I woke with a thumping headache. I had hoped that meeting Isla had just been a dream, but when my eyes fluttered open to see her perfect face reading a series of papers, I cringed inwardly. Of course it wasn’t a dream.Groaning, I rolled over to sit up and face her.“Eat some food, it will make you feel better.”She gestured at the small table next to me, which was laden with a variety of foods, some of which I had never seen before. I stuffed a few things in my mouth, not really thinking about the taste, but enjoying the feeling of filling my stomach. The ache eased behind my eyes, making it easier to sit up.The afternoon sun streamed in the wide windows, casting shadows upon the desk in which Isla sat shuffling papers around. Her perfect hair had been pulled back into a smooth bun, a few tendrils left to circle her oval face. Her large eyes met my gaze.“Better?”“Yeah. I guess.”“Goo

“Now,” he began seriously. “The defence of the mind is something to take very seriously.”He frowned momentarily, his mouth forming a hard line on his face. “It can mean the difference between evading your enemy and being caught by them. Giving away details of your plans to an enemy is something that we find punishable – or can be found punishable by the Masters.”I nodded and then quickly responded with a quiet noise of agreement, realising again, that the Master was blind. It was easy to forget when it felt like he was really watching and could see you.“If you can imagine your mental defences are like a castle wall. They need to be strong, tall and impenetrable. They cannot easily be broken or moved to access your inner most essence. I believe this is where your affinity with the emotions comes in.”He paused for a moment, thinking. “Let us practise your mental defence. Close your

After several painful hours of wandering around the markets, Tori and I finally both had a dress. I had spent most of the time looking over my shoulder, expecting to see people following me. Luckily, Tori had been too caught up on the hype of buying a dress to notice my suspicious behaviour.By the time we got back to the school, the whole place was abuzz with excitement for the dance. With the money remaining that Blake had given me, I had purchased a long, flowing dress that the stall owner had convinced Tori, looked perfect on me. I had to admit that it felt nice to get out of pants and a shirt, and it was more comfortable than the other dress, which had been tight around my chest.My new dress was a dark purple colour made of a silken material much like the last. This one came up around my neck and was called a halter dress according to Tori. Again most of my back was exposed but the young stall owner had thrown in a shawl for free as both Tori and I had gotten our

I threw myself onto my bed and allowed the tears to cascade down my face for what felt like hours. The arrogant, fire-tongued prick! I ought to figure out a way to use my power to tamper with his emotions. Surely my affinity would allow me to do that, but there was no way I could manage it. I had no idea how to even do what I had managed to do so far. It was all by luck and chance.I raged out loud, using many profanities and cursing him to the Magicians for some time before I finally was able to settle down. I thought about Kenai and how disappointed he may be, and a horrible thought occurred to me.Kenai! I was supposed to meet him tomorrow.Ignoring my aching, tired body, I jumped up from my bed and swiftly changed my clothes, and finally donned my riding cloak. Without a moment’s hesitation I was out of my room and running down the deserted halls towards to Masters’ tower. I had seen it when out in the Market, but other than the general area of t

When I woke, my body ached with the abuse I had given it over the past few days. I was now regretting not giving myself the chance to recover properly. The hard ground hadn’t exactly made the best bed.Blake was next to me, his eyes cautious until he noticed me peeking at him.“Morning,” he said awkwardly, as he pulled himself away and sat a few inches behind me.I rolled over on the grass so the view of the lake was visible behind him. He looked uncomfortable.“Sorry,” I mumbled. I couldn’t look at him. I was such a coward. I was afraid of the flush that I could feel creeping into my cold cheeks. It wouldn’t be hard to miss.Having him sleep next to me had resulted in the best night sleep I had had since, well, the last time I had slept in his bed. My face flushed hot at the memory.I pulled my hair out of my long messed up braid and brushed my fingers through it to get out the tangles. It was a goo