First Year Read Online Free Page B

easy?”
    Alex laughed loudly. “Because it’s you, Ry. Nothing about your choices has ever been simple.”
    I made a frustrated sound. “It was never this hard for you!”
    He gave me a wry smile. “True, but you haven’t given yourself much of a chance, either. It took me two months just to get a handle on my magic, and I never did anything half as impressive as what you did to that outlaw.” He reached out to take my hand. “Don’t worry, Ry. I’m sure the masters will be able to show you how to use it without hurting yourself.”
    I hoped so. If not, I was in for a
very
rough year.
    The next morning I was jolted awake by something that sounded oddly reminiscent of thunder. Jumping out of my bedroll, I found Alex awake beside me watching tremors on the ground beneath his feet.
    “What is it?” I wondered at the same time that Alex said, “It sounds like a stampede.”
    I left my brother and walked over to the center of the road, trying to discern where the noise was coming from. It was right around the corner, whatever it was. In seconds I would be able to see—
    “Ry, get off the path!” My twin knocked me back just in time as nine tall, slick black horses emerged, taking up the entire trail with their riders. The men were riding in a two-columned formation with glistening livery that sparkled in the light.
    Eight of the riders bore heavy chainmail with metal plates lining their arms and shoulders.
Knights.
The expression underneath their helmets was dark and unrelenting.
    I felt a wave of nausea. If Alex hadn’t pulled me out of the way, I would have been trampled to death in their wake.
    At the center of the procession rode a young man who looked not much older than me. Unlike his guards, he wore no livery. Still, there was something formidable enough about him, and I had the overwhelming impression that he was anything but helpless.
    Everything about the rider’s dress unnerved me—his cloak, his pants, the boots, even his fastenings were black. What was even more unsettling, the stranger had the darkest eyes I’d ever seen. Matching his ink black, jaw-length locks, his garnet irises were the color of an endless night.
    The stranger locked eyes with me as he spotted my brother and me in passing. He scowled, and I felt as if I had been kicked in the gut. I was used to the bizarre behavior of our nobles back home, but this rider’s condescension was much deeper.
What sort of person carried that much hostility toward strangers?
 
    Still, I couldn’t seem to look away.
    It was only after the group of riders had completely passed from sight that I recalled what the young man had been wearing. Hanging by a thick chain round his neck, there had been a hematite stone pendant.
    There was only one family in the entire kingdom that was allowed to wear a black gem of that description.
    Apparently, I had just watched one of the realm’s two princes pass me on horseback.
    It took a moment for the shock to register.
    “Do you know who that was?”
    Alex nodded speechlessly.
    “Do you think he’s going to the Academy…” I paused. What was I saying? Of course, he wasn’t.
    No member of the royal family was allowed to participate. It had been that way since the school’s founding, and in the ninety years the school had existed, no one had ever questioned the Council’s ruling.
    Alex seemed to be of the same mind: “There hasn’t ever been an issue between our king and the mages. I doubt one would arise now.”
    I hesitated. “Well, that prince certainly looked unhappy about something.”
    My brother yawned. “Maybe someone spit in his morning tea. Who cares?” He pointed to our camp. “We’ve still got a full day of riding in any case. Now help me ready the horses.”
    When we finally finished our climb, the sun had set, and in its place was a rosy-golden hue. A soft glow chased what remained of our journey, and I followed its vague outline across the hillside below.
    Tiny boxes