from him. They would not ta ke tha t a s well. He threw his wet clothes over the wa lls of a n empty s ta ll, then climbed up the la dder to the lo , s hivering a nd s ha king a ll the while. Once up there, he pulled out his only rema ining s et of hos e a nd tunic, then tugged on his s ingle robe, le over from his s chool da ys . It a nd a few old hors e bla nkets were a ll tha t s tood between him a nd the elements From benea th a pile of ha y, he pulled out his old s chool s a tchel. Ins ide were hunks of brea d, a couple of a pples , a bit of chees e, a nd even s ome jerky—things le by unca ring gues ts tha t he ma na ged to filch when s et to clea ning the rooms . It wa s a ls o the only wa y he ever a cquired coin—a dropped copper there, a few forgo en pence there, a nd every once in a grea t while he found a s ilver. Two of them, now. Someda y, he told hims elf, he'd ha ve enough to lea ve the country a nd find one tha t wouldn't reject him for ha ving bla ck s tones .

A pointles s drea m, a s a ll drea ms were, but it ga ve him s omething to think a bout when he couldn't s leep, which wa s a ll too o en. Ea ng one of the a pples in a few quick bites , wolfing down the brea d a nd chees e, he s hoved the rema ining food ba ck into the s a tchel to s a ve for brea kfa s t. Then he fetched his three hors e bla nkets , la ying one over the s tra w a nd pulling the other two up over him. Se ling down, he willed hims elf to s leep a nd tried not to think a bout the bea ng tha t would likely wa ke him in a little while. When he jerked a wa ke s ome me la ter, however, it wa s n't to a bea ng, though it wa s to s omeone touching him. A la rge ha nd, enca s ed in s mooth, wa rm lea ther, gripped his s houlder a nd s hook him ha rd a ga in. Sels or s hoved it a wa y a nd s a t up—a nd s la mmed into the hea d of whoever wa s lea ning over him, s wea ring loudly in pa in. "Sorry," the ma n mu ered, a nd Sels or felt him withdra w a bit. His voice wa s fa milia r… The blue-eyed s oldier, he rea lized. Surely not. But in the next moment, a ma tch fla red, a nd then a la ntern ca me to life, a nd in its wea k light he s a w tha t he wa s not mis ta ken: it wa s the blue-eyed s oldier. Rubbing his s ore hea d, he s cowled. "Wha t in the gods ' na mes a re you doing here? If you're hoping for a ddi ona l service, you're only going to find yours elf s hoved out of the loft." The blue-eyed ma n grinned—grinned, for the love of the gods , wha t wa s there to grin a bout? "As pre y a s you a re, flir ng will

ha ve to wa it a bit. I require your a s s is ta nce with quite a different ma tter." Sels or s neered. "I ca nnot ima gine wha t a s oldier might need with a floor s crubber. Ta ke your coin a nd go bother s omeone willing to ta ke it." "I don't need a floor s crubber or a whore," the ma n replied. "I need a n uncorrupted ma ge." "Wha t?" Sels or a s ked, too s ta rtled to bite the ques on ba ck. How ha d the ma n known? His wris ts were covered by his s leeves , a nd his forehea d by a s ca rf s uch a s a ny s erva nt might wea r. No one would ha ve bothered to tell the s oldiers a bla cks tone ma ge wa s a t the inn, a nd they wouldn't ca re a nywa y. So how did this s oldier know? He jus t grinned a ga in, a nd Sels or wa nted to s ma ck him. "We're fa irly certa in tha t a t lea s t one of the ma ges pres ent is res pons ible for this wea ther. We jus t don't know which one or ones . To figure it out, I need one who is not involved." "You didn't bring one with you?" Sels or a s ked. "Rema rka bly s tupid." His mouth ha d a lwa ys go en him in the mos t trouble, but he s imply didn't ca re. He took fa r wors e tha n ins olence from everyone els e; they could dea l with tha t much. The s oldier la ughed. "Oh, we did, but I prefer to do things my own wa y. Tha t mea ns pers ua ding you to help me." Sels or jus t s ta red a t him in contempt. "How did you know I wa s a ma ge?"

"I ca ught a glimps e of one your jewels ," the ma n replied, "a nd you've got the look of one, a nywa y." How ha d he 'ca ught a glimps e'? Tha t didn't ma ke s ens e; he wa s extremely ca reful to ma ke certa in no one ca ught a ny hint of them. The look of one? Wha t did tha t mea n? "Then you ca ught a glimps e tha t they were bla ck," he s na pped. "I'm us eles s for ma ge work, even if they weren't bla ckened. Shove off a nd pes ter s omeone els e." "No," the s oldier s a id with infuria ng ca lm. "I need your help. I've no me to find s omeone els e. We've only got three nights to do this before the wa ter fina lly becomes too much for the ma ges to hold ba ck—es pecia lly s ince one of them clea rly wa nts the flooding to ha ppen. We need to figure out how he's doing it, a nd then how to s top it." "Oh, yes , tha t s ounds s imple enough," Sels or replied. "Nothing to it. Figure out how ma ny a re involved, figure out how to s top ma gic s o complica ted no one ha s been a ble to unra vel it to da te, a nd the gods a lone know wha t els e s uch powerful ma ges a re ca pa ble of—nothing to it, indeed." The s oldier la ughed. Sels or ba rely res is ted a n urge to hit him. How could he laugh? Clea rly s omeone ha d knocked him on the hea d one too ma ny mes . "Exa ctly," the s oldier s a id. "So, will you help me? I ca n pa y you ha nds omely for it. Sa y, a hundred s ilver? Ha lf now, ha lf when we're finis hed." A hundred s ilver? Tha t… wa s a ll the money he could pos s ibly need to s ta rt a new life. If he were ca reful, a nd found s omepla ce s a fe a nd quiet a cros s the s ea , he'd never wa nt for

a nything for a long me. "Wha t, exa ctly, does helping you enta il? Jus t finding the ma ges res pons ible a nd s topping the s pell?" "Right," the s oldier replied. "It ma y enta il going into the Territories , I'm not certa in yet. Nothing we ca n't ma na ge, eh?" "I s uppos e," Sels or s a id. "I told you, though, I'm a lous y ma ge. I ca n ma na ge minor hea lings , tha t's a bout it—a nd right now I ca n't even do tha t beca us e my s tones a re bla ckened." The s oldier s hrugged a nd s et down the la ntern he wa s s ll holding, then rea ched out a nd s na gged one of Sels or's a rms . Holding it ghtly, he s hoved ba ck Sels or's s leeve a nd rubbed his thumb over the jewel. Pa in welled up, ma king Sels or's ches t a che, but it wa s a pa in he wa s us ed to—he would never be a proper ma ge, a nd s omeda y he might fina lly be a ble to a ccept tha t. When the da mna ble s oldier did not s top touching, Sels or tried to jerk his wris t free, but he wa s no ma tch for a ma s s of ta lking mus cle. There wa s nea rly enough of the s oldier he could ma ke two of Sels or. Ins tea d of relea s ing Sels or's wris t, he s imply rea ched out a nd s na gged the other one un l his thumbs covered both jewels . "To you, ma ge, goes my s trength. Where my s word fa ils , your ma gic will preva il." Sels or froze with s hock a nd opened his mouth to a s k wha t in the hells the idiot thought he wa s doing, but the words wouldn't come. He wa s s imply too s tunned—tha t wa s a bonding vow, in rea lity a s pell to bind ma ge to s oldier, s o tha t they could dra w from ea ch other s o tha t ma gic a nd might both worked be er, s o

they could s ta y connected a t a ll times . "Your turn," the s oldier s a id, a mus ement in his voice, a nd though he tried, Sels or could find nothing mocking or condes cending in it. He s wa llowed a nd s a id s lowly, "To you, s oldier, goes my power. Where my ma gic fa ils , your s word will preva il." Before his eyes , in the wea k light of the la ntern, his jewels bega n to glow—gra y a t firs t, then to white, then to the s a me s ha rp, piercing blue of the s oldier's eyes . The bond ha d ta ken. His jewels , for wha tever they were worth, would work now. It s houldn't ha ve been s o ea s y to brea k the bla ckening … He could do ma gic a ga in. He could feel it a ga in. Taste it. Jus t a s a cutely a s he ha d before, ins tea d of only ba rely. He flexed a nd unflexed his ha nds , not certa in wha t to do or s a y, a fra id a ny words he might s a y would come out on a s ob, a nd how pa the c would tha t look? "Good, tha t's done," the s oldier s a id a nd cla pped him on the s houlder. "We'd bes t be off. Wa s n't certa in you ha d the right gea r for this s ort of thing, s o I brought s ome a long for you. It's down below if you wa nt to come cha nge." Sels or nodded, but pa us ed when a s ma ll lea ther pouch wa s dropped in front of him. The firs t fi y s ilver, he rea lized a s he picked it up. The s heer a mount of money he held wa s a lmos t dizzying—even ba ck when his life ha d not been one prolonged a gony, he'd never ha d tha t much money. He wa ited un l the s oldier ha d va nis hed, then hid the money

a wa y with the res t, where even s tupid Ta m would not be a ble to find it—beca us e, though he thought he wa s s nea ky, Sels or knew Ta m frequently looked a round to s ee if Sels or wa s hiding a nything. Then he s cra mbled down the la dder a s quickly a s he da red in the rela ve da rk. As he nea red the bo om, a wa ve of dizzines s s truck him ha rd, a nd he los t his grip, fa lling ba ck with a fa int, s ta rtled cry—only to la nd a ga ins t s omething tha t wa s definitely not the floor. "All right, there, ma ge?" "Fine," Sels or s a id irrita bly, wondering wha t the hell wa s wrong with him. His perpetua l dizzines s wa s not norma lly that ba d. Perha ps ha ving his jewels woken wa s contribu ng to the overa ll mes s . He pus hed a wa y from the s oldier a nd moved towa rd the clothes he could s ee wa i ng for him. "Where did you get a ll this ?" "I borrowed it from Gehl a nd Kehl, the red-ha ired men on my tea m. They looked a bout your s ize, a nd they won't mis s it, or ca re pa rticula rly if they do—I've run off with wors e before." "They jus t let you ta ke their s tuff?" Sels or a s ked. The s oldier grinned—Sels or really ha ted the wa y he did tha t. It wa s n't norma l for a ma n to s mile tha t frequently a nd for no good rea s on. "Yes , beca us e it a lwa ys turns out to be a good thing tha t I did." "I think they might ta ke is s ue with your wa king the s tones of a bla ckened ma ge," Sels or s a id. "Na h," the s oldier replied, s ll grinning a s he repla ced the

cloa k he'd obvious ly ta ken off before venturing up the la dder to wa ke Sels or. "It will turn out to be a good thing, a nd they ca n't get ma d a t me for doing s omething tha t works ." "You're ma d," Sels or pronounced, then s hucked his clothes to s ta rt pulling on the ones wa i ng for him. He wa s certa in this would a ll end in mis ery a nd proba bly in a bout five more minutes , but if five minutes with rea l jewels wa s a ll he wa s going to get, he would ta ke them. The s oldier la ughed. "I a lwa ys get ca lled tha t a t the s ta rt of a n a dventure, but by the end, everyone ha s to concede I'm brillia nt." "And s o modes t," Sels or retorted. He pulled up a pa ir of lea ther breeches a nd quickly la ced them, bending a nd flexing his legs to s e le them jus t s o. They fit well a nd were much wa rmer tha n his o -pa tched hos e. Next wa s a s o unders hirt, followed by a longer outer s hirt of good linen, a nd the whole covered by a s turdy s hort tunic, da rk green in color a nd trimmed in pa le green ivy. A s imple lea ther belt held it a ll together, a nd he s a t down to begin working on the boots . They ca me to mid-thigh a nd were obvious ly mea nt for trudging through the ra in a nd mud beyond the s pelled s a fety a nd wa rmth of the s ta ble. Ge ng them on a nd la cing them up took a few minutes work, but when he wa s done a nd ha d s ta mped them to s ettle in pla ce, the boots fit rema rka bly well. He gla nced a t the cloa k tha t ha d been s et out, one s pecia lly ma de for the ra in, but es chewed it. He liked to feel the ra in on his s kin. The only problem would be his ha ir, a nd tha t wa s a

