Curtis was in the study at the top of the tower when Lewis got there. The two ate sandwiches in silence before Curtis set a small bag on the desk.

  “This is your payment for the Leafvale request,” Curtis said. “Payment is sent to Birch Hall and part of it goes to upkeep for the hall, but you get some of the Tanza.”

  “Thank you,” Lewis said.

  Curtis nodded. “You did the magic.”

  He filled a bowl with water and set it on the desk between them. Lewis had an odd mix of looking forward to learning to use his magic and dreading what it would do to him.

  “What all can you do with water magic?” Lewis asked, partly to put off using his and partly out of curiosity.

  “A lot,” Curtis said. “To start with, you’ll need to learn how to manipulate water faster. Once you can do that without exhausting yourself, we can move on to more complex things.” He glanced at the bowl of water.

  Drops of water rose from the bowl, forming a small ball that hovered above the bowl. Curtis held out a hand and the ball of water floated over to him. The ball split into drops again, weaving in and out between his fingers, not leaving a trace of water on his hand. The drops flowed back to the bowl, gently dropping back in. Lewis realized his mouth was slightly open and closed it quickly.

  Curtis smiled. “Don’t worry, you’ll get there.”

  “Is that an Adept level thing, or higher?” Lewis asked.

  Curtis hesitated.

  Lewis sighed. “Do Novices learn to do that?”

  “I would say separating water, suspending it in the air, is the point at which a Novice becomes an Apprentice,” Curtis said. He nodded to the bowl. “Let’s get started.” He still looked a little reluctant. “Tell me if you feel anything odd, and I want to know how fast the effects of the pact are spreading.”

  Lewis wanted to know how fast it would spread too. It seemed like it might be related to how much magic he used. Amnis’s essence hadn’t started to change him until he had used more magic. Maybe the more he used, the faster it would spread? He took a deep breath. He could either find out, or eventually be revealed as a false High Mage and be executed for treason.

  It took a lot of effort to clear his mind and focus on the water. He had to remind himself to not focus too hard. The water rippled. With a thought, the ripples became bigger, small waves forming within the bowl. This was much easier after his experience with the well in Leafvale. The water sloshed back and forth, but he managed to keep it in the bowl. Cold tingled all over him, but a quick glance told him nothing else was happening that he could see. The water had stopped moving the moment the feeling distracted him.

  “That is excellent progress,” Curtis said. “This is where all Novices begin. I think fixing that well helped you learn some things that would have taken longer otherwise. Perhaps I should think up more practical lessons.” He frowned suddenly. “Did it spread?”

  “I felt something,” Lewis said. He couldn’t put this off forever. He looked beneath his robes. “It spread, but not far.”

  “There is a book in the Birch Hall library with practical lessons for every kind of element,” Curtis said. “Perhaps we should pay the library a visit. I’m sure you would like to see it anyway.”

  Lewis nodded eagerly. He had been waiting for a good time to ask Curtis where the library was. The two of them left the tower, going down through the quiet halls to the first floor. The library took up most of one side of the first floor, the many windows looking out at the forest beside Birch Hall. Lewis could barely see the edge of the garden. He followed Curtis into the corridors of books, but they weren’t alone. Lorna was staring at a shelf in front of her thoughtfully. She jumped a little when they came around the corner.

  “Sorry,” Lewis said quickly.

  Lorna smiled. “I guess I was deep in my thoughts.” She hesitated. “I know Stewart collected old books. Do you know if he has any about Afflicted Mages?”

  Lewis stiffened, trying to keep his expression blank.

  “What brought on this interest?” Curtis asked.

  “Now that I’m an Adept, I get to focus on my own studies more,” Lorna said. “I want to learn more about magic. Its history, why it shows up in families where it has been long dormant, and more about Afflicted Mages. Most think they’re just a myth. I want to know if they’re real, and if so, why their magic is the way it is.” Her eyes were alight with excitement. “If I’m to teach Apprentices and Novices about magic, I want to have a better understanding of it.”

  Curtis looked oddly wistful. “You’ve grown into a fine mage.”

  Lorna laughed. “Please don’t get sentimental. Miriam already did when I told her what I wanted to study.”

  “When you first came here, you had no interest in studying,” Curtis said. “It was all we could do to get you to sit for studies instead of tending to the garden.” His shoulders sagged. “I’m afraid Stewart’s books don’t have what you’re looking for. He was also interested in this subject and searched this library, as well as collected books of his own. None of them touch on how Afflicted Mages came to be or have much about them.”

