Hunt for the Sun Children

Chapter 6 - Set

I was unsurprised when sleep wouldn't visit me that night. Thoughts of apocalyptic wars, previous ages, and lost artifacts churned in my head. Jay had showed me all of this expecting me to readily join him, but I wasn't so sure. He seemed to possess an astounding knowledge of the sun children, but how much of it was true? And now the scrolls that could confirm his theories were conveniently gone.

Eventually, I plunged into the depths of warm sleep for a few short hours. I pulled myself out of bed just in time to hear the seventh bell chime. This must have been the third or fourth day in a row that I had skipped out on running in the morning, a combination of the dreary weather and the tumultuous thoughts that kept me up during the parts of the night where there were no bells.

In the Great Hall, I sought out the darkest tea available, hoping the extra kick would help me make it through the day.

"Good morning," Cade chirped, diving past me to grab a pastry. I might have grumbled a response, but I couldn't think of one. She beamed at me anyway as she continued down the line of food. How she could eat so much and stay so thin was a mystery. "Come sit at our table!"

"Sure," I replied, but she had already skipped away.

"Yes, come join us. I actually wanted to talk to you about something." The voice was Ashine's, and I turned around to find her behind me in the line, smiling knowingly. My mind immediately jumped to Jay. Was Ashine involved in his plot to stop another Burning? Did she agree the only way was to kill one, if not both, of the sun children?

"What's on your mind?" I asked as casually as possible, picking up my plate. At the wind table, Cade was already entrenched in a conversation with someone, but I steered us toward her anyway and sat nearby.

"Have you given any thought to the Spring Tournament?" I shook my head and Ashine's smile widened. "I have an interest in mentoring you."

This didn't seem like the Ashine I had met before, the one who saw me as a threat to Tallon, and watched me warily from across the room as I tried to console him. "Is mentoring, um, common?"

"One of the requirements at Redbridge is that older novices must mentor, at least once, a first year in the lead up to the Spring Tournament."

"So, do I get a choice in accepting?" Ashine's face instantly darkened.

"Why do you ask?" Ashine asked, her eyes still narrow. I knew I had to accept—Ashine was the strongest caster at Redbridge, after all—but her sudden interest still felt a bit unsettling.

I tried to shake the feeling. This was not the time to appear anything but grateful. "Just making sure I have all the rules straight."

"Well," Ashine said, sitting up straight and cracking her neck quickly and deftly, "do you accept, or are you going to pass up a chance to train with the best duelist at Redbridge?"

Train harder, cast better, and think faster.

"I—I would gladly accept. I was just curious."

Ashine relaxed a bit, and then before I realized what was happening she leaned across the table, grabbed the water pitcher, and threw its contents at me. I didn't have time to react; it splashed me straight in the face, cold and unexpected. I slicked the water away from my eyes in time to see Ashine already standing up. I heard the humiliating quiet of conversations put on hold and the soft sound of stifled laughter. Every set of eyes at the table turned to watch what would happen next. Even Cade pulled away from her discussion.

"Clearly, I have a lot to teach you," Ashine said, tossing her dark brown braid behind her back and walking away. Cade, trying to hide her amusement, dabbed my tunic with her dry napkin. With a flick of my hand, I wiped the remaining water clear from my face.