problem s o fa milia r it ha rdly could be counted a problem a nymore. With quick, ea s y movements he combed his ha ir a s nea t a nd s mooth a s he could get it, then s wi ly bra ided it. Next, he coiled the bra id up, then knelt a nd fumbled a round in his dis ca rded robe for the old comb he a lwa ys kept there. It ha d been his mothers , ca rved from a golden-colored wood, s mooth a nd s hiny with a ge. It wa s pla in, the end s hort a nd s ma ll, ca rved only with a bs tra ct whorls a nd curls , but it ha d s urvived more tha n a few interes ng a dventures . Ta king it, he s hoved the comb up from the na pe of his neck, holding the coiled bra id firmly in pla ce. It wa s only one of ma ny rea s ons he ha d been ca lled a girl a t s chool, but he didn't much ca re. If it worked, it worked, a nd tha t wa s tha t. "Rea dy," he s a id. "Don't forget your cloa k." "I don't need it," Sels or replied s hortly. The s oldier quirked a brow, but s hrugged a nd s miled. "As you like it, then. Here, I'll ta ke it in ca s e it proves ha ndy for s omething els e." So s a ying, he took the cloa k a nd bundled it up, tucking it into the kna ps a ck he wore on his ba ck. "Sha ll we go, then?" Sels or nodded, then drew up s hort. "Wha t in the world is your na me?" "Oh!" the s oldier replied a nd s miled s heepis hly, rubbing a

ha nd over his s hort, s hort ha ir. "Jenohn Va ndus en. A plea s ure to meet you." "I'm s ure," Sels or replied. "My na me is Sels or Brightwell." He wa ited for the fla s h of recogni on, the dis gus t—the rea c ons ha d pla gued him relentles s ly, tha t firs t yea r. It ha d mos tly fa ded by now, but s omeone from the ca pita l would s urely know it. Jenohn, however, jus t s miled a nd s a id, "Sels or. I think we'll work well, together." "I dis a gree," Sels or s a id ta rtly, "but I s ens e tha t does n't ma tter to you." "No," Jenohn a greed cheerfully. "Mos tly beca us e I'm a lwa ys right, a nd I'll be right a bout this a s well." Sels or rolled his eyes a nd res is ted a childis h impuls e to kick him in the s hins . "Your modes ty rea lly is your fines t qua lity." "So people o en tell me," Jenohn s a id with a nother of his da mned grins . "Sha ll we go?" "Lea d the wa y, my modes t s oldier," Sels or replied with a long s igh. "Where a re we going?" "To the old temple," Jenohn s a id. "Everyone s a ys it's never us ed, completely a ba ndoned, a nd no one ever goes there. Which, in my experience, mea ns everyone goes there to us e it for a lot of things they don't wa nt a nyone els e to know a bout." He grinned. "It's the perfect pla ce to s ta rt."

"If we ca n get there," Sels or replied. "Tha t's a good two hour wa lk when the wea ther is idea l, a nd it's fa r from tha t now. The wa ter gets a s deep a s a ma n outs ide the town." The ma ges were s o fa r ma na ging to keep it to a bout ha lf tha t in town, though s ome pla ces were wors e. When their power fina lly broke benea th the weight of the ma gic… "Tha t's why we brought boa ts ," Jenohn replied. "One is wa i ng for us ; a ll we ha ve to do is get to the north edge of town. Ea s y enough." Spoken like a true thick-hea ded s oldier, Sels or thought, but obediently followed Jenohn out of the s ta ble a nd into the wet, cold wea ther beyond. It wa s s ll pitch bla ck, a nd he ha lted only s teps pa s t the s ta ble door. This wouldn't do; they couldn't tra vel in s uch da rknes s , even if Jenohn wa s clea rly cocky enough to think he could ma na ge it. A lumines cence would s olve their problems , but he'd ba rely ma na ged tha t before, a nd then only if he exha us ted hims elf… Well, wha t could it hurt to try? If he fa iled, then tha t wa s nothing new, a nd ma ybe Jenohn would begin to unders ta nd why he s hould lea ve Sels or out of his ma d s cheme—wha tever tha t s cheme a ctua lly wa s . Ta king a deep brea th, he clos ed his eyes a nd drew his ha nds together s lowly, whis pering the words of a never-forgo en s pell, willing a nd wis hing for it to work. For a moment, he thought it wa s a ll going to fa ll a pa rt, a nd he wa s going to tos s the mea ger dinner he ha d ea ten not s o long a go—

Then a bruptly he felt the ngling rus h through his blood of power properly dra wn, properly ca s t, a nd it thrummed in his jewels before fla ring in the s pa ce between his loos ely cupped ha nds . Light s truck his eyelids , a nd he s lowly opened his eyes to s ee the orb of pa le blue, s himmering light. He drew a s ha rp brea th a nd s ta red dumbfounded. His hea d hurt, a nd he s ll felt a s though he might tos s his lunch—but it ha d worked. It ha d rea lly worked. "Not ba d for s omeone who ca n't do ma gic," Jenohn s a id, s ta rtling him. How ha d the ba s ta rd moved tha t quietly in the wa ter? Jenohn grinned, a nd Sels or jus t s cowled ba ck. "I rea lly did not wa nt to hea r you modestly procla im tha t you ca n s ee in the da rk or wha tever rot you would ha ve come up with," he s a id a nd gently nudged the light to hover a bove their hea ds , tes ng his control by moving it ba ck a nd forth, fighting a s tupid urge to grin. "I would ha ve ma na ged," Jenohn s a id lo ily, a nd Sels or ha d a s nea king s us picion he wa s ma king a jes t, or trying to, but decided tha t a cknowledging it in a nywa y would jus t be ta ken a s encoura gement. They trudged on through the gloom, the blue light offering no wa rmth or res pite from the relentles s ra in—a nd Sels or wa s s ilently gra teful tha t s uch ma gic wa s not a ffected by the elements . It took them clos e to a n hour to rea ch the north edge of town, a nd he wondered wha t me it wa s tha t well over a n hour la ter it

wa s s ll pitch bla ck. Not tha t it rea lly ma ered, but he did wonder, es pecia lly a s it felt a s though he ha d go en very li le s leep. Perha ps it wa s be er not to know. S fling a s udden ya wn tha t would only wind up giving him a mouthful of wa ter, he wa ded to the boa t a nd a llowed Jenohn to help him into it. Obvious ly it ha d been s pelled, for there wa s not a drop of wa ter a nywhere in or on it. "You a re doing the rowing, unles s a ll tha t mus cle is jus t for s how." "No, I know how to us e it," Jenohn replied with a s mirk. "I'm very good a t wha t I do. You jus t s it there a nd look pre y, my grumpy ma ge." Sels or ga ve him a withering look, a nd did not give him the s a s fa c on of a reply. Chuckling, Jenohn he ed the oa rs a nd bega n to row. How long it took them to rea ch the old temple, Sels or didn't know—it wa s a ll he could do to s ta y a wa ke, a t moments . The only bright s ide wa s tha t the s a me s pell tha t protected the boa t protected its pa s s engers a s well. Unfortuna tely, it did not rea lly give him a cha nce to ta s te much —the ra in prevented tha t. He would need clea r, uns pelled a ir if he wa s to get a ny s ort of s ens e a s to wha t wa s going on. The temple wa s vis ible even in the da rk, the white s tones of which it wa s ma de a lmos t s eemed to glow under their own power. Des pite the fa ct it ha d been in dis us e for more yea rs tha n a nyone could remember, it looked pra ctica lly una ged.

Such wa s the power of the a ncient ma ges , or s o his tory s a id. His tory tha t, in Sels or's opinion, wa s more legend tha t a nything, but no one wa nted his opinion. Ba ck then, it wa s s a id, they could ca ll down lightning a nd control the full force of the winds , a nd other s uch rot. If they ha d been a ble to do it then, they s hould ha ve been a ble to do it now, yet no one could. They ha d told him ba ck when he ha d been expelled tha t his s pell ha d ca rried the force of lightning, but he ha d been over their words a nd his own memories a thous a nd mes or more. If a nything, he'd jus t s omehow ma na ged to ca s t a fla s h s pell a nd done s omething horribly wrong—given his mul tude of fa ilures where ma gic wa s concerned, it wa s not terribly s urpris ing tha t in a nger a nd fea r a nd pa in he ha d s crewed up s uch a powerful, a lbeit genera lly ha rmles s , s pell. Not tha t s uch a thought ha d occurred to a nyone els e. He s hook the s our memories off a s they fina lly rea ched the temple. The wa ter wa s s o high tha t the s teps lea ding up the temple ha d been completely s ubmerged; they were a ble to row right up to one s ide of the ma s s ive la nding. Jenohn lea ped nea tly out of the boa t a nd ed it to one of the columns , then turned a nd offered a ha nd. Sels or wa nted to refus e it, jus t on principle, but he nea rly tumbled right down onto the ma rble la nding s imply trying to s ta nd. Mu ering da rk epithets a bout cocky s oldiers a nd s tupid temples , he a ccepted the lea ther-cla d ha nd held out to him a nd a llowed Jenohn to a ll but pick him up out of the boa t a nd s et him down a ga in.

Blinking, he s tood s ll a moment to rega in his ba la nce a nd his s ens es , which ha d ta ken a punch upon being free of the rowboa t. He wrinkled his nos e a nd fought not to ga g. "Blood," he s a id. "There is ma gic here, a nd it ta s tes like blood." He rea lized wha t he'd jus t s a id a nd wa ited for Jenohn to ma ke s ome s nide, dis believing comment a bout his ta s ting ma gic. Jenohn, however, merely grunted a nd drew his s word. "Sta y behind me, ma ge, a nd let me know if you s ee or s ens e a nything els e a mis s ." Sels or nodded a nd fell into s tep behind him a s they pa s s ed through the open entrywa y into the temple, a ha bit he ha d a cquired a s a child tra velling with his pa rents —he a nd his mother ha d a lwa ys s ta yed behind his fa ther when they were in da ngerous a rea . A good s oldier a lwa ys took the lea d a nd trus ted his ma ge to gua rd their ba cks . It ha d been more yea rs tha n he could count s ince he'd been in s uch a s itua on, but it s eemed s ome ha bits never rea lly went a wa y. He s fled a s igh a nd ignored the s a dnes s tha t wa s hed over him a s he followed Jenohn into the temple. Their boots echoed on the ma rble les of the floor, the reverbera ng s ounds s omehow ma king the s ilence a ll the deeper. At the end of the long ha ll, a s ma ll s ec on of the floor glowed ora nge, clea rly from a fire tha t burned in the room beyond. The doors s epa ra ng the a lta r cha mber from the ha llwa y were mos tly clos ed, but not entirely. Sels or wondered who ha d lit a fire a nd le it untended—then rea lized, s tupidly, tha t it wa s en rely pos s ible tha t the fire

wasn't untended. Jenohn s eemed to s ha re the thought, for he a djus ted the grip on his s word a nd tens ed in a wa y he ha dn't before when he'd firs t dra wn his s word. Rea ching the doors , he kicked them open a nd bra ced hims elf, but a er a moment, he rela xed. "Does not s eem to be a nyone here…" he s a id. "Wha t s a y you, Sels or?" "The ma gic is both old a nd new," Sels or replied, irrita ted a t the wa y Jenohn s a id his na me with s uch ea s y fa milia rity, a s though he ha d been s a ying it forever. "Tha t typica lly mea ns either a s pell tha t ta kes a grea t dea l of me to fully ca s t, or a s pell which is mea nt to la s t a long me a nd needs cons ta nt renewing." "Like a curs e," Jenohn s a id. Sels or looked a t him in s urpris e. "Yes ," he s a id s lowly. "Curs es a re s pells mea nt to inflict ha rm upon a s pecific pers on or pla ce a nd o en la s t for yea rs , even genera ons . They're extremely ha rd to ca s t, however. Mos t ma ges , even bonded, do not ha ve tha t kind of power. Curs es mos t o en die out well before they s hould, or a re s o wea kly ca s t a good ma ge ca n brea k them. A true curs e ha s not been ca s t… mus t be a t lea s t a hundred yea rs . "A hundred a nd s eventeen," Jenohn replied, then li ed is s word to point it a t the a lta r. "If tha t's not a curs e, I would love to know wha t it is ." Sels or fina lly dra gged his ga ze tha t wa y, ha ving a voided it beca us e the feel of ma gic a nd s tench of blood were s o s trong. The ma gic wa s wrong, evil. His eyes widened in horror a t the

