Although Rhodes was still bustling and still reeked of spit-roasted pig mingled with the sewage that ran not far beneath the streets, the city seemed almost empty to Aelia, as she rode with Coric over cobblestone, her arms lazily clasped around his waist.

And although it was still ear-numbing on the streets from the roars of the shopkeeps and tavern owners trying to lure passerby's into their establishments, the air seemed somewhat hushed.

People throughout Rhodes had signed up to join the force heading west, wanting to do their part (and to receive their fair pay for doing so). The missing populace was only a drop in the pond of the city's population, but it was still noticeable to Aelia.

Riding through the streets today was like walking into a room and noticing that something was out of place, but not being able to put your finger on what had exactly had been moved and where it had been moved to. A shop closed here, perhaps, or maybe fewer patrons staggering outside a tavern, there.

Or was that just how Aelia felt? A hazy anxiety that looked for something to blame. Something that wasn't inside of her.

Aelia hadn't burned the wildflowers to death. They'd wilted, not cooked. But she'd killed them all the same. And it was in taking their energy -- their lives -- that the black flame that had come into existence, steadily blazing on that branch, until Coric had finally put it out.

Aelia had told him she didn't know what had happened. She'd tried using the moss. Reached out for it with her spirit as her eyes were closed tight.

But she'd found something else to grab hold of. To drain.

The black fire wasn't a spell Coric had ever seen before and it had made him more than uncomfortable.

It hadn't embued Aelia with a good feeling, either. Worry, mostly. Although a tiny part of her was impressed. Wow, Aelia. Look what you did! That's something no one else here could do.

Had that dark flame been within her all her life, waiting to come out? If so, how had it gotten inside of her?

Coric had decided they needed to meet with Leena, his tutor, immediately.

"Have you even told her about me?" she'd asked.

"I was going to wait until I was certain you'd impress her. I mean, I'm fairly certain you will, but..."

"Why would she see me today? A non-student she's never heard of."

"For me, I hope. Because I need advice, Aelia. And if not for me... When she hears what you did, I think she'll need to see you. Because, well, no one can do what you did back there. No one in the Academy, at least. Not that I know of. You didn't use moss at all."

"Did I steal the life from those plants to cast that spell?"

He sighed. "I don't know, and that's why we need to speak to Leena. I think, in a way, we all steal life to cast. All the Kingdoms that use magic. The Necromancer and his warlocks cast using ground-up bone. They take life and whittle it down to its most fundamental essence. And in a way, we take the life from moss. It's not so different from flowers."

Aelia agreed that flowers and moss were similar. But Gods, it was the fact she'd wilted them -- stolen their life -- instead of burning it for fuel, that bothered her.

They were silent for most of the journey after that. Only occasionally did Coric try to break the tension. "How's Samuel's reticular?" he'd asked at one point.

"He's given up on it," Aelia had replied, gloomily. She didn't need reminding of that right now.

"Oh. That's a shame -- I thought it had some real potential."

"I found out that he's already had a proposal for it rejected by the Engineers. And... I don't know." She'd almost told Coric about Samuel's monetary issues, but decided that she didn't have the stomach for gossiping. "He wants to concentrate on his shop -- his watches."

Coric had nodded. "Smart man. That's what puts bread on the table."

"Yes. But... it's sad because that means putting a passion of his to bed. You know? If he'd just waited until you'd enchanted it..."

Coric waited a while before he said, "I think it's for the best, Aelia. The kingdom won't have money to sink into improvements in its infrastructure if it's heading into war. And besides, the enchantment I had in mind was... Well, I would have needed permission to perform it. And seeing as it's not been done on clockwork before, as far as I know, I think it's likely that even if I'd gotten permission, it wouldn't have worked anyway."

"Then why did you get his hopes up?" she snapped. "You encouraged his dream and made him believe it could be a reality."

"I wasn't thinking. Sorry. But it's all worked out anyway."

"You were showing off," she said bitterly. "Trying to impress him. Or me. Had you heard me come in?"

Coric ignored her and said, "I think this is all for the best. He's good at what he does, and that's watches."

That annoyed Aelia. Why was everyone giving up so easily? "Timepieces," she'd said.

But the anger soon fell away the silent anxiety reclaimed her.

Eventually, the Academy loomed into sight on the edge of the hill, high above the city. The sun had retreated sometime after Aelia had lit the dark flame and gray clouds now dusted the glass roof.

They left Coric's horse in a long stable -- as long as a row of streets, Aelia thought. The stable had been mostly empty, as many of the regular horses were owned by seniors or teachers who had joined the march west.

The building Coric took Aelia to next was almost as big as the Academy itself; a vast red-brick structure on the far side of the Academy, hidden behind a jutting peak. Coric told her it was where the professors resided, as well as some of the seniors who'd been granted residency.

Coric took her up a flight of stairs -- a single flight, and yet when she'd looked out of a window on the corridor they'd come out on, she saw they were at least four stories high. Another day, she'd have been open-mouth amazed. But today, she barely mustered a smile.

