Mine to Spell (Mine #2) (27 page)

“I’m certain he’ll be along shortly,” Xyer says.

“
Right.” I guess it’s time, then.

I pry my hands from the seat and step from the carriage. My black skirt swishes around me, loose enough I can move easily, but full enough to hide a gun if I choose to carry one. It feels so useless today though. The blouse I'm wearing is also black to conform with tournament dress code. Despite the dark color, it's light and smooth against my skin. It's tucked into my skirt and draping down my arms to allow for full control of my arms without getting tangled. The only part of my outfit uncomfortable is the orange band I must wear denoting my country. Katherine has done wonderfully as usual. Still, I'd rather be wearing breeches.

They follow as I head toward the grounds, Conrad close by, while Xyer and Chadwick spread out. Others are about, but not as close as I thought, and are quickly leaving us behind. No sense tainting themselves by arriving when I do.

Perhaps I should have waited for Lukas before starting my walk of doom. He should have been here. If something happened to him—no, I won’t think such thoughts. He’s probably just running behind on one of the most important days of our lives. At least I can find out not only when my duels are, but his as well, in case whatever is keeping him continues until it’s almost time to start. I’m sure it’s nothing.

The air around me swirls, brushing against my skin with a chilly bite that feels menacing. Almost like something is there besides just air. Like someone is watching me. Waiting for me to stop, or slow down, or take the wrong turn so they can make it so I don’t show up for the tournament. Even with my guards here, it doesn’t feel like enough. I increase my pace until I’m running. The air whips past my skin, chilling my already cold skin further.

“
Is everything all right?” Chadwick says in between breaths as he runs up beside me.

“
I don’t know.”

He glances around and asks Conrad, “What do you think?”

“I’ll check the area. You three go ahead, and move fast.”

He stops running and spells fly from him, zipping off in all directions. Chadwick and I turn back toward the grounds and run again. Where is everyone? Did they run off because of me, or do they know something we don’t?

Chills want to cripple me, to keep me from moving forward, but I force myself on. My lungs burn as my feet crunch against the road. We dip into an alley, a shortcut, but the houses press in on me from both sides. If anyone should come, there’s only one way out. If more people come, blocking both sides, we’re trapped.

I push myself harder. We’re almost there. Just a little farther and we’ll make it. There are people in the distance, wandering on the field where we’ll join the tournament. Not much farther. I bound out of the alley into a clearing. The panicked fear gripping me on the run is immediately replaced with something much more certain. I’ve arrived. I’ll sign in, check the list of competitors, and will soon be competing. As much as my nerves are tumbling around my insides, churning things about, I force my outward appearance to be cool and calm, as if this is common-place and accepted.

Several groups of people, mostly men but a few women, are scattered throughout, though none close to us. They’re all staring at me. I pretend like my running turned to a stroll was all part of the plan. What plan, I have no idea, but people who duel in tournaments must have a plan, yes? Like warming up or something, not that I got scared on the way over. What a way for me to introduce myself to everyone, to show even more how I don’t belong.

As we drift through the clearing, the attention leaves us. It’s hard not to think, and worry, about Lukas. Any moment he should be joining us, but there’s no sign of him. I glance to where a few duelers are already signing in. The gate in the fence dividing the duelers from the spectators is guarded by a fierce warlock, dark, stringy hair down to his shoulders, with a nose so hooked I can see it from here as he scowls at the warlock currently trying to check in.

The worry in my chest suddenly feels tighter, strangling my ability to breathe. But this is what I came for. What I’ve trained for. I need to do this. To be strong and show everyone my magic.

We head toward the gate but then stop. Chadwick and Xyer have been nothing but helpful. They’ve saved my life. I want them to come. To support me. But having warlocks around while trying to sign in feels like it goes against what I’m trying to accomplish. I need to do this on my own. Dread flashes through me. I hate when the right thing to do is also the hardest thing to do.

“I’m going to go sign in. Would you mind letting me do it on my own?”

“
No problem,” Chadwick says. “I’ll be back here but still making sure your safe.”

Some of the dread eases from me, just not nearly enough of it. “Thank you. And if you see Lukas, will you let him know where I am?”

“Will do.”

After thanking him again, I stride toward the admitting gate, pretending like I’m not covered in fear. Thankfully there’s not a line, the warlock who was signing in a moment ago is walking through the gate now. Maybe it’s worse. It means I’ll have to face him now without having more time to think on what to say. Once there, a stringy-haired law officer stops me, a gap between his front teeth visible now that I’m closer.

“Where are you going? Where’s your owner? Why are you dressed in black with an arm band?” he snaps.

The rapid questions mixed with his presence leaning toward me, hand up, ready to cast a spell makes me want to run all the way back to the house.

I straighten and in my most commanding voice, learned from father, I say, “I’m participating in the tournament. See this?” I point to the orange band on my arm. “You know it means I am a participant.”

He shrugs. “You could have stolen it.”

Even though I expected this to be difficult, I hoped it wouldn’t be. But hopes are almost always in vain. “You had to have heard a woman, with the status of a warlock, would be participating this year.”

His eye twitches. “I’ll have to look into it.” He waves another law officer over, this one with a fluff of blond hair. “This
girl
claims she’s participating in the tournament. Would you look her information up?”

The warlock laughs. “Not worth my time.”

Rage flares inside me, which is better than fear at least. Good thing my paperwork is in my boot. I pull it out. “Proof that I didn’t steal anything.” I give the gap-toothed warlock a pointed glare. “Let me through.”

The guard grabs for my papers, but it’s doubtful he’d return them. I clutch them to my chest, though it probably won’t stop him for long.

