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Lineage
Author: Kilian Grey

Part I

 

 

Chapter One

 

 

Faust hit the ground hard.

“I know you can do better than that, Your Highness,” Daren said, slipping into another stance, his tight, auburn ponytail sliding back along the man’s dark tunic.

Faust growled in frustration, annoyed that even though he was a prince, Daren never let him win easily. He rolled onto his side to face the Captain of the Guard. Daren’s sapphire eyes focused on him. The captain was without armor and a helmet, but that still didn’t leave Faust any openings to exploit.

Faust pushed up, gripped the hilt of his wooden sword, and spun toward the taller man. He grunted at the force of the block, the unpleasant sound of clashing wood ringing in the empty training yard. The wind tousled his hair with a strange sense of urgency, and Faust sprung back as a flurry of wind magic cut where he had been standing.

“You’re getting better,” Rene said from his perch in the tree. The historian fixed his monocle and flipped the page in his book as his sky stone fell back into his lap.

Faust glared at the blond. Without the disturbance in the wind, Rene’s magic would’ve hit him.

Daren surged forward. “Distraction in battle,” he swung, “leads to an early death, Your Highness!”

Faust blocked, wincing at the resounding crack the swords gave. His boots sank into the dirt, and he inspected the splintering training sword. “Well,” Faust pushed back, “it is not quite fair when you both attack me.”

Rene snapped his book closed, turning olive-green eyes on Faust. “No fight is fair. Neglecting to adapt to your opponent’s tactics is your miss. Stone users will use everything around them as a weapon, and the well-trained don’t rely only on magic.”

The rising sun over the castle wall blinded Faust.

Daren fell backward and kicked Faust square in the chest.

Faust sucked in air upon impact with the unforgiving ground. He opened his eyes and froze at the sight of Daren’s sword pointed at his nose. Faust sighed. “I yield.”

Rene jumped from the tree and swept his long tunic and overcoat clean. “You must always be aware of your surroundings.”

Faust gazed at the lightening sky. “Yes, sir.”

Daren moved away and held out a hand to Faust. “You did well this morning, Your Highness.”

Faust huffed but took the captain’s hand anyway. “I did not do any better today than any other day.”

“It is not my duty to go easy on you.” Daren hauled Faust to his feet. “Shall we try again with two swords then?”

Faust brushed off his pants and weighed his options. The morning was still young, but he had several meetings today. He would finally meet the prestigious court merchant his brother Konrad appointed. He’d worked long hours each day scribing royal decrees for the man to carry, but Konrad told him to keep his skills up, too. “One more round.”

Rene shared a glance with Daren.

The captain shrugged and tossed his sword to the prince.

Faust caught it with ease and adjusted his long black hair inside his tunic, all the while keeping Daren in his sight, creeping closer.

Daren grabbed two more training swords and tested their weight. He shifted back toward Faust at the crunch of rock and blocked with a chuckle. “No warning?”

“You must always be ready,” Faust mocked.

The captain thrust his weight into the sword. Daren drove Faust back until Faust lost his balance and then swung with his secondary sword.

Faust met the sword with a twist of his wrist, their swords cracking loudly on impact. He dropped to a crouch and swung at Daren’s legs, cursing when Daren jumped. Faust swung his sword over his head to block Daren’s downward strike. Faust concentrated on Rene’s earth stone a distance away, pushing his magic into the stone, and a flash of green came from his left. He grinned.

Daren, too, grinned. The ground turned and twisted in a fight of will, but Faust’s magic was far stronger. Daren leaped back and flipped to avoid sharp spikes from the ground. Faust pursued Daren, and the captain parried with Faust, each strike growing in strength, but a hard snap from a broken sword gave way to a sharp snap of fingers, earth magic pooling under their feet.

Faust gasped as the ground came up between him and Daren.

“I will not have you both breaking any more training swords today,” Rene said, lowering his hand, the earth magic fading with the motion.

Faust held up his broken sword. “Then let me use real swords.”

“And risk the wrath of your brother, the king? I think not,” Rene said.

Daren laughed. “Then let’s get the grounds back in order, shall we, Your Highness?” Daren raised one hand, and the earth stone at the captain’s hip pulsed a faint green.

The ground shifted, swirled, and flattened back out as if it had never budged.

Faust tapped the ground with his boot, smiling. It always amazed him at how well Daren could control earth magic. “It looks perfect as always, Daren, but we still have time.”

“That wasn’t me,” Daren whispered.

Faust raised his unbroken sword in question, but the color drained from his face, his grasp on the sword tight. Cold emerald eyes met his from across the courtyard as Emoris, the sovereign deity of the three kingdoms of Alimphis, stalked closer.

Faust closed off his magic. It was his family’s greatest secret that he could wield magic, and Konrad was the only known Kingsley to have magic currently in their family. The magic stones only kept his magic more under control. No one was to know he could use magic without using any of the four elemental stones. Konrad made him swear by Alimphis never to let anyone know, especially Emoris. If Emoris found out, Faust didn’t want to know what the consequences would be.

Rene stood behind Daren, one palm out with a sky stone floating above his hand.

Emoris slowed, brows furrowed as he stared at Faust.

Rene snatched the stone out of the air and steadied himself as the deity stopped in front of him. “Your Excellency,” Rene said with a bow.

Daren kneeled and kept his head bowed.

Faust swallowed slowly and bowed in respect.

“Rise,” Emoris ordered.

Faust rose. Emoris’s dark green gaze bore into him, and the closer Faust looked, the deity wasn’t well-kept. Emoris’s long black hair was in a loose braid, mussed from sleep, and he lacked any jewelry. The simple tunic and pants were unbefitting of Emoris’s usual regalia as well. The deity wasn’t ordinarily up at this time because Emoris left everything to Konrad these days. As the King of Alios, Faust’s brother did a better job of ruling than the all-powerful deity he served.

Daren stood, but he placed a hand on the hilt of his training sword.

“That was quite a show,” Emoris said with a fake smile, glancing at Rene. “It is admirable that you can work so well with Prince Faust, Rene. Few can team up with a stone user.”

“You honor me,” Rene tipped his head in acknowledgment. “The prince has excellent form. It is easy to assist him.”

“It appears there is more to our prince than he lets on, then,” Emoris said.

Faust’s heart raced. Emoris had seen him.

“Lathil returns from his expedition tomorrow. We must be ready to receive him, and as beneficial as it is for our youngest prince to train, it is time for him to ready for the day.” Emoris turned his icy gaze to Faust once more. “You have much to complete today and many people to meet,” the deity cautioned, moving closer to the prince.

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