  “Oh…” Lorna said. “I was going to visit a bookshop in Palegrove. I received word some rare old books came in about the history of the world, but if Stewart has been searching all this time…”

  “Don’t give up,” Curtis said. “There are plenty of books out there Stewart hasn’t read. There was only so much he could read, busy as he was with requests. You still have plenty of chance of finding something.”

  Lorna’s smile returned, though it didn’t have quite the energy as before. “Thank you, Curtis. And even if I can’t learn more about Afflicted Mages, perhaps I can still learn more about magic.” She walked away, disappearing around the corner.

  Lewis was suddenly weary. Using magic earlier had definitely taken energy, but it hadn’t left him all that tired. “I don’t like hiding things.”

  Curtis nodded. “I don’t either, but it is best for now.”

  Lewis glimpsed movement at the other end of the corridor of books. Was that a dark blue robe he’d seen going around the corner? Had it been Miriam or Blake, and what had they heard? He tried not to worry. Maybe whoever it was hadn’t heard anything and had just been looking for a book. Even so, he and Curtis needed to be more careful about what they said outside of the tower. Curtis took a small book from a nearby shelf. The title was Practical Lessons for the Water Element. There was a whole series of the books on the shelf, one for each element.

  Curtis wandered off to find a table while Lewis found what he was looking for. He took the book on fauna of Betula to the table. Having many rivers, streams, ponds, and even a lake, Betula definitely had plenty of habitats for salamanders. Several round tables occupied the center of the library. Curtis glanced at the book curiously when Lewis joined him at his table.

  “Interested in fauna as well as flora?” Curtis asked.

  Lewis hesitated. “I was going to read about salamanders.”

  Curtis paled. “That…is a good idea.” He glanced around, but only one other table was occupied. “Priya isn’t with you?” he called over.

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  Tanya looked up from the thick book she was reading just long enough to raise a brow and snap, “she isn’t always with me.”

  Curtis frowned a little. “She usually is…” he muttered.

  Lewis was surprised Curtis knew at a glance that it was Tanya and not Priya. He would have to ask him later how he did that. Lewis and Curtis started reading their chosen books. Lewis proceeded to learn far more about salamanders than he had ever wanted to know. They were nocturnal amphibians, and could have a variety of eye colors depending on the type of salamander. They didn’t have entirely black eyes like Amnis. When he reached the end of the part about salamanders, Lewis closed the book, to find Curtis staring at him. The man looked uncomfortable, like he wanted to ask something, but also didn’t.

  “What?” Lewis asked warily.

  Curtis leaned closer and lowered his voice. “How does water feel?” He glanced at Lewis’s chest. “On that part of you.”

  Lewis looked away. “It feels very good.” Apparently some salamanders had gills, but others absorbed oxygen from water through their skin. “I can’t breathe underwater if that’s what you want to know.” For now. Would he be able to later?

  Curtis cleared his throat. “I’m sorry. Me being uncomfortable about it won’t make this easier for you. Did you learn anything helpful?”

  “A few things,” Lewis said. “Hopefully I won’t be nocturnal.”

  Tanya glanced their way curiously, so the two stopped talking. They put their books back and returned to the tower. Curtis took a small plate from a shelf and poured a drop of water from the bowl onto the plate. Lewis and Curtis sat back at the desk. The drop of water rested at the center of the plate, having beaded up on the waxed surface.

  “Stewart and I used plates like these in our early lessons,” Curtis said. “Move the bead of water around the plate in a circle, and make the circles bigger each time until you reach the edge, then let the water roll back to the center.”

  Lewis did just that. It was harder than making ripples in the bowl of water, and harder than the waves. By the time the bead of water had circled the entire plate and he let it slide back to the center, he was stifling a yawn. The cold tingling all over him had come and gone, but he didn’t quite dare check how much of him had changed this time.

  “I think that’s enough for the day,” Curtis said just as the bell for dinner rang.

  Lewis tried to sit up straight at dinner and not look so tired, but he wasn’t sure how convincing he was. Blake kept looking at him, his expression unreadable. Neither Miriam nor Blake asked what Lewis and Curtis had been doing all day.

  “Martin of Palegrove arrived just before dinner,” Miriam said suddenly.

