“I don’t mind working my way up,” Elsie said quickly. “I always expected that.”
I nodded. “Excellent. Then I’m sure we’ll deal well together.”
Stellan, who had been looking between us with growing concern in his eyes, focused his attention back on me.
“But that means you’ll be taking her to Kallorway with you. She’ll be leaving anyway.”
I gave him a stern look. “Yes, of course it means she’ll have to come to Kallorway with me. But you’ll be going off to the Academy here yourself, remember. And this isn’t about the next year or two, anyway. If we do this, it’s about Elsie’s whole future.”
Stellan gulped and nodded. “Yes, of course.”
I didn’t feel any need to tell him that taking Elsie away was one of the elements I liked best about this plan. Stellan was about to begin at the Academy where he would be mixing in an informal environment with every other Ardannian mage his own age. If Elsie was far away and out of reach during the coming year, it would be a true test of their feelings and devotion. For all I liked what I’d seen of Elsie so far, I still couldn’t help wanting a simpler future for my brother.
“But what about that promise?” Elsie’s brow wrinkled as she glanced sideways at Stellan. “What do you want from Stellan?”
“I want him to promise he won’t get sealed for another two years at least,” I said.
He started. “Two years? But that’s longer than even Mother and Father said.”
I shrugged. “That’s the deal I’m offering. You wait at least until you’re a third year, and I’ll get Elsie sealed today.”
Elsie relaxed and even smiled. “But that’s an easy promise to make, Stellan. You shouldn’t be going against your parents or limiting yourself anyway. I’ve been telling you that all along.”
My liking for the girl increased by several points, although Stellan didn’t look as satisfied with her words. Elsie looked over at me.
“I know I should never have let him talk me into it in the first place. I knew it was a bad idea. But…” She looked at him, so much emotion in her eyes that I knew she had been equally horrified at the thought of being sent away forever and never seeing him again. Had she trusted in his rank to save her from the consequences that would follow the inevitable discovery of their crime?
“How will you do it, though?” Stellan asked. “Get Elsie included, I mean. They always fill the ceremonies to capacity, and without me there to increase the energy available for the working…”
Elsie gave a soft gasp. “Oh! I didn’t think of that.” She gave me a stricken look. “I couldn’t bear for anyone else to lose their place so that I could be included.”
“Not even if it was one of the other trainee servants who treated you badly?” I asked, curious. “Don’t you deserve the spot more than them?”
She shook her head. “They aren’t truly bad people. It’s not their fault we were all set up in competition with each other. And none of them were responsible for me missing that final test.”
Stellan growled something too low for me to catch, giving me the impression he didn’t feel as forgiving as she did. But I could see why my warm-hearted brother had fallen in love with her.
“So you were planning to give the sealing mage some extra energy?” I asked Stellan. “To cover there being two extra people in the ceremony.”
He nodded while I fished around in one of my pockets.
“Thankfully, I have a solution for that.” I pulled out a parchment triumphantly. “I have a written energy composition from Bree—a fortunate thing since we don’t want to involve you in this at all. I’ll offer it to whoever is organizing the ceremony in exchange for including Elsie. I imagine they’ll jump at the offer since this has to be enough to cover more than just her. I’m sure they have a long list of people who’ve missed out.”
Sealing ceremonies were so few that the entire idea wouldn’t have been sustainable without the reappearance of energy mages. We didn’t have many in Ardann, but we always managed to acquire some extra energy for any mages completing a sealing. In the Empire, where they had access to both more energy mages and more power mages willing to be sealed, the arrival of the energy mages had been what allowed them to continue sealing their entire commonborn population, despite its growing size.
By now the sky outside had lightened considerably, dawn breaking. I glanced out the window and stood.
“So do I have your promise, Stellan? Not until third year?”
I didn’t just want the two years so he could have time to discover any potential other powers for himself. I would be finished at the Academy at that point, forced to make decisions about my own future. One way or another, I would have to be more honest with my family by then. I trusted that once Stellan knew the truth of my abilities, he would see for himself why it would be so foolish to bind himself.
Reluctantly Stellan nodded, still gripping Elsie’s hand.
“You have my word, Verene.”
I nodded once. “Then we need to move fast. Elsie, you had better come with me. Do either of you know who is overseeing the ceremony?”
Stellan named a pair of palace officials who often worked together—one a sealed commonborn and one a mage. I nodded again before turning to Elsie.
“Do I look respectable?”
“Your…Highness?” she faltered.
“If I’m going to start throwing my rank around, I’d rather not look like I just spent the night sleeping in an armchair.” I smiled at her. “You said that personal servant is a position of trust, so here’s your first big test. Can you tell me the truth?”
“Oh.” She looked like she wasn’t sure whether or not she was allowed to giggle.
Stellan just rolled his eyes. “You look fine, Verene.”
“I didn’t ask you, Stellan. You may be my brother, but I do not trust you in this particular matter. I’m not sure you’d even notice if I looked disheveled.”
“He’s right, though,” Elsie said decisively. “No one would guess you hadn’t made it to bed last night.”
She darted forward and poked at a strand of my hair, pushing it back into place before stepping back and regarding me critically. When she gave a decisive nod, I grinned.
“Let’s go then. We don’t have any time to waste.”
Elsie clearly knew her way around the palace because she led me straight to the right office without hesitation. I was afraid the officials might have already left for the ceremony location, but they were still there.
They both scrambled to their feet when I barged into the room, bowing low and addressing me respectfully.
“I’m so sorry to cause trouble at the last minute,” I said. “But I have chosen a personal servant from the palace training program, and I have just learned that she wasn’t selected for the ceremony today. The oversight is due to a misunderstanding, of course, and I must insist she be included.”
The two officials gaped at Elsie, who lingered uncomfortably in the doorway, before throwing each other worried looks.
“I’m sure you’ve put a great deal of effort into the various tests to measure exactly how many commonborns will be able to be sealed today,” I continued, “and you have no doubt planned for a full ceremony. Obviously I would not want to disrupt your plans, and so I would like to donate this.”