I make a few more to give to Torsten and his family. I craft some warding stones. When properly placed, warding stones form a perimeter that makes the central stone glow if anything hostile crosses their barrier. The brighter the glow and the stronger the color, the larger or more hostile the threat. It only takes a drop of magic to enchant these stones. It’s a droplet of magic from my raging torrent, but it’s a droplet I’ll likely never recover. Weaker Fey can’t enchant anything; they lack the power to spare.

  I don’t enchant things often, and when I do, it’s usually something I can retrieve. It's rare for me to enchant something and then give it away. Giving away an item I have enchanted means I can’t reclaim my magic from it later. This is the third time I’ve done that. I made a necklace for my mother so she'd know I’m alright, and I did that before they took me to the training center. Kenric’s sword, which grants him a bit of my speed, was the second. This is the third, and I’m about to make a fourth.

  In the dressing area, there is a small mirror. Unlike the polished metal that most use for mirrors, this one is fancy and made of silvered glass. I take down the small mirror and set it on the bed. The silver backing and the oak frame, made from an ancient tree, make it nearly ideal for what I plan to do. I focus my intent and duplicate the mirror. I hang my copy on the wall since the original is better for my purposes. I focus my magic, and it swirls around the frame before sinking into it. Now, for the price of a drop of blood, when the central stone glows, Torsten can see what’s coming.

  Since there’s a blood price to activate the spell, the amount of magic required is much less. Another droplet has gone, but that's all. Fey live long lives, so we’re taught to hoard our magic and use enchantments sparingly. Temporary enchantments are one thing; the magic returns to us when the enchantment ends. Permanent enchantments, however, draw a bit of our magic each time we cast them. It’s possible to run out of magic. Though it hasn’t happened in living memory, many old stories warn us about this.

  These are cautionary tales we learn as children. All Fey are taught these things, but humans have the wildest ideas about magic. In their minds, having magic means that you’ve made some dark pact with an evil power. Their ideas don’t consider that it’s something you’re born with, like your eye color. They think all magic is evil. They’re very hard to dissuade since this is often wrapped up in their religions. It’s impossible to have a sane discussion with a religious fanatic.

  Best to avoid that whenever possible. I leave them to their odd beliefs. I’m not so sure that the truth of it would make them like magic users any better. We can do some of the things they accuse us of, like control diseases, simply because these things exist all around us. The difference between healthy skin and seeping, oozing wounds is a matter of balance. The good stuff is balancing out the bad. Magic merely lets us put our finger on the scale of that balance to tilt it either way we choose.

  Magic lets you be either the source of a plague or the source of a cure. No more but no less, either. I do plan to use a bit of magic in dealing with these dukes. It will be small and subtle, but they are greedy and fearful men with power. That makes them dangerous. I’ll have to handle it carefully, but I think I can manage it. Magic means that I’m the best forger currently in Centis. If I were truly out to create chaos, I’d set up some meetings among the dukes.

  They wouldn’t know the real reason they were to show up at a particular place, or who was truly behind it all. I’d arrange for other members of the court to see them together. Then I’d cook up some documents about a plot to overthrow Oskar. Next, I’d arrange for someone loyal to Oskar to find them and then let nature run its course. It’s not like dukes aren’t plotting against Oskar, now. It wouldn’t take much to get Oskar to believe that one of the dukes is out to replace him.

  I don’t want Centis to be plunged into a civil war right now. I want things to stay quiet and stable so I can prepare for the invasion. Having one duke seize the throne would make the others feel equally entitled to it. It would quickly turn into a contest among all five of the dukes to see who the next king would be. If I had to choose one to support, I would back Duke Jellema, but I’d prefer to avoid that if possible. A civil war leaves Centis vulnerable and likely to fall quickly to the invaders when they finally arrive.

  I don’t think I can counter Ellisar’s game because I don’t know what pieces he has, which ones are already moving, or which are in reserve. I’ve barely got a sense of the board’s shape. I also don’t want to get caught up in a proxy war with my own king. I know enough to realize we’ll need to hold out for a while before leaving. I’m unsure whether we’ll go to Nintoku when that time comes or return to Imelenora. I’ll have to wait and see how things unfold and decide when the moment is right.

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  I doze off and wake to see Kenric staring out the window. I must have moved or made a noise because he turns to face me.

  “We should go outside,” he says, voice rough with the kind of hunger that makes my thighs press together. “The stars are too bright to waste.”

  I fake indifference, but the scent of his arousal is intoxicating. “You just want me naked under them.”

  Kenric’s gaze goes dark and possessive. “I always want you naked,” he admits, “but tonight I want you wild. Watching you dance like that… Who wouldn’t?”

