Feral Mage 3: Chapter 29

Thea bit her lip as she looked down at him.

“Just promise me that if I become—”

Bryce cut her off.

“I promise I won’t let that happen.”

He stood to his feet, watching Omelet make his way over to join Bellamy under one of the trees. He didn’t miss that his old mentor was watching him and Thea. When he met her gaze, she closed her eyes and leaned back against the tree. He seriously doubted Bellamy would be sleeping any, but he understood the ruse she was trying to pull.

Bryce smiled.

“All right, so how should we begin this training method?”

Thea pointed up.

“We will go up above the trees. Then I want you to hold onto my ankles. I’ll fly through the pattern Bellamy was having you do, and you can see how my wings shift. All you have to do is mimic it.”

Bryce nodded in understanding her plan, though he gave her a concerned look.

“It’s probably not appropriate for me to hold onto your ankles, Princess.”

She took a deep breath and looked at him sternly.

“Right now, I am not a Princess. Right now, I am your instructor.”

Bryce nodded again and glanced toward Bellamy. His old mentor still had her eyes closed, but he caught the smirk on her face.

Well, it’s just us up here. It’s not like there will be rumors spreading.

“Okay,” he said, spreading his wings.

Together, they flew up into the air, hovering above the tree tops.

“Right,” Thea said, before flying above him. “Take hold of my ankles and follow me.”

He did as she said and grabbed hold of her ankles.

At least she’s not wearing a dress.

The thought had barely passed through his mind when Thea dove down toward the ground, her wings tucked.

Bryce tried to mimic her, spreading his wings when she did to catch the wind and pull them out of the dive. She flew faster than he ever had, even with Bellamy chasing him. They looped around the first tree, and he was surprised at how little her wings tilted to make the change. He wasn’t as graceful, and he felt his wings start to roll, but holding onto Thea kept him from spiraling and crashing into the ground. He quickly adjusted his positioning, caught the wind again, and leveled out as they rounded the tree.

She beat her wings, rising higher into the air, Bryce timing his movements with hers. Then she dove down again and made another pass around the tree. He watched her wings, saw the angles they were taking, and adjusted his ever so slightly. It felt like a subtle change, like when he positioned a sword strike while trying not to give away his next move to his opponent.

This time, they looped around the tree without any issues. After the tenth pass, Bryce let go of Thea’s ankles and flew beside her. She smiled at him, her blond hair whipping back from the wind. Together, they dove and looped around another tree in sync.

They spent the next two hours flying together around the trees on the hill. He did strike the ground a few times, but those were usually moments when he was trying something new or was being a little reckless.

Below them, Omelet watched curiously. Then the griffin chick started to run under them, his wings flapping. Vex let out a surprise gasp as Omelet’s wings began to lift him from the ground.

The wolfkin started running along under them, cheering as Omelet rose to fly beside him and Thea. Bellamy followed Vex at a more leisurely pace, her smile impossible to hide. Bryce and Thea shared a look before they lowered themselves. Just in case Omelet had a fall during his first flight, he wouldn’t be far from the ground. Vex excitedly raced along while Bellamy followed at a more leisurely pace.

When the three of them landed, Vex rushed over to the griffin chick.

“Good boy!” she said, scratching the feathers on his head.

She pulled out a treat and fed it to Omelet. Then Vex turned to Bryce, a mischievous smile on her face as she pulled out a piece of candy and handed it to him, then stood on her tiptoes to pat him on the head.

“Good Bryce!”

Bryce popped the piece of candy into his mouth while watching her tail wag excitedly. He heard Thea stifle a laugh at his lover’s antics.

“Thanks, Vex,” he said to the grinning wolfkin.

Bellamy cleared her throat, drawing all of their attention.

“I would say this has been a productive training session,” Bellamy stated, fighting her own smile. “Well done, all of you.”

Bryce looked back toward Witchbrook, his eyes drifting to the harbor.

“We should probably get back,” he said. “There’s still a lot to do, and time is not on our side.”

Thankfully, when they returned through the City gates, the guard had better organized the lines of people leaving, and they entered without any difficulty. He also noticed Thea carried herself more confidently than he had ever seen her before. He doubted the fear of her Aspects was gone, but it had been dealt a heavy blow today.

The guildhall was just as packed today as it was yesterday.

“Bryce! There you are,” Darren said, approaching them with four mugs of ale in his hands. “Mark was asking for you, wants to see you in his office.”

Bellamy arched an eyebrow at the dwarf.

“What’s with all the ale?” she asked him.

Darren scowled and looked around the crowded guild.

