Chapter 1
An Uninspired Lesson and a Pleasant Surprise
Iris looked toward the window as her instructor droned on and on about being responsible with her powers. Despite having a full year under her belt, Iris was still treated like she hadn’t come into her powers yet. It was both frustrating and annoying because she still hadn’t been able to do more than just create a small light in her hands. Of course, she had been incredibly excited when it had happened more than half a year ago, and her instructor had insisted that she focus on that one aspect ever since.
“You need to control the brightness.”
“You need to control the light’s size.”
“You need to be able to make it over your hand, not just rest in the palm.”
Three months after she had first formed a light, Iris found it difficult to make any progress with it. She wanted to do something else, something more interesting, and her disinterest in repeating the same exercises was obvious by the fact that the light was increasingly dimmer every week. Unfortunately, her instructor’s response had not exactly been helpful.
“It’s always difficult for those not born with a natural ability. That’s what I’ve been told. But I feel certain you will get the hang of it eventually. Why don’t we go back to focusing on just the light until you can create a consistent globe?”
After another two months, Iris found it nearly impossible to even conjure a dim light within a minute. That was when her instructor, Madam Louise, had decided to go back to focusing just on the theory. The last couple of months had been so boring that the student had lost all interest in even trying to do magic.
Iris had only been able to stare blankly at her instructor for the last month or so. It wasn’t exactly the best way to make progress, but she didn’t care anymore. The odds that she was going to leave the country were next to none, and in her job, there was no major need for magic. It had made all of the lessons seem so pointless. All of those years of being excited now seemed like a complete waste. Not that her father understood. Ever since her mother had died when she was five, Iris’s father, Easton, had been overprotective of her. Of course, she understood his hesitation and apprehension, but it didn’t make things any better. She played down her excitement, saying that it wasn’t everything. It definitely wasn’t her greatest talent. Everyone she knew from her school days could at least manage the most basic aspects of magic. Then again, most of them had come from families that were far more powerful than hers. Iris had never had a lot of hope that things would be easy, but she had at least hoped that she could light candles without having to walk around the shop every morning, then flick them off before heading upstairs. It hadn’t seemed like an impossible goal. Or an irrelevant one. Now, magic had ceased to be of any interest to her.
A bird flew past the window. Her eyes watched as it soared by, wings extended, then turned and headed back up. Leaning forward a little, Iris watched until it disappeared. There seemed to be a faint red streak following the bird. Iris squinted, thinking perhaps it was the glare on the window. She could still see it, like a bizarre rainbow that only had one color.
“That’s not normal, is it?” she muttered under her breath.
“I’m sorry, did you have a question?” Her instructor was looking at Iris with her arms extended in some pose that the student couldn’t even begin to care about.
“Oh no, I’m just—” she turned and tried to smile, “I’m just not feeling well.”
“Oh dear,” the instructor gave her a look of sympathy. “I think we can call it good enough for today.” She patted her student’s shoulder. “I know you are getting frustrated. Believe me, not everyone is a natural like me. Eventually, you will come to understand just what to do for the basic stuff. I feel certain with an enough explanation, you will be able to make a decent light. I will see you tomorrow at the same time.”
“Thank you, Madam Louise.” Iris had to fight back the urge to make a quip that would get her in trouble again. Having grown up in a home without anyone who practiced magic, Easton had found the most expensive instructor for his daughter to make sure she learned from the best. At first, Iris had been thrilled because she had heard so many great things about Madam Louise and her natural abilities. Unfortunately, after the first two weeks, she had realized that natural ability did not mean a great teacher. For those first few months, it had been Iris’s excitement and interest in magic that had driven her to create the light. Once she had proven she could do it, her instructor seemed to want to hinder her ability to go any further, almost as if Madam Louise were trying to put the light out herself. It was like every chance Madam Louise got to remind her student of her ability, she would take it. Once she had realized that her instructor was not the most gifted teacher—how could she be, when she had no idea how difficult magic could be for someone who didn’t have the same innate abilities—Iris had not been able to refrain from using her natural wit. Things had not gone well as the student’s resentment built, and it was only after Madam Louise had stormed out threatening never to return, and Easton paid her several months in advance to return, that Iris realized how much trouble she was putting her father through. Madam Louise had returned and pretty much acted like nothing had happened, but she was still just as condescending and unhelpful as ever. That was when Iris had started losing interest.
