Apprentice (The Black Mage, #2)(30)

I choked back relief. We were winning. Seven dead, three injured…

One of the dead raiders rose, scorch marks trailing like dark rivulets across his face. The others didn't see him – and Darren, Darren was too busy casting to notice.

I gave a hoarse cry but he was too far away.

"No!!!!!!!" Caine spotted the raider and launched himself forward, shoving the non-heir to the ground. The arrow embedded itself in the boy's chest.

Caine did not scream. Eyes open, mouth shut, he toppled to the ground, soundless. And then he went limp.

Darren struggled to pull himself up and make sense of what happened. Then he spotted Caine and a strangled scream severed the air. Magic flew from his hands. The raider who had just feigned death moments before dropped, lifeless.

Then Darren fainted. I started forward but my stomach rose up, roaring complaints. Unhappily, I stayed where I was and watched as another apprentice went to help the fallen fifth-year and the prince instead. Caine was gone. There was nothing anyone of us could do.

In the distance I could hear the shouts of the Ishir Regiment. Thank the gods. I clutched my ribs and breathed in a gasp of relief. The reinforcements had come.

Galloping forward Master Byron and the regiment mages charged the three remaining raiders, casting heavy metal nets that encased them within seconds. They sent in groups of men to take care of the bodies, the fallen soldiers and Caine, and then, finally, for us.

The last thing I remembered was my twin's face.

Bloodshot eyes. Alex. Screaming. "Where's Ella?"

I pointed, and then I shut my eyes.





CHAPTER SEVEN


"He's not eating. He hasn't eaten anything in days." The hysteria in Priscilla's voice was rising. "Please, Ronan, do something."

"I can't – he's in grief. The only thing that will help is time."

"That's not good enough!"

"Apprentice Priscilla, if you cannot keep your voice down I must ask you to leave." Master Joan's frosty voice cut through the air like a whip. The apprentice let out a shriek and stomped out of the infirmary tent, flies buzzing all around her as she snapped the flaps shut.

I opened my eyes, uncomfortably aware of the pungent smell of sweat and blood that was filling my nostrils. Thick, foul-smelling hides covered the tent frames. Everywhere I looked, soldiers and apprentices lay in cots. Bandages and vials were piled on tables nearest their beds. Restoration mages and apprentices dotted the room, alternating from one patient to the next as they continued to cast and treat naturally depending on their patient's symptoms.

In the cot nearest I could see Ella. Her dark skin glistened under the cracks of sunlight that were coming in through the entrance and black locks were plastered to her neck. She was already awake. As soon as she spotted me she gave a small smile. "Never thought we'd make it out alive," she croaked.

A Restoration apprentice raced forward to bring her water and then turned to offer the same to me. I drank down the cold liquid greedily and immediately the sharp headache I'd been feeling faded into a minor ache.

"Alex, your two favorite patients are awake," the girl called to my twin at the far side of the room. My brother rushed forward, a thick line of sweat staining his forehead as he attempted to wipe it away – only to smear blood and grime in its place. He looked worse than I felt. I wondered how long he'd been here treating us.

"Ryiah… Ella..." He immediately fell to the floor between us with a thud. His blue eyes were glittering.

"Calm down, handsome, they weren't going to leave you." The apprentice rolled her eyes at my brother's dramatics. "Your sister and lady love just needed some rest."

My twin didn't appear to hear. He kept staring at Ella, and there was something about the way my brother looked at her that made me feel like I was intruding.

"I – I thought I'd never see you again," he rasped.

Ella coughed weakly. "It would take a lot more than that to kill me."

"Don't say that." He reached down to take her hand. I immediately averted my gaze. "Don't ever say that. You have no idea what I went through knowing you were out there, fighting…"

"Just stop talking and kiss me, Alex."

I attempted to stand, ignoring the protests of the Restoration mages around me as I left the two of them their privacy. As soon as I had left the tent I found Eve standing outside, looking upset and staring out at the rest of the oasis in frustration.

"Eve." I walked over to the pale girl. "How is everyone?"

"Caine's dead. Ten knights and one of the Combat mages from Ishir are dead. Half the Mahj soldiers are dead. How are we supposed to be?" The girl's voice broke and I realized she was close to crying.

"Have the prisoners talked?"

"They killed themselves before the regiment could question them. Slit their necks with their own blades as soon as the nets fell."

"Do you know if they were Calothian mages?" I asked suddenly. "Did we find out who they were?"

She laughed coldly. "They were ours. It's why they kept their faces hidden. I even recognized two of them from the Crown's Army… They weren't bandits or raiders, Ryiah, they were rebels. My father's men. Men I knew. Why would they do this?"