s ight tha t met them. Once, the a lta r mus t ha ve been bea u ful, a s pris ne a nd white a nd glowing a s the res t of the temple. Now, however, it wa s covered in dried a nd drying blood with fea thers s ca ered everywhere from the dea d ra ptor la id a cros s tha t ha d obvious ly s truggled until it drew its la s t brea th. It wa s s prea d out, wings s tretching nea rly the length of the a lta r ta ble. Na ils ha d been driven threw them to pin the ra ptor down, a nd a s ilver da gger ha d been plunged into its brea s t. This wa s old ma gic. Foul ma gic. Such things ha d been outla wed centuries a go. Ma king a n ina r cula te s ound of ra ge, Sels or s ta lked up the s teps to the a lta r ta ble a nd knocked a wa y the mul tude of ceremonia l ca ndles tha t s eemed to ma ke a mockery of the en re thing. With tha t light gone, only the unea rthly glow of the temple its elf provided a ny light. Sels or rea ched out a nd ya nked a wa y the da gger plunged into the bird's brea s t, tos s ing it a wa y behind him a nd s troking the bloodied fea thers , the delica te hea d, the ra va ged wings . Anger welled up, a nd his jewels glowed a brillia nt blue. His fingers twitched, a nd then the corps e of the bird wa s burning. In s econds , it wa s nothing more tha n a s h. Sels or s la pped one ha nd over his mouth in a n effort to keep the contents of his s toma ch in his s toma ch a nd us ed the other to s mea r the a s h through the drying blood a nd the ma rks tha t s omeone ha d tra ced in it.

A wa ve of dizzines s s truck him ha rd a moment la ter, a nd Sels or reeled ba ck, ba rely ca tching hims elf a nd dropping to his knees before ta king a tumble down the a lta r s teps . He s ta rted to hold a ha nd to his a ching hea d, then rea lized it wa s s ll covered in a s h a nd blood. He jerked when a ha nd fell on his s houlder, then dra gged his ga ze up to Jenohn. "Are you a ll right?" "I'm fine now tha t thing ha s been des troyed." "We s hould ha ve le it," Jenohn s a id, "s o a s not to a lert the culprits tha t we a re on to them, but it ra ther turned my s toma ch a s well. Ca n you unders ta nd the na ture of the curs e tha t wa s ca s t?" Sels or nodded. "It's not a curs e, not on its own. I think it is the firs t s tep in ga thering the power neces s a ry to ca s t a curs e. This is old ma gic—forbidden ma gic. I've only ever rea d a bout it." Mos tly beca us e he'd ha d nothing be er to do, being the a bys ma l fa ilure of a s tudent he ha d been ba ck then. "So not a curs e, but to help ca s t a curs e. But wha t, exa ctly, is it?" Sels or s hook his hea d, overwhelmed, a nd ma ybe—jus t ma ybe —the s lightes t bit frightened. This s ort of thing wa s n't s uppos ed to be pos s ible, a nymore. "It's wha t they us ed to ca ll a dra in, I think." "A dra in? They're s tea ling a ma ge's power?" "How…" Sels or looked a t him in s urpris e a nd irrita on. "How

does a s oldier know s uch obs cure ma gic? Even mos t ma ges don't bother to lea rn s uch a rcha ic his tory." Jenohn grinned. "I'm well rea d. Ha ve to be if I'm going to be right a ll the time." Sels or rolled his eyes . "Anywa y," he s a id pointedly, "yes , this is intended to s tea l a ma ge's power. A ra ptor wa s s a crificed here, in a temple devoted prima rily to the wind. This is a n offering to the element of wind to crea te a pa thwa y through which the victim ma ge's power ca n be s tolen." "Wha t a bout the words you des troyed?" Jenohn a s ked. "Surely thos e conta ined importa nt informa tion." "Proba bly," Sels or a greed. "However, I could not unders ta nd them. Runes a ren't rea lly neces s a ry to the s pell its elf—it's jus t a wa y to help the ma ge focus , to tra in his mind. Over me, ma ges need them les s a nd les s ; their minds lea rn to fa ll into the proper pa erns . Given the complica ted na ture of the s pell a nd how old it mus t be, it mus t ha ve been rela vely unfa milia r to the ca s ter. He proba bly wrote out the runes to help hims elf whenever he ha d to renew it—but they were illegible. No s ma rt ma ge ma kes notes tha t a nother ca n rea d for fea r of ta mpering or theft." Jenohn nodded. "Right. I knew tha t much, but ha d hoped… oh, well. It's not rea lly per nent. We ca n ma na ge without. We a lrea dy know the obvious ; the res t ca n be deduced. So this is wha t he's us ing to crea te the s torm?" "No," Sels or s a id with a frown. "This is only for wind ma gic—

it's s tea ling power from a ma ge with a wind a ffinity. Tha t would jus t give the thieving ma ge s tronger wind powers . Not nea rly enough to control a s torm, even if tha t were pos s ible, which it's not. Wea ther ma gic is a myth." "Yet the ra in is definitely a product of ma gic ma nipula on," Jenohn countered. Sels or s cowled a t Jenohn, then the floor, a nd fina lly his filthy ha nd. He rea lly needed to clea n it. "I don't know wha t is going on—no one does . It's fa r more likely tha t other things a re being ma nipula ted which then ha d a peculia r effect on the wea ther. Ma gic ha s been known to ha ve s ide effects ." Jenohn s hrugged. "Everyone s a ys wea ther ma gic is impos s ible, but tha t s a me everyone a grees tha t the current wea ther is being a ffected by ma gic. It ca n't be both wa ys ." "So we're mis s ing s omething tha t ma kes it look like wea ther ma gic when rea lly it's not," Sels or s na pped. "Wea ther ma gic is not pos s ible—if it were, don't you think we would ha ve s een it by now?" "There were wea ther ma ges in the pa s t," Jenohn s a id, a nd s omething fla s hed in his blue eyes , s omething deep a nd intens e, a t complete odds with the cheerful cockines s he ha d thus fa r exhibited. "Wha t's to s a y there a re not s ome now?" Sels or rolled his eyes . "No, there were highly ta lented ma ges whos e a bili es got overblown by me a nd legend. Wea ther ma gic is a myth. It's impos s ible. Wea ther is a ll elements combined a nd a t the highes t pos s ible level of power. It

es s en a lly requires a s trong a ffinity for all elements . No one is tha t powerful. The mos t a nyone ha s ever been proven to pos s es s is a double a ffinity. Someone with ma ximum power in a ll four? Tha t's the mos t a bs urd thing I've ever hea rd." "Wha t if s omeone is fa king it?" Jenohn pres s ed. "Wha t if s omewhere a round town there a re three more of thes e things. One for ea ch element. Could tha t do it? In theory?" Relucta ntly, Sels or nodded. "In theory," he empha s ized. "Why would a nyone ris k s o much to tes t a theory?" Jenohn grunted. "Obvious ly it wa s a ris k worth ta king." He s hea thed his s word. "We'd be er get going, before s omeone a rrives . I wonder where the other dra ins might be, a s s uming we're correct in thinking there a re three more… Ma ybe the others found one—but no…" He peered a t Sels or. "How a re you feeling?" "Wha t?" Sels or a s ked, thrown by the s uddennes s of the ques tion. "Fine." "Rea lly?" "Yes , rea lly," Sels or s na pped—then rea lized a bruptly it wa s true. He s ll felt dizzy a nd ill, a nd his hea d throbbed, but it wa s the s ort of pa ins tha t felt a s though they could be cured by a good night's res t. Jenohn s miled. "Good. Ques on: why not do a ll the elements together?" Sels or s us pected he might ha ve been too quick to dis mis s his

hea da che a s mos tly conquered. "Wha t? Do you a lwa ys jump a round s ubjects in this fa s hion? All the elements together?" "Yes ," Jenohn s a id, not rea lly ma king clea r which ques on he wa s a ns wering. "This wa s a dra in for wind, a nd if there a re three more, why not jus t do them a ll together? Surely tha t would ma ke more s ens e." "I thought you were well rea d," Sels or cha llenged. He con nued on before Jenohn could s a y s omething s mug. "If you wa nted to dra in fire, would you ma ke a n offering in a loca on idea l for wa ter s a crifices ? This is a wind temple; bringing ea rth here would a mount to nothing. All tha t a s ide, to focus tha t much power, ea ch element is be er on its own. There's a ls o the s ecurity of it: Wha t would ha ve ha ppened tonight if we ha d des troyed a ll four of them here?" "We could be going ba ck to bed," Jenohn replied. "All right, tha t ma kes s ens e, a nd the s ecurity bit ha d occurred to me. Adva nced ma gic theory is not my bes t s ubject, though I did ma ke it to a bout a third yea r level in a yea r a nd a ha lf. But, wha t if— jus t in theory—a ll the power they're s tea ling is coming from one pers on?" In tha t ca s e, wouldn't it be better to do it a ll together?" Sels or rolled his eyes . "In theory, tha t's the dumbes t thing I've ever hea rd. It is not pos s ible—" "Jus t pretend it is ," Jenohn cut in, a nd he looked s o infuria ngly ca lm a nd certa in tha t Sels or wa nted to s ma ck him or s ta lk off a nd lea ve him a nd his theories to rot. Or s omething. He wa nted to go ba ck to bed. This wa s not the me or the pla ce for a dis cus s ion on a dva nced ma gica l theory.

"Fine," he s a id, refus ing to a dmit he might s ound a bit petula nt. "Pretending for a moment tha t it wa s pos s ible for a ma ge to ha ve ma ximum a bility in a ll four elements , then tha t ma ge is decidedly a bnorma l. His ma gic is of a completely different ca liber tha n every other ma ge a round him. There is no cha nce the norma l ma ges ca n us e tha t kind of energy, not the wa y the a bnorma l ma ge ca n, beca us e to him, his a bnorma l power is norma l. But for norma l ma ges to us e it, they would ha ve to brea k it down into components tha t a re their norma l. Unders ta nd? So they would brea k tha t ma s s of power down into the individua l elements a nd then recombine it in a wa y they ca n unders ta nd a nd ha ndle. Sort of like…" he thought for a moment. "Sort of like the wa y you obvious ly could ca rry a full gra in-s a ck ea s ily, but mos t other people would ha ve to brea k it down into qua rter-s a cks in order to move it." Jenohn s miled a t him, s omething… uns e ling in it. There wa s no cockines s , no tea s ing, no gra ng cheer—jus t a wa rm s mile. "You're rea lly good a t ma gic theory." Sels or s hrugged irrita bly a nd looked a wa y. He wa s good a t ma gic theory beca us e he wa s too incompetent to be a field ma ge. Tha t drea m ha d fa llen from rea ch in his third yea r; he ha d tried to s e le for theory, but ha d ha ted every moment of being tra pped ins ide, rea ding dry texts a nd wri ng tedious pa pers . "It's a s tupid theory," he fina lly s a id. "There is no s uch thing a s a ma ge who ca n control the wea ther." Jenohn only grunted. "We rea lly s hould go."

