Chương 8: The palace

Ch 8: The palace Felix meant to grab the girl and run for safety, but quickly realized he had no idea where to go. As usual on land he felt... trapped. Vulnerable. Like there was too much happening, too much to see, too many places for his enemies to hide.

"We need somewhere safe," he said.

"And we should run. Are there guards somewhere? Kings men or something?"

"We'll go to the palace. This way." Isavey took his hand, and it almost made the throbbing wound in his arm a little better. The blood was flowing but it didn't seem too bad. The magic Felix had taken in helped—whenever he absorbed spells it gave him a kind of vitality boost that had him feeling invulnerable. Unfortunately, it also kept him awake until all hours of the night, and... increased all his appetites.

When you couldn't touch a woman for fear of lighting her and the building on fire, that wasn't so pleasant. Isavey ran them straight towards the bridge over a small river. It was a terrible place to be caught by ambush, but Felix didn't see anyone except a few wandering women who looked harmless enough. Once they'd crossed over, Isavey visibly relaxed.

"They won't follow us here. This is my father's land. It has protective wards against fire and air magic. You won't be able to use yours, either." He smiled politely, no idea what that meant and not believing her anyway. He'd never heard of anything that stopped magic except a dead mage. And the kind of assassins who swallowed poison pills didn't give up because of a bridge. But Isavey walked on with a lot less hurry, no matter how he urged her otherwise.

"How did you do that?" she asked a little while later as they walked.

"Back there I mean. You stopped that fire spell, but I didn't see you channel any defence. And the way you moved... it was like an air mage. But you can't be. You healed your leg. And you resisted a water mage. So you're fire, and water. Was it some kind of fire spell?" Felix shook his head, no idea what she was talking about. Lifestealers didn't cast 'spells'. They just… shit, he didn't even know how to describe it… willed the magic energy to do something. Felix's father hadn't been trained, but he knew plenty.

The mage academies taught tricks and secrets and 'spells'. But the old man thought a lot of it was just superstitious nonsense. He knew he had to be cautious, though. All kinds of people burned or drowned 'witches' or the wrong people with the gift. However these people described and defined magic, maybe they didn't have Lifestealers. Which meant maybe they used to have them but killed them all. Or tested them early and sent them away.

"My people's magic is…different than yours," he said.

"Maybe we have different… spells." Isavey gave him a long, hard stare. But she dropped it. They passed another bridge, which finally had some men that looked like guards. Or at least merchants with wooden sticks. Isavey spoke to them in a whirlwind of foreign language. They got pretty animated after that, mostly looking skeptically at Felix, or just around in confusion, before finally running off. Felix was about to ask if she knew what was going on before he turned and stared, feeling his mouth hang open.

He'd been wondering exactly where this 'palace' was, seeing nothing obvious anywhere in the lightly populated, basically agrarian looking villages they'd passed. But there, across from another river, as if suddenly popped into existence—despite Felix having been looking directly at it—was a city on the lake. Chains of islands surrounded a central, raised fortress. People were everywhere, dressed in finer clothes and wandering or sailing in small boats, moving between the islands on bridges or ferries.

He had seen many sights in his short life. He had traveled the coastline from north to south, seeing frost ogres living on ice that never thawed, and great cities with hundreds of thousands of people. But never in his life had he seen such a magnificent place. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. And… it had been invisible. Hidden from his eyes despite being a hundred meters from its edge. How was that possible? How was any of this island possible?

A strange, sinking feeling started somewhere in his gut. A kind of unwelcome understanding that these people weren't just superstitious, that this wasn't all explainable, that Isavey and the others weren't just fools who didn't understand magic save for whatever version they had. The feeling was fear. Confusion. The acceptance of the possibility of his own ignorance. It wasn't pleasant.

"Welcome to the Green Hall," Isavey said with one of her radiant smiles. Then she let go of his hand like she'd been holding a snake, readjusting her clothes as if worried there'd be an inspection. It was another feeling of lost warmth, of disappointment, though of course he knew it was coming. He swallowed and gathered his wits, knowing he had to be ready for whatever waited for him in that 'palace' if he ever hoped to get out again.