Coric knocked twice on a grainy wooden door at the end of the corridor, paused, then knocked once more.

"Come in," came a melodic voice.

"Should I wait here?" Aelia asked.

"I'm sure she'll want to meet you sooner or later. Might as well be sooner."

The room they walked into was a grand chamber with dark wood-paneled walls The ceiling was far higher than it had been in the corridor. A huge, gilded candelabra hung down half-way to the floor in the center of the room, with five thick white candles burning inside of it. Dozens of bookshelves were pressed against the walls in a disordered fashion, and Aelia half-thought they'd stumbled into the Academy library.

But then she saw the professor.

Leena's hair was black and braided and as beautiful as her smile was wide. She wore a light-grey dress that floated down to her sandaled feet.

"Good afternoon, Coric," she said, in a voice like honey. "How pleasant to find my favorite student drop in on me unexpected. And what's this?" She looked at Aelia, her eyes running up and down her. "You've brought me something?"

Coric bowed his head slightly. "This is my friend, Aelia. Aelia, this is Professor Amelton."

"Leena," Leena said.

"Pleased to meet you," Aelia replied. She had expected her nerves to increase upon meeting a professor of the Academy -- especially the professor she hoped would grant her a recommendation. But she didn't feel nervous at all now. Perhaps it was the gentle yellow glow from the candles above, but Aelia thought a warmth radiated from the lady.

Leena held out a hand and Aeila took it without thinking, holding for just a second, before Leena slipped it away.

"You're very unusual," she said, cocking her head. "Very."

"I get that a lot," Aelia said, running an embarrassed hand through her hair. "My grandmother's hair was just as bright. Until she woke up one morning and it had all turned white."

"No," Leena said, with a chuckle. "Or not just your beautiful locks, Aelia."

Aelia wanted to say, not as beautiful as your hair, but managed to stop herself. The lady, her voice, everything about her was a warmth that wrapped around you and made you shiver with hot content.

Leena held her tongue between her teeth, then retracted it saying, "You taste different to my other students. That's what I mean."

That's what she meant? That Aelia tasted strange. It sounded rather bizarre and vague to Aelia. "Is... is that a good thing?"

"Hmm, I don't know, yet. Different flavors when cooking can be good, at least compared to bland. But too many flavors, or one flavor overwhelmingly strong, and..." She raised her eyebrows. "Well, that can ruin a good dish, can't it?" Then Leena turned to Coric. "I am grateful you did, but why, dear Master Coric, have you brought this pretty young lady to me?"

Aelia heard Coric swallow nervously. "I was always going to bring her to you, ma'am."

Leena frowned, but only for a second. Then she looked again at Aelia. "Ah. You're gifted, that is why. But you're not yet a student, and Coric, as sweet as he is, thinks that he can help you get into the Academy by bringing you to me."

"All my life," Aelia said, "I've dreamed of studying magic here. I have an old book from my grandfather that I've read a million times, even though it only contains three spells, and I've learned how to cast them all by myself. I collected my own moss and--"

Leena held a hand up to silence her. "Coric said he was always going to bring you here, to me. Then what he is also saying is there's a second reason for bringing you here today."

Aelia noted how perceptive Leena was and decided she needed to be careful with her wording, let alone her words.

"I've been training her," said Coric.

Leena's lips turned to a straight hard line. "You know it's against the rules for a student to teach outside of the Academy."

"She's incredible," Coric said. "Much more adept than I was when I started learning. And she figures things out a whole lot faster, too."

Aelia blushed, thrilled to hear Coric say those things to someone other than her -- it somehow made them more real. But she could tell Coirc was nervous, the way his fingers were entwined in a fidgeting ball.

"She needs proper training and only the Academy can give her that. She needs a referral."

Leena stroked her chin. "That missed the question I asked. Why have you brought her to me today, Coric?" Her voice was a little colder than the warmth that she had breathed over Aelia.

Coric struggled to find the words, his mouth open but empty.

"We were practicing today," Aelia said, stepping in. "In the fields north of the wall where I live. And I cast a spell that I've not yet learned and that Coric hadn't heard of before."

Leena's eyebrows raised again. "Oh? And what did the spell do?"

"It lit a black fire that burned on a tree branch."

She saw in her peripherals Coric grimacing.

"And... How did you cast this black flame? Tell Leena all about it."

Aelia shrugged. "We were working on casting fire without me holding any moss -- casting remotely. Something I've not yet managed to do before. So, I closed my eyes, as Coric suggested, and imagined reaching out of my body and finding the moss lying next to me. Then, when I opened my eyes, the moss was still there, but the ground around me had died."

"That... is very peculiar," Leena said. The warmth in the room had almost turned to an ice-cold chill.

Coric took one of the dead, wilted flowers from out of his pocket. It was almost black now, and its petals had all fallen away. "The flowers in a wide circle around her turned to this," Coric said.

Leena took the flower. A little of the stem crumbled as if it was ancient and rotten. Leena looked from the flower to Aelia, giving her only the ghost of a smile. Then she said, "Coric and I must have a word alone, Aelia." She nodded at Coric, "Come, we'll talk in the parlor. Aelia, wait for us here. Don't leave yet, please."

