When he started to climb over the fence, I said, “I know the same way I knew Topaz wanted milk oats.”

Cahil stopped, waiting.

I sighed. “Topaz told me he wanted the treat. I connected with his mind by accident, so I asked him to go smoother because my back hurt. It’s the same with Kiki.”

Cahil pulled at his beard. “The First Magician said you had strong magical abilities. I guess I should have known it before, but I was too focused on the spy thing.” He looked at me as if noticing me for the first time.

For a second, I thought I witnessed cold calculation slide through Cahil’s blue eyes, but it disappeared, leaving me to wonder if I had seen anything at all.

“Her name’s Kiki?” he asked.

I nodded. Cahil returned to Kiki and apologized. I felt a sudden peevish annoyance. He should have been apologizing to me for all the pain he had caused. Spy thing, my ass.

Push Mean Boy? Kiki asked.

No. Be nice. He’s going to teach me to care for you.

Cahil gestured for me to join him near Kiki. I clambered over the fence. As Kiki stood her ground, Cahil pointed to and lectured about the different parts of her body. Starting with her muzzle, he didn’t stop until he had lifted her right back hoof and showed me the underside.

“Same time tomorrow,” he said, ending the lesson. “Meet me in the stable. We’ll go over horse care.”

Before he could head back to the barn, I stopped him. Now that my annoyance that he was my instructor was gone, I wondered why he was here. “Why are you teaching me? I thought your campaign for the Ixian throne would take up most of your time.”

Well aware of how I felt about his quest, Cahil studied me, seeking for signs of sarcasm.

“Until I receive the full support of the Sitian Council, I can only do so much,” he said. “Besides, I need money to pay for my expenses. Most of my men are employed at the Keep as guards or gardeners, depending on what’s needed.” He wiped his hands on his pants, staring at the horses in the pasture. “When the Keep is on hiatus during the hot season, I focus all my efforts on gathering support. This season I thought I would finally get the Council’s backing.” Cahil looked at me. “But that didn’t work out. So I’m back to work and back to begging the Council to put me on their agenda.” He frowned and shook his head. “Tomorrow, then?”

“Tomorrow.” I watched Cahil as he walked to the stable. He had been counting on catching an Ixian spy to influence the Council. I wondered what he would try next.

Kiki nudged my arm and I scratched behind her ears before I returned to my rooms. Rummaging around for some paper, I sat at my desk and drew a crude sketch of a horse. I labeled the parts that I could remember. Topaz and Kiki helped me with the rest.

The connection I had formed with the two horses was odd yet comforting. It was as if we were all in the same room, doing different tasks and minding our own business and having our own private thoughts. But when one of us would “speak” directly to the other, we would “hear” it. I only had to think about Kiki and her thoughts would fill my mind. The same was true with Irys. I didn’t need to pull power and project it to Irys. All I needed to do was think about her.

Over the next week, my days fell into a pattern. Mornings spent with Irys to learn about magic, afternoons spent napping, studying and practicing my self-defense techniques. Evenings were spent with Cahil and Kiki. As I moved throughout the campus, I kept a wary eye out for Goel. I hadn’t forgotten his threat.

Not long into my magical training, Irys began testing me for other abilities.

“Let’s see if you can start a fire,” Irys said one morning. “This time, when you pull in the power, I want you to concentrate on lighting this candle.” She placed a candlestick in front of me.

“How?” I asked, sitting up. I had been reclining on the pillows in her tower room, thinking about Kiki. It had been a week, and I still hadn’t ridden her. So far, Cahil had spent every lesson teaching me about horse care and tack. What an annoying man.

“Think of a single flame before you direct your magic.” Irys demonstrated. “Fire,” she said. The candle flared and burned before she blew it out. “Your turn.”

I focused on the candle’s wick, forming a flaming image in my mind. Pushing magic toward the candle, I willed it to light. Nothing happened.

Irys made a strangled sound and the candle burned. “Are you directing your magic to the candle?”

“Yes. Why?”

“You just ordered me to light the candle for you,” Irys said in exasperation. “And I did it.”

“Is that bad?”

“No. I hope you know how to light a fire the mundane way, because, so far, it seems that’s not part of your magical skills. Let’s try something else.”

I tried to move a physical object with no success. Unless making Irys do it for me could be considered a magical skill.

She raised her mental defenses, blocking out my influence. “Try again. This time focus on keeping control.”

As I pulled in power, Irys threw a pillow at me. The pillow struck me in the stomach. “Hey!”

“You were supposed to deflect it with your magic. Try again.”

By the end of the session, I was glad Irys had chosen a pillow. Otherwise, I would have been covered with bruises.

“I think you just need to practice your control,” Irys said, refusing to give up. “Get some rest. You’ll do better tomorrow.”