"Please follow me," Isavey said, her tone neutral and detached again, as if they'd returned to being perfect strangers. In his almost dreamlike state, he wondered if he'd even saved her life at all, or if he was basically just imagining things. But he was reminded she was a noble daughter, and that everything she'd shown him had probably been a well-practiced mask. Even so, he'd enjoyed her company immensely. A man like him had to enjoy the little things.

"After you, Princess," he said, then followed her close, watching for more attackers. ** Isavey had no idea what was going to happen when they got to her father's palace. She's also forgotten herself and taken the foreigner's hand, feeling somehow safer and just better when the man was close after the attack. Then she noticed the eyes of the other women near the hall, and let go much faster and less politely than she'd intended. She wanted to explain herself, but then felt ridiculous.

She shouldn't have been holding a man's hand in the first place, and why would she feel the need to explain anything, and good spirits they'd both almost been killed!

"Lady Amadi," said a boatman at the edge of the lake with a wave.

"Please, would you do me the honor of letting me take you wherever you're going?" Two or three others perked up and took up the call and wave, gesturing for her to visit them, promising more speed and better boats. On any other day, Isavey would have smiled and taken one. But now in their friendly eyes she saw the chance of deception. In their rickety boats she saw danger. She ignored them and walked on, scanning the crowd of citizens as best she could. She could almost feel Felix's discomfort.

Once or twice he gripped her arm and gestured her this way and that, and again she felt a comforting warmth shoot through her body at his presence. Trusting him and not her own people made no sense. For all she knew, he could have been part of whatever the attack had been. Could have been sent by enemies of her father… She cut off the thought, knowing it was ridiculous. Whatever Felix was, he was a complete stranger to these lands.

He had no idea what was happening, no idea who she was or seemingly even about his own magic. Which made no sense at all based on what she'd seen. He'd looked so comfortable. So powerful. He'd killed those men like it was nothing! He'd fought an air mage and a fire mage of obvious skill without the slightest hesitation. Absorbed a powerful fire spell as easily as a Water Pool. As easily as she might have done. It defied logic or explanation, just as the attack itself.

Who would be so brazen, so bloodthirsty, to send assassins after her family in broad daylight? After a woman? And why her? The last thought sent a cold chill down her spine. Only one reason came to mind. Her father had been asked for her hand in marriage by a prominent family—the Caratha, and though he had declined, she had assumed it was just negotiation. It was an obvious match. The island's greatest Water Pool princess, the isles greatest fire family.

Meanwhile, her father paraded her out before other suitors, reinforcing the story that he'd marry her elsewhere, probably just hoping to keep her longer, and of course to raise the bride price. But there was bad blood between their families. The Caratha were prideful and jealous of the Amadi family's status. Was it possible they had hired the assassins? Would they be so petty and foolish, so angry and reckless they would stoop so low? She couldn't believe it. But she couldn't think of any other explanation, either.

"Are you alright, princess?" Isavey blinked and nodded politely to the foreigner, unnerved by that clever, piercing gaze—those beautiful blue eyes like clear water, eyes that seemed as if they could see straight through her. They'd reached the outer gates of the palace, and Isavey bowed to the guards. She walked inside towards the court, knowing at this time her father would be inside meeting with his advisors and male kin.

"I must speak with my father. There's been…trouble. And I have a guest he must be made aware of. Please take me to him immediately." The herald outside the court gaped at her like a fish. It was extremely unusual for a woman of the family to order them about, though technically they had the authority. The young mage looked between Isavey and the foreigner with something approaching incomprehension. Finally he cleared his throat.

"Of course. That is, I'll… be right back, princess. Please, um. Wait right here." Isavey glanced at the wounded foreigner, still seeping blood as he stood there looking ready. He watched the servants like any of them might strike, and as if they did, he'd kill them before they reached her. Heat flushed up and down her chest at the thought, which only made her embarrassed and warmer as she hoped the man didn't notice. It was a ridiculous problem to think about. She'd just been attacked by assassins!

But the warmth remained…