The Outcast (Summoner #4)(15)
“Aunt Ophelia,” Prince Harold said, walking over and shaking her hand. “I had no idea you would be our replacement! Welcome to Vocans.”
Aunt? So the Favershams were closely related to the king. Arcturus knew it was only the king’s curiosity that kept him safe. If Lady Faversham were able to convince him otherwise, Arcturus was as good as dead.
“I’m not your only teacher, Harold. I have brought an assistant teacher, Lieutenant Elizabeth Cavendish. She has managed to get herself pregnant by a common servant, so she might as well make herself useful. She can teach the youngster”—she nodded at Elaine—“and the commoner. The rest of you are already far too advanced, so we will focus on the four battle spells of shield, lightning, fire and telekinesis in my classes. Please stand in a line over there.”
“Golly, she’s something,” Arcturus heard Edmund whisper as they hurried to do her bidding. “She’s not even unpacked and she’s already getting started.”
A second Peryton swooped through the front doors, wheeling around the atrium before landing with a clatter of hooves beside Lady Faversham. Elizabeth grinned at Arcturus, before dismounting and sending Hubertus out again with a click of her tongue.
“Elizabeth, take the little one and the common boy to the summoning room and teach them the basics. I shall remain with the older students.”
“I’m not a little one,” Elaine pouted, scowling at Lady Faversham. “I’m thirteen years old. Me and Arcturus should stay!”
The noblewoman’s nostrils flared, but before she could respond, Elizabeth swiftly took Elaine by the arm and led her through a set of heavy doors a few steps away. Clearly, Lady Faversham did not take kindly to being contradicted.
“You too,” she snapped, clicking her fingers at Arcturus, “and infuse your demon while you’re at it. Don’t you know you’re not allowed to take your demon out other than in your room and in lessons? If I catch you again, I’ll have you sent to the punishment room to think about what you’ve done.”
“I don’t know how to infuse my demon yet,” Arcturus replied matter-of-factly, “and the bedroom I’ve been given is the punishment room.”
Lady Faversham’s eyes narrowed and she took a step toward him. Arcturus met her gaze as calmly as he could, though his heart thundered in his chest. Sacharissa bumped her side against his thigh, but he calmed her with a thought before she could let out a growl.
“I don’t like your tone, boy,” she snarled, jabbing her finger at him. “You will call me ma’am when you speak to me. Is that understood?”
“Yes, ma’am. Should I go now, ma’am? I wouldn’t want to keep Lieutenant Cavendish waiting, ma’am.”
“Get out,” she hissed, pointing at the door, “and take that stinking mongrel with you.”
Arcturus hurried to the summoning room, his courage suddenly failing him. He had been stupid to speak to her that way, for she held all the power and he had none. But it had felt good to fight back. Give as good as you get, that was what Elizabeth had told him.
As he and Sacharissa passed by Lady Faversham, she darted forward and drew him closer, so he could feel her hot breath on his ear.
“The king’s curiosity will only last so long,” Lady Faversham whispered. “When it fades, I’ll have the skin whipped from your hide, and more besides.”
Arcturus tore himself away, trying to stop himself from sprinting out of the room.
“See you later, dog breath!” Rook called after him.
CHAPTER
9
ARCTURUS STUMBLED INTO THE summoning room, slamming the door behind him. He leaned against it with his eyes closed, taking a deep breath. Sacharissa nuzzled him and he slid down, burying his face in her fur. He waited until his heartbeat returned to normal, and after a few moments, he lifted his head to find a bemused-looking Elizabeth watching him.
“You know, when I said stand up for yourself, I didn’t mean to the teachers!” she chuckled, walking toward him. “Lady Faversham is the king’s cousin, not to mention her husband is the king’s best friend … well, second best, after Provost Forsyth. Then again, it’s not like she was particularly fond of you to begin with, what with you taking her son’s demon.”
“I had to show everyone I have a backbone. Who better to make an example of than Lady Faversham?” Arcturus said, more to himself than to Elizabeth.
“Let’s just hope she doesn’t make an example out of you,” Elizabeth whispered softly, lifting him to his feet.
The summoning room had a high ceiling, with heavy oak floorboards covered in a spiral of pentacles, varying in size and shape, from the size of a man’s hand to twice the length of a horse. There were lockers lining the walls on either side, and Arcturus could see leather gloves and aprons on hangers inside. The only source of light came from flickering torches in embrasures above the lockers, giving the room a smoky scent.
“Elaine tells me her brothers got most of the attention when her father taught summoning and you’re completely new to all this, so I think it only right I give you both a crash course in summoning,” Elizabeth said, sending a blue ball of light into the air and allowing it to float aimlessly around the room. Elaine was sitting cross-legged on the floor, stroking Valens’s carapace.