Iris began to slowly pack up her scribbles, largely unrelated to the lesson, as her instructor grabbed her belongings and flounced out of the room. Rolling her eyes, Iris stood up and decided to go outside to try to feel better. Grabbing her bag, she popped her neck and headed for the door.
“Oh, are you heading outside, princess?”
Iris stopped and turned to see her father walking through the door through which Madam Louise had recently left. She couldn’t help but smile at her father and his pet names for her. He had always treated her like a princess, even before her mother had died. After that, the pair had become even closer, and it was almost as if he hadn’t really noticed she had grown up. There were certainly drawbacks, but Iris really appreciated how much attention her father gave her. Most of the kids in school had spent precious little time with their parents and had grown up quickly, if a little crooked, because of it. Easton was protective, but incredibly loving. And she wouldn’t change a thing about their relationship. Well, not much.
“Yeah, I’m feeling a little down and thought I would slip out for a bit.” She tilted her head to the side. “Unless you need my help for something.”
Easton gave her a little smile, “No, no. You go ahead. If you are feeling down, it’s probably best that you not try to deal with any customers.” The look he gave her was more than enough to say what he wasn’t. His brown hair was styled to hide the grey streaks. The smile on his handsome face widened. “But do you mind coming back within an hour or so?”
Iris smiled at the way his mustache moved a little as he smiled. “Sure, Dad. If you don’t need my help, though, is something up?”
“Well, you remember that I’m leaving tomorrow, right?”
“Oh, right. Yes, of course.” Iris felt incredibly guilty as she forced a grin. Having to deal with the lesson seemed to have made her forget about reality. Not that she and her father had talked about his departure much, it was a point of contention between them. Part of Iris had hoped that he would decide not to go. Clearly he hadn’t, and now it was the day before he would leave. Trying to play it off as no big deal, Iris tried to act like they could have a good time before he left. “We can have a nice dinner and I want to hear all about your plans. And of course, I can provide the moral support you need, although I still wish you didn’t have to go.” The last bit she couldn’t help but add.
His blue eyes twinkled, “If it hadn’t been for the queen’s vessel, there is no way that I would be going. But I promised and well, you know…” he held out his hands.
Iris nodded with a grimace on her face, “Yes, I do know. But I am certain that things will go well. Just make sure to take care of yourself first.”
“Of course. I’m not going to leave my daughter alone. There’s no telling what kind of trouble she will get into if I’m not around.” The two shared a smile before his expression became a little more serious. “I take it the lesson didn’t go any better this time?”
Iris blew out her cheeks, trying to keep her frustration in check. “No, Dad, it didn’t.” The look in his eyes made her feel even more guilty. “But it’s okay. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that I'm a little slow when it comes to magic. It’s not like Mom was great, and you know I was never that interested in it.” She looked away from him so that he couldn’t tell she was lying. “I’ve got other talents, more useful talents. So I’m okay if my magic abilities are pretty much nonexistent.”
“I know that you were very excited when the lessons started. And the look in your eyes when you showed off the light, I was so proud.”
“I know, but it has also been a pretty big waste of time. I could be doing something useful instead of working on something that is basically inane tricks. Really, what good is magic for us? It’s not like I'm going to be using it in the shop or on the board. The only magic I’ve needed was to make that one couple shut up.” She turned and smiled at him.
“Iris.” Her father’s voice sounded firm, but it was impossible to hide the smile that accompanied it. He had been trying to keep his daughter in check for over a decade, and Easton knew a losing battle when confronted with it. With a sigh, he shook his head, “As long as you don’t say that kind of thing around our customers, then I really shouldn’t say anything.” He looked at her, “I will try not to say anything.”
