Alassa's Tale: a Schooled in Magic novella by Christopher Nuttall

Author:Christopher Nuttall [Nuttall, Christopher]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub, mobi
Tags: magicians, magic, alternate world, fantasy, Young Adult, sorcerers
ISBN: 9781606193310
Publisher: Twilight Times Books
Published: 2018-01-21T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

ALASSA HAD ALWAYS BEEN PRIVATELY SURPRISED that her father – and her grandfather – had kept the blue room, at least without some extensive redecorating. Bryon the Weak had created the chamber as a refuge from an increasingly hostile kingdom, a place where – if rumors were to be believed – he had indulged in effeminate pursuits while the barons stole his kingdom. The walls were blue, the furniture was blue … everything in the room was blue. It was supposed to be relaxing, Alassa had been told, but she couldn’t help finding it unnatural. She fully intended to redecorate once she took the throne.

She stepped into the room and stopped, dead. Her father was sitting at the table, but he wasn’t alone. Baroness Winter Flower - Alicia! – and Lord Burrows were seated next to him, waiting for Alassa and Jade. Alassa felt her magic flare, demanding release; she forced herself to concentrate, damping it down before it lashed out of its own accord. The room’s wards might be enough to save the wretched pair, but it wouldn’t do anyone any good. She walked forward and almost stopped again, in horror, as she saw the high chair. A small baby – a toddler, really – sat beside Alicia, gurgling.

“Alassa,” King Randor said. “And Jade.”

Alassa found herself unable to speak. She’d known that Alicia had given birth to a boy, but … it was one thing to know, but quite another to come face to face with a child who might be a threat to the throne. To her throne. Everyone knew that Lord Burrows wasn’t interested in women, damn it. And she had no doubt that quite a few people had guessed Lord Burrows hadn’t fathered Alicia’s child. A bride could produce a child quicker than a married woman – everyone knew that – but what about a bride who was never touched by her husband?

And they even named the boy Alexis, Alassa thought. It wasn’t exactly uncommon for common-born children to be named after the monarch or his immediate family – there were quite a few girls called Alassa in Zangaria – but it was rare amongst the aristocracy, where the search for a unique name took priority. They nailed their colors to the mast, didn’t they?

“Please, be seated,” King Randor said. His tone was polite, but Alassa had no trouble hearing the edge in his voice that told her she had to obey. “We have much to discuss.”

Alassa sat down, silently grateful for Jade’s reassuring presence. Her father had promised her – promised her – that Alicia and her faux husband and her bastard son would never be allowed to return to court. There was no shortage of work for them to do in Alicia’s Barony. Winter Flower had come far too close to losing the Barony of Gold title, simply through mismanagement. But King Randor had summoned them to the castle …

She eyed the child, feeling a surge of naked hatred. A healthy baby boy … the child was a threat, no matter what her father said.

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