My usual morning of waking up to breakfast and Leda helping me dress was struck from the agenda when Ulric ripped back the covers and barked at me to wake up. I shot awake as the cold air kissed my exposed skin and stared wide-eyed at the man before me, the cause of my rude awakening.

"Nice nightgown, princess." He smirked at me. And a fierce blush covered my cheeks, and I realized how much leg was exposed in the tiny nightgown.

"What are you doing here?"

"Starting your lessons, of course."

"But, I always start with etiquette."

"And things change, now get ready quickly. We have things to discuss." Ulric left my bed and took a seat on the couch to chat with Fenrir. That strange man.

Scampering out of my bed, I hurried into my closet and grabbed the first thing I could find, which turned out to be a white blouse, and a black and white square print skirt that grazed the bottom of my knees. Quickly tossing this on, I tied my hair in a low bun and cursed Ulric in the privacy of the dark closet. What was he doing in my room so early? And who let him in?

Leaving the room, I threw him a glare. "So how did you even get in here?"

"The guards let me in, of course."

"Why? They know Leda, Gerard, and Soren are always the first people in here."

"Because I spoke with Gerard and Soren. We are adjusting your study schedule. Plus, I think we have much to discuss today, and I prefer it to be in private without your servants lingering about."

I sighed, understanding where he was coming from. "Gerard would have been fine. He knows everything already. Plus, he's helping me keep track of some of the palace gossip for anything important."

"Well, next time, I'll send him an invitation to our tea party then," Ulric snapped. I sat down in one of the lounge chairs across from him, and Fenrir immediately went to my side. "So clueless," Ulric sighed before standing up and walking to the left edge of my room.

There a cabinet of shelves stood. Inside he fiddled with a strange box before turning a crank a few times, and suddenly music began to play. Besides the live music played at the ball, it never occurred to me that they had ways of playing music or even what it would look like. Apparently, it was a giant music box. I felt a small pang of sadness as I remembered all of my favorite music that I would likely never hear again.

Ulric returned to his seat with the gentle tune of a fiolin now playing in the room. "First rule Amberleigh, if you're going to discuss private matters, its best to have something to drown out your voice."

Fenrir licked my hand and nudged my knee, asking for me to keep petting him. "Why did you leave Fenrir with me?"

"Is that really what you want to be discussing right now? Soren will be joining us soon to help with your first magic lesson."

"I guess not, but it's a question I'll expect the answer to later." I eyed him, daring him to try to get out of answering it.

"Now, tell me about the note."

"Two nights ago, I came back to my room late with Gerard from a dress fitting. Fenrir was agitated when we entered. He directed me to the bed where I found it."

Ulric eyed Fenrir and me. "Anything else?"

"The day before, Guinevere threatened me in the hall, saying that she would be waiting for me to make a mistake to take back what is hers. She's the strongest lead I have for why I might be in any danger."

"Potentially, although I can hardly picture her planning an assassination plot."

I blanched at his words, "You think someone is going to try and kill me?"

"Potentially. There are still plenty of other options, but if you're wondering, this is why I left Fenrir with you."

"To protect me?"

Ulric brushed off the question, "Have you found anything else, odd?"

"Sort of, yes. It's a lot of small things and just a strange feeling I have like there's something under the surface and that things aren't quite right."

"How so?"

"Occasional words and phrases and discussion of policies. Yesterday at breakfast, it sounded like the King and Queen are stifling the magic programs in other countries other than Ithica. The way they talked, they made it sound like only Elves should have access to magic. They have turned almost a complete blind eye to other issues going on within Erivale such as the underground slave trade and thinly veiled racism in the outer sects."

"Hmm, that is interesting. But there is no way the other nations would tolerate a detriment to their magic schools such as this. Anything else?"

"Well, yes. This is actually the second time it has happened now, or maybe more; I don't know. It's similar to why I have images of the Great War in my head. The first time it happened was when I saw Gerard on the road. A memory that wasn't mine slammed into my head; I felt the physical toll on my body from the force. A voice came with it, 'help us.' The second was a few nights ago-I painted it."

"Let me see this painting."

"I have it hidden; you'll have to come with me. I don't want anyone to see it." I stood up, and Ulric followed me as I led him into the closet.

Once inside, I dug around and pulled the canvas into the light. The painting that held the scene of the races sat around the round table. Taking another look at it, my eyes caught on the bright red wings of the Garuda. They reminded me of another who looked similar. "Those wings, they remind me of something." I wracked my brain, trying to think of it, "Oh! They remind me of King Dacey Enrouf of Fjell."

Ulric was as stormy and silent as ever while he studied the painting. "There is a painting similar to this within the Elven palace of Draeton. My mother's family produced a famous painter at the time of the first unification of nations. The red wings are hereditary for the Enrouf family. If this is the same, then you painted the first council meeting when the nations were first unified."

"It was a memory," I whispered and ran my hands over the image.

"Yours is slightly different than the original," Ulric mumbled as he studied the piece trying to find what exactly made it unique. "Who is this?" He finally pointed to the shadowed face in the corner with the navy glowing orb of energy.