She gave him a wry smile, “I won’t hold you to it all of the time. I’ll take you out to eat when I get back.”
“Alright, be careful.”
Iris smiled and blew her father a kiss before heading outside. Talking to him always made her feel a little bit better, especially after the terrible lessons. It was going to be miserable with him gone for a couple of weeks. How was she going to keep from skewering her instructor without her father guilting her into behaving? It was going to be a very tough couple of weeks.
As she stepped outside, Iris felt a little dizzy. Closing her eyes, she shook her head, then opened them again. The world around her seemed to shimmer a bit. Iris closed her eyes again and rubbed them. This wasn’t the first time it had happened, but it was getting worse. Trying to distract herself from everything, Iris looked for the bright spots.
Maybe I can be too busy for lessons. I mean, dealing with work and a new employee, that will surely be good enough to get me out of anything that fraud has to teach me. Suddenly her father leaving wasn’t all bad news. All she would have to do is convince Madam Louise to come back in two weeks after her father returned. It was a long shot, but not impossible. Despite acting like nothing had happened, Iris could tell that her instructor wasn’t very keen on the lessons now, which meant that skipping out would be beneficial to both of them. Then again, I could just ask Dad to tell her. If he has time before he goes.
The possibilities of what could happen over the next couple of weeks floated through her mind as she strolled around the market. Usually her father sent an envoy to manage the guild business. He had only started to leave her in charge since her 20th birthday a little over a year ago, and not always then. This was the first time that her father was leaving since Iris had completely lost interest in doing magic, so this was the first time it had occurred to her that she could use his absence to her advantage. She was going to miss him, and Iris knew her father was going to miss her, partly because he hated traveling. He was somewhat superstitious. After her mother had died conducting business abroad, Easton had flat out refused to travel with Iris, and would only go if there were things that could not be done through an envoy. He would never take her with him, no matter how much she had begged. Eventually, she had given up and accepted that the city was likely to be her whole world. This particular trip was different because he was going to negotiate a trade agreement for the guild he had been forced to take over a few years ago. If Queen Freya hadn’t insisted that Easton go, there would have been next to no chance that he would be leaving. But the queen was incredibly persuasive, and Iris suspected a little bit manipulative, so Easton had agreed after the queen had promised him the use of one of her vessels to make the deal. Initially, Iris had felt something was wrong with the entire deal, but once her father gave his word, there was no going back. It was what Queen Freya’s father had banked on all those years ago that had gotten Iris’s mother killed. Now the queen had counted on his word yet again.
At first Iris and Easton had fought. It was only after he promised to let Iris manage the next trip to the northern end of their country, Solona, that she had finally relented. Having been stuck in the same city for most of her life, Iris was eager to get away. Given that she was a mystic, no matter how weak, she could only leave the country with a guardian. And there weren’t a lot of extra guardians waiting around for an assignment. The wars with Sumaria and the proxy battles against the druids had taken the lives of over a quarter of the mystics and more than half of the guardians. Druids may not have guardians, but their loose association with the assassins made them far more dangerous than any other group that the mystics could have faced. Fortunately, the proxy war had ended after the king had died, though trade had not really resumed until more recently. Though Iris wasn’t a fan of the late king’s daughter, it was obvious that Queen Freya was a much better negotiator and preferred peace compared to her father’s approach to the world. There wasn’t much that could be done about Sumaria—they hated all magic users—but Queen Freya had managed to stop the war with them. For nearly two years there had been a tense peace between Solona and the rest of the world, and even some positive developments with the druids in the last few months, not that Iris had kept up with it too much. She learned only what she needed to know to help her father with the business. Mostly she created designs and negotiated with some of the more difficult members of the guild. Those were areas where she really shone. A sharp tongue was not great for a student, but as a young member in the guild it had afforded her a lot of respect early on, and won her a lot more attention from the older men than she was comfortable with receiving. Though there were nearly as many women as men working on the guild’s board, she was the only person on it under 40 years old. She was also the only magic user, a topic Iris tended to avoid discussing since it was irrelevant to the work. The rest of the board wasn’t really interested in magic anyway. Mystics were considered odd everywhere, even within their own country. There was a certain amount of unease because so much of what mystics did was kept secret, and the Mystic Council seemed to want to keep it that way. There weren’t that many of them, so secrets were easy to keep, even from mystics who may need to know. Fewer than ten percent of women in Solona were mystics, and they tended not to interact much with nonmagic users.