"Proba bly," Sels or a greed. "Where a re we hea ded?" "Not certa in," Jenohn s a id. "I wa nt to find thos e other dra ins , but this temple wa s my only s ta rting point. Any theories ?" Sels or frowned in thought. "If this wea ther wa s the ul ma te goa l? Ea rth a nd fire would ha ve to be well out of ha rm's wa y. The flood wa ters would wipe them out, es pecia lly s ince fire mus t cons ta ntly burn for tha t dra in to con nue to work. So, s omewhere well a wa y from a ny cha nce of flooding. The foothills , perha ps , or the Holy Cliffs ." "Holy Cliffs ?" Jenohn a s ked. "Why a re the cliffs s a cred when the temple is neglected?" Hea ving a long s uffering s igh, Sels or expla ined, "Old villa ge joke. They're full of ca ves ." Jenohn blinked, then s ta rted la ughing, s ha king with it. "Holy. Full of holes . Tha t's hila rious ." "It's s tupid," Sels or replied, s neering a t him in dis gus t a nd s ta lking a wa y to go wa s h his ha nd a nd get out of the wretched temple. When they s tepped outs ide, he s a w tha t the ra in ha d ea s ed a li le bit. It wa s s ll a hea vy downpour, but not quite a s ha rd a nd driving a s it ha d been before. "I gues s it won't s top immedia tely," Jenohn commented. "Though you would think, s ince it requires s o much power to control the wea ther…" "They would ha ve a ccumula ted a nd s tored extra power, if they

were s ma rt," Sels or s a id, a nd then a dded, "In theory, beca us e a t this point, a fa rfetched theory is s till a ll it is ." Jenohn nodded a nd s a id s omething, but the words were completely drowned out by a booming cra s h of thunder tha t wa s immedia tely followed by a ja gged s la s h of lightning cu ng down into a tree not s o fa r off in the dis ta nce. Pa nic took over, s ending Sels or s tumbling ba ck in the direc on of the temple entra nce, trembling with fea r a nd dis ma y a nd des pera te to get away. A ha nd gra bbed his a rm, forcing him to ha lt, a nd Sels or s truggled fra n ca lly to get a wa y a s more thunder a nd lightning tore the world a pa rt. Then s uddenly he wa s pres s ed up a ga ins t a wa ll. A wa ll tha t s eemed to ha ve a hea rtbea t. Sels or froze a nd ma na ged to ta ke a brea th. High a bove in the s ky, the s torm once a ga in s e led into s imple ra in. He rela xed a nd tried to pull a wa y, only then rea lly becoming a wa re of the a rms wra pped tightly a round him. "Let me go," he muttered. Jenohn mumbled s omething indis nct, a nd one a rm s lid a wa y —the other, however, s ta yed looped loos ely a round his wa is t. Sels or pulled wa y a nd ca refully did not look a t Jenohn, feeling incredibly s tupid a nd wondering mis era bly jus t how pa the c he mus t look to a s oldier who wa s a lwa ys right a nd s eemed to be fa zed by nothing. "Ha dn't we better be going?" He s na rled when Jenohn ya nked him ba ck, but went s ll when two ma s s ive ha nds cupped his fa ce—a nd forgot wha t he wa s

going to s a y when Jenohn frowned a t him. There wa s no mockery or contempt or pity, jus t a deeply troubled frown. Sels or would ha ve thought it looked like genuine concern except tha t wa s impos s ible. "You're rea lly s ca red of it," Jenohn s a id s o ly. "Why?" Sels or s wa llowed a nd tried to jerk a wa y, but he wa s no ma tch for Jenohn's s trength. "You're not s uppos ed to be a fra id," Jenohn mu ered, a s though ta lking more to hims elf tha n to Sels or. "Tha t is n't right." Wha t in the hells wa s he ta lking a bout? "Let me go, you—" Thunder cra cked a cros s the s ky, lightning s pli ng the cloud, a nd Sels or hated the cold, blind pa nic tha t cons umed him. He wa s trembling in Jenohn's a rms a ga in when it fina lly receded. As if he didn't ha ve enough rea s ons to ha te hims elf. "I'm s orry," Jenohn s a id s oftly. "For wha t?" Sels or a s ked with a n irrita ted s igh, wondering why the idiot could never ma ke s ens e. "For being a nnoying? Being cocky? Dra gging me out into this mes s in the middle of the night to dis cus s nons ens ica l theories on ma gic? Be s pecific or s hut up." Jenohn s miled a li le crookedly, a nd if they both were a nyone els e Sels or might ha ve ca lled it cute, but Jenohn wa s Jenohn, a nd definitely not cute, a nd Sels or wa s not the type to find a nything cute. Not even children. Or kittens . "We rea lly need to go," Sels or s a id, fina lly pulling a wa y, irrita ted it wa s only beca us e Jenohn let him. "Like we've been

s a ying we s hould for the pa s t hour." Nodding, Jenohn fina lly led the wa y to the rowboa t a nd helped Sels or climb ins ide des pite his s na rled protes ts tha t he required no help. "I s a y we return to the inn, ea t a nd regroup with my friends , then we'll figure out who is going to the foothills a nd who to the cliffs ." Sels or fought a grima ce a t the men on of the inn. He s hould ha ve been finis hed with the floor by now a nd moved on to the ups ta irs rooms , to judge by the ha zy light s lipping through the ra inclouds . The minute he s howed his fa ce, he'd find hims elf ba ckha nded a nd then dra gged to the ba ck for a bea ting. S ll, he thought, it would be worth it. For a few hours he ha d been a ble to pla y rea l ma ge. He'd ma na ged to ca s t two s pells tha t ha d a lwa ys eluded him before, a nd he'd been bonded— even if it wa s to the world's mos t a ggra va ting s oldier. It wa s worth the bea ting. He s a id nothing a s Jenohn bega n rowing them ba ck, drea ding the return of lightning, the pending bea ng, wondering where the other dra ins might be—a nd who wa s behind this mes s , a nd why. They returned to the inn a ll too s oon, though by the me they rea ched it Sels or wa s s o menta lly a nd phys ica lly exha us ted he a lmos t didn't ca re a bout the bea ting now only s econds a wa y. "You!" Ta m bellowed a s he s tumbled ins ide. "Where in the hells —" he held up a ha nd to s trike, a nd Sels or bra ced hims elf for it, but jus t before it s truck, Ta m's wris t wa s ca ught up in a

tight grip. "There a re la ws ," Jenohn s a id in a decep vely ca lm voice, "a ga ins t s triking a roya l ma ge." Ta m s pa t a nd s neered, ya nking his mea ty a rm free. "Tha t one's jus t a bla ckened ma ge." Jenohn s miled, but for once there wa s no wa rmth or cheer in it. He rea ched benea th his tunic a nd pulled out a gold cha in from which hung a hea vy meda llion bea ring the cres t of Prince Alla nci, third s on of the King. "I a m a roya l s oldier, s worn to a s s is t his Highnes s Prince Alla nci however he s ees fit. The ma ge's jewels , a s a ny idiot ca n s ee, ma tch my eyes . Tha t ma kes him my ma ge, which mea ns he's a roya l ma ge." "His s tones were bla ckened!" Ta m s na pped. "Roya l s oldier or not, you ca n't—" "I ca n a nd did," Jenohn s a id, incomprehens ible good cheer returning. "You wa nt to compla in, go pe on the King. In s ix months or s o, he might fina lly get a round to punis hing me for it. Un l then, the ma ge belongs to me, a nd you ca n't touch him. If you hit him once, I s ha ll hit you thrice. Now, we wa nt brea kfa s t— a nd don't get funny with it unles s you wa nt to s ee wha t els e a roya l s oldier is a llowed to do." Ta m s hot Sels or a venomous look, but s ta lked off without s a ying a word to fetch their food. "Come on," Jenohn s a id, grinning. "He won't try a nything, not when I'm s o clos e to roya lty."

Sels or s cowled. "He's right a bout my being a bla ckened ma ge, you know. If I'm ca ught us ing my jewels , they'll rip them out." The tra uma of which us ua lly killed ma ges . Ha ving them put in wa s ha rd, but not dea dly. For mos t ma ges , it wa s exha us ng, but pa inles s . Once done, however, the procedure wa s ha rd to revers e without fa ta lity. "Tha t la w only holds under ordina ry circums ta nces ," Jenohn replied a s they s a t down a t a ta ble tha t wa s clos e to the fire, but not s o clos e they'd s wea t to dea th. He ra is ed his voice a bit a s the innkeeper rea ppea red. "In mes of da nger or s trife, or other circums ta nces deemed extra ordina ry a nd well outs ide the ra nge of wha t is cons idered norma l, a ll s uch la ws a nd s trictures ma y be s us pended or revoked on a ca s e by ca s e ba s is a s determined by a ny roya l pers on or thos e pers ons bea ring roya l weight a nd a uthority, including but not limited to roya l s tewa rds , city s tewa rds , Univers ity hea dma s ter, roya l s oldiers , roya l ma ges , a nd roya l bodygua rds ." Ta m s et their food down with pa r cula r force, then s ta lked off a ga in. "He's rea lly a ngry," Jenohn commented with a s nort of a mus ement. "Does no one els e a round here know how to clea n floors ? Or does he jus t mis s a lrea dy the privilege of s eeing your pretty fa ce every da y?" Sels or rolled his eyes , a s dis comfited by the comment on his looks a s he s ll wa s by the wa y Jenohn ha d s tood up for him— ha d ca lled Sels or 'his ma ge.' Why would he s a y s omething s o pa tently a bs urd? Well, Jenohn wa s ins uffera bly a rroga nt; cla iming everything a s belonging to him wa s proba bly s econd na ture.

Shoving a wa y thoughts he did not like to dea l with s o ea rly, Sels or pulled forwa rd a bowl of thick porridge with honey before Ta m could cha nge his mind a nd ta ke it a wa y. He a ls o s na gged a couple of pieces of brea d a nd s tupidly wa nted to cry. Fres h brea d with bu er—it wa s proba bly the bes t thing he ha d ta s ted in nea rly three yea rs . "He'll mis s ha ving s omeone clea n this pla ce for free," Sels or fina lly replied a nd thought bi erly tha t Ta m would mis s it for a ll of two da ys , three a t the mos t—a s s uming tha t Jenohn even needed him tha t long. He did not think a bout the bea ngs he would receive then, merely s tole a nother piece of brea d a nd s a vored it between bites of porridge. Jenohn frowned, but for once, s a id nothing. A couple of minutes la ter, the door flew open a nd five men ca me tumbling ins ide, ta lking a nd curs ing a nd la ughing. Sels or s pied a s hock of red ha ir a nd rea lized it wa s Jenohn's compa nions . They s po ed Jenohn a nd ha iled a greeting—then s a w Sels or a nd pa us ed. One of them s hoved ba ck his hood, revea ling hims elf to be the blonde who ha d s eemed to be in cha rge. Stripping off his ra in cloa k, he a bs ently thrus t it into the a rms of the wa i ng innkeeper. "Jus t like you, Jenohn, to defy me to go off a nd do your own thing, only to come ba ck before a ll of us looking ins uffera bly plea s ed with yours elf a nd a ccompa nied by the pre es t ma n for miles a round—wha t, hey, now. You're the floor s crubber, a ren't you? Why were you s crubbing floors if you're a ma ge?" He quirked a brow in query. "La nce," Jenohn s a id with a grin, "I pres ent to you Sels or

Brightwell, my newly bonded ma ge." Sels or frowned, wondering why Jenohn's voice s ounded s o… fina l a nd certa in a nd ins uffera bly s mug. "Brightwell?" repea ted one of the red-ha ired men. na me s ounds fa milia r." Cringing, Sels or wa ited.

