Nearly six months later, Lumia and I met again in our secret place. It had been three days since we'd seen each other last and Lumia's face was filled with worry and concern.

She paced back and forth along the bank of the spring, staring out over the water. Her brows were furrowed as she watched birds dive down to pick small fish out of the water.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

Lumia spun around and stared at me for several moments, then bit her lip. 

"You’re still not ready, Silv.”

I had made incredible progress, mastering the basic elements and even the foundational concepts of body enhancement.

I could use speed burst—the first move Vorlin showed me—both defensively and offensively. I’d learned a skill I called iron punch, which involved covering my fist in a near solid layer of earth mana. Combined with speed burst, iron punch could crush even the toughest armor; still Lumia was right.

My burst punch couldn’t even put a scratch on her scales. She could easily deflect it without taking damage herself. Even though I knew how to improve my speed, stamina, and defense, I felt like I was barely scratching the surface. There was so much more to learn.

Not only that but the dragons I would be competing against would have advanced well into intermediate magic. Versatility was my only strength since dragons tended to focus on only one element, maybe two, but undeniably, I was still far behind.

“Please Silv, you don’t have to compete. I’ll stand by you even if—”

“Even if you’re mocked by your people and rejected by your father? Even if it means giving up your home, your birthright, friends, and everything you’ve grown up with?” I interrupted.

Her face hardened as she nodded.

“I couldn’t live with myself if I just let you sacrifice everything without putting in any effort myself. Our bond is as important to me as well, so you shouldn’t be the only one fighting to protect it.”

“I know, I’m just worried. You still struggle to read draconic runes, so how will you choose the right paths? There’s less than a week left, Silv.”

I didn’t have a good answer for her so rather than use words, I pulled her into a firm hug. Lumia stiffened at first, but quickly softened and hugged me back tightly.

Once we parted, Lumia looked into my eyes. I tried my best to project confidence and determination, as I struggled to hide my anxiety from her. 

“I’ll be fine, Lu.”

“Okay… but promise me you’ll do everything you can to avoid combat.”

“Yea, I will… I don’t really have a choice. We both know what would happen if I had to fight a dragon as I am now.”

With a nod Lumia nuzzled into my chest and we remained there for some time before returning to the castle.

***

Vorlin was waiting by the large bridge again, his youthful face becoming more wrinkled by the day.

I knew he was stressed and under a lot of pressure, but he never would say why, only that it wasn’t about me or my training. It wasn’t hard to realize that like Silvia and my mom, he was hiding something. Supposedly they didn’t want me to worry, but all their secrecy just made me more anxious.

Mimi was excelling in school and her core had formed so it couldn’t have been that either. If it had just been him being evasive and acting nervous all the time then I might’ve just chalked it up to readjustments, but Silvia and Riona also seemed on edge so I figured there must’ve been something big going on.

“Silv,” he called, coming over to us. “The Queen is looking for you.”

He led us to a small meeting room where my mother was seated around a table of mostly stale old men. I recognized some of them, General Ivor, Sir Mazzeldek, and Lady Sienna—the only woman aside from my mother at the table. The other four men I didn’t recognize.

“—well beyond the border, this is…” general Ivor was speaking when we entered, but he stopped and cleared his throat once he noticed us.

The others around the table turned their attention towards us as a couple of aids rushed to cover the table. If they were trying to stop me from seeing it, they were too slow. It looked like some kind of terrain map, but I couldn’t make out many details other than a few dots and markings.

“Vorlin,” my mother said sharply, glaring past me towards him. “I see you’ve found them.”

He nodded somewhat uncomfortably. “On your orders, Majesty. I brought him to you as soon as I found him.”

“Right…” she sighed. “I’ve been distracted. I should’ve just sent you as a messenger with this.” She handed a sealed envelope to an aid. “For Silv,” she said as he took it.

With a nod the aid hurried across the room to hand me the envelope.

As I was opening it, my mother spoke again. “I’m sorry Silv, but I must ask you to go now. We’re in the middle of an important meeting that we can’t delay any longer.”

I nodded.

Vorlin, Lumia and I turned to leave, but Riona called out again. “Lumia, perhaps you should stay.”

My bond looked at me uncertainly, then back to Riona who smiled reassuringly.

“What we’re discussing is something your father should be aware of, when you take Silv to the proving I’ll be sending you, with a message for him.”

Lumia reluctantly took a seat at the table as Vorlin and I continued out.

My mothers letter was direct and to the point.

‘You may remember Zolmann—I didn’t—a wise mage who served our family well over the years. He has agreed to share his knowledge with you, though you’ll have to go to him. Zolmann retired from service some years back and now dwells in a modest sanctuary outside of Avantia. Be careful Silv, and I’ll be sending Clair along with you.’

Vorlin was already gone when I looked up from the letter. Alone in the hall, I pressed my against the door, hoping to hear whatever secret it was no one thought I could handle. Unfortunately all I heard was the sound of footsteps coming down the hall. Frustrated, I stepped away from the door and stuffed the note in my pocket. 

***

I went back to my room to grab a few things, clothes mostly. At first I wasn’t sure how I was going to bring everything—there weren't any bags. As I was pulling things out of my dresser, I noticed a new ring sitting on my nightstand.

It was also silver, but shaped like a wolf’s head. The wolf carried a blazing gem in its mouth and the wolf appeared to be, itself, on fire. On closer inspection I noticed it wasn’t pure silver, in some of the darker places there was a black metal I couldn’t identify beyond saying it was slick and glossy.

There was a note next to it.

‘I bet you’ll love this Silv, it’s a dimensional storage ring. It’s really easy to use. Just push mana into it while thinking of the object you want to take out. To put something in it’s pretty similar, but you have to be touching the object in order to store.

P.S. you’re still my Sammy, love you.

P.S.S. Sorry it took so long to arrive.’

I did like it and I was eager to try it out. I slipped on the ring then tested its function by storing the small pile of clothes on my bed. I didn’t necessarily need the clothes, but I only had a few days before it would be time to leave Faerelle; I wanted as much time as possible to learn from Zolmann before then so I wasn’t planning on coming back to the castle.