The Spark of a Feudling by Wendy Knight

power to shame.” Was it possible that Charity had been talking about Ada? “You really think you can make me that formidable?” Ada whispered.
    â€œI have not a doubt, daughter. If you want it, there will be no stopping you.”
    Ada wasn’t sure she wanted it, but she could think of no better way to monitor her father’s actions than to spend as much time training as possible. For Charity. “Of course I want it, Daddy. When can we begin?”
    Richard beamed. “I believe now would be a good time.”
    He led her out of the study, locking it behind him and raising an eyebrow at her as he handed the heavy key ring over. “I trust you will be returning those to their rightful owner?”
    Ada felt her entire face flush. “Yes, Daddy.”
    The estate had what would have been a cellar. At one time, when the attacks were coming much too often, they had converted it to a dungeon with holding cells. Ada hadn’t been down there since, and she hesitated at the entrance, shivering at the gust of cool, dank air. She couldn’t feel the cold, but the fear was there, irrational though it may be. Richard scowled at her. “A great sorcerer shows no weakness, Ada,” he snapped.
    She swallowed hard and lifted her skirts, following him into the darkness. When the door behind her clanged shut, she bit back a scream, shoving her fist into her mouth to keep from crying out. In front of her, sparks lit, chasing the darkness as Richard let flames loose from his fingertips, like a human torch. Why have I never thought of that? She lit her own flames, holding her hands out in front of her to ward off the terror creeping in from every side.
    Her father had reached the bottom of the staircase. She could just make out his form, striding confidently across the room. The glowing embers of a spell formed in the darkness, and he pushed it forward. It flew through the dimness, igniting a great chandelier in the center of the room. Shadows were chased to the furthest corners and Ada could finally see clearly.
    The room had been cleared of cells, and food, and everything else. It was a huge, empty expanse of space, although there were still suspicious dark stains where the chains had once held prisoners to the walls. Ada looked away quickly, remembering the blood spilling from the man she’d killed only a few days before.
    â€œCome, Ada. I don’t have all day to wait for you to stand terrified on the stairs.” He sounded sickened, the pride from earlier completely gone. Ada clenched her teeth, let the flames at her fingertips die, and knotted her skirts in her fist. She took the stairs two at a time and hurried across the dirt floor to stand next to him.
    â€œLet’s begin with an easy one. I call this ginsti . Just a twist of your wrist here,” he raised his hand and burned the spell into the air before them, “and a dip of your finger here and you’re done.” A beautiful little spell hung in the air, waiting to be pushed toward its target. The red flames burned and fizzled, crackling in the still air. “Now you try.”
    Ada bit her lip, studying the spell. The sparks lit at her fingertips and she slowly traced it into the air. But where his burned brightly even in the bright lights, hers fizzled and went out. “Try again,” he snapped.
    This time her hand shook, and it didn’t resemble his in the slightest. “Concentrate, Ada!” he yelled. She yelped and jerked away from him, tracing it more quickly this time. It almost held, but not quite.
    â€œLike this!” Furious with impatience, he grabbed her hand and jerked it through the motions. When it still didn’t hold, he dropped her wrist like it had scalded him and burned the spell again himself. And then he shoved it at her.
    She screeched as the spell hit her in the same shoulder injured during battle. It burned, weaving through the top layers of skin.
    â€œNow you know how it