I shrugged. “Okay.” Of course I minded, but I had agreed to be a team player. Plus, he was old, so whatever.
“Is it okay if I take some more notes?” he asked.
“I guess.” I looked at Wren and Kai, and they turned to have their own conversation, slyly removing themselves from this one.
“You’ve said you have magic. What form?” He pressed the tip of his pen to his paper.
“I believe I have fire magic, maybe?”
“Yes, is that all?”
“I can’t be sure. I’m not able to control it. It stands to reason that if Fen has all four as the Guardian, then I might also, but without learning how to use it, I can’t answer that honestly.”
“Sure, sure.” He scribbled. The sound of his pen scratching the paper felt like an invasion, though I wasn’t sure why. I’d been on edge for far too long, and I felt guilty that I didn’t fully trust the southerners yet.
“When did you first discover your ability?” He paused, lifting his wrinkled face from his notes.
“How is this relevant?” I asked, feeling defensive but trying to silence the warning bells going off in my mind. Not everyone was out to get me, and I had to keep reminding myself of that.
“It’s not currently, but someday we may need to look back. I used to keep journals for King Tolero. Did you know he is over two thousand years old? His memories aren’t quite what they used to be. I think he still references them from time to time.”
“I see. Well, I don’t really have much more to add. I discovered the magic by accident when I was pissed off one time, and that’s all I know. It’s never come back.”
“Give her a break, Lichen. It’s been a long day.” Kai tossed a rock, and it thunked as it plummeted into the nearby pond.
He looked at me surprised, as if he hadn’t noticed my discomfort at his questions. “Of course. My apologies. The scholar in me lives for education.” He adjusted the long robes he always wore, even in the humid forest.
“Why don’t you guys tell me a little bit about the Flame Court. I’ve never been.”
“You were born there, Ara,” Lichen corrected, tucking away his journal.
“Right, but I have no memory of that.”
“It’s basically a desert with an occasional oasis until you hit the ocean.” Wren squeezed the rain from her chocolate hair as she looked off into the distance.
“It’s far more than that,” Lichen added. “The Flame Court is a land of pride and culture. We breed warriors, and our king is kind and caring.” He sat and leaned forward, propping his arms on his legs, prepared to tell a story.
“Is he?” I couldn’t help my surprise, though I should have guessed.
“Oh yes, quite so,” he answered. “King Tolero is the only worthy royal among us. Apart from his son, of course.”
“The Trials will be starting soon,” Fen said as he came behind us carrying logs. “Greeve won them ten years ago.”
He set the wood down, and Greeve followed behind. Fen touched his hand to the soaking wet ground, and all the water around us lifted and moved into the dangerous pond. My continued surprise at his plethora of abilities must have been written across my face because he winked at me. This was fine. I was fine. Not even kind of affected by that. Winking was stupid anyway.
We felt drawn to each other because of our twisted fate, that was all. I didn’t want to get involved with him. I mean, I absolutely wanted to lick him, but that would probably be frowned upon. Friends. It just had to be that way. I couldn’t let him distract me. This was my whole life I was trying to learn about.
No one else seemed bothered by the fact that there was a water wraith in the pond a stone’s throw from where we set camp. Draconians were never afraid of anything, but maybe that extended to everyone in the south. The only one I caught eyeing the water suspiciously was Lichen, who had clearly resolved to keep his distance. We sat scattered around the fire, and I continued the conversation while purposely sitting between Greeve and Wren. “What are the Trials?”
“In a nutshell, it’s an event that takes place every decade where warriors compete for top place.”
“Pit fighters,” Greeve corrected. “And then the whole kingdom is able to try to join the royal guard.”
“You’re a pit fighter?”
“Yes and no. I lost a bet with Kai and Fen, and I had to enter under one of the pit lords.” A soft breeze surrounded him as he remembered, and it lifted the tips of my hair with it. “I trained with the army more than I trained with the pit fighters, but when King Tolero chose me as his champion, I was determined to win, bet or no bet. It was pretty easy though. We don’t fight to the death, and most of the fighters forfeited after a few blows because it’s hard to beat a wind cleaver.”
“Oh yes. Mister High and Mighty. We all bow down to your greatness,” Kai said from beside him in a high-pitched voice.