"Tha t

The blonde—La nce—s hrugged in dis interes t. "The wa y Jenohn s pouts on a nd on a nd on a bout his tory a nd ma gic a nd his da mned theories , I'm certa in you've proba bly hea rd a bout every Brightwell who ever lived." "Ah," the redhea d s a id, confus ed expres s ion clea ring. "You're proba bly right." He grinned a t Sels or. "Ha s he driven you cra zy, yet? We a ll try to kill him a t lea s t once a da y." Sels or grunted a nd took a deep s wa llow of his mos tly cooled tea . The men erupted into la ughter, a nd then s uddenly crowded a round the ta ble, bellowing for food a nd drink, ta lking a mile a minute, over a nd through ea ch other, but s eeming to ca tch every word. Jenohn s hot Sels or a look. "You're my ma ge," he s a id. "You're s uppos ed to defend me." Sels or hid a s udden s tupid, u erly ridiculous urge to s mile behind a nother gulp of tea . "Then don't wa ke me up hours before da wn to go rowing a bout a flooded villa ge to dis cus s a dva nced ma gica l theory in a ba ndoned temples ." Rolling his eyes , Jenohn bega n to devour the food s et in front of him—from me to me s tea ling this or tha t from one of his friends . Ea ng his own food more s lowly, Sels or wa tched the others ta lk a nd ea t a nd la ugh. They ha d not yet go en a round to

the ma tter a t ha nd, but tha t would proba bly come s hortly. "So you told us his na me," La nce s a id a bruptly, ca tching his eye, then s liding a reproving look to Jenohn. "Shouldn't you tell him ours ?" "I wa s wa i ng for the lot of you to s top s tuffing your fa ces like gees e being fa ened for the Sols ce ba nquet," Jenohn replied. He ignored their protes ts a nd gla res a nd motioned to the men a t the fa rthes t end, one da rk-ha ired, one fa ir, a nd Sels or wondered if they were a lwa ys s o much quieter tha n the others . "Ra s ta a nd Ta ek," Jenohn s a id. "Two of his Ma jes ty's fines t s oldiers . They s pecia lize in not being hea rd un l too la te, though I'm certa in the women they bed ha ve s omething els e to s a y on the ma er." Jenohn la ughed when his words were met with withering looks a nd brea d crus ts , a nd then mo oned to the red-ha ired men. "Ma s ters Gehl a nd Kehl, bodygua rds to his roya l Highnes s Prince Alla nci." Sels or choked on his tea . "Hones tly, Jenohn," Prince Alla nci s a id, s hoving ba ck da mp s tra nds of blonde ha ir. "You could ha ve been a bit more ta c ul tha n tha t." Jenohn grinned a nd threw the brea d crus ts ba ck a cros s the ta ble a t Ra s ta a nd Ta ek. "This wa s fa r more enterta ining, a nd a nywa y, there's no good wa y to s a y 'by the wa y, he's the prince, keep it s ecret'." "I don't know," Sels or s a id a cidly, "tha t s eemed to work jus t fine."

"Oh? Then next time I'll try it." Alla nci rolled his eyes . On either s ide of him, Gehl a nd Kehl did the s a me. Sels or s hook his hea d. "I don't unders ta nd why you would come a ll the wa y out here, Highnes s ." "Ugh, don't ca ll me tha t," Alla nci s a id. "La nce will do jus t fine, plea s e. I go on thes e covert things to a void bothers ome things like 'Highnes s '. We do not know wha t's going on here, but if it's true tha t s omeone is ma na ging to ma nipula te the wea ther then the crown needs to know a s s oon a s pos s ible how a nd why—but my brothers a re a bit too va lua ble to s end." He s miled a nd downed his tea , murmuring a n a bs ent tha nks when one of the twins poured him more. "I s ll don't s ee how it ca n be wea ther ma gic," Sels or s a id, then wondered if perha ps he wa s s pea king out of turn, not certa in wha t his freedoms were while he worked for Jenohn. No one els e s eemed to no ce—or to be inclined to s a y a nything if Sels or's beha vior wa s noted. Ra s ta rubbed the bridge of his nos e a nd s a id, "It's true wea ther ma gic is a myth, but wha t other na me ca n be put to it a t this point?" Jenohn s wiped a s lice of brea d from Gehl a nd drowned out his protes ts by quickly telling them wha t he a nd Sels or ha d found in the old temple. Alla nci purs ed his lips in thought a s Jenohn finis hed. "Tha t is ups e ng, to s a y the lea s t. Why do you think it's a ll being s tolen from one pers on, though? I a gree with your ma ge—tha t idea is more tha n a bit ridiculous ." "Ah," Jenohn s a id, "but wha t els e did he s a y? Tha t for wea ther

ma gic to work, a ll four elements mus t be a t ma ximum power. Four perfect a ffini es , es s en a lly—but even the bes t ma ges a re only of medium-high s trength. No one ha s pea ked on the power s ca le in deca des . So even with the dra ins , they would not be a ble to dra w enough power unles s ea ch dra in drew from mul ple pers ons . So pretending tha t ea ch dra in pulled power from two to three people, tha t is eight to twelve ma ges being dra ined of their power, a nd that would ha ve a ttra cted notice." "So you think the dra ins a re a ll dra wing from a true wea ther ma ge?" Kehl a s ked in dis gus t. "You a nd your precious pet theory, Jenohn. When a re you going to give it up? I rea lly think tha t lightning s trike did more da ma ge to your he—" He cut hims elf off a bruptly, a look of horror a nd dis ma y pa s s ing over his fa ce, a nd he groa ned. Sels or ba rely no ced, Kehl's ca reles s words ha ving cons umed a ll of his a en on. It couldn't be. His s poon trembled in his ha nd, a nd he dropped it into his bowl of unfinis hed porridge. He s ta red a t Jenohn, wide-eyed. "Y-you ca n't be…" Jenohn did not reply, but the furious look he s hot Kehl wa s a ns wer enough. Sels or s hook his hea d a nd pus hed his tea a wa y before the trembling of his ha nds ca us ed him to drop it. "You ca n't be," he repea ted. "You?" "Me," Jenohn s a id. "I wa s going to tell you—" "They told me you proba bly wouldn't live! I thought you were dea d!" Sels or bellowed, then s tood up s o fa s t his cha ir cra s hed

to the ground. He fled the room, bol ng through the kitchen a nd throwing hims elf outs ide, ches t a ching, eyes blurry with ra in or tea rs , he couldn't tell which. Jenohn… Jenohn wa s the ma n he'd a lmos t killed? It couldn't be—but he looked—they'd s a id he proba bly wouldn't live, a nd Jenohn— He burs t from the flooded ya rd into the s ta ble, dra gging hims elf to the la dder, then decided he s imply did not trus t hims elf to climb a nd s ettled for s itting a t the bottom of it. The door opened a couple of minutes la ter, but Sels or could not bea r to look up. He tens ed a s Jenohn drew clos e a nd knelt down in front of him, s ha king when a ha nd touched his —a nd he los t it. "They s a id you proba bly wouldn't live!" he s houted, fis ts pummeling wha tever they could rea ch. "They s a id you proba bly wouldn't ma ke it ' l morning, a nd they wouldn't let me s ee you, a nd they s a id you didn't wa nt me to s ee you, a nd I'm s orry—" "I know," Jenohn s a id a nd s wept him up, holding Sels or even more ghtly tha n he ha d with the thunder a nd lightning. "You didn't mea n to do it, I know. I'm s orry—" Sels or dug his fingers into Jenohn's tunic a nd for once, didn't protes t being held. "They told me you proba bly wouldn't live." Jenohn s norted s o ly. "It ta kes a good dea l more tha n lightning to kill me." He drew ba ck enough to cup Sels or's fa ce in his ma s s ive ha nds . "I'm s orry—I wa nted to tell you, but wa s n't certa in how. 'Hey, I'm the guy you a ccidenta lly s truck with lightning' s eems a bit much, even for me."

Sels or ma de a fa ce. "I'm s orry. I wa nted to tell you ba ck then, but no one would let me s ee you, or tell me where they ha d put you. I never mea nt—"

"I know," Jenohn cut in. "It wa s a n a ccident. I tried to tell them tha t—ha ve been trying to tell them tha t, a ll thes e yea rs ."

"You believe me?" Sels or a s ked a nd res is ted a n urge to do s omething a s inine like cry.

Jenohn s miled a nd s lowly let his ha nds fa ll a wa y "Of cours e I believe you—I wa s there." He grima ced. "Hells , Sels or, I wa s on my wa y to s ee a friend when I s a w them ha ra s s ing you. I wa nted to help but couldn't get to you in me—but I s a w you. The condi on you were in—the s ta te of fea r—a ny s pell you ca s t would ha ve been on pure ins tinct. Accidenta l."

Sels or clos ed his eyes , feeling too ma ny emo ons to be a ble to s ort them a ll out. "Why do you believe me?" he whis pered. "No one els e would."

"Beca us e they were s ca red of the truth," Jenohn s a id, "a nd to defend them s lightly even though they don't des erve it, it's only recently they've a ll s ta rted conceding tha t I'm a lwa ys right in the end. I'm right on this too; tha t'll pis s them off." The thought

s eemed to improve his mood.

"You—!" Sels or s ighed. "Wha t in the hells do you mea n by the 'the truth'?"

Jenohn grinned. "You're a wea ther ma ge."

Sels or s tood up, his ta ngle of emo ons ra pidly dwindling down to jus t exa s pera on a nd a nnoya nce. "Where would you come up with s uch a ma d theory?"

Tha t infuria ng grin jus t widened. "Come with me, a nd I'll s how you." Jenohn held out a ha nd, a nd a er a moment's hes ita on, Sels or pla ced his own in it a nd a llowed Jenohn to help him to his feet. When they returned to the ma in dining room, it wa s des erted. "I ma de them go to the foothills a nd cliffs ," Jenohn expla ined. "You a nd I will ha ve to figure out where the la s t dra in is a nd des troy it. But firs t, you."

He led the wa y ups ta irs a nd to a room a t the end of the ha ll. Sels or followed s lowly, but once ins ide, could not res is t a s urrep ous ins pec on. There wa s not much in the wa y of belongings , but it wa s the na ture of s oldiers a nd ma ges to tra vel light. There wa s a s et of s a ddleba gs on the s ma ll ta ble a nd a s a tchel on the floor benea th. A s et of dis ca rded clothes ha d

been thrown ca reles s ly a cros s the bed with a pa ir of boots ha lfunder it. Sels or noted a bs ently tha t the bed wa s too s ma ll for Jenohn to be a ble to s leep comforta bly a nd wondered how he ma na ged—then wondered wha t in the hells wa s wrong with him tha t he wa s thinking a bout how Jenohn s lept.

"Here," Jenohn s a id a nd pulled s omething out of the s a tchel on the floor.

"Wha t is this ?" Sels or a s ked, s lowly ta king it, rea lizing it wa s a book. A journa l, with good pa ges ins ide, bound in pla in brown lea ther. He flipped it open a t ra ndom a nd s a w it wa s filled with notes —on his tory, on ma gic, a ll of it perta ining to ma gic theory in s ome wa y. He froze when he s a w his na me on one of the firs t pa ges .

"It's two a nd a ha lf yea rs ' worth of res ea rch," Jenohn s a id. "Everything I found or figured out, I wrote down. It's to prove tha t you a re, without a s ingle doubt, a wea ther ma ge."

Sels or s ta red a t him, then a t the book, then ba ck a t Jenohn. "You're ma d." He s a t down on the edge of the bed a nd des pite hims elf, bega n to rea d.

How much me pa s s ed, he didn't know when eventua lly he s topped a nd looked up pa rt wa y through the book. "This is impos s ible—wea ther ma ges don't exis t."

"Then I ha ve excellent ta s te in figmenta l ma ges ," Jenohn replied with a grin. "Shut up," Sels or s na pped a nd rea d a little bit more. It s houldn't ha ve ma de s ens e, a nd yet it did. The his tory Jenohn ha d unea rthed, the ma gic theory—a nd a ll of it s o s imila r to wha t he ha d unwittingly ra ttled off only hours a go. Affini es were determined ea rly by experienced ma ges who knew how to s ens e s uch things . It wa s done upon a s tudent's entry to Univers ity to determine to which beginner cla s s es they s hould be a s s igned. No one ha d been a ble to rea d his a ffinity; it ha d been a s s umed his ma gic wa s s ll la rgely dorma nt, or tha t perha ps he would never be a pa rticula rly impres s ive ma ge. They might ha ve kicked him out for s imply not ha ving the a p tude a er a ll, but the embedding of his jewels ha d cha nged everything. The ini a l tes ng before the embedding its elf wa s done ha d proven loud a nd clea r he s hould wea r jewels : he ha d plenty of unta pped ma gic. The problem wa s tha t there ha d s eemed to be no wa y to ta p it. His profes s ors ha d tried everything a t firs t, but then they ha d gra dua lly go en frus tra ted a nd fed up a nd a t la s t given up. Le a lone, Sels or ha d turned to his books a nd tried everything els e. Even he, however, ha d been clos e to giving up when his whole life ha d been des troyed by a fla s h of lightning.

