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“Chloe is not a warrior, by any means of the word. Her physical strength is really quite lacking, and with nulling being her only magical ability, she was pretty much dead meat. Until, from out of nowhere, another girl shows up and starts demanding that the troll let go, lest she face her wrath.” Japhet shook his head and laughed, still refusing to meet the Dragon King’s eye, and Alessandro felt in that moment the fact that the witch had quite the soft spot for the elf. “As any self-respecting troll would do when threatened by an eight-year-old elf, the troll also took Rowan captive. Rowan didn’t know she was in the presence of a null, so when her powers weren’t coming to her as easily as they had in the past, she got angry; so angry that she cried. Her wails were so loud and shrill that we heard them from Incindria, and the elves heard them from the Eastern Elven Kingdom. By the time we arrived, three trolls had somehow been bound by vines that weren’t native to that forest and had blooms of flowers thatreleased a gas to put the trolls to sleep. Rowan had been undoing Chloe’s binds with her magic.”

The implication was blatant for Alessandro; at eight years old, Rowan had surpassed Master levels of magic.

“Just how did the Eastern Elven Kingdom keep her a secret for so many years? How has the Coven not gotten its claws into her?” The Coven had a nasty habit of poaching incredibly gifted spellcasters from weaker races, like the elves. It should have been easy, considering how much mistrust the public had against spellcasters left to their own devices. There should have been outcries for her to be kept in check by the many bylaws of the Coven.

“Well,” Japhet groaned and turned his gaze to Alessandro, “Do you mind supplying me with some whiskey since your bloody barriers keep my powers nulled?” Alessandro scowled, but conjured a bottle and two glasses onto the patio table. He took the other seat and sat to pour them both drinks.

“Ambrosia-laced.” Japhet sighed with admiration after his first sip. “You really want me jabbering away, don’t you?”

“Well, she took on my dragons and won, so yes, I’m invested in your tale.”

Japhet laughed, “Fair enough, I suppose. Where was I? Oh, yes, when the Coven heard of the situation from a witch that had traveled with me, they foamed at the mouth to get their hands on her. Everyone wanted to know what Rowan Dahl was about. But Rowan wasn’t interested in those kinds of things. She was interested in fashion, cute boys, and sweets. In those days, you could ask her to do anything with the promise of a cannoli.”

The twinkle in his eye was clearer now that Alessandro was closer. He had never seen the man so tender. Even if the womanhad been an apprentice, it was strange for Japhet to express any sort of emotion like that.

“King Kyron knew if the Coven got their hands on her, the girl would change for the worse, so he hired me to protect her.” He shook his head. “Can you imagine? He trusted a witch to hide his precious daughter’s powers from more witches? I thought he was insane, but Rowan and Chloe had bonded from their near-death experience, and so Chloe also demanded it of me. With the help of a couple of witches who owed me favors, we fashioned concealment charms while a phoenix monk and I taught her how to access the bare minimum of her magic to show the Coven when they tested her. It worked. We convinced them it had just been a fluke when she could only light three of the ten bars on the Power Test Unit. It only rated her a step above a normal elf of her age. The Coven left her alone until Spellcasters Academy.”

“One of my dragons studied with her. He said she revealed a bit of her true self when she took the entrance exam.”

Japhet’s anger lived in the fierce scowl that had his eyes glowing, it was a mark of the witch’s magical aptitude for such a thing to happen within Alessandro’s wards, “Someone rigged her test, the water burned her skin, so of course she got out of there as fast as she could. She only showed a portion of her talent, and the Coven knew it. The harassment began. They sent representative after representative for her until they got to Cherry Young.”

“The granddaughter of the late Elder?”

“Yes, the compulsion master. She tried to use her powers on her, but Chloe had learned how to make nulling charms by that point. She gifted Rowan with a locket for her birthday. It stopped the attack, but Rowan had had enough. She agreed to go through PTU assessment on a monthly basis, and if it ever got higherthan just above average for an elf, she would join, no questions asked. Cherry, unable to compulse her, agreed. Since then, the Coven has been keeping a close eye on the girl, and the girl has been stacking herself up with concealment charms.” The witch looked almost miserable at his next words. “I don’t know the limits of her strength. I doubt even she does, with how she’s had to fly under the radar for so long. It’s a pity. You should have seen the flowers on those vines, Alessandro. Now she’s making a living cleaning up the messes of spellcasters who don’t understand magic the way she does. Pretty profitable business of hers. You might have heard of it? RLK Magical Disaster Services, worth millions after only five years in business.”

No, he hadn’t, and his not knowing was a problem. He’d become too complacent in this age of peace. The oversight had hurt his dragons.

“You know.” Japhet’s eyes watered as he said the next words, “She’s more than just that power.”

“Do you love this woman, Japhet?” Alessandro was stunned. He had never seen the witch act this way. Was it the drink?

Japhet laughed, “I suppose I’ve never really considered that, but the brat is one of the few people I consider mine and precious in this damned world.” Even drunk, Alessandro understood the witch’s next words to be said with all the sobriety the world offered. “So understand when I say that if you make her life miserable, I will come to avenge her. Any pain you cause, I will deal threefold, and I won’t care that I am marking my card for death; I will make sure I take you down with me.”

Chapter 3

Freedom.

Rowan laughed from her belly as she soared through the setting sun’s orange skies at breakneck speed.

Just for fun, she stopped her forward propulsion and dropped like a stone over a roaring body of water, and as she saw it approaching, she tilted herself until she was diving headfirst.

Calling the wind to wrap around her in an air bubble, she penetrated the surface, coming into the midst of a school of bright pink fish. She took in the sea life as she continued forward — the coral banks, the stingray that soared along her side as if trying to race for a while. She broke the surface again and took off back into the sky, shouting her elation.

This is what she had been missing. Her connection to the surrounding magic was energizing. It made every hair on her body prickle to attention as it rushed into her pores, seeking to connect after years of sewing concealment charms into all of her clothes. After being afraid of taking too much magic to mold. She let it all in. Her skin glowed. The world around her sang.

By the time she zoomed over the Eastern Elven Kingdom, the sun had totally set, and the streetlights were embers in their casings.

Elves liked their starlight more than seeing each other on the cobbled streets.

The castle was no exemption. Only a few of the windows danced with light as nobles moved within their living quarters.

The royal apartment was the one on the highest tower, with carved French doors and billowing curtains on the balcony, which overlooked the kingdom from the top of a mountainside.

She landed on the rail; the aroma of oils and spices wafted into her nose as she entered a dining room holding six people at the table, who turned to greet her.

Manners instilled in her from her Southern Elven Kingdom mother, she had to stop by and hug each of her family members on her way to her seat.

King Kyron sat at the head of the table, wearing a black button-up with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Usually he hid the sprawling tattoos in the presence of his subjects. He had his white hair buzzed to the scalp, excluding the two inches he allowed on top. His beard was thicker and longer every time Rowan saw him, now reaching past his chest. He was the calm center of the family, tranquility contagious.