"I don't know. But in the memory, as the meeting began, the navy color spread from the orb and around everyone. As it enveloped the council, they suddenly agreed with whatever the Elven King and Queen said."

Ulric's eyes flashed with knowing and anger. "Hide this, destroy it even. Do not let anyone see this. Ever," he demanded.

"What, why?" I was nervous now. What did Ulric know and why wasn't he telling it to me.

"Put it away," he hissed.

I hurriedly stashed it back behind the clothes. Ulric had already left the closet, and I found him pacing my room. "What was that? What is going on?"

"Nothing, Amberleigh."

"Oh shut it, something is up. You need to tell me; this affects me just as much as it does you." I stepped closer to him and wrapped a hand around his forearm, halting his frantic movements. He tensed under my touch and slid his pale blue gaze to me.

I could see a battle within those crystalline eyes on whether he should tell me or not. He pulled his arm back, yanking me closer to him until my forehead nearly smacked his chest. "A secret is uncovering, and I don't think this country will be prepared for the answer," He whispered. I could feel the gentle puff of air that carried his words splay against my face from our close proximity.

"Just tell me what it is."

Ulric opened his mouth to reply just as the guards announced Soren and Gerard's entrance. Ulric moved with lighting speed away from me. My hand strayed to my cheek, which felt warm to the touch, and I realized that they were flushed due to the close proximity of Ulric.

"Good morning, Amberleigh!" Soren cheered. This man was always so peppy in the morning, I didn't know how he managed it. "Has Ulric been filling you in on everything?"

"Sort of, he's quite vague." I threw a glare his way, and he simply grunted at me.

Soren's eyes glanced between the two of us momentarily before he began, "Well, we are making some adjustments to your schedule. Now you will alternate having literature, history, and language each day. Etiquette will be transferred into more practical training and follow less of a structured timeline. There will be no more dance lessons, of course, and we are beginning magic immediately with Ulric's encouragement."

Ulric? I would have never guessed that he volunteered to begin teaching me earlier than he had to. I tried to catch his eye to ask why, but he was purposely ignoring me now.

"Shall we begin the lesson? I presume you will find magic lessons quite entertaining."

"Yes, let's begin."

I took a seat on the couch, Soren sat in the chair, and Ulric stood in front of us.

Soren began first, carefully explaining the backgrounds and magical system. "Erivale, at its core, is magic. So, everything that Erivale creates has magic within it. All of the races from Elves to Minotaurs and even less intelligent life forms such as animals and plants have magic as well."

"Is that why Fenrir is so smart? Because even animals have magic?"

Fenrir let out a low growl in annoyance and turned away from me. "He is angry you thought of him as a less intelligent life form," Ulric explained.

"I, um, I'm sorry?" I tried apologizing to the wolf, feeling foolish.

Ulric rolled his eyes at me. "We will learn about other magical creatures later."

Soren chuckled before continuing: "As I was saying, everything in Erivale has magic, even the air. Some things have a higher affinity for magic than others. Some creatures may not display any sort of magical abilities other than the fact that it is part of their makeup. Some may display some magical tendencies, for example, it is common that Satyrs have a magical tendency to create captivating music. The music notes themselves are magic, which makes their tunes so well-constructed and captivating.

"Then some actively practice magic through the course of spells. This is fairly common for Elves as we have a natural affinity for nature magic, but other races in Erivale can reach this level as well either from nature or nurture. Hence why we have education programs focused on magic so that they can safely master their magical abilities.

"Then there are sorcerers and Elven royalty. Elven royalty typically has the highest degree of magic due to the Ceremony of the Gods. This is where they are blessed with holy magic to justly rule over Ithica. Few sorcerers can rival this magic."

Soren didn't have to say his name, we already knew who did rival this magic – Samael of Trinity.

"Ulric, did you go through the Ceremony of the Gods?"

"No," he replied, and I frowned slightly at his lack of explanation.

Thankfully Soren provided me with the proper answer. "Elven royalty will only undergo the Ceremony of the Gods when they are coronated, King, or Queen."

"What kind of magic do Queen Luciana and King Heinrich have?"

"Well, they have nature magic and a powerful form of it. After the Ceremony of the Gods, they had complete access to a more unique and specific kind of magic. Heinrich, since he was not a born royal, is still limited mostly to the realm of nature magic, but he can now manipulate nature, mostly the Earth. And Luciana has the magic of influence and persuasion, which can be a common one with royal bloodlines. Typically, royal born Elves display tells of their magic abilities or affinities before the Ceremony. For example, your tell is your portals."

"What kind of magic affinity will I have then?"

"I don't think I'm the right person to answer that," Soren said truthfully. "My understanding is very limited in the grand scope of the world. I can use nature magic to enhance my energy, stamina, and battle efforts, but my focus is on the history and culture of magic, not the magic itself."

"That's where I come in," Ulric said. "Your ability to portal the way you do, which is quite reckless might I add, narrows it down. But we will be conducting tests during your training to figure it out."

"The first thing that is taught in the magic schools is how to recognize magic. Most often, this is through visuals such as colors, light, and sparks."

