Page 58 of Immortal Origins (Chronicles of the Immortal Trials #1)

J ust over a couple of months passed before Ambrose was able to find the Grand Mage, the tournament growing dangerously closer every day.

Apparently he’d been off on a journey of his own that no one could tell her when he would return from.

She’d spent her time training relentlessly with Lily, trying desperately to distract herself from the coming days until he finally came home.

Now, Magnus paced the length of his office as he took in every word Ambrose relayed about her journey. She frantically told him everything.

Now only four days away, there was no looking back.

Her master paced back and forth in front of his fireplace, the silver accents of his green robes twinkling with each step.

He smelled even more of campfire than he usually did and Ambrose wondered if it had anything to do with the time he’d spent away.

She sat patiently in his chair, waiting for him to gather his thoughts enough for a response.

“You wielded how many Elements?” He stroked his beard, deep in thought, his forehead pressed into deep lines as his hand moved absentmindedly.

She tried to count them in her head. “I’m not really sure, it all happened so fast and I don’t even know how I did it.

It’s like my body just knew, but it didn’t always work or happen the way I wanted it to.

I didn’t really have much time to think when The Brotherhood showed up and after that, I barely had time to do anything other than react.

” She pushed the memories that knocked against the back of her mind further back, willing them to stay in the darkest corners of her mind. Far away .

Magnus paced faster, mumbling something to himself that she didn’t understand.

It didn’t even sound like a real language, but she did catch one word—‘ dragon ’.

While she was gone, her mentor’s cheeks had become gaunt and his eyes bore the marks of little sleep.

He wore his emerald robe with the elegance of a Grand Mage but his shoulders hung lower than they usually did.

Whatever had been on his mind in her absence was clearly taking its toll.

“What is it?” Ambrose asked, concern sliding across her face.

Magnus had always been such a source of grace and inspiration for her, lifting her mood whenever she needed it. It hurt to see her mentor become such a shadow of himself.

Magnus continued pacing but lifted his head and gave her a look that was only reserved for when he was thinking about something important. “I believe I understand how your magick works.”

“Really?” Ambrose jumped out of the chair. “What is it?”

“Every time you channel, you’ve been in a high stress or life of death situation, or at least your body perceives that you are, thus your magick perceives that you are.

” He stopped in front of the fire and stared into the crackling flames.

“There’s no doubt about it at this point, you’ve been called by the Elements.

I believe by all of the Elements. Your magick and instincts have synced up, allowing you to use Magick you have no formal training in.

Your body is reacting so your magick is reacting.

But lacking the formal training necessary, it comes out uncontrolled, powerful and when you’re body is thinking more than your mind is. ”

“Then why couldn’t I save Antony?” Frustration clawed at her chest.

“I believe that was your own mental block. Your magick has reacted to you when you inherently needed to save yourself, however, when it came to directly saving someone else, it didn’t come because of what you believe about yourself.

It responds to your emotions. You don’t truly believe you could save another person, so your magick didn’t either,” he replied calmly, lifting his head to meet her in the eye.

“I know that’s hard to take in, and it’s just a theory.

Either way, I think with some formal training, you could use your magick unparalleled.

I believe you could learn to use any Element you want with enough focus and training. ”

“Really?” Could that really be possible?

Magnus reached an aged hand into the fire and pulled a handful of it away.

“How far you get is up to you. For many mages, it takes them years or a lifetime to master their Element.” The ball of fire in his hand began to spin in a condensed circle, sparks flying off the edges.

“You’d have to work harder than any other mage in the empire, but yes, I think it can be done.

” He closed his fist and the flames extinguished. “I will teach you.”

Ambrose sank back into his chair, now deep in her own thoughts.

Was it really possible? Could she truly learn enough control to master any Element she wanted? Could it really be possible just because it was… possible ?

“I don’t understand how this happened?” She let out an exasperated sigh. “Why me? Why now? No one has ever been able to fully wield more than one Element. Why all of the sudden can I do it?”

