The Castrofax Read Online Free Page B

tone.
    “Nowhere, of course, but the stronger a Mage
to stand by your side the safer you will be.”
    “Your parents would appreciate it,” Dagan
said before taking a sip of wine. The servants in the manor had
been told she was the daughter of rich ship builders from Iosberg
who came under threat from the Shalabane, the land-grubbing,
ever-invading country across the ocean. The three men in the room
kept the ruse alive at all hours.
    “So are you a Class Eight?” she asked
Gabriel.
    He twisted his lips. “I have to test for my
Class before we can speculate, and not until I am twenty.”
    “And what until then?”
    Gabriel looked at Cordis for approval. “I am
leaving middle of next week to begin my training in Castle Jaden.
Dagan and my father think it best I start early.”
    Robyn’s heart sank. ‘Then who will I have
to play with?’ She tried her best to hide her disappointment.
“How long will you be gone?”
    “As long as it takes to learn what I need. No
more than a year.”
    “When you return will you know what your
Class will be?”
    He shook his head. “Training is kept secret.
My trainers will not discuss it with others, so when I test for my
Class, the Mage Council will not be biased.”
    She nodded. “I will miss your companionship.”
It was a phrase the tutors had long ingrained in her until it meant
nothing but politeness, but this time she meant it.
    “This is no time for sadness!” Cordis
exclaimed and bounced his thigh to give her a jolt. “I had Derion
slaughter a piglet, so we will be having roast pork—and I think
Lyesa is wrapping it in bacon, stars love her—and Merina is baking
cakes in Parion fashion, the ones with the whipped sugar and cream.
I had a cask of cider opened, and tonight we will celebrate
Gabriel’s achievement. It will be the first of many, I am
certain.”
     
     
     
     
    Supper was as splendid as Cordis claimed,
lasting for several hours of courses and drinks. Robyn was even
permitted a small mug of cider but decided she preferred the
watered wine she received in Kilkiny Palace.
    After supper Cordis and Dagan retired to
Cordis’s study, leaving the children to fend for themselves. As
soon as Robyn was alone with Gabriel, she shot him a dark look and
folded her arms. He grimaced. “Your brother has the same look. How
have I wronged you?”
    “I am displeased you are leaving. Now I shall
have no excuse to escape my lessons.”
    “I’m sure we can find you something to do,”
he said and shook his locks from his eyes. “You can find a hobby
that can occupy your time. We’ve horses to ride and books to read
or crafts to learn.”
    “A girl of my breeding does not learn a
craft, Gabriel,” she stated in an accusing tone.
    “Then learn a sport.”
    “Climbing trees is as much sport as I
need.”
    Gabriel folded his arms over his chest. “You
sound like your tutors. What do you want to do? No, don’t
answer for them, answer for yourself.”
    Robyn furrowed her brow and realized she did
not know what she wanted. She had always been told what was
expected of her and what was acceptable and unacceptable, but never
had she considered what she wanted.
    “I—I am not sure what to think.”
    He nodded, seemingly aware of her answer
before she was, and grabbed her hand. “Come with me.”
    Gabriel had a leggy stride, so she rushed to
keep up with him as he moved through the dimly lit halls deep into
the manor. She had explored most of everything and soon recognized
the storage rooms shut behind locked doors. Gabriel stopped before
one she remembered as the armory, a small room with mostly tools
and a few old weapons. Mages did not need weapons of man-make, but
the few knives used by servants remained sharp and oiled. The room
was unlocked, and Gabriel quickly snatched a few things on shelves
before returning to the hall with a short recurve bow and a quiver
of arrows.
    “You are going to learn archery, and when I
return, you will show me how good you’ve