Iris’s mother had been a very rare exception, mostly because she had grown up traveling as a child, and her family had not even realized what she was until she accidently froze the bathwater when she was 10 years old. Iris didn’t know much about the situation because people avoided talking about it with her. She knew that a guardian had been assigned to her mother within days of the incident, and the family had been brought back to Solona. Iris’s mother had never fully adapted, and in an act of rebellion against the Mystic Council, she had married a merchant, Easton. He had known what she was, and he had encouraged her to do more, even though she hadn’t been particularly skilled. None of the students or teachers in her school had even heard of her mother, let alone knew what her abilities were, and that usually meant that a mystic had no discernable talents. Iris didn’t have many memories of her mother, she had only been five years old when her mother had died. One of the few memories she had from the funeral was of one of the guests hugging her. He must have been a young teenager, and as her father had talked to other guests, the boy had taken the time to talk to her. He had told her that he had lost someone too, and they had talked for a few hours, playing some games and generally trying to make sense of what had happened. It was strange to remember that, but it had stood out as the only bright spot during a dark time.
Iris did know that her father had loved her mother very much, and he had not so much as looked at another woman since his wife had died. Iris never knew what it was between them that had made her father so devoted, but it wasn’t something she had thought about much. To Iris, it made sense that he would dedicate the rest of his life to raising his daughter. It had only been over the last year when Easton had started asking Iris about her interest in marriage that the young woman had even thought to wonder why he wasn’t interested in marriage himself. She wasn’t close with any of the people she had gone to school with and the board were just coworkers to Iris. Dating and marriage had never even been a consideration, and she had always put down any interest anyone showed in her. She was happy living with her father, designing whatever struck her interest, and enjoying the excitement of negotiating with the board. It was all she needed in life, or at least that was what she told herself. The idea of love was like magic—there was something intriguing about it, but ultimately it didn’t seem very useful.
As the misery of the lesson wore off, Iris began to look at a few of the new pieces of cloth, and a shimmering lilac-colored material caught her eye. Holding the corner of the soft material in her hand, the young woman considered how good it would look as a new dress. The way the light shone off the lilac would be fantastic with her red-streaked blonde hair and blue eyes. She held it up, trying to imagine the style that would be the most flattering. Her mind raced through a number of possible designs, but it kept coming back to a soft spring dress that would flow beautifully when walking along the waterfront. Though she hadn’t intended to buy anything, Iris found herself buying several bolts of the material in different colors.
“Oh my, Iris,” the elderly woman smiled at the young woman’s enthusiasm, “I dare say you have something in mind for that. I haven’t seen you this happy since you first started working your magic.”
Trying to keep from making a sour face at the mention of magic, Iris felt a surge of annoyance. Her vision shimmered again, but she ignored it. Iris ran her hand over the fabric to collect her thoughts. “This material is fantastic.” She looked up at the vendor. “Where did it come from?”
“The deal with the druids in Marlyon has finally started to ripple out. I’ll tell you what, I may not agree with the druids on much, but there is no denying their amazing talent with fabric and color.”
Iris let out a low whistle, “This is the work of the druids? I had no idea.”
The seller nodded, her expression serious, “Of course you wouldn’t, dear. I was younger than you when their goods were banished. Those were some dark days indeed.” Her face brightened up, “That Queen Freya is really something. Nothing against the old king, but it would almost have been better for him to have passed more than a decade ago. Then maybe I could have retired and enjoyed my last years on the ocean.”