Magnus turned to face her, his eyes twinkling against the firelight.

The Grand Mage was excited.

“There’s many things we can’t understand about Magick, it’s more ancient than the gods themselves.” He pressed his hands together, intertwining his fingers.

“How is that possible?” She rubbed a hand over her temples. Gods, she had a headache. “I thought we had Magick because of the gods?”

“Yes, it’s true that the gods are carriers of Magick in this world and are the reason it’s in all Almurians.

” His eyes danced as he spoke. “But the existence of Divine Law would suggest it even surpasses the gods as even they must follow it, would it not? They created the Divine Contract many years ago, but not even they can go against it and are as subject to it as any of us. That would lead me to believe they’re not the reason for its existence as a whole. Wouldn’t you agree?”

Ambrose’s eyes widened and her head shot up. She’d never considered that, but it did make sense.

Not even the gods could interfere with Divine Law or she could’ve easily been executed just for attempting to make the pledge.

The royals and gods were bound to the same rules and terms they all were.

A shiver crawled its way up her spine, even though there was no draft in the room and the fire did an excellent job of keeping them warm.

The implications of such a theory were massive.

It was taught that Magick began and ended with the gods but… What if that wasn’t true?

“Magnus…” Did she dare to ask? “Can the gods be killed?”

His brows scrunched into a worried expression as he rushed towards her, dipping his head close to hers as he viciously whispered, “Be careful of the things you say, even to me. The palace has eyes and ears everywhere. They’ll find a way to execute you just for thinking such a thing.”

“But, I’m a Trial Champion, they can’t interfere with that,” she murmured, shocked by her mentor’s abrasiveness.

“They can’t touch me until the trials are over.

Even if they wanted to. We all know the punishment for breaking Divine Law.

” It was a terrible concept. Anyone caught breaking it, Magick punished more severely than even the gods could dream up.

“Don’t be so ignorant to assume they can’t find ways around it.

They may not be able to directly harm you themselves, there are other ways to accomplish a goal than being the one to execute it yourself.

” He spun around and resumed pacing in front of the fireplace, the heels of his shoes tapping in a steady rhythm.

With a twist of his hand, the fire roared and surged as tall as he was, filling the fireplace and twinkling against the gold finish.

He didn’t stop until it was crackling loud enough to drown out their conversation from any eavesdroppers that could be lurking.

“The tournament is only four days away, what could they do to me?” she asked in a hushed whisper.

Magnus shot her a look. “The possibilities are endless if one is determined enough. Your magick alone makes you a target, the gods won’t take too kindly to you entering.

I would stay prepared for anything. No matter what, you cannot let your guard down.

The tournament is only the first trial. If you can get through that, we can worry about the next one when it comes. ”

“Do you think I can learn enough by then to actually survive the tournament?” she asked in a hushed tone as her reality came crashing down on her. What if the gods did decide to intervene? How would she even know? Could she stand any chance at all?

Magnus’s face dropped. “I think you have no choice.”

* * *

Three days. That’s all the time Ambrose had left.

Three days to learn how to stay alive in the Grand Arena that thousands had died in already.

Fallen warriors lay buried outside the Grand Arena, as promised by the empire; their names written on the wall, forever stamped in honor of their sacrifice.

Every Trial Champion who ever entered the Champion’s Tournament thought they were going to be the first one whose name wouldn’t go up on the Wall of the Fallen.

Every single one of them had been wrong.

She’d be facing unknown monsters and men, mages with skills that far surpassed hers. There was no way of knowing what would be waiting for her on the other side when it all started, the gods preferred to keep it different each time so no one ever knew what to expect.

She’d been replaying her conversation with Magnus over in her mind ever since their conversation the night before. With no idea how to survive the tournament, she’d have to spend the next three days training every second she could.

Every moment was precious and could be one of her last.

