The three of them ran like vampires fleeing the rising sun. Venza knew Carver and the carriage driver would have been there to explain the situation, but she wasn’t sure how well whoever had answered their signal flare would take it.

  Their mad dash to the carriage brought them there just as a patrol of the Grey Guard were questioning the two men about the giant lizards. To Venza’s surprise, Carver stood between the patrol and the lizards, his arms spread wide as if to bar their progress.

  Tom stood beside Sally’s enormous frame, doing his best to calm the giant lizard while Carver tried to reason with the guards.

  “You don’t understand!” Carver said. “These lizards are here under Miss Venza’s orders!”

  “Look, lad,” one of the guards said, “We know the boss’s daughter and her pet witch are a bit weird, but do you really expect us to-”

  He was cut off as one of his fellows elbowed him in the ribs. He’d spotted Venza, Aiela, and Lauren leaving the woods.

  "In the name of Lucius Greyfield, stand down!" Venza commanded as soon as they were close enough to be heard clearly.

  "Miss Venza?" the soldier at the front of the squad exclaimed as their group came upon them. "Did you send the distress signal?"

  He suddenly looked very pale, indeed.

  “What was that you were saying, Norton?” Aiela asked. “Something about a pet witch?”

  “Bad itch!” he quickly blurted out. “I have a bad itch. I was hoping you had something to cure it with?”

  The glare she leveled at him might have killed him if Aiela was a little stronger. Venza thanked her lucky stars that she wasn’t.

  “Er, Miss Aiela,” the guard who’d elbowed his colleague suddenly spoke up. “Our apologies. Norton meant no disrespect.”

  "Relax, Kevin," Aiela said. “I’m sure Norton meant nothing ill. His girlfriend adores me, after all.”

  Venza quirked an eyebrow at that. She had no idea who Norton was dating or what relevance that had.

  “How is Healer Jones?” Aiela asked.

  Ah. That name Venza definitely remembered.

  “Um,” the man named Norton sputtered. “She’s doing well, Miss. Thanks for asking.”

  Aiela continued to glare at him for another moment before seemingly forgetting he was there. Quickly, almost too quickly, she turned her attention back to the guard named Kevin. "I sent the distress flare. Green is for bandits, is it not?"

  "I- yes, but-"

  "This creature is clearly not a bandit," Aiela added. "Those, you'll find over there." She pointed in the direction of the bandits' camp.

  Kevin sighed. For better or worse, he'd gotten used to Venza and Aiela's antics over the years. He'd been the guard who'd escorted them to that farm where Aiela first started altering Astamarr's crops, after all.

  "Would you care to explain, milady?" Kevin asked, turning to Venza.

  Venza gave him a quick rundown of the situation, including how the bandits had poisoned the water, kidnapped a girl, and essentially forced Tom to assist them. Kevin took it surprisingly well.

  "Understood. We'll take these louts into custody," he said. "Will you require an escort back?" He eyed Sally and her brood nervously.

  "We'll manage," Venza said. "Thank you for your hard work."

  "And you for yours, milady," he answered before turning to his companions. "Come on, lads. We've got work to do."

  “Oh, and Kevin?” Aiela added. “The sleeping girl is a Fire Mage. She should be asleep until you get her locked up but might want to gag her just in case. Poor thing can’t cast without speaking.”

  “Thank you for the warning, Miss Aiela,” he said. “I would hate to have found that out while we were transferring her.”

  Aiela shrugged her shoulders.

  A short while later, Venza, Aiela, Tom, Lauren, and a sleeping Roeder sat in the carriage, with the eggs clustered on the floor between them. They were on their way back to Astamarr. Lauren and Tom gazed out the window, taking in the sights of what would be Tom's new home, and possibly Lauren's, as well.

  "I'd heard rumors about Astamarr's flourishing farmlands," Lauren commented. "But some of those corn stalks look downright massive."

  "We have the Child of Fertility to thank for that," Venza said, turning a knowing gaze towards Aiela.

  Aiela glared at her acidly. "Would you please stop bringing that up?"

  Lauren's eyes widened in understanding. "I’ve heard that story. Are you saying Miss Aiela is-"

  Aiela’s hand shot up to stop her from speaking further. "I transformed the crops in Astamarr over several harvests with magic. The scholars at the magic academy and the Temple of the Four never figured out my spell, so they gathered the rumors of a child aiding farmers and twisted the story into something they could make sense of."

  "They said she was a visiting forest spirit in the form of a child," Venza explained, a full-on smirk on her face.

  "And they never figured out it was you?" Lauren asked.

  Venza answered for her. "She threatened to blight the farmers' lands if the crops were ever traced back to her."

  "And they actually kept her secret?" Lauren questioned, looking more astonished by the second.

  Aiela sneered. "I can be very convincing."

  Venza, however, said, "Well, she did threaten them, but the farmers look up to and feel they owe her too much to disrespect her wishes. The entire town does, really."

  "A spell not even the academy and the temple could figure out," Lauren muttered. "You must be very talented, Miss Aiela."