Iris leaned over and patted the woman’s shoulder, “I understand, but the selfish part of me is glad that it didn’t pan out. If Queen Freya had taken over five years ago, I would never have had the pleasure of getting to know you and your wonderful taste in material.”
The elderly woman laughed, “Ay, that is true. And if I am being perfectly honest, I have no desire to retire. It is nice dream, though. Such a lovely dream.”
“I’ll tell you what, Mrs. Sandalson. If you want to go temporarily retire to the ocean for a week or two, I would be more than happy to help you with the stall once my father gets back.”
Mrs. Sandalson laughed again, “You are talking about a vacation. It has been a while, so perhaps it is time. You had best be careful lest I actually start to make plans based on your whimsical promise.”
“Mrs. Sandalson, I will plan the vacation myself if you really want to go.”
“And you will expect a hefty discount in return.” She gave Iris a knowing look.
“A price you will gladly pay because you cannot put a price on the vacation of a lifetime.”
Once the material was paid for and packaged, Iris thanked the older woman and headed home. Her steps were bouncy as she swung the material. Rounding a corner, she ran directly into a man looking up at the buildings, a piece of paper in his hand. Iris flailed her arms trying to prevent gravity from dragging her down. The bag hit the ground around the same time she did.
“Oh, ow, ow, ow. I’m so sorry.” She was torn between the pain of hitting the cobblestones and the horror that she had literally run into someone. As her palms throbbed from the impact, a long streak of red passed over the head of the man. She stared up at it for a second, then her eyes met his.
“Are you alright?” The young man was very handsome with black hair and yellowish-black eyes that were looking down at her. The concern soon shifted as he looked at her and realized that she was fine. He looked like he was about her age, but his outfit suggested he was a member of one of the official organizations. Usually members had to be in their 40s, although as Iris knew from personal experience, there were times when orders and guilds would make an exception. He stretched out a hand toward her, an amused expression on his face. “You fall, and apologize to me for it. Sounds a bit off, but for next time, you may just want to pay a little more attention where you are going if you are moving at speed.”
She gave him a smile as she accepted his hand. As soon as his hand touched hers, Iris’s mind spilled into a completely different place. The world shimmered as red and black swirled around her. There were corpses and skeletons everywhere, and the world felt cold and isolated. Almost as suddenly as the images appeared, they disappeared as Iris felt her rump hitting the ground again. The man was looking down at her with a mixture of shock and fear. He quickly slipped a pair of gloves over his thin hands. “I am so sorry. I did not realize. I'm so sorry, madam.”
Iris simply blinked at him. He had let her hit the ground, and was now offering his hand again. Shaking her head, the young mystic pushed herself to her feet. He seemed eager to be of assistance, and the young man tried to help her up by wrapping a hand around her bicep. Shaking him off, she turned on him. “Look, I am sorry I didn’t see you, but that was just really unnecessary.” The world was shimmering around her, and she felt her heart rate increasing. She was starting to get concerned, but she knew that now was not the time to bring it up with her father. She channeled her anger into the look she gave the young man in front of her.
The man bowed low, “I am so sorry. Is there anything I can do to help you to show you my apology is sincere?”
“I don’t think so.” She tried to straighten out her dress. The man began picking up her bag, and with a wave of his hand the dirt and gutter water was gone. Her stuff looked good as new.
The man gave her a nervous smile as he handed it to her. “I hope that will help. I really am sorry.” With another bow, he turned to leave.
“Oh, you dropped this.” She leaned over to pick up his paper from the ground. The young man turned around and saw the paper in her outstretched hand.
“Thank you so much. I don’t know how to thank you enough.”
