The Path of Giants, B.T. Narro [the speed reading book .TXT] 📗

It wasn’t a far trip to Callie’s study. I had her gift sitting in my pocket when I knocked on the door. Two guards stationed there pretended to pay no attention to me, clearly aware I wasn’t a threat.

I announced myself. “It’s Jon Oklar,” I said.

I heard a sliding lock. Callie pulled the door open.

She was studying in a large room, about the size of my room in the apartments. But without a window, it felt much more closed off from the rest of the world. I had seen her tutor enough times to recognize that this woman standing behind her was someone different.

The princess had changed since lunch. She wasn’t in a fancy dress but plain clothing, a loose shirt and soft pants. She looked more comfortable, more normal, to me. It might’ve been my imagination, but she seemed a bit happier than usual. Or perhaps that was just her expression because I was here.

I bowed. She curtsied.

“I’m sorry I missed your birthday while I was away,” I said. “I just came by to give you my present.”

I handed it to her.

She let out the faintest gasp as she looked down at the box in her hands. “You didn’t have to do that,” she said with a wide smile. Then she opened it and gasped for real. “Jon, it’s beautiful! I love it!”

The princess fastened the bracelet around her wrist with dexterous fingers and held up her arm for a long look. “Yes, I really love it. Thank you.”

She hugged me. I felt a little ashamed that I hadn’t actually gotten her anything myself, but I tried not to let that come through as I returned the embrace.

“Forgive my clothes,” Callie said as she stepped back. “I didn’t want to wear a dress while practicing the magical arts.” She showed a wry smile.

“Oh?” I inquired. “When did you start training?”

“Just a few days ago,” she said. “I’m working on extending my range. So far it is quite narrow. Hey, you can give me some advice. How did you end up with such a wide range?”

“Princess,” the instructor said, as she watched us from a few steps away. “The wrong advice might hinder your progress. It’s best to follow custom.”

“Jon is the greatest sorcerer in my father’s service, and he never followed any customs!”

I picked up on some frustration between Callie and her instructor. It reminded me of my early adventures while trying to learn the craft of sorcery. There had been times I wanted to rip my hair out.

“I think it would be best if you leave, healer,” the stern woman told me. “I don’t want the princess hearing something that could disrupt her progress.”

“I understand,” I said.

“Will you visit again?” Callie asked, then lowered her voice to a near whisper. “I would like to speak to you, but I’m rarely allowed to leave the safety of this room. It’s best…” She lost her voice for a moment as her cheeks blushed. “If we can be alone.”

“I will come back when I can,” I said, hoping she wanted to speak about sorcery and not politics, though I had my doubts.

I bowed, she curtsied, and soon I was walking out of the keep.

Politics exhausted me. I couldn’t imagine living as a noble and constantly worrying about my wealth and the people’s perception of me. At least Callie seemed to have a good chance of becoming a sorcerer. That was a gift attributed to her nobility. The rest of us had to be lucky to ever get a decent hold on our mana without proper instruction, which we couldn’t pay for.

*****

I spent a good amount of time getting a feel for my new sword, after showing it off in the courtyard, of course. Normally, I would’ve felt bad about doing so, but I knew the other swordfighters in our group would be receiving a sword like mine soon enough. I hoped Charlie wasn’t overworking himself in Koluk. He could become quite cranky and difficult to be around, and none of us were there to babysit him.

Something was missing as I went through that day, and I was always painfully aware of what it was. It was the first day in a while that I hadn’t spent any time with Hadley. I missed her company. I wondered what she had been up to. She had spent most of the day indoors, while I had been outside in the courtyard.

Half of the time I was out there, I was lifting myself into the air with dvinia. It had been too long since I’d had more than a few moments to practice. I was greatly pleased with my progress.

My power over dvinia had grown a lot since the battle in the forest. The same thing had happened after the last one. It made me wish to return to the woods and practice there, but I knew it wasn’t safe to be outside the castle walls right now. Even in the courtyard, I feared an archer might appear out of nowhere and shoot me in the heart. But I was constantly moving throughout the day. Chances were that they would miss, and I would be able to remove the arrow and heal myself. And if this archer targeted one of my comrades instead, I was confident I would heal him or her in time. I told this to myself many times as I worried. I also reminded myself that I kept the curse stone in my pocket. We wanted Valinox to come. We did.

Just in case, however, I practiced my ordia spell a few times. I didn’t cast anything with it, just hit the right notes. I could feel my mana waiting for a signal every time I did, but I still wasn’t confident I could disenchant the stone under pressure.

It was late when I finished my bath and retired to my room for the night. I had hoped I might be able to sit next to Hadley during dinner,