Page 88 of The Starlight Savior

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Saige originally planned to go back to her quarters. She didn’t want to speak or look at anyone, so she walked right out the front of the castle and towards the forest behind them. No guards bothered following her. She’d scream at them if they did. She yearned for the quiet peace of the meadow. And she needed to be rid of all the fucking secrets in the kingdom.

Logically, she understood why no one told her about Sydera’s magic. If they would have informed her the true reason she was here…that the magical bursts she would let out in Brevil resembled some of the most extinct and powerful magic, her mind would’ve broken.

Emotionally though, her chest ached thinking of all who had known the plan laid out for her.

Saige stayed in the meadow until the sun fell, shadows growing across the ground. Crickets chirped in the brush as the scattered flowers glowed with moonlight. She napped in the soft grass. Carried balls of light from hand to hand. With each breath, she felt more at peace here. Each day was often dedicated to training, learning, and molding herself from mortal to witch. At this moment, she just felt like Saige.

But the sound of footsteps interrupted her respite.

She jumped to her feet and spun around, finding Tobin carefully walking towards her.

“I knew I’d find you here. I often use it for space as well. It is quite peaceful. Some say enchanted.”

“Come to retrieve me?” she said, brushing off stray tendrils of grass on her trousers.

“Your friends are worried.”

Saige scoffed. “I don’t understand why.”

“It takes a lot of strength to hide such things from ones they care about. I can imagine that is how you felt hiding your curse back in Brevil.”

She ignored the bite blossoming in her chest. “Things would’ve gone a lot smoother if I would’ve known.” Her annoyance prickled. How many times would she have to argue this case?

“I won’t apologize for my part in hiding what we were truly looking for. There is a reason why I am a maester. I can always sense how close one is to magic, how deep their supply is, and the walls surrounding it. I suppose you can say that is my connection to spirit.

“Explaining that we’ve been hoping for an ancient magic that hasn’t been seen in decades would’ve been too much for any wielder to handle. But I do believe the fates were in your favor. You knew you belonged in that meeting. And now you’re ready.”

“Ready for what?”

“I sense the urge in you to see if I’m correct. If why I pulled together a task force to investigate the bursts of magic in Denholm was true. You want this more than you’ve ever wanted something before.”

Saige nodded at the words before she realized they were true.

“I hope you may one day see past Conor’s mistakes and forgive him for the ways he made decisions without consulting you.”

“I don’t wish to speak of Conor,” Saige growled. “I want to train. Fight this mist once and for all.”

Tobin held up a hand. “I understand. Let me just say this. Conor comes from a long lineage of expectations that are weaved before birth. He is not just the general’s son, but comes from a communal culture of beliefs that not everyone can uphold.”

“What are you saying?” Saige asked slowly, tiring of the vagueness in Tobin’s words. During Sebastien’s gala, she’d begun to understand a bit more about Conor and the walls he kept up. But if she was expected to tug her barriers down, she only wished the same for the people around her.

“I won’t bare Conor’s secrets, but I hope you one day see that he often just tries to protect people from the pain he has experienced himself. It’s why he works so hard for the ones he loves, for the places he belongs to. And feels the pressure so deeply when he fails.”

“Everything I’ve learned about myself, people have already known. Don’t you think that begins to mess with one’s head? If he wants to prove his trust, he can explain it himself.”

Saige and Tobin stood in silence for mere moments, eyeing one another and letting the words soak in. But she wouldn’t let them sway her. Not yet, at least.

Chapter 35

As sunlight seeped through thin curtains, a letter sat upon Saige’s freshly washed clothes. Her fingers smoothed the parchment as she unfolded it carefully. It instructed her to continue daytime studies in her quarters, but after supper she’d have an evening training lesson instead. No name was signed, the anonymity peculiar. If it was Tobin, wouldn’t it say so?

After residing in her quarters all day, she felt her stomach churn. Words blurred as she tried to read Tobin’s delivered books. The only thing that computed in her mind was the vague mentions of Sydera and ancient magic. Her power was seen as the purest form, but none of the books spoke of any specific affinity or element connected to her. Not even spirit. Sydera was simply known to be the oldest, strongest, and rarest of them all.

Supper was excruciating. The attempted small talk was dreadful, Niana and Eva’s guilt almost penetrable between them. Saige made no attempts to make amends with her companions as Tobin suggested. Let them sit in remorse.

Walking through the training hall doors, she was delighted and disappointed to see her intuition was correct.