“We could be under siege here soon, and there is only so much beer within the guild. I’m getting my fill while we have it,” he answered.

Bellamy nodded.

“For your Drunken Axe fighting style. You need it for the coming battle,” she said.

Bryce wasn’t sure Darren’s fighting style worked that way, something reinforced when the dwarf gave a darting glance around the tavern.

“Sure. I need it for the battle,” he said, winking before downing one of the tankards and moving to a table.

Bryce split from the girls, who were going to find where Janna and Callie were sitting, and made his way to Mark’s office. When he knocked on the door, the old berserker’s voice called out.

“We’re busy. Come back when the door is open.”

He knocked again.

“It’s Bryce, Darren said you wanted me to come see you,” he said.

Movement sounded on the other side of the door, and Alex opened it, letting him in to what looked like an interrogation. Charlotte was tied in a chair, a dazed look on the Princess’s face, while Sister Harper stood by her. Mark sat at his desk, and Alex moved to one of the chairs, then gestured for Bryce to join him.

“Glad you’re back. I was worried you’d be out of the guildhall all day,” Mark said.

Bryce heard Charlotte mumbling to herself.

“Went out of the city to train with Bellamy,” he then nodded to the Princess. “What happened?”

Mark followed his gaze.

“The Duke asked for her to be handed over to the City Guard, but before we do that, I want to make sure she’s told us everything.”

He grimaced and heard Sister Harper scoff.

“Saying it that way makes it sound like we’re torturing the girl,” Sister Harper said to Mark before looking to Bryce. “I assure you, we have not. I just used a Daze Spell on her. Old trick from my mercenary days of getting information out of people. They’re still with it enough to recall the information, but struggle to mask it with a lie.”

Alex huffed.

“I still say one of my potions would have been better. I have a theory on how to make one that would compel an individual to reveal the truth,” he said.

Sister Harper glared at the old mage.

“Knowing your potions, it’s more likely to dissolve a hole through her gut,” she retorted.

Alex glared at Sister Harper while Mark just shook his head.

“Can you two stop fighting for a damn minute! I need to tell Bryce what we’ve learned!” Mark growled.

Both Alex and Harper gave each other one last glare before they looked away, and Mark sighed.

“You mentioned she slipped a piece of paper into the marionette she had, causing it to glow with runes,” Mark started. “I thought it was a way to communicate, and it is, but also so much more. It’s how Harold is controlling his puppets. He’s literally feeding instructions to them by placing paper with ink made from his blood in a marionette’s mouth.”

Bryce leaned forward.

“What happens if he’s not giving the puppets instructions?"

Mark smiled.

“According to Charlotte, they revert to their old selves and recall all that happened to them. They’re still a corpse with a wooden heart and only last a short time before the magic wears out, but for a brief window, they’re themselves.”

He felt a weight lift from his shoulders.

“So we can prevent the North from collapsing if we capture him alive and let his magic run out of his puppets?” Bryce asked.

Alex looked at him.

“It would still be a great social upheaval in the North, but potentially less destructive than if several nobles dropped dead without warning,” he answered.

Sister Harper chimed in next.

“At least enough time that they will find out the Northern Alliance is a sham, and hopefully send orders to call off their armies. I imagine they will once it’s revealed Harold Volson worships a heretical God.”

Alex shook his head.

“I doubt many will care what Divine he worships, heretical or not. The war, though, is costly and I’m sure the remaining nobles will latch onto any excuse to end it quickly.”

The God of Fate.

Ciarra’s words echoed in his mind as he locked eyes with Sister Harper.

“What God?” he asked.

Sister Harper pointed at Charlotte.

“She says he’s a worshiper of Euan, a heretical Divine from the Selkie Isles whose worship was outlawed before humans ever set foot on the continent. He was known as the Tree of Fate, but we have few details on him due to the limited influence his cults had here.”

Bryce frowned.

“How did Harold Volson become a worshiper of him then?” he wondered.

Sister Harper shrugged.

“Perhaps the same way he learned how to become a Soul Mimic, a type of magic that’s supposed to be extinct,” she suggested.

He was sure Isabelle was responsible for Ciarra’s interest in him. Did that mean someone had blessed Harold Volson as well?

“Regardless, I wanted you to know what we learn from the Saltland Princess. I don’t know what the Duke will do with her once we hand her over. He may hang her corpse in the harbor as a greeting to the invading army, or he might keep her prisoner as a bargaining tool with the Saltland Kingdom.”

Bryce nodded to Mark, then looked at Charlotte. He hoped Asahi scared her enough not to reveal what she knew about Alice. Would he regret not leaving her as a corpse beside the Wyvern?