Radiance - The Alight Archives Book #1

2. Strangers in Page

Four months had passed since the incident, but it still hurt to stare at that nasty scar. A grotesque, pinkish mark forever rupturing his face. Ellend was known for poking his nose into matters that didn't concern him, and he seemed to possess a rabid, almost instinctual yearning to help those in need.

So Elaine wasn't much surprised when he confessed to everyone at dinner that he wanted to be a Professional Sorcerer and join the Arcanum as a Strix. Just as she hadn't been too surprised when Johnny from next door came shouting through her window that Ellend had gotten himself into another duel. It was the sixth that week. Admittedly though, her interests were heightened when she learned that his opponent was apparently a noble.

They didn't get many goldbloods in this neighborhood. According to them, towns and villages like Page weren't worth the hassle of trekking out to the countryside. Her father joked that it was nothing but an excuse. Nature terrified goldbloods, as did whatever else they couldn't influence or bend to their will. 

But she knew there were more noble sorcerers than there were lowborn. Were the rumors true? Were nobles really better at using magic than others? Well, most noble families were composed of exclusively pure-blooded mages, and so they inherently had access to more powerful forms of magic as opposed to a common mage or halfbreed. 

So was it that genetics were superior to training and hard work? If a regular sorcerer practiced magic for years and years and years, would they still be no match against a mage favored enough by Aeris to be born into a family of purebloods?

Elaine remembered that she had asked herself those same questions on the run into town.

Never had she imagined her answer would come in the form of Ellend losing his very first duel since he challenged that no-good Buck Grayson when she was five. This defeat wasn't like that one. At least then, Ellend could walk the day after. She spared a leer at the wheelchair by the footboard. She knew he detested the thing. He'd have to make do until they could procure some farroot.

"Great Aeris, when was your last shower? It's so musty in here I can hardly breathe," Elaine cringed. His sweaty, sour body odor drenched the room like a thick fog. It flew up her nose, forcing her to pinch her nostrils close. "Let's get some air in here, as well as some sunshine."

Elaine opened the window on the opposite end of the room. A gust of afternoon breeze rolled inside, causing her blonde hair to billow like a dancing ribbon as the wind howled in her ears. Rays of sun painted the walls, imprinting gold shadows on the aged wood.

"There, that's better. Don't you think so?" His only response was a mutter, or was that a snore? He turned onto his side, an arm covering his head, but not quite concealing his scar.

Elaine smiled at him. Whenever she watched him sleep like that, it reminded her of when they were forced to share the same bed. Aeris spare her, what a nightmare that had been. She'd often awaken when the sky was quiet and the Twin Sisters were high with a foot lodged in her mouth or his elbow stabbing her in the ribs. And she'd consider herself lucky if she didn't wake up on the floor the following morning. Ellend was a capable sorcerer, but he was a horrific sleeper. 

She seated herself on the bedside, brushing some hair out of his eye, a line of drool streaming from his lips, dampening his pillow. She hated seeing him so defeated, so helpless. If only his fate had been different, then maybe he'd be off practicing magic right now. Maybe that Lacy would have mustered the courage to confess her feelings.

Elaine smirked. Nah, not in a million years.

Eventually, her glance landed on the commoner's wand lying under the lamp on the bedside table. Ellend's wand. She thought it over in her head: her mother and Liam were gone, Father was outside sulking. I suppose now's as good a time as any.