******

In that day itself, I had never managed to beat the lycanthropes into submission. I'd kept trying and trying, only to be somehow outwitted by the beasts. In the end, I had been so drained of magic that I'd immediately collapsed after the sixth illusion.

Elise kept a wary eye on my stamina ever since the incident.

The next week, when I'd recovered sufficiently, I'd returned to the training room and faced the lycanthropes again. I'd finally succeeded after my fourth try, trapping them with tree roots and flinging multiples spears of silver coated with wolfsbane into the dome. Again, I had been drained of magic. Though not as serious as the first time, I'd still been confined to the bed for a few days.

After that, I had faced a nachkrapp, a giant, raven-like bird which looked like it had just rose from the grave, with its empty eyes and decaying, bony wings. A real one would peck out the eyes and heart of unassuming travellers. An illusion simply screeched and kept circling overhead and swept down in attempts to snatch you in its wicked claws.

I had killed it by spelling a tree to extend its branches and snatch it from the sky, before setting it on fire. It took me five tries. I hadn't collapsed, but it still took quite a while before my Core fully recovered.

A few days after that, I had went up against a fluzwîb—water woman. I had slayed it by luring it onto dry land first, weaving an illusion of a young, handsome male specimen. Then I'd trapped it using dry, solid earth. No roots this time—the fluzwîb could have easily drained them off their water and free itself. A mistake I had learned soon enough. It had shrivelled up after I'd waited for five minutes. It had taken me three tries.

Now, nearly two months and countless of other monsters later, I was deemed worthy enough by Elise to drink from Heidelberg's Fountain.

So here I was, in the largest courtyard of the castle, bowing before the enormous pool of light in the centre. It was the same silver-golden liquid in the Tinkers' workshop. They were, after all, the ones who kept a steady stream of magic flowing from the earth and onto the surface.

The Fountain wasn't like anything I was expecting. I had caught glimpses of it as I'd passed by windows or sneaked past corridors, but never did I have a chance to witness it in its full glory. All castle denizens were strictly prohibited from entering this courtyard; only Tinkers and the ruling lord could.

It actually looked less of a liquid and more of light, coalescing and gathering at a point in the middle, swirling outwards until it was spreading like a circular blanket. My head was buzzing from being this close to this much magic. My Core, my well of power I had learned to recognise over the weeks I was using magic, was stirring to it, aching to devour its strength.

I held it back, although my hands were itching for the power too.

Lord Himmel was standing beside me, chanting a prayer of blessing. He was as impeccably dressed as ever, in his formal robes of white and gold, making him look as though he were a saint descended from the Heavens. His scarlet cloak was thrown over one shoulder, embroidered with a silver gryphon extending its wings and ready to take flight. His family crest.

Meanwhile, I was practically drowning in my heavy layers of silk. I was wearing a robe similar to Lord Himmel's, except that I had no cloak and I didn't have his effortless poise. My curls were braided and coiled into submission, tucked beneath a heavy headdress that was continually tipping my head forwards. I was sure that the Tinkers looking at me were doubting if I were truly their future mistress. Among them, was Josef.

I pushed away the memories with him within it. I couldn't lose my concentration here.

Lord Himmel finally moved. He was still chanting, shuffling his feet so that he was circling me. I shook off a shiver, recalling the first time I had faced the lycanthrope pack. This was different, I reminded myself. This was an ancient ritual; I wasn't being hunted. No, I wouldn't go back to being the hunted anymore. I was a Magus; I wouldn't let anyone control me.

Then why did I still feel like prey?

As he continued to chant, my Core surged up in response. It was dancing, flickering dangerously with barely contained magic. I never repeated the mistake of losing my hold upon it like I did the first time, but I still feared that my grip over it would slip one day and I'd end up as one of the dreaded witches.

The chant grew louder, thrumming with steady, alluring beats. It twisted, higher and higher, until it soared to a climax. Something snapped inside me, a painful lurching sensation in my stomach. I realised that he was cutting away all my ties with Hamelin.

I only wished that he had done it sooner.

He poured more energy into his words; a string inside me tugged in response. Then I cried out in pain. It was almost as though a hook was embedded into my skin, and someone was trying to pull it out, only to no avail.

Lord Himmel dropped the incantation as soon as he heard my yelp. He circled me one more time, until he was standing right behind. Laying a hand upon my head, he said, "Drink now, and forever bind yourself to Bromilde's power."

Saint Bromilde, the guardian of this particular Fountain. I tilted my head forwards—trying not to keel over completely—and cupped my hands, reaching out and dipping it into the light. It felt like stardust on my skin. I took my hands out, along with the Fountain's water, and drank from it.

Power ran down my throat, rooting itself within my Core and making me explode from the inside.

For one sickening moment, I thought that I had done something wrong, a retribution from the saints for some unknown slipup. Then the burning sensation ebbed away, leaving nothing but peace and understanding in its wake. My whole body was singing with magic, tingling and teasing, urging me to test it out.

"Rise, Lady Klaudia. You are now an official citizen of Heidelburg," boomed Lord Himmel's voice.

My limbs automatically obeyed him. Even my bad leg was nothing more than a mere nuisance now-energy was being fed into me. I squared my shoulders and stood up as straight as I could, meeting the eyes of every Tinker in sight. They looked at me in awe. Awe—no disdain, no contempt, no judgment for a cripple. They only saw a lady in their eyes. A sorcerer. A Magus.

So this was what power truly felt like. I had missed this for too long. I suddenly wondered what the people of Hamelin would think of me now: a Magus fully bound to Saint Bromilde's Fountain, with authority sparking at her fingertips, no longer keeping herself to the shadows.

It was due time that I emerged from the shadows, finally showed the world what I could do, make everyone who had abused me pay for their crimes.

