Jistan

“Hi,” Shai said breathlessly. “How did your meetings go?”

“They went fine.” Jistan wondered why she looked so flustered. “Everything alright?”

“Yes. I’m ready to go.” She stepped out of her room.

He sniffed the air. “Is that smoke?”

She closed the door behind her. “Uh, yeah. The fireplace in my room is lit.”

“It’s rather warm today for a fire, isn’t it?”

“I lit it for more light. It’s cloudy outside. Barely any sunlight.” She gave him a close-lipped smile.

“Yes, I noticed. The meteoros must be providing us with rain today. Well, we can keep our walk inside the palace.”

“Good idea,” she said, and they started down the hall, walking casually side by side. He pointed out some of the rooms they passed, asking her if she remembered some of their escapades when they were children. She smiled and nodded, barely speaking more than a couple words at a time.

“You’re awfully quiet,” he said when they had made it down to the ground floor.

“Oh,” she said, scratching the side of her face. “I just have a lot on my mind.”

“Like what?”

“The Cliq…” her voice trailed off as if unsure she should’ve said that.

He nodded in understanding. “I know what’s bothering you.”

She whipped her head toward him. “You do?”

“You’re worried about your mom, right? And the fact that she didn’t leave the gang?”

She looked away from him. “Yes. I am worried about her.”

“She’s been with them for years. They won’t start hurting her now.”

“No, they won’t.” She glared at the floor. “Or I’ll hurt them.”

He had never heard her talk like this before. Living on the streets must’ve toughened her up, which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

He looked up then to see Tivon coming down the hallway toward them. Jistan braced himself for more duties he’d rather not do anytime soon. He’d promised Shai they would spend time together.

Tivon stopped in front of them, bowing. “Prince Jistan. And you must be Lady Shaielle. I’m Tivon, His Highness’ advisor.”

“Hi, Tivon,” she greeted. “But please, just call me Shai. I’m certainly not a Lady.”

“Of course you are. You’re a guest of the palace now. And a very good friend of His Highness.” He grinned at her, then turned raised eyebrows to Jistan.

The prince didn’t want to know what his friend was thinking. “Did you come to deliver a message, Tivon?”

“Oh, yes. Your father needs to see you after lunch. He says it’s urgent.”

Jistan sighed. Everything his father wanted was urgent. “Very well. Thank you for letting me know.”

“Of course. Until next time, Shai.” Tivon bowed his head, then took his leave.

Shai stared after him as she and Jistan continued walking. “He seems nice. He must be an excellent advisor.”

“He is,” Jistan agreed. “He’s a dear friend as well.” One of the few genuine ones he had, which was ironic because he was surrounded by dozens of people every day.

“He’s a biomancer, correct? I know most royal advisors are.”

He nodded. “One of the brightest.”

“It must be nice having knowledge as your ability. He doesn’t have to put himself in constant danger with magic like that.”

Jistan grinned. “Right, the only danger is whether he’ll study himself to death.”

She giggled, and Jistan was glad he could bring it out of her, as she’d seemed troubled earlier.

They walked on in silence, until he realized she was staring at him.

“What?” he asked.

“It’s still so hard to believe I’m here again,” she said. “With you.”

He grinned. “Like all your fantasies come true?”

She rolled her eyes. “It’s just that I’ve always wondered what you were like, now that you’re older. I see your ego is ten times bigger.”

He laughed. “I’m still the same person, for the most part. Just smarter. And handsomer.”

She scoffed. “Make that twenty times bigger.” Her eyes lit up when she recognized the wooden doors they were passing, which led to the kitchen. “Remember that time we were five and we chased each other in there?”

He nodded. “We bumped into a crate and a whole bag of flour dumped on us, covering us in white from head to toe.”

“One of the cooks yelled at us and chased us out, and when we ran into the hallway, an elderly servant saw us and shrieked, ‘Ghosts! The palace is haunted! Ahh!’ and she ran away faster than we did!”

