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alina

THE MAGNOLIA TREES ARE IN full bloom, their white-and-pink blossoms providing cheerful color to the garden. It was a long, cold winter, and spring has finally arrived. Which means I’m outdoors again, breathing in the flower-scented air and feeling my boots squish into the rain-soaked earth. Just last night, it poured, the droplets striking the windows in my chambers loudly enough to drown out the sound of the fires crackling in the hearths.

A crisp breeze twirls through the garden, sending a tendril of wavy hair dancing in front of my eyes. But my focus is beyond that, on the target one of the guards set up for me. Straw bursts from the holes in the human-shaped dummy, and a few pieces fall to the wet earth, only to be swept away with another burst of chill air.

I take a breath and lift my longbow, drawing the bowstring back until my thumb rests just near the corner of my mouth. The fletching tickles my skin as I breathe out slowly, adjusting my aim just slightly to account for the breeze still making the magnolia trees sway.

Then I release my arrow, letting the bowstring roll off my fingertips.

The arrow flies with a soft whistle and embeds itself into the dummy—right in the middle of the chest.

Lowering my longbow, I smile. At my feet, my spirit companion, Yuki, lets out an approving whine. I kneel to scratch the Arctic fox behind his ears.

“What do you think?” I ask.

He flicks his gaze to the dummy, which is now peppered with arrows. “Better. Your aim is improving.” The breeze dances through his long white hair, making it ripple like an ocean tide.

“Your Highness,” calls a voice from behind me.

I stand and turn to find my lady-in-waiting, Ms. Florence Fairhaven, moving toward me at a rapid pace. She holds her skirts up with one hand, keeping them clear of the mud, and in the other is an envelope.

It looks like a thick envelope. An important envelope.

My breath catches.

“Can you take this, please?” I say, holding my longbow out to the guard currently overseeing me. I don’t know his name—the knights generally have very little to do with me apart from standing guard outside whatever room I’m in or accompanying me whenever I leave the castle, like statues with ever-watching eyes but very little to say. He steps forward and takes the bow from my hands with a sharp nod of his head, and once I’m free of it, I hurry to meet Ms. Fairhaven, Yuki trotting along beside me—though he’s careful to avoid the muddy puddles.

“Is that...?” I ask breathlessly as I come to stand before her.

“Correspondence from Coven Crest Academy,” Ms. Fairhaven says. She holds the letter out to me, her lips pulling into a small smile, and I take the envelope with trembling fingers.

The purple wax seal—depicting the phases of the moon—is unbroken, and the envelope is thick. My heart pounds in my chest. Slowly, frost begins to creep from my fingertips, crawling across the parchment.

I’m letting my fear get the better of me.

Quickly, I banish the ice, then look up and meet Mr. Fairhaven’s soft brown eyes.

“Go on, then,” she says, clasping her hands before her and giving me an encouraging smile. “We’ll not know until we know.”

I bite my lip. Yuki presses himself against my calf, his presence an anchor of calm.

Then, though my hands still shake, I use my magic to create an ice blade at the tip of my finger and run it through the wax seal, slicing it open.

Inside is a carefully folded letter. I ease it from the envelope and unfold the parchment.

Dear Princess Alina Ravenscroft,

It is with the utmost delight and honor that we extend to you this official letter of acceptance to Coven Crest Academy for the upcoming academic year. After careful consideration of your application, we are thrilled to welcome you as a member of our distinguished student body.

Your unique talents and dedication to the study of the arcane arts have impressed our faculty, and we have no doubt that you will bring a remarkable presence to our halls. It is our privilege to offer you a place among the finest young witches, warlocks, and magical scholars in the kingdom.

As a member of the Coven Crest community, you will have access to our renowned curriculum and the guidance of our esteemed professors. We are confident that your time here will not only further refine your magical abilities, but will also allow you to form lasting bonds with fellow students and contribute to the academy’s rich legacy.

Additional information regarding your class schedule and roommate assignment will be forthcoming.

We eagerly anticipate the opportunity to welcome you to Coven Crest this fall. Should you have any questions before your arrival, please do not hesitate to reach out to our Admissions Office, and we will gladly assist you.

Warmest regards,

Headmistress Lysandra Moonhar t

Coven Crest Academy

Before Ms. Fairhaven can ask me what it says, I scream and throw myself at her, wrapping her in my arms. Yuki yips in surprise.

“I got in! They accepted me!”

Laughing, she wiggles her arms free of my grasp to return the embrace. “Of course they did, Your Highness.”

