Page 58 of The Fifth Life of Alicia
I sighed.
“I will fetch her, my lady.” Bella spun on the balls of her feet and marched across the clearing, then grabbed Annie by the back of her cloak and yanked her up.
“I do apologise,” I said, turning my attention away from the sight of Bella frantically whispering in Annie’s ear. “Annie only recently came to my service and is still undergoing training. Please don’t think unkindly of her.”
“Your maid over there seems to have a good handle on her. Which is just as well—the Grand Duke doesn’t tolerate discourtesy in his household,” Lady Aerwyna replied. “Anyway, here we are.”
She then proceeded to explain to me the mechanics of drawing the circles and the symbols that were involved, offering a brief rundown of how they changed based upon what they were required for.
“Fascinating,” I said, peering at the intricate pattering on the ground. “I’ve seen magic be used directly, but rarely through circles.”
“Yes, smaller amounts of magic can be used without a medium,” Aerwyna explained. “But for large scale magic such as this, it requires more than one mage, and circles are a convenient medium for us to work through. In this instance, these circles have been used a few times this week as your belongings have been moved to Stein, my lady.”
My lips parted. “Really? You’ve reused them? Astounding.”
“We don’t often have an opportunity to reuse the circles,” a man said from the other side of the circle, keeping his head down. “Your ladyship’s journey has been most valuable for our research.”
“Really? How so?”
“We’ve been able to—”
“Jasper,” Aerwyna said with an edge to her voice.
He bowed his head until it was practically on the ground.
“My apologies, Lady Alicia,” she said, schooling her tone back to one of nonchalance. “Our research is confidential, and Jasper’s tongue is loose.”
I swallowed.
Aerwyna was scary.
“Oh, no, please.” I held up my hands. “It’s quite all right. I’m sorry for enquiring onto something confidential.”
Although they shouldn’t have said they reused the circles if it wasthatconfidential, but what did I know?
Someone in a light blue robe appeared next to Aerwyna and whispered in her ear. Aerwyna nodded before whispering back and turning to me. “The circles are ready, my lady. Please return to your carriage with your attendants. We will be arriving in Stein shortly.”
Chapter Thirteen
Welcome to Stein, My Lady
I was never travelling through a magic circle ever again.
I was the only one in my carriage who hadn’t thrown up. Clearly, everyone who’d travelled with us was more than used to this mode of travel as they weren’t bothered at all.
That didn’t mean I didn’t want to throw up.
I did.
Oh, bugger it all, I did.
The last time I’d felt so sick was on my eighteenth birthday in my old world, and that was entirely my own fault for overestimating my ability to handle vodka shots.
Which, really, was a rite of passage for most British people.
Right now, my stomach was churning enough that I was almost envious of Bella throwing up in her hat.
I was just on the cusp of wanting to do the same, but if I did such a thing as a noblewoman, I’d never live it down.