“If you’re not going to show them to us then they must be fake. Quit wasting our time before we find your owner and fine him for your nuisance.”

The crowd that had been scattered across the field is taking notice of our disagreement, looming closer. Some are clearly from other countries, tall or darker skinned, but only a few sprinkled throughout the crowd. Toward the fringes of the multitude there are even a few women.

Chadwick and Xyer are nowhere in sight. They said they’d keep me safe. What could have happened to them? My fingers tremble, giving away my trepidation. First Lukas, now Chadwick? But there’s nothing that can be done until I fix this situation.

I scan the crowd again. Is it big enough for me to let loose my power? If I cast a spell now and am sacrificed for it, will enough people be here that they can’t cast a memory loss spell for what I’m about to do? This wasn’t the plan, but forget the plan. If this isn’t the time to make a statement, I don’t know what is. But it has to be big. Really big. Something that will be hard to erase from so many memories.

The threatening warlocks are distracted by fighting over what to do with me. Perfect. This is it, the test to see what’s going to happen to me once everyone knows what it is exactly I can do.

My hands shake. but Lukas’s ring is steady on my thumb. I take a deep breath, gather my magic, and force it to fan across the clearing in a wide array of colors. All perfectly harmless, but bright and flashy, some even flaring as they dance through the crowd. They gasp as the light bounces in and around them.

I flash it not just around them, but high into the sky. High enough that questions will have to be answered even if everyone here loses their memory. Though the answers may not be about me if they can erase all these memories, but it’s something. If only it’s enough of something. It has to be enough of something. Whether or not it is, I’m lighter than I’ve ever felt before, and my hands have stopped shaking. My chest is a torrent of emotion with use of my magic in front of so many. Finally,
finally
, I’m showing everyone my true self.

Once I’m certain I have their attention, that everyone knows it came from me, I wrap a floating spell around the papers that proves I’m free along with my tournament entry and make them float in the air before the stunned law officers.

The look on their faces transform from shocked to fierce and angry. Fluffy hair reaches out again to snatch the papers, but I push the air in the spell back away from him, keeping them just out of reach.

I hold back a laugh as he jumps for it as it taunts him. “You can look, but don’t touch. I’d hate to lose such important papers.”

He growls. “Take your paperwork and find your place.”

I raise my voice, “So you accept that I have the status of a warlock and am allowed in the tournament?”

“I said find your place.”

I want nothing more, except maybe to know if Lukas and the others are all right. “Once everyone here is assured that I’m supposed to be here, I will.”

He’s turning a brilliant red, nose flaring. “You’re a dueler in the tournament. Now get out of my face.”

Slowly, I drift the papers back down, letting the spell flash a few times for effect before rolling them up. “I’m only too happy to oblige you. Thank you for your assistance.”

Laughter bubbles again, and I have to work hard to suppress the joy trying to escape me.

He turns away from me in disgust, but the eyes of everyone gathered watch as I leave the public area and cross over into the designated dueler’s area.

There’s no music or noise. In fact it’s oddly silent for such a large gathering. It feels official, like I’m finally doing what I set out to show everyone. If a warlock killed me right now, right here in front of everyone, I’d still feel like I accomplished what I set out to do.

And I’m grateful. It is what I wanted to show everyone before. The problem is, now I don’t want to just show everyone what women can do. I want to show them a woman can win. That I can win.

Chapter Thirty-One

My hands are shaking, the one thing I can’t seem to control, but I keep them tightly wrapped around my papers. Whether it’s the fear or commitment of trying to win causing the shaking, I’m uncertain. I only hope that it was a big enough display in front of enough people to show everyone women can do magic. If it was, I’ll be in my first duel in only a few short hours. If not, well, I’ll probably be dead before then.

Either way, standing still is my worst option. First, I need to check the schedule and learn where and when my first duel is so I can be ready and check Lukas’s as well. Then I have to figure out where both he, Xyer, and Chadwick are. I suppress the growing pit of worry in my stomach and head toward the stone.

A warlock steps in front of me. Chancellor Ryan. Dread clings to me, grappling for me to get away from him and whatever he has planned. But he can’t do away with me now, not after everything we’ve worked so hard on to make my presence accepted. Can he?

“Think pretty highly of yourself, don’t you?”

The urge to look down is almost overbearing. Focusing so wholly on keeping his gaze probably makes me look crazed, but any other option is unacceptable. “I only think I’m doing what I’ve earned the right to do.”

He leans closer. “Back out now.”

My gaze slips, just for a moment, but enough that defeat seems to cling to me even as I return to holding my stare back on him. “Not happening.”

His nose flares, hand flickering toward me. “You will regret it, and so will those you care about.”

And he’s off, leaving me behind in a wave of emotion. I’m struggling not to regret entering the tournament already. As soon as he’s gone, the crowd of duelers swarm in on me. Every jostle and bump as they fight their way by adds to the blow Chancellor Ryan delivered.

One warlock elbows me in the stomach, followed by another jamming into my shoulder. And on and on. I’d like to think that it’s because the area is so crammed full of people that there’s not enough room to be polite. But the truth is, even with the plethora of warlocks wandering about, there’s plenty of empty space. Except around me. When one warlock leaves, another seems to take his place. It’s a good thing we aren’t allowed to use magic in the waiting area, or I would have been hexed by most of them by now. Did Chancellor Ryan encourage this fray?

Another warlock falls into me, his elbow jamming into my ribs hard enough to leave a bruise. The pain quickly subsides, but my reaction to it doesn’t. I grit my teeth, wondering how I’m ever going to make it to the stone when one of them steps in front of me.