However, if he'd been lea rning to us e norma l ma gic, a nd a ll the while his ma gic wa s a bnorma l. Then, in theory, he ha d es s en a lly been trying to ca rry qua rter s a cks of gra in when he s hould ha ve been ca rrying one full s a ck. Something like tha t, a nywa y. He s na pped the book s hut. "We s hould work on tha t fina l dr— you think thos e things a re dra ining me, don't you?" Sels or s a id a s comprehens ion s uddenly da wned. "Yes ," Jenohn replied, s i ng down next to him on the bed. "If you're a wea ther ma ge—a nd I know you a re—it ma kes perfect s ens e." "Except you're the only one who thinks tha t a bout me." Jenohn s hook his hea d. "If I wa s the only one who thought it, they wouldn't ha ve been s o des pera te to kick you out. A ma ge who could rea lly control lightning? They—" "They s a id it jus t res embled lightning," Sels or s a id, old bitternes s ris ing up. "I'm s ure they did," Jenohn s a id. "They wouldn't wa nt you to know it rea lly ha d been lightning. Think a bout it. Being a wea ther ma ge ma kes you more powerful tha n every other ma ge in the country? Too ma ny people in power were never going to tolera te tha t, a nd the res t proba bly thought you too da ngerous to be a llowed to pra c ce. Bes t to bla cken your s tones , ca s t you out, a nd ens ure you'd never pra c ce ma gic a ga in. Someone els e, however, obvious ly ha s a us e for your power a nd is s tea ling it." He s hrugged. "We ha ve to figure out who a nd why, but I knew the

what the very moment I s a w you." Sels or frowned. "You couldn't ha ve recognized me. Tha t's a bs urd." Jenohn s miled in tha t crooked wa y of his tha t Sels or decided to find a nnoying jus t beca us e. "I'd recognize you a nywhere, Sel. I've been trying to find you ever s ince I es ca ped the da mned hea ling wa rd s hortly a er you s truck me. I never forgot your fa ce." "Why?" Sels or a s ked. "Beca us e it wa s a n a ccident. Beca us e it wa s n't fa ir. Beca us e I got there too la te to help you the firs t me a nd woke up too la te to help you the s econd time. I won't fa il a third." Sels or looked a wa y, not certa in wha t to s a y—not certa in he could s pea k even if he ha d the words . His throa t felt ght a nd his eyes s tung, a nd he ha d even les s of a n idea wha t he wa s s uppos ed to ma ke of Jenohn tha n he ha d before. Jenohn s tood up, a nd s a id, "Come on, we need to loca te tha t la s t dra in. Any thoughts ?" "Wa ter…" Sels or s a id a er a moment, worrying his bo om lip a s he thought a nd idly drumming his fingers on the s mooth lea ther of the s ma ll book. A er a moment of hes ita on, he tucked it a wa y ins ide his tunic, relucta nt to pa rt with it. He followed Jenohn out of his room a nd ba ck downs ta irs . "Wa ter could be pra c ca lly a nywhere. It's not like it ha s a nything to fea r from the s torm. It's proba bly s omewhere here in the villa ge, a ctua lly. If not for the ra in, I could proba bly s mell a nd ta s te it

out." "I s uppos e we could go to every hous e a nd let you ha ve a poke a round, but I s ens e tha t would not end well," Jenohn s a id with a grin. He s e led his wea pons a nd pulled up the hood of his cloa k, then bra ced his ha nd a ga ins t the ma in door, but did not quite it open. "So, we s ha ll ha ve to na rrow it down a bit—bes t gues s , s ta rt with the hous es where the ma ges res ide. Proba bly bes t to s ta rt with the ma ge perma nently in res idence. His na me is Tiphor, right?" Sels or frowned a t him. "No, Tiphor re red a nd returned home a couple yea rs a go. He re red jus t a few months a er I a rrived, in fa ct. Tiphor wa s rema rka bly tolera nt of me, a nd I wa s s urpris ed tha t when he le , the new ma ge in res idence didn't kick me out of the villa ge. Niros k is his na me." And he wa s a n a s s of the firs t order, even if he wa s willing to tolera te a ma ge with bla ckened s tones . "Niros k?" Jenohn echoed, a nd he frowned. "But we ha ve a ll the pa perwork; it definitely s a ys tha t Ma ge Tiphor is s ll in cha rge here—why would no one ha ve upda ted tha t? Niros k, Niros k, I know tha t na me … but from where?" "I ha ve no idea ," Sels or replied. "Let's get going. His hous e is a t the fa r end of the villa ge; it ha s a n ugly blue roof vis ible even in this wea ther. He thinks 'ga ris h' a nd 'good ta s te' a re the s a me thing." Jenohn la ughed a t tha t, then s hoved the door open a nd led the wa y outs ide to where their boa t wa ited. Climbing s moothly up into it, he then pulled Sels or up. Wa s there a nything, Sels or

wondered irrita bly, tha t Jenohn did not do well? Then he remembered Jenohn wa s the boy he ha d a lmos t killed a nd flinched. Tha t Jenohn wa s a live to do a nything wa s a mira cle; if he could do everything, a nd do it well, then good. Why ha d no one ever told him? He unders tood, however much he ha ted it, tha t they ha d obvious ly elected never to give ba ck his ma gic—but s omeone s hould ha ve found him a nd told him tha t Jenohn lived. It wa s a bs olutely no mys tery to him why his pa rents ha d loa thed mos t of their peers . "So you know Niros k?" Jenohn a s ked into the rela ve s ilence a s he bega n to row. Des pite a ll the rowing he'd done jus t a few hours a go, he s howed no s igns of being tired. Sels or turned a wa y from the s ight of Jenohn's fluid movements a nd a ll tha t mus cle a nd s cowled a t the ra in. "Niros k is a n a s s . I wa s s urpris ed he let me rema in in the villa ge, like I s a id. He ha s mos tly ignored me, pa s t checking on me every month or s o to ens ure tha t I a m not a emp ng to rea c va te my jewels . He loves to remind me a nd everyone els e within hea ring tha t he wa s once—" "A profes s or!" Jenohn interrupted. "He us ed to—get down!" Sels or ba rely regis tered the s houted words before Jenohn lunged a nd ta ckled him to the bo om of the boa t. He hea rd Jenohn s wea r a nd s a w blood dripping on the wood, but before he could proces s wha t wa s ha ppening a nd rea ct, Jenohn wa s moving a ga in, ris ing to his knees , pulling a knife, a nd throwing it. Steel glinted in the glow of ma ge orbs s et up a round the

villa ge, a nd then the knife wa s los t to the ra in. But he hea rd a s pla s h, s omething la rge a nd hea vy. "Got him," Jenohn s a id in s a s fa c on. "Now to go fetch the ba s ta rd." He s tood up a nd ma de to dive into the wa ter. Sels or twis ted a nd ma na ged to get to his own knees within the limited confines of the boa t a nd gra bbed onto Jenohn's leg, ups e ng their ba la nce a nd nea rly s ending them both over, only ba rely ma na ging to keep them in the boa t. How he ended up ha lf on top of Jenohn, he didn't bother to wonder. Ins tea d, he focus ed on the bloody ga s h on Jenohn's upper a rm. "Someone s hot a n a rrow?" "Yes ," Jenohn s a id, "a nd even now he could be s wimming a wa y. I need to get him." "Jus t how fa r do you expect to s wim with a wounded a rm?" Sels or dema nded a nd s ma cked him ha rd on the ches t jus t beca us e it wa s clea rly the thing to do. "You're a ll mus cle a nd ego a nd a bs olutely no bra in. Hold s ll." Squirming up, pointedly ignoring a ll the not-lovely mus cle he ha d jus t men oned, Sels or hes ita ntly ca lled up his ma gic. Relief s pilled through him when he felt it work. Jus t a s with the ma ge light he ha d ca s t ea rlier, it ca me more ea s ily tha n he remembered it ever doing before, a nd he poured the power over Jenohn's wound in the form of a gentle hea ling s pell. He felt dizzy, a nd a li le too wa rm, but the ma gic wa s working, a nd nothing could ha ve ma de him ha ppier. The minor wound s ea led, a nd he s a t ba ck on his ha unches with a s igh. "Now you

ca n go do s omething s tupid." "Tha nks ," Jenohn s a id with a s mile—then s ta rtled Sels or by s urging forwa rd a nd dropping a quick, ha rd kis s on his mouth. Then he wa s gone, diving nea tly into the wa ter a nd s wimming a wa y into the s ha dows s lowly receding a s the s un bega n to ris e behind the relentles s s torm clouds . Sels or s ta red a er him, s ta rtled a nd bemus ed—a nd s ll a ble to feel the wa rm pres s of Jenohn's mouth a ga ins t his . He touched his lips hes ita ntly, then s hook his hea d a nd let his ha nd drop, ignoring the s udden ra cing of his hea rt. Why ha d the idiot done tha t? He wa tched the pla ce where Jenohn ha d va nis hed, wa i ng impa ently for him to return. How the hells ha d he thrown tha t knife s o fa r a nd s o well? Sels or ha dn't s een much, but the ra in wa s hea vy a nd the a rrow ha d likely come from the room of the hous e—well, the genera l s tore, a ctua lly, he noted. It wa s the third-ta lles t building in the villa ge a er the Ma yor's hous e a nd the inn. Wha t wa s ta king s o long? Sels or s cowled a nd weighed the merits of ca lling for Jenohn—jus t to be certa in the weight of his ego ha dn't drowned him—but then he wa s s truck by a wa ve of dizzines s s o s trong he fell ba ck on his a s s in the bo om of the boa t. Na us ea s wept over him next, a nd Sels or wondered wha t wa s wrong. It wa s true he ha dn't go en much res t, but he'd ea ten, a nd he wa s bound to Jenohn's power— He wa s a wea ther ma ge, he rea lized. If tha t rea lly wa s true, a nd the ma ges in the villa ge were s tea ling his power, then every

me a dra in wa s des troyed, he got a por on of his power ba ck. Sels or's ha nd trembled a s he pulled out the book he ha d tucked a wa y a nd pa ged a ga in through a ll of Jenohn's meticulous notes . Wa s … wa s it rea lly pos s ible? Sels or s ll found it ha rd to really believe he wa s a wea ther ma ge. He didn't even know how to us e his ma gic—tha t wa s why he ha d s truck Jenohn with lightning. How did he go a bout lea rning? Tucking the book a wa y a ga in, he looked up to s ee if Jenohn wa s on his wa y ba ck yet—a nd jumped for the third me when thunder cra cked a nd boomed, lightning s trea king through the s ky. Sels or recoiled, huddled in the bo om of the boa t, s ha king a s he wis hed he were s omewhere—a nywhere—els e. Somewhere s a fe a nd wa rm, a nd he didn't know why, but s uddenly a ll he could remember wa s how he ha d felt both thos e things when Jenohn ha d held him a t the temple. How ups et Jenohn ha d been tha t Sels or wa s s ca red of the thunder a nd lightning. Sels or s lowly ma de hims elf rela x, only cringing s lightly a s more thunder rumbled a long the s ky. He gripped the edge of the boa t to force his ha nds to s top trembling, s houlders ght with tens ion a s he wa ited for Jenohn to return. Jus t a s he wa s once more figh ng a n urge to s hout, Sels or s a w him—moving s lowly a nd la borious ly through the wa ter. By the me he rea ched the boa t, Sels or could s ee he wa s only ba rely keeping his hea d a bove the wa ter; the wa ter proba bly wa s n't a ll tha t deep, but it didn't ha ve to be. Sels or helped him into the boa t, frowning when Jenohn s a t

there s hivering. "You're a n idiot," he s na pped. "S-s o you o en s -s a y," Jenohn s a id, s miling a t him des pite the fa ct he wa s clea rly mis era ble from being wet a nd cold. "You s hould t-tell me I'm ha nds ome, s -s ome me. I'll a -a ls o t-ta ke brillia nt a nd d-des ira ble." "I'm not telling you a ny s uch thing," Sels or retorted beca us e he wa s n't. He wa s n't even going to a dmit to himself tha t Jenohn wa s a ny—a ll—of thos e things . "Wha t you a re is cocky a nd reckles s a nd in need of a s ound bea ng. Now, hold s ll a nd s hut up." Frowning, he pla ced his ha nds on Jenohn's ches t, frown deepening a s he rea lized jus t how cold Jenohn ha d go en. The wa ter ha dn't been tha t ba d before, ha d it? "They mus t ha ve broken the fire dra in," Jenohn s a id, a nd Sels or rea lized he wa s right. He frowned. "How do you know they broke a nother dra in?" "F-feel it through the b-bond." "Of cours e," Sels or mu ered, then s a id, "Didn't I tell you to s hut up?" Ignoring Jenohn's s niggering, he tried to focus his hea ling ma gic a ga in. It wa s n't quite wha t he needed to wa rm Jenohn up, but he didn't da re try a nything els e—if he a ccidenta lly ca lled down lightning, they would not live through it a s econd time. He s huddered, thinking a bout it, a nd his ha nds fell a wa y. "Forget it—I ca n't—" Jenohn ca ptured his ha nds a nd held them fa s t a ga ins t his