  A heavy silence settled over the table.

  “The queen’s cousin?” Lorna asked.

  “Unfortunately,” Blake said. “We’re merely lucky he didn’t wish to dine with us mages.” He glanced at the closed dining hall doors. “The man is well known for his dislike of mages, and he has many allies among the court.”

  “Was he accompanied?” Curtis asked.

  “By two knights,” Miriam said. “No other members of the court came with him. He said he’s here to observe, to see how the new High Mage is settling in.”

  Lewis stiffened.

  “I doubt he will stay long,” Miriam said. “Martin has never been subtle about how much he despises us. He wishes to sit in on tomorrow’s lesson. I told him you will teach a class tomorrow morning. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner he will leave.” She looked at Curtis. “Can whatever you two are working on wait? You will have the rest of the day after the lesson.”

  Curtis nodded shakily. “It can wait. But Martin has never come here before. No one from the court has come here before.”

  Miriam’s lips pressed into a thin line. “It troubles me as well, but I see little we can do about it. Whatever he is here for, there is nothing he might see that he could use against us.” She looked at Lewis. “Just don’t give a lesson on poisonous plants and how to use them. Choose something innocuous if you can.”

  “Fiddle Fern?” Lewis asked.

  Blake choked on his water. “You’re going to give a lesson on a contraceptive plant while a member of the court is watching?” His voice echoed across the hall.

  Lewis glanced nervously at the other end of the table. Dale, Priya, and Tanya were snickering.

  “That’s Featherleaf Fern,” Lewis said. “Fiddle Fern is used to treat fevers.”

  Miriam smirked at Blake. “Perhaps you should attend the lesson?”

  Blake looked away, clearing his throat, but saying nothing more.

  The tension in the hall was gone, but Lewis was tense through the rest of dinner. Martin had been the most frightening member of the court he’d met in Palegrove. Why was the man there? If the court had never sent someone to observe lessons at Birch Hall, why was he there now? Lewis was restless that night, despite being tired from doing magic. He woke up earlier than usual and sat at his father’s desk. He picked up the new Apothecary of Vasta book, but he couldn’t focus on it.

  At last, the sun finished rising and the bell rang for breakfast. Thankfully, Martin wasn’t at breakfast either. He and his knights must be eating alone. As soon as breakfast was done, Lewis went to the classroom with Dale and the twins close behind. Miriam had said she wouldn’t be there, so that Martin wouldn’t think Lewis needed supervision or lacked the confidence to teach alone. Lewis glanced at the windows and saw Lorna in the garden. When she looked over at the windows and waved, he waved back.

  Tanya whispered something to Priya and giggled, but Lewis didn’t mind. He had far more pressing thoughts. Just after he stood behind the podium and the students sat, the classroom door opened. Martin of Palegrove walked in. The knights who had accompanied him to the hall weren’t with him now, but a scowling Blake followed him in with a chair. Blake set the chair down in a corner of the room unnecessarily hard before stalking back out. Martin was smirking as he sat, but it vanished as soon as he looked at the students. His gaze moved to Lewis, all trace of emotion gone from his face.

  “Proceed as though I’m not here,” Martin said coolly. “I am simply here to observe.”

  Lewis turned to write on the board. Fiddle Fern. He closed his eyes for a moment, thinking about everything he’d read about the fern. He turned back to face the class, hoping his smile didn’t look forced. The lesson went just as smoothly as the last. He told them about the fern’s habitat and uses, even making a bad drawing of it on the board, how he had for the berries. Martin’s eyes were narrowed the entire time. Lewis couldn’t tell what the man was thinking and tried not to look at him, but felt him watching the entire time.

  As soon as the lesson was over, Martin got up and left the room.

  “That was a good lesson,” Priya said quietly.

  “Thanks,” Lewis said, but dread still clenched at him.

  Blake came in to teach his lesson. Lewis found Curtis alone in the entry hall.

  “Martin and his escort of knights left,” Curtis said.

  “Already?” Lewis asked. “After a three day journey?”

  Curtis itched the side of his nose. “It is strange and concerning, but I’m still glad he didn’t want to stay longer. That man could make fire freeze over with the way he stares.” He smiled, but it didn’t hide his worry. “Back to the tower?”

  The two of them went up the stairs, down the hall, and up the spiral stairs to the High Mage’s study.