Iris began to feel better as the anger subsided. The young man clearly had not meant anything by whatever had happened, and it wasn’t like he had seen what she had seen. There is no reason to take it out on him, she scolded herself. “I ran into you, so why don’t we call it even?” It was one of the most bizarre exchanges Iris had ever had, which was saying something as the daughter of the leader of the merchant guild. She wasn’t even entirely certain the man was being serious. Although his demeanor was serious, she knew that didn’t mean much—she gave people that look all the time while laughing at them. Something was strange about his eyes, and the fact that the man could do magic, more magic than her, was definitely disconcerting. Guardians and assassins were the only men she had ever heard of being able to use any kind of magic. As the thought ran through her mind, Iris narrowed her eyes. Assassins had black hair, while guardians had white. “Wait, are you—”
“Thank you, madam.” He quickly bowed again, turned, and rapidly moved away from her. Iris considered following him because an assassin in the city couldn’t be a good thing. Then again, with the recent peace set between the mystic and druids, no assassin would be foolish enough to implicate the druids within the mystics’ capital city. Feeling a little uneasy about what had just happened, Iris bit her lip trying to figure out if she should follow him or go home. The way the world seemed to lose focus around her forced her to make up her mind. She knew that she had been away from home for more than an hour, so she would need to get home even without the strange visions. Realizing that she had no idea where the man had gone anyway, the young woman headed home, her mind replaying the encounter.
The miserable lesson was long forgotten as she stepped through the front door.
“Sorry I am a little late, but I am home. Are you ready to head out for a fantastic farewell dinner?” She placed the material down in the sitting room and headed further into the house. The sound of voices in the shop caught her attention, and Iris turned to find out who was visiting. Her father should have closed up by now because he still had to pack.
Her father’s friendly voice stood out as she got closer, “I am so glad to hear things are going so well. You have such a harrowing story, I am most pleased that Caden was assigned to you so early on. There is no telling what would have happened in someone else’s care.”
A low voice seemed to rumble through the walls, and Iris thought she felt the floor shiver as one of the visitors spoke, “As am I. I shall forever be in our queen’s debt.”
A melodic voice echoed around her in a very feminine laugh, “I am just glad you have finally learned how to take care of yourself.”
Iris hid her smile as she strode into the room, “I believe every guardian knows how to take care of himself. It’s the mystics that are clueless.”
The young woman who had spoken just before she entered turned and gave Iris a shy smile. “You would know, wouldn’t you?”
“Not at all. Your ability to take care of yourself is directly proportionate to your magical ability. The greater your magical ability, the less competent you are about anything else.”
Iris’s father rolled his eyes at his daughter as the man with the low voice bowed, “I would have to say that I concur with that assessment. I have never met someone as talented as Callie and yet so impossibly unaware of how to keep herself from harm.” His short, white hair barely moved, and his yellow eyes shone as he looked first at Iris, then at the woman beside him. Iris noticed how his eyes softened as he looked at the woman, and for a moment she felt a twinge of something.
The black-haired young woman gave him a slap on his bicep, something even Iris would have been too intimidated to do. “If I recall, Caden, the number of times I saved you—”
“Was twice. Are we keeping score?” His eyes were playful as he looked down at her. For a moment, Iris half expected him to pull Callie into a kiss. Instead he settled for pushing a strand of stray hair out of Callie’s face, and Iris noticed his fingers brushed against her neck. Again, Iris was mesmerized by the interaction, but she wasn’t sure why.
Easton clapped his hands, “Well, if you two are quite done with your bickering, my daughter was about to take me out to dinner. If you two would like to join us, I would love to have some additional company. Iris’s quips have become increasingly crueler over the last week. She isn’t exactly pleased I agreed to go.”
Iris frowned, “It is only because I am going to miss you so much.”
“Yes, and now I would like to share some of that love with our new employee so that she can get accustomed to it a little faster.”
Callie and Caden laughed at the exchange as father and daughter had a short staring contest.
Iris gave a loud, theatrical sigh. “Fine, they can come, but I get to pick where, and you,” she pointed at her father, “have to promise to come back safely.”
He gave her a low bow, “As I have told you, I cannot leave you alone because there is no telling what kind of damage you will do to the guild and country if someone isn’t there to soften your wit.”
“I will be holding you to that promise.” Iris stomped her foot just like she used to do before she was marched off to bed. Her father chuckled. Callie and Caden quickly agreed to join them for dinner, and they headed to Easton’s favorite restaurant.