ches t, forcing Sels or to look up. The s ha rp words he ha d prepa red died when he took in the—wha t? Exa ctly? He didn't know wha t word to put to the expres s ion on Jenohn's fa ce. Gentlenes s ? Concern? He jus t knew he couldn't remember wha t he wa nted to s a y a nd ha d to remind hims elf to brea the. "Wha t?" he fina lly s na pped. "You can," Jenohn s a id, a nd he relea s ed one of his ha nds to brus h his fingers a long Sels or's cheek, then cup the ba ck of his hea d. "Don't you get it, Sels or? They kicked you out beca us e they rea lized you were more powerful tha n a ll of them combined, a nd they couldn't s ta nd it—were a fra id of it. They let you think I wa s dea d s o you'd never figure out jus t how a ma zing you a re. You ca n do wha tever the hells you wa nt if you jus t s top lis tening to everyone els e. Lis ten to me. I'm your s oldier; I'm a ll tha t ma tters ." Sels or tried to s coff, but a ll he ma na ged to do wa s give a s ha ky la ugh. "It s houldn't ma tter to you." "But it does ," Jenohn s a id quietly. "It a lwa ys ha s ." "Why?" Jenohn didn't reply, jus t drew Sels or clos e a nd kis s ed him. Sels or mea nt to pus h a wa y beca us e why in the world would Jenohn kis s him? It ma de no s ens e—but ins tea d of pus hing, his ha nds ins tea d jus t clung to Jenohn's wet tunic. Though the res t of him wa s freezing, Jenohn's mouth wa s hot, ta s ng of the honeyed porridge a nd fres h brea d they'd ha d for brea kfa s t. Sels or ma de a s o nois e tha t wa s definitely not a whimper a nd did not protes t a s Jenohn's a rms s lid a round him, dra wing him

clos er. The movement ja rred the boa t, s ta rtling them a pa rt. Sels or s ta red into Jenohn's eyes , s o much like the color of the s ea , a nd could not think of a s ingle thing to s a y. So chuckles broke the s pell, Jenohn's wa rm fingers curling a round his wris ts a ga in. "See? Wha t did I tell you. Lis ten to me ins tea d of everyone els e, a nd your ma gic works fine." Sels or blinked a t him then rea lized a bruptly tha t Jenohn wa s right—s omewhere in the mids t of the kis s , he ha d ca s t ma gic tha t both wa rmed a nd dried Jenohn. "But I don't—" He broke off with a s ha rp ga s p a s he wa s once more s truck by a wa ve of na us ea a nd dizzines s . Jenohn rea ched out a nd tugged him clos er, s o wa rm tha t Sels or wa nted nothing more tha n to curl up a nd go to s leep. Annoyed with hims elf, he pus hed a wa y a nd res umed his proper s ea t in the row boa t. "Tha t's three of the four dra ins broken. We need to find the la s t one." His ha nds s hook vis ibly a s he felt the power; tha t ha dn't ha ppened when the firs t two dra ins ha d been broken. Around them, the ra in decrea s ed to a hea vy drizzle, a nd the thunder, when it ca me a minute la ter, wa s nothing more tha n a red rumble. Sels or relea s ed the brea th he ha dn't rea lized he'd been holding. "We need to find Niros k, I think." "Yes , we do," Jenohn s a id, voice going cold. "I remembered why I know tha t na me—he wa s expelled yea rs a go for a bus ing his s tudents . It's a ls o believed he wa s a emp ng to find wa ys to s tea l ma gic, but no one could ever prove it. The a bus e wa s the

mos t they could get him on, a nd they ba nis hed him." "Didn't they bla cken his s tones ?" Jenohn nodded. Sels or s wore. "So s omeone helped him rea c va te them a nd then he s lunk in here, to this out of the wa y villa ge—to do wha t?" "To get you, I would wa ger," Jenohn s a id. "He mus t ha ve hea rd of you, a nd if he's a fter power …" "Seems fa rfetched to me," Sels or s a id. "How would he know me? Ha ve hea rd of me? No one ca red a bout me un l I nea rly killed you, a nd they s topped ca ring a ga in the moment I wa s out of their s ight a nd of no further da nger to a nyone." Jenohn's brows ros e. "Sels or—they didn't s top ta lking a bout you for a ges , though I s topped lis tening to them pre y quickly. Why do you think your na me wa s fa milia r to Kehl a nd Gehl? It wa s n't jus t beca us e I s pea k of you inces s a ntly—which I do, by the wa y, but I'm a llowed to beca us e you're mine—but beca us e everyone a lwa ys wondered where you got to a nd wha t you were doing. Not everyone a greed tha t it wa s right to ba nis h you like tha t." Sels or wa s n't certa in wha t to s a y to tha t. "Wha tever," he fina lly s a id. "So Niros k rea lized who I wa s a nd tha t I ha d a lot of power, a nd he's —wha t, ta ken yea rs to a ctua lly figure out how to s tea l it?" But tha t a ctua lly ma de s ens e. The dra ins ha d been complica ted, high level, a nd very illega l. Tha t they were mea nt to s tea l his ma gic a nd brea k it down into ma gic tha t Niros k could a ctua lly us e… Sels or would ha ve been a s tonis hed if it hadn't ta ken Niros k yea rs . "We need to find tha t dra in."

"We need to find Niros k. By this point, he mus t rea lize it's over. Once I ta ke ca re of him, the la s t dra in will ta ke ca re of its elf." "Ta ke ca re of him?" Sels or echoed. "We s hould be a rres ng him." Jenohn did not reply, only picked up the oa rs a nd res umed rowing. "Where is Niros k's hous e?" "The hous e with the ugly blue roof," Sels or reminded him a nd pointed pa s t Jenohn's s houlder a nd jus t s lightly to the right. "So wha t ha ppened with whoever you threw the knife a t?" "I threw it too well," Jenohn s a id with a grunt. "He wa s dea d before he hit the wa ter. Scra ggly fellow, yellow ha ir a nd in need of a s ha ve." Sels or ma de a fa ce. "Green eyes ? Green tunic with white trim?" Jenohn nodded a nd Sels or s a id, "One of Niros k's goons ; he likes to kick me a nd s pill his a le on me, mos tly beca us e I a lwa ys refus e his a ttempts to ma ke me s uck his cock." "Then I'm gla d he's dea d," Jenohn s a id, voice s o ha rd Sels or s ta red a t him in s urpris e, a nd Jenohn cla rified, "Not gla d, exa ctly. Dea d is never a good thing—but I'm not s orry a bout it either, not if he trea ted you tha t wa y. Anywa y, he tried to kill you." "Me?" "Yes , you," Jenohn s a id. "It ma kes perfect s ens e." When Sels or jus t looked a t him, he s miled fa intly a nd s a id, "I'm right, I'm

a lwa ys right. Niros k mus t ha ve known from the moment you des troyed tha t firs t dra in tha t it wa s over. If we found one, we were going to find the others . If he kills you, then everything s tops , a nd it looks like you were res pons ible the en re me. He s lips a wa y with enough knowledge to ca us e a lot of problems els ewhere." Sels or s ighed. "I told you, I'm a lwa ys right." "Not a lwa ys ," Sels or grous ed. Jenohn jus t ga ve him tha t crooked s mile tha t did funny things to Sels or's ches t tha t he preferred to vehemently ignore. "Row fa s ter." "Yes , my ma ge." Sels or ignored tha t, ins tea d trying to focus on the ma gic he ha d rega ined with the brea king of three dra ins . A er three yea rs with no ma gic wha ts oever, it wa s s tra nge to feel it a ll a ga in— a nd there wa s a lot of it. Ha ving it s tolen a nd given ba ck s o ja rringly wa s doing much to ma ke him a wa re of his own power, of tea ching him how to feel it, which wa s nothing like wha t he ha d tried to do a t the a ca demy. Jenohn wa s right—he needed to s top doing ma gic the wa y the univers ity ha d ta ught him, the wa y everyone ha d ta ught him. But he'd only go en it right when—when Jenohn ha d kis s ed him. Sels or flus hed a nd did not look a t Jenohn, keeping his ga ze firmly on his own ha nds fis ted in his la p, ins tea d. Wha t ha d he done?

Nothing, he rea lized. He'd jus t rela xed, a nd wha t he wa nted ha d ha ppened. He tried to repea t it, even if finding tha t nothing he needed required thinking a bout Jenohn—s omething he would never a dmit. He ha d known the moron for only a ma er of hours , a nd there wa s no telling wha t would become of him a er this mis s ion wa s over. If he were lucky, he would get to keep his ma gic. He s hoved his turbulent thoughts a wa y a nd thought only of being wa rm a nd s a fe, clos ing his eyes a s he combined tha t feeling with a wa nt to protect—a nd there, he ha d it, s ome s ma ll shift in his power. Sels or gra s ped it, dra wing a s ha rp brea th a s it s eemed— Opening his eyes , he felt the rus h of a s pell s ucces s fully ca s t, hot s a s fa c on rus hing through him a s the s pell of protec on fell over Jenohn. He didn't rea lize he wa s s miling un l Jenohn s miled ba ck, a nd Sels or looked a wa y, cheeks burning for rea s ons he could not na me. His ga ze fell on Niros k's hous e a s it ca me into view. "I get the feeling this is going to not go well." Jenohn jus t grunted in reply a nd s topped rowing. He s lid out of the boa t a nd into the wa ter. "You s hould proba bly rema in—" "If you tell me to rema in behind, I will find a hea vy object a nd a pply it to your hea d," Sels or s a id before Jenohn could finis h his s tupid s entence. He cla mbered out of the boa t, grima cing a t the wa y the cold wa ter rea ched ha lfwa y up his ches t. "At lea s t we no longer ha ve to s wim here."

"Tha nks for the protec on," Jenohn s a id a nd ca ptured his chin. He tugged Sels or clos e enough to lea n down a nd kis s him. Sels or s hoved him a wa y. "Stop doing tha t." Jenohn s mirked a nd s a id, "No." He wa lked on before Sels or could mus ter a reply a nd pounded on the front door of Niros k's hous e. "Open in the na me of the king!" When the door rema ined s hut, he tes ted it then turned to Sels or. "It's ma gica lly s ea led—do you think you ca n brea k it?" "I ca n try," Sels or s a id, "but I've only ma na ged pa ltry s pells s o fa r. Brea king a s ea l is a bit more difficult." Jenohn s hrugged. "If it does n't work, we'll climb to the roof a nd go in on the upper floor." Sels or grima ced a t the idea of climbing, fa irly certa in tha t would only end in a long fa ll with a wet end. He pres s ed his ha nds to the door, a ble to feel a nd s mell the ma gic on it. Dra wing a deep brea th, he let it out s lowly a s he focus ed on his ma gic the wa y he ha d on the boa t. Clos e behind him, he s wore he could feel Jenohn's body hea t, even though tha t wa s impos s ible with them both up to their tors os in wa ter. But it worked, like a key turning in a lock, a nd with a fla s h of his jewels a nd a s ha rp, s ta rtled brea th, the s pell on the door s ha ttered. "You rea lly a re quite ma rvelous ," Jenohn murmured, brea th wa rm a ga ins t the ba ck of Sels or's neck—when the hells ha d he gotten tha t clos e?