Aelia watched as the two walked across the room, then turned into another door at the end. Aelia realized she'd been holding her breath, although she wasn't sure for how long for. She let it all out in one big huff.

She could hear their muffled voices, Coric's a little louder, from the room beyond. But she couldn't make out their words.

This wasn't good. Leena had tried to disguise it, but Aela had seen that the professor had been worried by the flower. Maybe even by the mention of the black flame. Aelia put her head in her hands and groaned. Her dream of studying at the Academy seemed to be both one step closer (here she was, speaking to an actual professor!) and at the same time, tens steps further away.

Minutes passed and the muffled voices continued. She felt nauseous with anxiety, wondering what decision was being made that would decide how her life went from this moment. What details was Coric giving to Leena?

Distract yourself, girl, she said. Come on. There are books everywhere. Everywhere! You always wanted to see what a mage's library was like. Well, now's your chance.

She walked up the nearest shelf and ran a finger over a dozen tattered spines of thick leather volumes. History books, mainly. She recognized words in a few of the titles as towns and regions within the Stone God's kingdom. And one she thought she'd heard of before -- but it was a city within the Augmented Kingdom. Well, Leena's collection was vast. Perhaps it wasn't surprising that it covered more than just their own kingdom's history.

She moved on to the next bookshelf. A different type of history book filled it, all related to the history of magic within the Kingdom of the Stone God. On any other day, this shelf would have bewitched her. She'd have taken the first book from off the top row and then sat cross-legged on the floor savoring every page, before moving onto the next book. But her anxiety kept her moving to another shelf.

The prime subject matter of the books on this shelf were glyphs and enchantments. Even through her thick-fog of anxiety, her curiosity piqued beyond reason. She picked a book at random and began flicking through the pages. They were filled with sepia faded diagrams of various glyphs, as if the book had been left out in the sun for too long. But it was just their age, most likely. They were all ancient and smelled of vanilla; Aelia buried her head into the open pages and took a deep breath.

Better than any food.

She noticed as she drew her face away, the title of the chapter that the book was open on: Steam Extensionary Markings.

A thought ran through her head. She thumbed over a few more pages until she found an enchantment that had a description she thought might possibly work. One that relied on both a glyph and moss: Aeternum Continuous Motion.

She shouldn't...

Really shouldn't...

Shouldn't do anything to jeopardize her entrance to the Academy.

And this would most certainly jeopardize it if she was caught.

But... What if Leena didn't sponsor Aelia's entry? Then this might be her only chance to have access to the spell.

Leena and Coric were still talking. She heard their rumbled chatter through the wall.

Her hands trembled as she carefully tore the page.

It was the right thing to do. Samuel deserved a little help.

She tucked the folded paper inside her jacket pocket then returned the book back onto the shelf.

It was a few minutes later that Coric, his head hanging down like a dog told off, reentered with Leena by his side.

Leena walked up to Aelia and took her hands in her own, then stared into her eyes.

"Is everything okay?" Aelia asked.

Leena's dark eyes seemed to be searching Aelia.

The ripped out page of the book weighed very heavy in her pocket.

"Aelia," Leena said, eventually. "I can't recommend you to the Academy, not at this time. And I can't let Coric continue to train you, either. I'm sorry."

"But--

"Right now, I don't know exactly how you did what you did. There is no one born into this kingdom that I know of that can cast magic without moss. It's more like magic far beyond our kingdom. Coric thought more like the Necromancer's, but he is wrong."

"Necromancer!" She shot Coric a glare. "I was born here. You can write to Mother. I'm a child of the Stone Kingdom, through and through. Gods, I don't know how I cast the black flame, but I do know--"

"He wasn't suggesting you're from another kingdom, and neither am I. I don't believe you are. But, at the same time, I need to do a little research, Aelia. I need to converse with senior colleagues before we talk again. " Leena lowered her voice, but said forcefully, "In the meantime, do not tell a soul more about the black fire, Aelia. Others, I think, would be less trusting than I am. Less charitable."

Aelia's heart had split in two and she felt fully numb. She hadn't been accepted. Wasn't ever going to be. And Coric would stop training her now. She saw her future stretched out gray and empty: every night driving the corpse wagon to the Great Morgue, tipping bodies out into pits.

"You're different, Aelia. But until I'm sure in what way that you're different, you can't practice magic. You took the life from flowers and used that, it seems, to cast a spell. Imagine there had been a person -- Coric -- standing next to you, instead of the flowers. Imagine you had taken his essence."

The thought had crossed her mind on the journey here, but she'd snuffed it out like a candle before bed. Now, it filled her vision. Coric lying black and wilted by her feet. The grim fire raging around them.

"It doesn't mean you can't study here," Leena said, her voice a little warmer. "It just means you can't study here right now. Do you understand?"

"Yes," she said.

And she did understand.

But all the same, she'd be damned if she'd give up magic completely. In fact, she knew exactly what her next spell would be.