Page 69 of Acolyte (Tempris #2)

Please work, please work, please work

Because Shards this was going to really hurt if it didn’t.

The fairies began to laugh, and she bit her lip hard enough to taste blood, forcing her shoulders to relax as she closed her eyes.

Complete, absolute boredom.

She still had her eyes closed when she felt the first spell snap and release. Several other pops of magic followed in rapid succession.

The tinkling laughter that had been circling her, strangely predatory as it drew closer, abruptly ceased.

Taly opened her eyes.

Twenty orbs of fairy fire stood frozen just inside the perimeter of the training yard, fenced in by a slight shimmer of magic that circled the area.

The world beyond swayed and shifted, and through the veil, she could see the Queen.

Unmoving, eyes wide, mouth agape. It was the same expression the woman had made the day Taly had not-so-accidentally eaten all Azura’s favorite cakes at teatime.

Taly grinned, a manic giggle bubbling up and out. Her trap had worked!

It had worked, and Shards, it had all been so irritatingly simple in the end. Don’t use crystals, the Queen had said, which for the longest time, she had taken to mean that she wasn’t supposed to rely on crystals to help her cast.

But crystals, Taly had finally realized, could be used for more than just focusing talismans and spell training. They could be charged with active spells.

So, she had spent most of her morning tethering spells to crystals and burying them at key points, each one chosen after several weeks of studying the fairies’ movements. A simple ceasing spell was all she’d needed to capture the fairies, but triggering the release… that had been more difficult.

Air crystals, stolen from the armory and then wired together in such a way as to create a thin, nearly imperceptible wall of air around the perimeter of the arena.

It was crude, and Skye and Ivain could’ve done far more in far less time.

But she’d still managed to rig something together—an invisible snare that would trigger her trap when the fairies crossed into the arena.

The brief shower lasting exactly four minutes and 13 seconds that occurred every morning at two minutes past the fifth bell had quickly washed away any evidence that she’d been digging, making her trap virtually undetectable.

Simple. Easy. And she hadn’t even had to cheat.

“I win,” Taly chirped, hopping to her feet and dusting herself off. “And technically, I didn’t break any rules. You said I wasn’t allowed to use crystals during the game. You didn’t, however, say anything about using them before .”

When she turned to the Queen, Azura’s lips were pressed into a thin line, and Leto still stood off to the side, head tilted, shoulders shaking with barely suppressed laughter. The fairies that had come to watch the daily beat-down were whispering amongst themselves.

Taly gave a mocking bow, delighting in the low growl that carried across the training yard. “I beat your game.”

Azura’s anger was all the evidence she needed to confirm that she’d never meant for her to win.

Azura closed her eyes, and when she opened them, that heaviness, that depthless power that Taly knew the Queen commanded, even if she’d only seen it demonstrated a handful of times, settled over the arena.

The fairies whispering hushed.

“That means I’ve earned my freedom,” Taly said, still standing in the middle of the arena, her feet set defiantly.

“Does it now?”

Taly nodded—confident. She hoped. “We had an agreement. I earned my third seal. I’m an Acolyte now. It’s time for you to hold up your end of the bargain.”

“An Acolyte? You?” Azura chuckled, low and mocking. “What in Shards’ name makes you believe that?”

“I passed your test.”

“You passed a test. You finally figured out that time mages cheat. That we’re always thinking at least ten steps ahead. However, that is far from the last lesson I have to teach you.”

Taly’s heart seized. No. No, she couldn’t— “You said that stupid game of tag was my test for the third seal.”

Azura’s smile widened as she rose from her chair.

“Oh, my dear,” she said, her voice lilting as she sauntered into the ring.

Every movement was calculated and lethal, limned with ancient grace.

She held up a hand, and the veil of air and time magic evaporated in a hiss of aether.

“You poor tiny little slip of a thing. I said you needed to beat a game of tag before I would let you leave, but I never said when that would be. You really should’ve been listening more carefully. ”

Taly began to shake her head, hating the tears that burned her eyes . This was supposed to be her way out. This had been her only way out!

“You lied,” Taly whispered.

“No, I didn’t,” Azura claimed. “To quote a very dear, very old friend: ‘I did not lie. I simply did not correct you when you made certain assumptions.’ ” Azura winked. “Spoken like a true time mage.”

Taly visibly winced. Those were her words, said to Skye that night at the tavern. The night before their entire world had changed.

How the Queen knew them…

“There is still one more trial you must complete,” Azura said. “One more game. If you win, I’ll send you home. Immediately . You’ll be an Acolyte. A student I can be proud to call my own.”

The Queen had finally made her way to the center of the ring, standing only a few feet away. “That’s it?” Taly asked.

“That’s it.”

“One game?”

“One game.”

“And you’ll give me my freedom?”

“I’ll give you your freedom.”

“Immediately?” Taly pressed. “Not next week, not next year—”

“Yes, yes, yes,” Azura muttered. “That’s exactly what I said. ”

Taly hesitated. “What’s the catch?” There was always a catch with this woman—even if she couldn’t immediately see it.

The Queen’s smile was positively feline. “If I told you, it would ruin the surprise.”