  A pang of jealousy twisted in Venza’s chest as the gorgeous acrobat seemed in awe of Aiela, but she resisted the urge to say something embarrassing about her long-time friend. Instead, Venza changed the subject. "You must be pretty talented, too, Lauren. You moved really quickly for someone who's been held captive and weakened for a few days."

  Lauren beamed at her, and Venza felt her face get hot. "It was harder than it looked. I usually eat plenty since my performances tire me out so much, but I guess I managed to push myself when I saw I had a chance to get away."

  "Ah, you and Venza have something in common, then," Aiela sniped. "She's a big eater, herself."

  Venza shrugged. "All the push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, and squats every day will do that."

  "It's why you managed to take a spell for grabbing books off the top shelf and turn it into a bloody weapon," Aiela said.

  "So is Miss Venza a mage, too?" Tom asked.

  "Technically," Venza and Aiela said at the same time. They shared a glance before turning back to their new companions.

  Aiela spared her the pain of having to explain. "Venza's technically a very powerful mage. Far above average. She was stronger than me when we met, actually, but let's just say that due to certain issues, she has very few spells she can actually cast."

  "And Aiela's managed to exceed me since then," Venza added. "She can do almost every kind of magic now."

  "In limited quantities," Aiela said quickly. "No idea how I'd go about acquiring what's left, though."

  That was right. Aiela had been 'breaking her way in' to spheres of magic she hadn't originally possessed by using other magic in similar ways, like purifying water with nature magic to learn water magic. She'd even somehow cheated her way into fire by burning people with hot water. The remaining rare spheres, however, were harder to cheat her way into, according to the talented mage.

  Tom and Lauren looked at each other, which prompted Venza to say, "What's wrong? Something on your minds?"

  "Well," Tom began, looking embarrassed. "We met a Nature Mage once. He said you had to be born with magic. That you could never get it. Said it was a gift from the Four."

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  "Tom was asking if he could learn," Lauren explained. "So he could take care of the circus animals better."

  "Hang on," Venza said. "You mean Tom isn't a mage? Then how is he controlling Sally?"

  "He isn't," Aiela confirmed. "A mage, I mean. It was the first thing I checked when we met."

  "Sally just trusts me, I guess," Tom offered.

  "Well, you kind of did go back for her when no one else would," Lauren said. "Most people wouldn't risk their lives for a monster."

  "What can I say?" Tom said. "She's like family."

  "Well," Aiela said, "to answer your question, the belief you have to be born with magic isn't entirely accurate."

  "It's not?" Tom asked.

  "It is a significant advantage, certainly, but easy enough to disprove. Every so often, a farmer or gardener picks up a Nature Sphere from working with plants so much. Fishermen and sailors can sometimes gain affinity for Water Magic over their years of work at sea. It is rare, but not impossible, though much more difficult if you don't have even a single Sphere to start with."

  "Mother and I used to believe in it, too," Venza said. "But then Aiela picked up Water, and now Fire. Apparently, we just don't know as much about magic as we think we do."

  She didn't volunteer why Aiela knew all these things scholars and entire nations didn't. After all, Oma Mala had never lifted the spell that stopped her from talking about it, but even if the old crone had, it was Aiela's secret to share, not hers.

  "Besides, Lauren," Aiela said. "If that was true, then how come an acrobat can do Air Magic?"

  Venza blinked. A moment of silence dominated their ride save for the clopping of hooves outside as the three of them processed this information.

  "I don't know any Air Magic," Lauren finally said.

  "I didn't say you did," Aiela said. "Only that you can."

  Venza closed her eyes and focused her mind, trying to remember how to cast Affinity Reading. When she opened them, she saw Lauren surrounded by a green, tell-tale aura that she was a mage with weaker affinity than Venza. A single, blue-white Sphere rested within Lauren's bosom, which meant Aiela was right: Lauren could do Air magic.

  She glanced at Tom and found he had no aura at all. Aiela, on the other hand, was cloaked in a deep, dangerous red with no Sphere on display. She imagined that was what the enemy Fire Mage had seen that terrified her earlier. Or possibly worse. Aiela was to her what she was to most mages with a single Sphere.

  Such were the rules of Affinity Reading: The caster could only read the affinities of those significantly weaker than them, which meant you had to figure out someone's affinities yourself if they were close to your level or stronger.

  "Most of those farmers and fishermen never learn magic, either," Aiela continued. "But the affinity still helps a little bit. Makes their crops grow a little better or helps their boat move a little faster. Nothing that stands out too much, and then they go their entire lives never learning they could do magic."

  "So, Lauren," Venza said, finding a chance to get back into the conversation. "Would you be willing to work with us? Aiela can teach you how to use your gift."

  Aiela sneered. "When did I agree to that?"

  Venza gave her a contemptuous glare.

  "Kidding, kidding," Aiela said, smirking before turning back to Lauren and reaching for her hand. "I'd love to work more closely with you."

  Venza opened her mouth, then closed it. Did Aiela also find Lauren attractive or was she just messing with people like usual? Aiela glanced at her briefly, which could have been either a challenge or an attempt to annoy her. Venza huffed almost inaudibly and feigned disinterest.

  "I'd have to give it some thought," Lauren said, casting a nervous glance at Tom. She likely felt bad she had magic and he didn't, when he'd wanted to be a Nature Mage. "But thank you for extending your hand to me."