Akadian followed her much more closely since the morning they returned, never being more than an arm’s reach from her.

His expression carried the worry of his thoughts each day the tournament grew closer.

The two of them wandered silently down the hall, their footsteps echoing against the cavernous corridor walls.

It was hard to admire the beauty of the palace when death loomed so closely.

Even their conversations had become less frequent as each of them considered what could be waiting for her in just a few days.

The paintings on the wall appeared taunting as the frozen faces watched them pass.

Neither one of them wanted to speak out of fear that it would all become too real.

“Ambrose!” A familiar voice carried down the hall. A voice that made her heart squeeze with longing.

Ernaline ran down the corridor, her usual bun pinned on top of her head, servants’ gown flowing behind her, eyes shining with tears as she rushed towards them.

“Ernaline?” Ambrose couldn’t believe what she was seeing. “What are you doing?”

“I finally found you!” she gasped out as she reached them and threw her arms around Ambrose in a crushing hug.

Ambrose squeezed her friend tightly, terrified she was dreaming and she’d be ripped from her arms. “You can’t be seen speaking to me. Casimir will know, you have to go.” But she wanted to keep Ernaline there forever. She had so much she wanted to tell her.

Ernaline pulled back and shook her head. “Casimir lifted the ban.”

She held a small pile of clothes in her hand that were clutched against her body. Ambrose’s breath caught in her chest as she leaned in close and whispered, “Are those my leathers?”

The ones Adym had given her. The ones she’d been forced to leave behind.

Ernaline shoved them into her hands and pulled her shaking ones back as she pulled Ambrose into another hug. She smelled of food from the kitchens and lilacs. She didn’t know how much she’d missed that smell. Now that she was here in her arms she’d never let her go.

“Yes, I grabbed them as soon as I heard word the ban was lifted and came to find you immediately.”

“What do you mean he lifted the ban?” she asked into Ernaline’s shoulder.

“I don’t know. He lifted it this morning saying it didn’t matter much with the tournament so close and to say our final goodbyes if we had them.” Ernaline bit her bottom lip to keep it from trembling. “You’re not really going to compete are you?”

Ambrose looked at her oldest friend and the worry lines etched into her forehead that hadn’t been there before.

Even with the faint lines forming, she was as beautiful as she ever was, her deep bronze skin glistening with sweat, likely from running all the way from the servants’ dorms. Her bun housed daisies that grew in one of the courtyards as her golden-brown eyes bore into Ambrose with fear she’d probably been wearing for months.

“Yeah.” Ambrose nodded somberly as fear gripped her throat. “I think—I think I am.”

Ernaline clutched her chest as though she were in pain. “Then you’re going to need those.” She nodded at the leathers in Ambrose’s hand. “I hid them for you. I’ve been keeping them safe ever since you left.”

Ambrose eyed the leathers as she turned them over in her hand, the material worn from use and molded perfectly to her frame. “How did you even know…?”

Ernaline snorted. “Come on, you’re my best friend. Did you really think I didn’t know you were sneaking out every night?”

Guilt tore at Ambrose. Of course she knew. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”

Ernaline waved her words away. “I know you had your reasons for not telling me. You would’ve told me if I needed to know. Why do you think I covered for you every morning and came to get you so you’d always know to be back before I arrived?”

Ambrose’s mouth fell open as she took in her best friend. She knew Ernaline was brilliant, that was no secret. But she truly was brilliant .

“You’re incredible, you know that?” Ambrose didn’t stop the grin that spread across her face.

Ernaline turned to Akadian who had been silent for their entire interaction.

“Your Highness.” She bowed at the waist.

“Please, that’s not necessary.” He waved awkwardly for her to rise and Ambrose’s grin grew even more.

Ernaline pushed one of her dark coils behind her ear that had come loose while she was running, faced Ambrose and asked, “So, what are you going to do?”

Her smile vanished and her voice caught on the words as they came out dry on her tongue. “I don’t know.”