Apprentice (The Black Mage, #2)(38)

"Is it just me or does the prince seem extra irritable this morning?" My twin followed me off the docks with a shy fifth-year Alchemy apprentice named Barrett trailing silently behind. The three of us were partners for today's mock battle.

"I wouldn't know." Darren and I had barely spoken in months, and every time we had he'd been unusually curt.

"I thought you two were friends."

"We… I think his brother said something to him."

"Blayne?" My brother's tone was full of unadulterated hatred. Ella had finally disclosed to him why she had left court with her parents so many years before. "Why would he involve himself in something that regards you?"

Because he thinks I'm a threat. But I didn't say that aloud. "Because a prince shouldn't associate with lowborns like me."

"Well Darren is obviously not worth your time if he believes that."

I was of the same mind. Though it had still taken me some time to accept Darren's newfound coldness. Our first week in Port Langli I had tried to talk to him about that night in the palace.

"What did Blayne say to you? Why are you acting this way?"

Darren regarded me coolly. "What way?"

"You've barely spoken to me since we arrived. You seem irritated anytime I try to approach you. Even now, Darren, you won't look at me!"

"Did it ever occur to you that I am simply tired of your incessant chatter?"

I put my hands on my hips. "You are lying! Why are you lying, Darren?"

"So what if I am?" he snapped. "I don't need to explain myself to a lowborn like you!"

And that had been the end of the conversation. Darren hadn't apologized, and I had refused to ignore his callous remark. I knew there was more he wasn't telling me – but until he was ready I wasn't going to go out of my way to be insulted.

"This is it?" We had reached our assigned lookout, almost two full miles out from the township center.

"It's the last tower west." I pointed to low granite steps that led to a small platform along the port's natural bluff wall. As the most prominent trading post in Jerar the Crown had made sure Port Langli was well fortified against pirates. Luckily that had been a relatively easy feat: the port was a mile-wide cove surrounded by steep bluffs on either side. It hadn't taken much to build a couple of watchtowers along its rim, each armed with a heavy three-man catapult in case it was needed. Any ship approaching would be spotted before it could enter the bay.

Which was exactly what Darren was relying on for today's battle.

"I can barely see the cove!" Barrett complained. "Why did the prince post us here? The mentees would never sail this far out! The western bluffs are much too steep to climb and there's no beach for them to moor!"

"We'll be the last to see action," Alex agreed.

I didn't reply. I had a feeling Darren had stationed us as far away as possible so he wouldn't have to run into me. The non-heir, Eve, Jayson, and Tyra were all positioned in the towers along the eastern bluff where there were more approachable shores for a warship to breach our harbor. Priscilla and Ray had posts in the port itself along the front of the beach in case the mentees tried to enter directly… Ella, two other fourth-years, and I were stuck on the western bluff: the side hindered by steep cliff walls and a foreboding surf.

My partners weren't happy - and they weren't even a part of Combat. Thanks Darren, I thought sourly, your message is loud and clear.

"Well, we will make sure to run fast if someone lights their tower's beacon fire," was all I could say. It was cold and windy in our station. The mid-August air was unusually chilly and it had made the bluffs a terrible place to be, especially with the icy chainmail brushing against our skin. No amount of over-layers could shield us from that.

"I'll take the first watch," Barrett offered. He didn't look very eager to gather the local rock for our catapult. I couldn't blame him for wanting to avoid the task. I wasn't exactly looking forward to spending the whole day gathering ammunition until the mentees decided to make their move.

"Can't you just cast the rocks here?" Alex grumbled.

"If the mentees take the war barge Darren thinks they are using, we'll need to cast as much magic as possible to sink it," I replied. "My magic will be needed to make the rocks fly further. I can't waste it on something we can gather locally."

My twin made a face. "I bet his highness is making his partners do all the work."

I wasn't sure that was true but I was in no mood to defend the prince. I elbowed my brother instead. "Come here and help me with this rock, Alex. You wouldn't want to do less than your ladylove. I'll be sure to tell Ella if you spend the whole time complaining while I do all the labor."

My brother's eyes twinkled at the mention of her name. "She really is wonderful, isn't she?"

I rolled my eyes, but secretly I was pleased. Since Ella had given him a second chance last winter Alex had kept to his word. He hadn't so much as looked at another apprentice, and he had kept his flirtatious charm for her and her alone. The two were happy. I could see it in Ella's eyes: she loved my brother, and he her - even more, if it was possible.

It was the way Ian had started to look at me.

It wasn't the way I looked at him.