"That's easy," Ulric continued. "The hard part is sensing magic by feel."

"Yes, it can take a while before individuals begin to sense the magic around them. As they spend more time in and around magic, it is easier to pick up on it. Still, there are only two ways in which individuals sense magic easily – either the magic itself is powerful, or they have a natural awareness for the magical world around them. Both of these cases are less common. Sensing strong magic is important because it can act as a danger warning if strong magic is used for evil," Soren explained.

"Your first lesson will be sensing magic," Ulric said. A sudden chilled air curled around my shoulders and pricked at my exposed skin with tiny particles of ice. A faint tingling along my skin where the wind moved caused goosebumps to rise on my skin. The icy wind dissipated as soon as it came.

"What did you feel?" He asked.

"Well, it was cold. The ice felt sharp."

"Yes, that is just what the ice wind felt like. What did the magic feel like?" He pushed.

"I guess I also felt a sort of tingle on my skin where the wind was."

"Good, exactly," Ulric praised. "A tingle or a tickle is often how individuals experience the sensation of magic. It is typically faint, but the stronger you get, or if you naturally have an awareness for magic, you will feel it much stronger."

"Why does it tingle?" I asked.

"It's the energy of the magic itself. Magic is not smooth or linear; it is static, and as it moves around you, near you, or even through you, the edges of the magic can be felt against your own magic," Ulric supplied. "Let's try something else."

I watched as Ulric held his large hands together and stared intently at them. As he slowly pulled his hands apart, I watched as a faint, icy blue glow grew as an object formed in his hands. When his hands were about a foot away from each other, I could clearly see a dagger that was shaped expertly from ice. He set the object on the table.

From my seat a few feet away, I felt nothing, so I reached out towards it, and when my hand was a few inches away, I felt a tickling sensation on my fingertips. I snatched my hand back immediately as a realization came to me so suddenly. I had felt that same tickling before in a situation similar to this. It felt just like the pastries at breakfast yesterday. I tried to hide my surprise and shock at my realization – the pastries had been magic.

Ulric caught my nervous movements but said nothing. Soren asked if I felt anything.

"Tickling on my fingertips."

"Ah, very good, Amberleigh," Soren said. "It can be difficult to sense magic in inanimate objects. Not even I can fully sense magic in them." He smiled proudly.

"Well, I think we have done enough for the day," Ulric said. "We will begin again tomorrow. For now, I will take this extra time to discuss future sword and battle lessons with Amberleigh," Ulric stated.

"Very well. I will let your parents know that you did very well in your first magic lesson," Soren said with a wide smile and left the room.

As the door closed softly behind Soren, Ulric immediately turned to me. "Amberleigh, what did you feel?"

"I told you, I felt the tingles."

"Then why did you react like you had been shocked?"

"Because when I felt them, I realized I had felt them before." I turned towards Gerard, who had been standing out of the way to not intrude on the lesson. "Gerard, did you find anything about those pastries?"

He came closer to me before providing his answer: "I'm sorry, Amberleigh, but I couldn't find anything at all. The chefs and cooks had never heard of them before."

"That's it!" I exclaimed and then shushed myself knowing that there were guards just outside the door. The music box had shut off during the lesson and I hurried over to it and cranked the handle. I wasn't sure how long the music would play for now, but it would work.

Heading back over to Ulric and Gerard, I explained, "The first time I felt the tickles like that had been the pastries at breakfast yesterday. Renatus, the royal sorcerer, was serving them. Guinevere ate one and she seemed different afterward – very complacent and dazed. She could only agree with everything they were saying."

"That is quite odd," Gerard said.

"Yes, yes, it is. It means that either Renatus or even the King and Queen are manipulating her," Ulric said, his eyebrows were furrowed in thought and concentration.

I wracked my brain, trying to remember anything else about that breakfast that had stuck out as odd to me. I gasped when it finally clicked, and Ulric's eyes flashed to me. "Renatus was using magic on me, too," I whispered.

"In what way?" Gerard questioned.

"I don't know. I just felt a tickling, but it was inside my head like fingers on my brain." I shuddered remembering the sensation. "It was irritating and strange."

"Renatus was reading your mind," Ulric said. "How long did you feel the sensation?"

"It wasn't long. It was so unnerving that I immediately shut it out. Renatus seemed to experience or feel something when I pushed it out of my head. I don't know if that sounds crazy."

"It does not," Ulric mumbled.

"What does it mean?" I stared up at him.

"It means that Renatus has ulterior motives and that you have a strong awareness of magic." Ulric stepped towards me and put his hands on my shoulders, so I had no choice other than to look into his eyes. "It also means that you can't let anyone know that you sense this magic. If Renatus thinks that you are subordinate in any way, you will be in even more danger here. You must hide it, no one besides Gerard and myself can know your thoughts and your magical awareness."

I gulped in fear and pulled away from his warm touch. "I just have to lie every day? Pretend I'm not feeling or sensing these things? Pretend like there isn't something horribly wrong going on here?"

"Yes. It will be hard, but I think your own interest in self-preservation will help you in this venture."