They laughed together so hard they had to lean against the wall, wiping tears from their eyes. He did an impression of the lady running away, and she almost collapsed in her mirth.

When the laughter died down, she straightened and gave him a sly look. “You know, your magic would’ve been so helpful back then to keep us out of trouble.”

“I know. It’s a shame I didn’t come into it until you were already gone.”

“Can I see you use it?”

“Sure. Come on.” He strolled down the corridor, and she hurried after him.

When he made it to the doors leading out into the garden, he stopped on the outside patio, under a protective stone awning. A slight drizzle of rain had begun to fall on the lush trees and bright flowers of The Queen’s Garden, which stretched out before them. Coming out here and seeing the vegetation his mother had planted always made him feel closer to her. He inhaled the scent of moisture and wet grass.

“So, Mr. Chronomancer, let’s see what you can do,” Shai said, motioning with her hand.

A flock of birds was flying by, and as soon as they dived toward a bird bath, Jistan waved a hand at them. The birds stopped in mid-flight, their chirping silenced, their wings spread like a work of art in a taxidermist’s house. One bird had just touched the bath, and even the water was frozen mid-ripple. The rain had also stopped, droplets hovering in the air like sparkling jewels, although rain still pattered on the roof of the palace behind them. A slight throb pulsed through Jistan’s head at the use of so much mana at once, but it was worth it when he looked at Shai.

Her eyes lit up. “Extraordinary. You can freeze multiple objects at once?”

“My power reaches anything within eyesight. Look, up there.” He pointed to a guard stationed in one of the towers, a finger in his nose when he thought no one was looking. He was frozen as if made of stone.

Shai slapped a hand over her mouth. “Oh, wow, that’s embarrassing!” They laughed.

Then she walked down the steps, out from under the awning, and looked up at the sky. “I’m not even getting wet! Impressive. How long does it last?”

“Only a few minutes when I use it on multiple objects, unfortunately,” he said. “It lasts longer if I only freeze one thing. The rain probably won’t stay frozen for even a minute.”

She walked over to the bird bath and reached out to brush the soft feathers of the statue-like bird in the water. “You’re one of the most powerful mancers I’ve ever known.”

He shrugged, following her. “I’ve heard of ancient chronomancers who could rewind time or freeze a whole city of people. I’m nothing compared to them.”

“It’s something to me. Chronomancers are as rare as my kind.”

“Powerful mana is in the blood of my family.” He remembered the story of Mountain Peak Kyrilus, from five generations ago. Kyrilus got his nickname after he was rumored to have had such powerful earth magic that he raised the very mountain named after him. Jistan’s father was also a geomancer, although he hadn’t raised any mountains in his lifetime.

Shai nodded. “Maybe mine too. You’re probably wondering how I became a powerful unmancer when I have a weak normancer for a mother.”

A horrified look crossed his face. “I haven’t been thinking that.”

“Well, I have. I don’t know who my father is, and Mama refuses to speak of him. Maybe he was an unmancer, or another powerful type of mancer.” She waved her hand to undo his magic, and time began again, the birds resuming their plunge into the bath. Rain started falling and she shrieked, hurrying back to stand under the awning as he followed after her. They both laughed.

“I don’t like getting my hair wet,” she explained, fluffing her curls.

“Yes, I remember.” He caught himself staring at her, rain dripping down her face and making her tunic cling to the curves of her body. He forced himself to look away, clearing his throat as his face grew hot. “Your magic is extraordinary too. Is there a difference between unmancing wards and unmancing a person’s magic? Is one harder than the other?”

“It depends. The strength of a person’s magic or the complexity of a ward determines how much mana I need to undo the magic. With wards and spells, I can undo them permanently until someone reestablishes them. With people, I cancel out their ability to call forth any mana for about an hour or so. My power is great for defense, but not offense.” She watched the birds, wonder shining in her eyes.