Sels or jerked a wa y a nd twis ted to gla re. "Stop doing tha t. We ha ve work." Jenohn la ughed s o ly, but obediently s hoved the door open. They s pilled ins ide, a nd Sels or wa s gra teful the villa ge s pells a ga ins t the wa ter s ll held beca us e otherwis e the wa ter would ha ve poured in with them a nd only hindered the s itua tion. The hous e wa s fa r too s ll, fa r too quiet. Sels or s neered a t the expens ive furniture, the cos tly rugs a nd other extra neous decora ons . The villa ge wa s n't a poor one, but it wa s n't flouris hing either, a nd the fa ct Niros k would fla unt his wea lth s o cra s s ly—Sels or rea lly could not wa it to a rres t the ba s ta rd, s imply for being a n a s s . Bes ide him, Jenohn drew his s word a nd ges tured for Sels or to fa ll ba ck. Sels or obeyed, focus ing on his ma gic, holding fa s t to it, fervently hoping he would be a ble to us e it on the moment s hould tha t be neces s a ry. A ca reful explora on of the four rooms on the ground floor turned up nothing, lea ving them with the op ons of the cella r a nd ups ta irs . Sels or pointed up, a nd Jenohn nodded in a greement, then led the wa y towa rd a nd then up the s ta irs a ga ins t the s outh wa ll. Sels or could feel the ma gic like a cra wling s ens a on a ga ins t his s kin a s they rea ched the ups ta irs ha llwa y. "He's here," he s a id s o ly. Jenohn ga ve a nother nod, but did not s pea k, merely he ed his s word in his right ha nd a nd wa lked s ilently towa rd the door tha t Sels or indica ted. "Niros k!" he bellowed. "Surrender

in the na me of the king, a nd I won't kill you!" There wa s no reply s a ve for a fa int tugging tha t Sels or felt a ll the wa y down to his bones . He ga s ped a nd tried to fight it, a wa s h in dizzines s a s he felt Niros k trying to s tea l his ma gic. "Jenohn, he's trying to do s omething—" Sels or broke off with a cry a s he broke wha tever Niros k wa s trying to do, but no s ooner ha d he s topped one tha n Niros k tried a nother. Jenohn s na rled a nd tried the door. When it proved to be ma gica lly s ea led he kicked it ha rd in irrita on. Sels or s hoved him a s ide a nd pla ced his own ha nds on the door—a nd s crea med in a gony when tha t triggered a tra p, pinning him to the door a nd a s s a ulting him with jolts of white-hot pa in. But he'd felt wors e. Three yea rs of a bus e ha d ma de him good for s omething. Sels or grit his teeth a ga ins t a nother s crea m, ignored the wa y Jenohn wa s trying to help him, a nd focus ed on his ma gic. He poured it into the door, countering the curs e, a nd fell ba ck with a ga s p, des pera tely s ucking in a ir a s he fell a wa y a ga in. Jenohn ca ught him up a nd held him clos e. "Are you a ll right?" "Fine. Don't let him get a wa y," Sels or s a id. La ughing, Jenohn kis s ed his brow, then s tood up a nd kicked open the door. Sels or rema ined s i ng on the floor, s ta ring in dis gus t a t wha t he could s ee of the a lta r built in Niros k's bedroom, a s well a s the bodies of the other ma ges . So he mus t ha ve s tolen their power to ens ure he'd ha ve enough to flee with once Sels or wa s dea d, but ha d con nued to s iphon from Sels or us ing the la s t

dra in. Niros k flung a s pell a t Jenohn, but it s lid a wa y in a da rk s himmer when it met Sels or's s pell of protec on. Relief a nd pride burs t through Sels or, a nd he s lowly pulled hims elf to his feet, but he ha dn't ta ke more tha n two s teps when Jenohn drove his s word into Niros k, killing him ins ta ntly, a nd the s udden brea king of the full s pell dra ining his ma gic knocked Sels or right ba ck off his feet. He s truggled not to tos s up the contents of his s toma ch, dra wing s huddering brea ths a s the full weight of his ma gic returned to him a er ha ving been leeched a wa y for s o long. He rea lly wa s a wea ther ma ge. The rea liza tion left him brea thles s . Climbing s lowly to his feet a ga in, ignoring Jenohn, he s trode to the nea res t window a nd looked out. The ra in ha d s topped, though the hea vy clouds lingered. He looked up a t them, thinking of the wa rmth tha t Jenohn ha d s hown him over the pa s t hours , thos e kis s es Jenohn ha d no bus ines s ta king, but which Sels or ha d let him ta ke a nywa y. He clung to the wa rmth, us ed it to focus his ma gic then let it s pill out a s he thought of s uns hine on his s kin a ga in, of being dry a nd wa rm. At firs t, he thought it ha dn't worked, des pite the rus h tha t told him the s pell ha d ta ken. Then, bit by a gonizing bit, the clouds bega n to pa rt. Sels or ga ve a s huddering la ugh. "I rea lly a m—" It wa s only a s dizzines s a nd da rknes s took him tha t he rea lized ma ybe he'd overexerted hims elf. The la s t thing he remembered wa s Jenohn's rumbling voice a nd wa rmth a ll a round him.

*~*~* Sels or woke up to the s ound of dis ta nt la ughter a nd s a t up in bed, s hoving his ha ir from his fa ce. The la ughter ca me a ga in, a nd he rea lized it wa s children pla ying outs ide. He s ta red bla nkly a round the room, not recognizing it. It wa s a s imple room, but the furnis hings were well ca red for, the bed ma de of glea ming, da rk gold wood with a dres s er a nd wa rdrobe to ma tch. A porcela in bowl a nd pitcher res ted on a ta ble by the wa rdrobe, a nd a nother, s imila r ta ble by the bed held a la mp a nd a book tha t, a t a gla nce, proved to be s omething to do with his tory. At the foot of the bed wa s a trunk—a s oldier's trunk, the kind is s ued to a ll s tudents who entered the Univers ity a s s oldiers -intra ining. Where wa s he? Sels or threw ba ck the quilt covering him a nd s topped. He s ta red a t his wris t, where the ma ge jewel s ll s hone ocea n blue. A s udden a che twis ted in his ches t, followed by a wa ve of relief, a nd he ca lled hims elf ten different kinds of idiot, but tha t didn't s top him from being s tupidly ha ppy tha t he wa s s till bonded to Jenohn. Climbing out of bed, Sels or frowned to rea lize he wore nothing, but breeches tha t were a touch too big for him. He grima ced a t the idea tha t s omeone ha d s tripped a nd redres s ed him, but he s uppos ed there ha d been no help for it. His ha ir fell into his fa ce a ga in, a nd he impa ently s hoved it ba ck, no ng tha t it ha d been combed beca us e there wa s a s ta rtling la ck of ta ngles .

The s ound of la ughter drew him a ga in, mos tly beca us e there wa s now a dis nct a dult voice mixed in, a nd it wa s a la ugh he recognized. He moved to the window on the fa r s ide of the room a nd looked down into wha t a ppea red to be a priva te courtya rd s urrounded on a ll s ides by hous es . It wa s a hous ing a rra ngement typica l of the higher cla s s hous es in the ca pita l. Wa s he rea lly ba ck in the city tha t ha d ba nis hed him three yea rs a go? Sels or preferred not to think a bout it, ins tea d s ta ring down where Jenohn wa s pla ying with a group of four children, a ll of whom were trying to s ca le him in a n effort to get ba ck the ba ll he ha d ta ken. Sels or lea ned further out the window, wa tching a s they a ll pla yed, cha s ing Jenohn a round, s hrieking a nd la ughing, un l Jenohn fina lly let them s tea l the ba ll ba ck. Then Jenohn a bruptly turned a nd looked up—a nd broke into a wide, ha ppy s mile when he s a w Sels or. "Ha il, ma ge!" He didn't wa it for Sels or's reply, but bolted ba ck to the hous e. A minute la ter, Sels or hea rd Jenohn's foots teps outs ide the bedroom. Jenohn flung the door open a nd s tepped ins ide, s kin flus hed from exer on a nd gold from the s un, s wea t ma king his linen s hirt s ck to his s kin in pla ces , ha ir a tous led mes s , a nd his eyes s o fucking blue. "Ha il, ma ge," he s a id a ga in s oftly. "How—how long ha ve I been a s leep?" "Nea rly a week," Jenohn s a id a nd s lipped further into the room, s lowly wa lking towa rd him. "We us ed roya l ma ges to bring us ba ck here s ince you obvious ly were not up to a longer journey. You've a n a udience with the king a nd a nother with the univers ity

once you a re well enough to ma na ge them." Jenohn rea ched up s lowly a nd lightly touched Sels or's cheek with the ps of his fingers . "You look well." Sels or s wa llowed. "Wha t a m I doing here?" "You're my ma ge," Jenohn s a id, a s though s ta ng the obvious , s miling tha t crooked s mile a s he dropped his ha nd. "As you've no home of your own, I brought you to mine. Where els e would I ta ke you?" "Ba ck where you found me?" Sels or a s ked, ba ffled. "I did the job; there wa s no obliga on to keep me." He s wa llowed when Jenohn looked a t him with tha t expres s ion he couldn't na me a nd tried not to s hiver when Jenohn's fingers s lid through his ha ir, drew him clos er. "It's not a bout obliga on," Jenohn s a id. "I told you: you're my ma ge." Sels or s hook his hea d. "You ba rely know me—you don't know me. You jus t feel s orry for me." Jenohn s norted s o ly. "A er yea rs of a bus e in s chool a nd three more a er being bla ckened a nd reduced to s crubbing floors , you're s ll s tubborn, s ha rp-tongued, a nd not even remotely broken. You don't need a nyone to feel s orry for you. You jus t need a s oldier worthy of you." "Worthy of me," Sels or repea ted, rolling his eyes . "Let me gues s —you're the only one good enough for me." "Of cours e," Jenohn s a id. "I'm one of the bes t roya l s oldiers in

the kingdom. Why do you think I work directly for Prince Alla nci? I'm a ls o a llowed to do pra c ca lly wha tever I wa nt beca us e I'm a lwa ys right a nd a lwa ys get the job done. And I'm the only one who a lwa ys believed in you a nd never ga ve up on you. You're my ma ge." Sels or s wa llowed, eyes s nging, a nd he could not hold Jenohn's ga ze, the intens ity—the s incerity—wa s too much for him. "I don't unders ta nd you," he s a id, voice ra gged. "One s tupid moment, one where I a lmos t killed you, is not enough for you to a ct this wa y. In fa ct, your beha vior s hould be the exa ct oppos ite." "I'll beha ve however I wa nt," Jenohn s a id. "You're my ma ge, a nd you a lwa ys will be." "And you're a lwa ys right." Jenohn s miled, s low a nd crooked a nd s weet, a nd Sels or rea lly would ha te him if he didn't a lrea dy like him s o da mned much. "Exa ctly." "Well, it's not like I ha ve a nything els e to do, now," Sels or replied. "And my reputa on is a lrea dy in ta ers , why not rema in bound to the ma n I a lmos t killed a nd who is perpetua lly in trouble with the entire kingdom for being a cocky, reckles s knowit-a ll?" Sa ying it a loud like tha t, it rea lly did s eem s o ridiculous it ha d to work. "Precis ely," Jenohn replied, a nd Sels or could not help la ughing, wa s s till la ughing when Jenohn kis s ed him. Fin

About the Author Mega n Derr grew up a milita ry bra t a nd tra veled extens ively with her fa mily. She is now firmly s e led in Ohio, with two roomma tes a nd their four ca ts . She ha s a lwa ys been book obs es s ed, a nd wri ng obs es s ed s ince s he firs t ga ve it a whirl in college. Roma nce a nd fa nta s y a re her prima ry obs es s ions , but s he's ga me to write jus t a bout a nything a nd enjoys a cha llenge. She is a s ucker for s tories of enemies becoming lovers . When not wri ng, Mega n is drinking too much coffee, rea ding s ll more books , a nd ha ra s s ing fa mily a nd friends , or otherwis e doing wha tever pos s ible to a void editing. For more of Mega n's work, check out les s tha nthreepres s .com a nd her webs ite, ma derr.com. She loves to hea r from her rea ders . If you enjoyed Kiss the Rain, check out her a ddi ona l ta le, An Admirer, s et in the s a me world: Kaeck is a poor, shy, mage, barely able to keep a ending University. His life is work and school, leaving him too busy to make friends. Then one day, fetching his mail from his school post box, Kaeck finds a letter from a secret admirer. The le ers and subsequent gi s do much to brighten Kaeck's lonely days, but even as he longs to know the iden ty of his admirer, he finds his own admira on growing for fellow student Bellamy... who in turn is enamored of someone else entirely.