A smile, but that teal gaze was indecipherable, as always. “Why, is it such a surprise that I might desire my own daughter’s company?”
“Of course not. But surely …?”
Queen Priscilla gave a long-suffering sigh, as if Asterin had already disappointed her. “General Garringsford has brought you a gift.” Her mother gestured, and the general strolled over to Asterin, producing a small chest from behind her back.
Asterin accepted it warily. A gift? From Garringsford? Now that was a surprise. She placed the chest upon the bed, the silken wood warm and rich beneath her fingertips, yearning for her touch. Even so, she hesitated, tracing the simple but beautiful metal embellishments.
The general tapped her foot, obviously trying to hide her impatience. “If you would kindly open the chest, Your Highness?” But only when her mother cleared her throat did Asterin finally flick the silver clasp and snap the lid open, ducking her head to hide her scowl.
Nine iridescent stones, nested upon a bed of viridian velvet, formed the outline of a triangle. They glimmered despite the deepening dusk, flat and round. Their surfaces were polished to a dark, oily sheen so glossy that she could glimpse her reflection, broken only by the different sigils carved into each of their centers.
Affinity stones.
The sigils represented the nine affinities—the nine elements, each hailing from a different kingdom and bloodline. The three core affinities making up the fundamental trinity—earth, water, and fire—cornered the triangle, the other six falling in between: ice, wind, sky, air, light, and illusion. Asterin had her own set of stones in her room, fashioned of ruby and silver, but these were unlike any that she’d ever seen. Affinity stones could be made from nearly anything so long as the sigils were carved properly, ranging from actual stones to metals, and even wood, but their effectiveness depended heavily on their quality and durability.
“They’re beautiful.” Asterin trailed her fingers along them, hovering over the empty center where a final stone representing the tenth element might have rested, had it not been long forbidden. Shadow—said to be the most powerful of all, equivalent to the power of the other nine elements combined. “Thank you.”
Garringsford nodded, and then after shooting a quick glance at Queen Priscilla, ever her mother’s obedient pet, she said, “I understand you’ve been trying to unlock a third fundamental, Your Highness.”
Asterin’s shoulders tensed. “What of it?”
“In order for our soldiers to reach their fullest potential, they must be trained in both physical and magical combat. I fear they are lacking in the latter, but I believe that watching you practice your magic might provide crucial insight on how to better train them.”
Ah, Asterin thought, letting out a soft laugh. The “gift” makes sense now. “Is it truly a gift when one asks for something in return, General?”
“An exchange, then,” Garringsford said bluntly. “Call it whatever you will, Your Highness, it matters not to me.”
Asterin narrowed her eyes at the general, trying to gauge a second motive behind that impassive stare, tamping down the growing unease worming through her stomach. “I’ve never practiced under the watch of others.”
Her mother glided away from the window, crossing beneath the glittering chandelier and approaching her. Asterin did her best not to shrink from that intimidating grace, suddenly reminded of a deadly snake disguised as a swan. “Come, my child,” the queen coaxed. “Just pick up the stones.”
Asterin didn’t want to pick up the stones. Garringsford wanted her to, and Asterin would never trust anything the general said—not since her father’s death. But her desire to please her mother overpowered her reluctance.
“The fundamental trinity,” Asterin began, sweeping her hand over the triangle. She picked up the top stone. It illuminated as soon as she touched it. “Water.” The two women came to her side, peering over either shoulder. “Earth.” The earthstone came to rest in the cup of her palm beside the waterstone, their lights intertwining. With her other hand, Asterin cradled the third core affinity stone. It stayed dark. “And fire. I’ve been practicing, but I can’t seem to get it to cooperate.”
“Two fundamentals,” Garringsford said. “And an ice affinity, of course. Any others?”
Asterin nodded. “Light and wind, but those developed when I was older.”
Although she didn’t remember it—she had only been a month old—the tale of her Revealing Ceremony had been one of her father’s favorites to recount. Revealing Ceremonies were momentous occasions, a tradition dating back thousands of years. In honor of the first—and only—child of the new royal family, noble and royal envoys from all nine kingdoms had been invited, and hundreds of Axarians had flocked to the capital to celebrate. The ceremony itself was simple—nine drops of blood pricked from each finger but the right pinky. One drop per stone. The sigils on the stones represented not only an affinity, but also a god or goddess—for the nine affinities originated from the blood of the Immortals. That blood ran through the veins of every mortal, no matter how small the quantity.
At her ceremony, three stones had glowed—those bearing the sigils of Lord Tidus, God of Water; Lady Siore, Goddess of Earth; and Lord Conrye, God of Ice and the House of the Wolf, whose stone had shone brightest of all.
Her kingdom had rejoiced. If any other stone had shone brighter, by tradition, she would have belonged to a different House, as her mother did. Queen Priscilla belonged to the House of the Peacock in Oprehvar—for it was Lord Pavon’s power of illusion running through her veins.
Asterin returned the firestone to its place. “And you, General? What are your affinities?” She knew the answer, but it was worth asking just to see Garringsford grimace.
“I was born unifinitied,” came the grudging answer. “Only ice.”
Almost every person inherited at least one or more affinities when they were born, and most, like Queen Priscilla and the general, would only ever be able to wield their single element. Those who could wield two elements were bifinitied. Even rarer were the trifinitied, like Orion. Asterin was multifinitied—meaning she could wield more than three elements, though at the time of her Revealing Ceremony, the stones of Lady Reyva, Goddess of Wind, and Lord Ulrik, God of Light, had remained inactive. Her wind affinity manifested when she was six, and her light affinity took three years to follow.
There were legends, too, of those who could wield all nine elements, known as the omnifinitied, their power equal to that of the tenth element—shadow, the affinity born from the powers of King Eoin, Ruler of Darkness. But the accounts of the omnifinitied that Asterin had come by were few and far between, and she certainly hadn’t heard of any still living today.
Asterin prepared to call forth her water affinity, laying the earthstone back in the chest. “You might want to take a step back. This can get a bit messy.”