Ashes of Aether: Legends of Imyria (Book 1) by Holly Rose

Author:Holly Rose [Rose, Holly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Red Spark Press
Published: 2021-07-27T05:00:00+00:00

Twenty-Two

I stumble out of The Violet Tree, almost tripping over the low step and flying into Eliya. She laughs and grips both my arms, steadying me in place.

The icy evening breeze slams into my cheeks, somewhat sobering me. I tilt back my head and peer up at the darkness veiling the sky. The clouds are as dense as smoke, and specks of snow whir through the wind. Some gather on my lashes, and I blink them away. The crescent moon peeks from the cover of clouds and illuminates the heavens with its silvery rays.

My vision blurs. Then there are two moons staring down at me.

I rub my eyes until my sight returns to normal. Tonight, I drank much more wine than I intended. I was hoping to get up early tomorrow morning and take some more notes on Concerning Conflagration and Combustion, but I doubt I’ll wake before noon. Coming to The Violet Tree wasn’t my idea, though. It was Eliya’s.

When we were descending the Aether Tower after the Trial of Heart, Eliya suggested celebrating our success with a few glasses of wine. I declined when she first asked and reminded her that we still have two more trials to complete this week. But she only insisted our next trial isn’t until Wednesday and we have all of tomorrow to recover. Having no argument to that, and still feeling awful for leaving her at the bakery on Friday, I ended up agreeing.

The thought of the next trial fills me with dread. Archmage Gidston said the Trial of Heart is arguably the easiest of the three, and that involved a near death experience. Two adepts failed this morning. Each teleported away before Archmage Gidston could summon them back to the top of the tower. Now our class of twenty adepts is down to eighteen.

I’m also not entirely sure what the Trial of Mind involves, aside from it assessing whether we adepts have the cleverness required of magi. It also apparently takes place in a maze far beneath the Arcanium, though I’m uncertain of the accuracy of those rumors. While studying Alvord Ashbourne’s old tome probably won’t help me pass the next trial, it’s better than sitting around and doing nothing while my anxieties gnaw on me.

“What should we do now?” Eliya asks, interrupting my thoughts. She murmurs conparios and summons her crimson coin purse. She shakes it, but only the rustling of velvet fills the night. Not the clinking of silver. “That last bottle we ordered emptied my purse.”

My own purse is just as empty. With Yule around the corner, I’ve already spent a lot on buying presents for New Year’s Eve. And tonight, I also burned through the last of my stipend.

“Well,” I say with a shrug, “I suppose if we’re out of money then we’ll have to head back for the night.”

Eliya pouts. “But it’s not even nine o’clock!”

“It’s the week of our Mage Trials. We should get an early night so we’re well rested for Wednesday. The Trial of Mind will involve more than jumping off a tower.

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