Page 30 of The Witch in the Dead of Night

My eyes narrowed.

“So I’ll say this now,” he continued. “At the King’s insistence, I have only half a year to forge you into a master witch. Most people need years of training. So if you have a problem with my methods, you are welcome to scurry back beneath the castle and resume your life as a chambermaid. Otherwise, you will follow my every instruction. Understood?”

“Yes,” I said through gritted teeth.

“Yes, what?”

“Yes, Your Royal Highness.”

A beat passed between us. “Fine then,” he said, as if satisfied. “Sit down.”

I slipped wordlessly into a cold stone chair, my only cushion the thick wool of my cloak. He lounged back in the chair across from me as if it was stuffed with down. “We’ll begin with the basics,” he said. “Are you familiar with the Aminatan tenets?”

I shook my head.

“Aminata was an ancient scholar renowned for her research into the arcane arts, and one of the founders of Hollybrook,” he replied, his tone curt. “She defined three main tenets of magic, namely the psychal, elemental, and corporeal. Psychal, otherwise known as mind magic, is going to be the most useful when operating within the court. It can be used both defensively and offensively, allowing the wielder to sift through their target’s thoughts and memories and, if you’re powerful enough, to manipulate.”

I grimaced. It sounded unpleasant.

“More importantly, it will allow you to guard yourself and the wisdom of the council against the King’s enemies. My brother tells me that you already have a rough understanding of how to read others’ thoughts and emotions, therefore psychal is where we’ll begin.”

The words tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop them. “If there are no more witches, then who exactly am I learning to guard myself against?”

“There are no other witches that we know of,” he corrected. “That doesn’t mean that they don’t exist. More immediately, though, it’s the vampires I’m training you against.”

“Vampires?”

“Sharp teeth, fatally attractive … Ring a bell?”

I scowled. “Partially.”

“Well, vampires wield some of the same magic as witches. Although we’re mainly limited to the psychal and transmutation.”

“Transmutation?”

“Shapeshifting.”

I bit my tongue, my mind brimming with about a thousand more questions.

“As I said, we’ll begin with psychal. Let’s start with a simple exercise,” he said. “To test your abilities.”

I didn’t like the idea of him testing me on anything.

“I’ll try to invade your mind,” he continued, “and you’ll try to keep me out.”

“I don’t know how,” I protested.

“Try,” he insisted. “You’re a novice, sure, but I’m hoping this will kickstart your natural instincts.”

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. “And if it doesn’t?”

The corners of his mouth twitched. “Then we’ll have to do this the hard way.”

He leaned forward, his green eyes twinkling. It was alarmingly intimate, and yet, I found that I couldn’t look away. In fact, the more I stared at him, the less uncomfortable it made me feel. My fingers twitched as a chill seeped into my veins. It felt as if I had slipped beneath the surface of an alpine lake in the heat of summer. A voice tickled my ears. A beautiful voice. “Tell me something,” purred the prince.

“Anything,” I replied, my voice feeble.

“Tell me about the first time you met the King.”