“Mine wouldn’t work if someone snuck up behind me. I can’t freeze them unless I turn around. So I’ll have to rely on you to protect my back during our quest. Since you’re almost as strong as me.”

She quirked an eyebrow. “Almost? Do we need to have a magic duel one day to prove who’s stronger?”

“Only if you’re not afraid of losing.” He grinned too, and it felt like old times when they used to compete with each other.

He and Shai went to lunch soon after, where they reminisced about the past some more. It went on so long he almost forgot about the meeting with his father. To his great disappointment, he was forced to leave Shai’s side. Duty called.

* * *

Jistan checked the miniature sundial on his wrist as he rushed down the corridor. He couldn’t believe how much time had passed while he was with Shai. He cursed and sped up his pace, bursting through the door into the emperor’s living quarters.

“I’m here,” Jistan panted, hurrying over to where his father sat at a table, reading over a parchment.

“You’re late,” Emperor Akeil said without looking up.

“I know, I was…talking strategy with Shai, about the quest.” A lie, but a necessary one.

Akeil looked up, blinking. “Shai…? Oh, the unmancer?”

“Yes.”

“Ah.” It must’ve been an acceptable answer because the emperor stood and walked to the window, rolling up the parchment as he did, the vellum crinkling in his hands. “Son, do you remember when we took a trip around Casland, about six months after your mother passed?”

Jistan nodded. “Yes. You said you wanted to show me the land and people I would rule over one day.” His father had wanted to cheer him up too since he’d been depressed, barely playing pretend swordfighting with sticks like usual. He’d missed playing it with Shai.

Akeil turned to face him. “You must always remember what you saw during that trip. The people you met, the lives they live. That will keep giving you the strength to do what needs to be done.” He walked over, clapping Jistan on the shoulder. “Your mother would be so proud of you. She loved the people too, as you remember. She always insisted on getting out of her carriage to shake hands and talk to them whenever we went out. She caused her personal guards so much stress.” He chuckled, and Jistan smiled as he remembered getting out of the carriage along with her on some occasions.

“Anyway,” Akeil continued, “my point is that I know you want what’s best for our people. They trust us to rule over them and do whatever we must to protect them.”

“I know, Father.”

“Good. That’s what your upcoming quest is about. Have you spoken to Raz about joining your team?”

“Yes, this morning. He agreed.”

“Excellent. A strong pyromancer like him will be useful. Now you just need to recruit a metamancer. The best one in the city is Leiam Bahan, who owns a blacksmith shop on Market Square Lane near the center of the city.”

Jistan frowned. “A blacksmith? Are you sure he’ll be willing to help?”

“Probably not. You may have to persuade him, which is why I drew up this. I think you’ll know what to do with it.” He held out the scroll.

The prince gradually took it, afraid of what his father had in mind as a ‘persuasion technique’. “Maybe you should send one of the RDP guards—”

“No. It must be you. You’re the leader of this quest, and this will prove to me you’re willing to do whatever it takes to achieve our goals.” His gaze was dark and obstinate, leaving no room for dispute. “Prove to me I didn’t make a mistake placing you in charge of my army.”

Jistan set his jaw, staring down at the scroll as he slowly unrolled it. After reading it over, he tensed. “Are you sure this is necessary?”

“We must retrieve that Obsidian Chest,” his father demanded. “So only the best will do, and Mr. Bahan is the best.”

Jistan blew out his breath. “Very well.”

“Take some members of your heist team with you,” the emperor suggested as he went back to sit at the table. “They need to start getting acquainted with one another.”

“Right.” Jistan didn’t want Shai to see this side of him. They’d had such a splendid afternoon, and they were starting to reconnect. Maybe he would just take Aladia and a couple other RDP guards. They should be sufficient.

“You can leave as soon as you have the horses prepared. I expect little trouble, so you should be back by dinnertime.”

Jistan bowed his head, then turned and marched out of his father’s quarters.

He could do this. He would do anything for his country.