A faint smile tinged my lips at the thought.

Lord Himmel started the end prayer, thanking the saints for blessing his homeland with yet another faithful citizen. I bowed my head and closed my eyes, but I felt a strange prickling on the back of my neck. Peeking my eyes open, I quickly whipped around to see what was making me uneasy.

Josef. He had a disapproving mask on his face, and his eyes seemed to pierce into my soul. They were judging, suspicious, as if he were believing me to be a changeling in disguise.

I turned my back upon him and listened to the rest of the prayer.

******

I hovered by a grove of white lilies in the gardens, fragrant and pure from the magic that had been fed into it. The heavy ceremonial gown had been long abandoned, and a simple yellow gown was in its place. I was waiting for Lord Himmel to arrive, and then we would walk around together. We had done this every evening, save for the days I'd collapsed after training.

I assumed that these walks were supposed to allow us to know each other better, but I felt like I was no closer to him than on our first meeting. He was as detached as ever, and our conversations were mere small talk, about how my training was progressing and about how Heidelberg was doing financially.

A soft crunch of leaves behind me drew my out of my flitting attention. I turned around, keeping a hand on a small pouch on my hip, where it held my flute. I no longer used the crutches. I walked around with a profound limp, but I had to have both hands in order to use my Medium.

Lord Himmel. He had changed out of his ceremonial robes too. He was clothed in dark blues and greens, making his fair hair and crystalline eyes stand out like a shock. "Lady Klaudia," he greeted. "Come. Walk with me."

As if I had a choice. He started to walk down a random path; I stumbled after him. The sun was setting, yet it was only a warm caress on my cheeks. The garden seemed alive, and now that I was bound to these lands, I felt more at ease than ever.

"Elise tells me that you've progressed remarkably with your training," said Lord Himmel so abruptly that my hand automatically jerked towards my pouch.

"She warned me that I had to, milord." I kept my eyes demurely downcast as I spoke. "Otherwise I would be corrupted by the magic."

"Indeed. However, she is still impressed by your determination." Lord Himmel stopped in his tracks, wheeling around so that he faced me. He wasn't tall, but with his cool, imposing demeanour, he seemed like a giant. "She has never seen a student trained so hard before in all her years."

In all her years. He made her sound like she was centuries old. His gaze suddenly looked as though they were as old as the mountains themselves, wise and unfazed no matter what was thrown at him. I finally gathered the courage to voice a question I had since the beginning: "Milord, pardon my imprudence, but...how old are you?"

For once, amusement sparkled in his eyes. "I am fifty-six years old," he replied. "Elise is forty-four."

My jaw dropped open. I peered at him, trying to gauge if he were merely jesting.

"It is the truth." He fingered a rose on a bush, stroking its vibrant, blood-red petals gently. "I don't suppose that Elise has told you. You know why we Magi are said to be near-invincible? Well, it's probably because our aging process is slowed once we are twenty-one. After that, how we age depends on how we use our magic. The more frequently we exhaust our Cores, the faster we grow old."

I didn't want to believe it; Lord Himmel didn't look like he had seen a day over twenty five. And yet it made so much sense, why he and Elise always spoke in monotones by default. Yet in their words ran a twinge of sorrow that only the scars of the past could inflict.

I imagined my future. Before, I thought that I would be raising a brood of children with Lord Himmel, use my magic to fend off the monsters in the wastelands, then die peacefully, establishing my legacy as a Magus. Now though, I saw a sickeningly straight road in front of me, terribly empty and full of certainty. It should have been comforting, that I knew what my purpose here was, but instead it was frightening. The road stretched on, and I couldn't see the end of it.

"Don't be scared. It's less daunting than it sounds, to have a long life," said Lord Himmel.

I didn't answer. I couldn't. My throat had gone so dry.

"Besides, she says that you are fit enough to accompany me on the upcomimg cleansing ritual." He frowned uncertainly, looking at me up and down, the corners of his mouth doubtful. "Have you faced a real monster before?"

"I have seen them, but I never had to actually fight them, milord." The memory of a lindworm storming Hamelin flashed in my mind, its hideous, scaly body tearing the houses apart and killing five people before the sorcerers finally slayed it.

"Then the cleansing shall be a good experience for you. After all, about time you left the castle walls, hmm?"

"Indeed, milord." He always managed to coat his words with the edge of an insult, but it didn't matter. After months of being cooped up within the castle, I was ready to see the outside world again, even if it meant venturing into the wastelands.

"By the way, we shall be wed in the next month." Not paying attention to my struggle in recovering from consecutive shocks, he continued, "We cannot delay it for any longer. The Council had wanted me to secure marriage for a long time. This is an excellent opportunity."

The Council. The society of sorcerers based in Starkfurt, Aschein's largest stronghold left. Every single person who had magic was registered under them, and they controlled all magical activity in our country. The Council probably wanted Lord Himmel to marry as soon as possible in order to ensure that another Magus could take his place should anything happen.

Of course I knew it. It didn't stop the unwelcome bitterness coating my tongue though.

When I didn't answer, Lord Himmel heaved a sigh. "Look, Klaudia," he said with such tenderness that I had to look at him, "I may not be the coddliest person in the world, but I just...I do want to make this work. It need not be an unhappy marriage."

His words were flat, as though he wanted to brush the matter aside and be done with it as soon as possible, but I managed to glean sincerity with them. He hesitated, then took a step towards me.

I finally nodded, allowing a smile to grow on my face. "Yes, milord."

"Markus," he corrected softly. "If we want to make it work, we might as well address each other with our first names."

"Markus," I rolled his name on my tongue. It seemed sacred, somehow, like he were offering a part of his soul to me. He extended a hand towards me, inviting me to return to the castle.

I took it.

******