shining blond locks and long, long lashes,” Ray chortled.
Ian grinned at me. “Apparently Paige and Ray are harboring amorous feelings for Lief. What about you, Ry? Are you pining after our lead mage as well?”
“Certainly. What with those long, long lashes.” I winked at Ray. “How could I not?”
Ian opened his mouth to say something in reply, but it was lost on me as I caught wind of two knights’ conversation behind us:
“…Future princess can’t even take her mage duties seriously, too busy flirting with the others.”
My good humor was lost in a second.
“I heard she only got offered the position because Nyx suspected her relationship with Prince Darren would be beneficial to the keep.”
“Was it that obvious?”
“After the attack in Ferren? Everyone knew. He was in and out of the infirmary every day she was recovering… Can you imagine what she must have done to convince him to leave Lady Priscilla? She certainly wasn’t practicing Combat, if you catch my meaning.”
“I heard about that. I was in Tijan. So you truly think she’s here because…?”
“Why else? From what I’ve seen she’s nothing special.”
I didn’t even realize how tightly I was gripping the reins until the conversation died off and the second knight cleared her throat.
“Mage Ryiah, is something wrong?”
The false worry was like burnt sugar to the taste. My grip on the reins was so tight my knuckles were white. I could barely feel my fingers. I was sorely tempted to turn around in the saddle and tell the knight exactly what I thought of her “concern.”
“What’s wrong?” How about you daring to pretend you know anything about me! Nyx offered me the position because of my performance saving soldiers from a Caltothian attack! Why did she offer you yours? Because of your talent for tasteless gossip?
A slender arm slid into my field of vision and pried my hands from the reins, releasing the tension so that my mare was able to start forward once again.
“Ryiah.” Ruth was leaning close to my face. I hadn’t exchanged so much as a word with the Alchemy mage since I’d arrived—mostly because I had been too distracted to remember. “Come on, let’s catch up to the rest of your group.”
“Did you hear?” My voice cracked as she led me away from the knights, back to the center of our formation where the rest of the Combat mages and Paige rode.
The girl nodded once and I flushed.
For the past couple of days I had noticed conversations ending rather abruptly when I approached, but I had never thought twice about it until now. Was the entire squad talking about me ?
Was that what this was?
“They don’t know you, Ryiah.” Ruth’s discerning gaze was sympathetic. “All they can do is speculate.”
“Do you think I was offered this post because of his feelings for me?” I didn’t need to say whom. Ruth had watched Darren’s and my relationship play out from a distance the entire apprenticeship.
“No.” The girl hesitated. “But there are people who will always believe that no matter what you tell them.”
“Are there…” I swallowed back my anger. “Are there a lot of them?”
Ruth didn’t say anything.
Great . I felt anger fighting its way back to the surface. My entire squad thought I had received my rank and position because of my betrothal to the prince. My comrades gave me compliments to my face and speculated on my skill the second my back was turned.
Five years of proving myself. Gone. In an instant.
No wonder Darren had been so cold that first day at the Academy when Ella and I had questioned his place as a student. Doubtless, he had experienced what I was feeling now thousands of times. As a prince he probably got tired of proving himself again and again. Darren’s angry retort that morning had been a culmination of years of false flattery and cruel speculation.
“You will thank me one day for not filling your head with false compliments.” Darren had been doing me
Ian grinned at me. “Apparently Paige and Ray are harboring amorous feelings for Lief. What about you, Ry? Are you pining after our lead mage as well?”
“Certainly. What with those long, long lashes.” I winked at Ray. “How could I not?”
Ian opened his mouth to say something in reply, but it was lost on me as I caught wind of two knights’ conversation behind us:
“…Future princess can’t even take her mage duties seriously, too busy flirting with the others.”
My good humor was lost in a second.
“I heard she only got offered the position because Nyx suspected her relationship with Prince Darren would be beneficial to the keep.”
“Was it that obvious?”
“After the attack in Ferren? Everyone knew. He was in and out of the infirmary every day she was recovering… Can you imagine what she must have done to convince him to leave Lady Priscilla? She certainly wasn’t practicing Combat, if you catch my meaning.”
“I heard about that. I was in Tijan. So you truly think she’s here because…?”
“Why else? From what I’ve seen she’s nothing special.”
I didn’t even realize how tightly I was gripping the reins until the conversation died off and the second knight cleared her throat.
“Mage Ryiah, is something wrong?”
The false worry was like burnt sugar to the taste. My grip on the reins was so tight my knuckles were white. I could barely feel my fingers. I was sorely tempted to turn around in the saddle and tell the knight exactly what I thought of her “concern.”
“What’s wrong?” How about you daring to pretend you know anything about me! Nyx offered me the position because of my performance saving soldiers from a Caltothian attack! Why did she offer you yours? Because of your talent for tasteless gossip?
A slender arm slid into my field of vision and pried my hands from the reins, releasing the tension so that my mare was able to start forward once again.
“Ryiah.” Ruth was leaning close to my face. I hadn’t exchanged so much as a word with the Alchemy mage since I’d arrived—mostly because I had been too distracted to remember. “Come on, let’s catch up to the rest of your group.”
“Did you hear?” My voice cracked as she led me away from the knights, back to the center of our formation where the rest of the Combat mages and Paige rode.
The girl nodded once and I flushed.
For the past couple of days I had noticed conversations ending rather abruptly when I approached, but I had never thought twice about it until now. Was the entire squad talking about me ?
Was that what this was?
“They don’t know you, Ryiah.” Ruth’s discerning gaze was sympathetic. “All they can do is speculate.”
“Do you think I was offered this post because of his feelings for me?” I didn’t need to say whom. Ruth had watched Darren’s and my relationship play out from a distance the entire apprenticeship.
“No.” The girl hesitated. “But there are people who will always believe that no matter what you tell them.”
“Are there…” I swallowed back my anger. “Are there a lot of them?”
Ruth didn’t say anything.
Great . I felt anger fighting its way back to the surface. My entire squad thought I had received my rank and position because of my betrothal to the prince. My comrades gave me compliments to my face and speculated on my skill the second my back was turned.
Five years of proving myself. Gone. In an instant.
No wonder Darren had been so cold that first day at the Academy when Ella and I had questioned his place as a student. Doubtless, he had experienced what I was feeling now thousands of times. As a prince he probably got tired of proving himself again and again. Darren’s angry retort that morning had been a culmination of years of false flattery and cruel speculation.
“You will thank me one day for not filling your head with false compliments.” Darren had been doing me
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