  They stopped near a small hill outside Verdeholm’s walls. The day was getting late, but Aiela needed to prepare a hole for Sally to crawl into before they could go in.

  "Leave this to me, Sally, and Tom," Aiela said. "You and Lauren can go back and start explaining this to Vosmer. After you drop Roeder off at the Healers."

  "Sure thing," Venza said, smiling a little. Aiela gave her a knowing look before leaving the carriage with Tom and the lizards in tow.

  The sun finally sank into the horizon as they rolled into Verdeholm, filling the town with darkness for a moment. Then, green lights flared to life along the streets, almost as if by magic.

  Lauren's eyes were wide. "How did- Is this Miss Aiela's magic, too?"

  "It's not magic," Venza said. "Well, technically it isn't, though I guess she did make them with magic."

  "Come again?"

  "The street lamps are filled with a type of cave moss that glows in the dark," Venza explained. "Aiela, uh, improved them, like she did with the crops. Now, they light up the town automatically at night. We've put some up outside, too, for the farms and some houses, but someday, Aiela and I hope all of Astamarr will have light at night."

  "You two seem close, Miss Venza," Lauren said.

  "Just Venza," she said. "And yes, we've been best friends for over six years."

  "Just friends?"

  Venza chuckled. "I'm not sure Aiela's interested in anyone, though it's not like we meet a lot of boys our age."

  "What about girls?" Lauren asked.

  Venza let out a nervous chuckle. "O-oh, um, we don't really meet a lot of those, either. Astamarr is pretty out of the way, you know?"

  Lauren nodded, though Venza wasn't sure what she gleaned from that answer. "Honestly, I wouldn't mind working for you, but well…" she trailed off.

  "Tom, right?" Venza suggested. It was nice of Lauren to spare his feelings. She was familiar with being envious of your close friend who could do magic. “You’re thinking about how you’ll be a mage and he won’t.”

  "Yeah," Lauren said. "What do you think I should do?"

  Venza pondered how to tell her to stay without coming off as needy. "Well, personally, I'd love to recruit you. You could be a really strong asset for Astamarr."

  Lauren smiled. Venza felt her heart flutter. "I think you're overestimating me."

  "Not at all," Venza said. "Aiela has a- a way with magic, I guess you could call it. I don't know how to explain it, but she wouldn't have offered you the chance if she didn't have potential plans for you. She teases me about it all the time, but in truth, she was the one who came up with the idea of turning Reach into a weapon." Venza stared at her own hand. “Once upon a time I was just a little girl playing at being a warrior, but Aiela’s made me something else.”

  "So, when you were choking out Chad and tossing people around, that was all you? I assumed Aiela had cast some spell on you."

  “All me,” Venza said, smiling. It was odd. She’d never really felt like she’d accomplished much, but the way she’d felt after overcoming the day’s trials had sparked something inside her.

  “That’s amazing.”

  "It’s not that great,” Venza said, though she silently wished Lauren would continue. “Reach only works with my own strength and body. Aiela's tried casting strength-enhancing spells on me before, but what I can carry with Reach before and after doesn't change."

  “But you were tossing those thugs around,” Lauren pointed out. “You mean that was purely your own strength?”

  "I'm not superhuman or anything,” Venza explained. “I'm just a bit stronger than you'd expect for a fifteen-year-old girl. I’m sure it must have looked more impressive than it really was. All I did was push or pull on a body part from far away. Have you ever had someone pull your leg out when you don’t expect it?”

  “Sometimes, during training,” Lauren said. “I see. I think I get what you mean.”

  Venza nodded. “Not easy to defend against an attack you can’t see.”

  "What do you think Aiela would have me do?" Lauren asked.

  "Honestly, I dunno," Venza admitted. "I know little about Air Magic, except Aiela complains the army uses it wrong."

  "How does the army use it?"

  "Barrages of lightning bolts," Venza said. "Aiela says it's a waste of utility and Mana capacity. I've seen her use Air Magic to deflect arrows and steal the breath from people, but I'm not sure that's what she'd be teaching you."

  "You mean I could choke out scum like Chad without touching them, too?" Lauren asked, grinning. "That's almost enough to make me sign up right now."

  Despite her eager tone and her words, Venza could see the uncertainty on her face.

  "You know, it's great you're considering Tom's feelings, but-" Venza paused, thinking her words over. "I don't think it would come between you, you know?"

  "What makes you think that?"

  "Well, what does Tom want to do most in the world, you think?"

  Lauren's eyes widened a fraction as she came to a realization. "He just wants to look after animals."

  "Yeah, I haven't known him long, but I think so, too," Venza said. "So Nature Magic was just a means to an end for him. He seems to have a way with beasts anyway. If anything, I'm envious of him."

  She really didn't get along with horses, after all.

  "Oh, why's that?"

  "I'm sure Aiela will mention it at some point," Venza grumbled.

  Lauren giggled. "I'll be sure to ask."

  "By the gods, am I going to have to deal with both of you now?" Venza asked, shaking her head. She grinned afterward to make it clear she didn't really mind.