I pull back and arch a brow at her. “You think it’s only because of Grandfather?”

Ms. Fairhaven shakes her head. The thin strands of gray in her upswept brown hair shine in the sun. “No, Your Highness. It’s because you’re an incredibly talented witch.” She squeezes my arms. “They would be foolish not to accept you, regardless of your lineage.”

Warmth swims in my chest, and I clutch the letter to my breast.

Then my stomach falls. Because I still haven’t asked Grandfather if I can go. I didn’t even tell him I applied. I figured it would be better to ask him if I could attend after getting accepted—more granddaughter leverage that way.

My gaze shifts upward, toward the soaring towers of Ravenscroft Castle, and homes in on Grandfather’s study, at the very tip of the tallest spire. The purple flags atop the castle flutter in the wind, and the hundreds of windows reflect the spring sunlight.

“Well,” I say, drawing myself up despite the anxious thrumming in my chest. “I suppose now I must meet with the king.”

MS. FAIRHAVEN WISHES FOR ME to bathe before seeking an audience with my grandfather, but I don’t bother to. I pass through the large solarium, my boots clipping across the sun-warmed stone underfoot, and barely hear the burbling fountains but for the thoughts racing through my mind.

What if Grandfather says no? What if his plans for me don’t include furthering my magical education? What if he wishes for me to focus on politics instead?

Like Mother . . .

My chest pinches. If only Mother had been given the opportunity, she could likely rival the witches in Grandfather’s personal coven, the Shadowfall Court. But many years ago, when she married my father, it was considered unbecoming for a woman of the royal family to pursue anything outside of having heirs and dancing in ballrooms.

But things are different now. Times have changed—thank the goddesses. And I refuse to become just a pretty thing hanging from a prince’s arm.

No. I’m going to learn how to control my frost magic. I’m going to become the most powerful witch I can. And then I’m going to join the Shadowfall Court, like my mother always wished she could.

“Your Highness, the mud!” Ms. Fairhaven calls from behind me, snapping me out of my thoughts. “And you too, Yuki. Wipe your paws. They just polished the floors!”

Yuki lets out a snuffling laugh.

I quickly unlace my boots and tug them from my feet, then drop them beside the doors leading into the castle. Now in only my stockings, I pull the doors open, surprising the guards on the other side.

“Your Highness,” they say in tandem, bowing their armored heads.

I sweep past them, walking as fast as I can without breaking into a run. Yuki’s paws whisper along beside me, his nails clicking. We’ll need to trim them again—he hates it, though, so I’ll have to woo him with cinnamon buns and strawberry tarts.

It’s still early afternoon, so Grandfather will likely be in his study, where he prefers to spend his time when not seeing to his duties as the king of Elarwyn.

There are many, many stairs between here and Grandfather’s study. But thanks to one of the air witches in his coven, there’s a shortcut.

Feet thumping across the plush runner lining the long hallway, I move through the shafts of sunlight streaming through the high windows, then pause before the wind tunnel and turn to face Ms. Fairhaven. She’s only just catching up, and one of the kitchen maids is right on her heels, moving toward me with a tea tray held in her hands.

Perfect.

Grandfather never misses his afternoon tea and cake. This might help me butter him up.

“I’m going to speak with Grandfather alone,” I tell Ms. Fairhaven as she comes to stand before me, slightly winded from the jaunt down the halls. “And I’ll take that.”

The kitchen maid lets out a surprised breath when I place my letter upon the tray and then pluck it from her grasp .

“B-but that’s for His Majesty, Your Highness.”

“I’ll take it to him. Thank you.”

She blinks, then exchanges a glance with Ms. Fairhaven, who just sighs.

“Very well,” my lady-in-waiting says. “I’ll be in your chambers when you’re finished.”

I flick my gaze to Yuki. “Are you coming?”

His eyes scan the wind tunnel behind me warily. Then he sits and wraps his fluffy white tail around his paws. “I think not.” His tone is only slightly affronted that I would even ask.

He’s never liked the blast of air that sends you twirling up the many stories to the highest floor of the castle. But I’ve always felt free when I’m weightless like that, held aloft only by air.

I give the two women a smile, push the sliding gate to the wind tunnel open with my stockinged foot, and then step backward into the shaft. The gate closes, and I’m still smiling when a vortex of powerful wind wraps around me, lifting me from my feet, and shoots me up through the tunnel, all the way to Grandfather’s study.