  I toss him a saucy wink, “Catch me and you win a prize.”

  Before he can reach me, I’m out the door of our room and running out the door of the lodge, into the forest. I hear him mutter a curse as he takes off after me. I know I can outrun him, but I don’t want to. I only want him to chase me a bit. I slow down for a moment, once we’re out of sight of the house, and whip my nightdress off over my head. I carry it aloft like a banner, streaming behind me. I catch words from him like minx, vixen, and she-devil.

  I come to a little clearing. Some forest giant has fallen, and a new one hasn’t grown up yet. I lay my nightdress out on a bush. I dance in the moonlight, as the fireflies gather around me. They’re not pixies, but they’ll do. Kenric comes crashing through the underbrush into the clearing. He stops dead, staring. I start to sing. It’s an old song about two lovers who finally find each other. Kenric prowls toward me and catches me as I spin past him.

  “I caught you. What’s my prize?” he growls as he spins with me, dancing in the moonlight.

  I hum a bit before wrapping my legs around him. He slowly stops spinning as I pull his head down.

  He stops for a moment, “As gorgeous as you are, you’re even more beautiful out here, like this.”

  His kiss is all teeth and tongue, a claim as much as a promise. I moan into the kiss, clinging to him, fingers digging into his back. He’s supporting my weight with one hand and stripping off his clothes with the other.

  I flick my wrist, and his clothes are gone. He chuckles darkly and strides toward the fallen forest giant, pinning me against the side of the tree. The bark is digging in, but I don’t care. I stop him for a moment,

  “Let the stones, the sky, and trees bear witness to what is between us. Let them remember and remind us, if we forget.” I make him repeat it. He goes from being incredibly aroused to almost reverent as he enters me.

  I pull his head back down, and his pace becomes almost brutal. He shifts my hips, and I’m screaming his name before his kiss drowns the sound. He doesn’t even slow down until he’s roaring out his own release. He groans my name like a prayer, his body trembling against mine. I hold onto him, shaking a bit myself from the intensity of it.

  He finally lifts his head and looks at me, “I’d rather not have to return to the lodge naked. Your men and mine are still on patrol.”

  I flick my wrist and he’s dressed as Fey prince, again. “This is how you should look. You look magnificent. Oskar didn’t even recognize you when we arrived at his palace.”

  Kenric chuckles and scoops me up. I flick my wrist, and my nightgown is back.

  “You aren’t even wearing shoes. I’ll have to carry you back,” he rumbles.

  I don’t correct him, but I am Fey. I know how not to step on stones. I ran out here without shoes. It is pleasant to nestle against his chest and listen to his heartbeat as he carries me. His steps are almost effortless.

  I fall asleep thinking about these things. All too soon, Melina is there to wake me. I’m not sure what I plan to do besides drill with the men and visit Torsten’s family later. We settle into a routine of drills and sparring until lunchtime. After lunch, we prepare for the visit to Torsten’s family. Luka arrives in a carriage.

  Kenric grins at Luka, “I assume that Ulrick spoke to you.”

  Luka nods, “I’d still like to hear it from you.”

  Kenric takes a breath before explaining what he’s looking for, “Luka, as you know, every day Oskar holds me here, my estate is vulnerable.”

  “It is,” Luka replies, “but you have some help.”

  Kenric nods, “I do. My Sergeant can only do so much. I need someone to see to things while I’m stuck at court. I need someone with enough political weight to handle my creditors properly and enough loyalty to ensure they won't simply become a worse sort of plunderer. I don’t want my smallholders driven off or my estate falling into ruin.”

  “How is the estate overall?” Luka asks.

  “It’s profitable. The loans are small and merely need to be repaid on time,” Kenric replies.

  “What have you done with it?” Luka asks.

  "There’s some mining, mostly clay, along the river. We’ve been getting ready to build a lumber mill, but it’s not finished yet. I had to repair the keep, which pushed the schedule back. We grow wheat, flax, and barley. The yields for all three have been good, but the crops need to be rotated. Any expansion to the fields needs careful planning. We also need to find and settle more smallholders. There’s a lot to do, and I’m stuck in Dobile.”

  Luka laughs and nods. “There always is, isn’t there?”

  Nodding in agreement, Kenric sighs, “I’ve got funds set aside to buy another pair of oxen to help with the clearing and plowing. I’d like to see if we can get a pair of females this time, and then we can start breeding them. Someone will have to find them, buy them, and get them back to Herrenstein. Some of it will be the smallholders squabbling among themselves. That has to be dealt with, too.”

  In Centis, smallholders are what they call tenant farmers.

  What would you do as a magic user in Centis? Hide? Leave? Pull out a can of whoop-arse? Let me know in the comments...