in line to be the king of Finarth and you are likely a bastard son of some common bar whore,” the prince continued angrily.
Jonas’s eyes blazed with anger and his muscles tensed. A part of him wanted to punch the prince in the stomach.
“What’s wrong, boy? Are you angry? Did my words offend you?”
Jonas, controlling his emotions, replied evenly. “No, sir, they did not.”
The prince smiled wickedly. “Stay out of my son’s way. Do you hear me? Don’t ever insult him or make him look foolish again. Am I clear?”
“Yes, sir,” replied Jonas, his eyes holding the prince’s gaze.
“I see you’ve grown in confidence this last year. That is good. Maybe, in several years, you and I could cross blades. Do you think you could beat me?” the prince asked with an amusing smile.
“No, sir, I do not,” replied Jonas evenly.
“Good. At least you’re not as stupid as most of your lice ridden kind.” Their eyes locked again; the prince turned on his heels and strode briskly from the room.
Jonas let out a deep breath and sat down on the bed. Fil, Calden, and Bornius moved back to Jonas quickly, eager to find out what had transpired between him and the prince.
Fil sat down next to Jonas. “A private conversation with the prince; if only I was that lucky,” Fil said, smiling.
“What did he say?” Calden asked with interest.
“I think I’ve made an enemy of the prince and his son. He told me to stay away from Torgan and to never make him look bad again.”
“What! Torgan attacked you and you did all you could not to fight,” exclaimed Bornius.
“It doesn’t matter. He doesn’t like me. I will just have to watch myself and make sure that I don’t put myself in a position that might create tension between us,” replied Jonas.
“That’s if Torgan doesn’t look for trouble,” interjected Fil.
“Blue team! White team! Everyone up, it’s time for a night run!” yelled Master Morgan, entering the barracks. “Let’s go, move it!”
“Here we go again. Two nights in a row,” mumbled Bornius.
“Let’s go, Blue Team! Get moving!” bellowed Calden, getting up to put on his boots. All the kids scrambled to put their tunics and boots back on and move out into the cool night air.
***
The Greever flew hard all night. It did not need to rest. Its powerful body was fueled by inert magic, magic born to the beast, and its hunger pushed it relentlessly. The Greever was a demon of a different world, it was born from magic, and the energy of the Ru’Ach pulsed within its veins. Its long leather wings beat the air rhythmically and its piercing red eyes scanned the Finarthian hills for its target. The beast, flaring its nostrils, caught the scent it was looking for. A quick flick of its wing sent it southwest toward the towering city of Finarth.
***
The night’s run was long and Master Morgan had also made them do various other training maneuvers and exercises. The boys stumbled into the barracks, tired and sweaty. Even Jonas’s muscles felt heavy. They crawled to their beds still wearing their tunics and breeches and quickly fell asleep.
Jonas awoke with a start, his chest itching and tingling. He opened his eyes wide with fright realizing what was happening. He looked around frantically, unsure of what to do. Shyann was warning him of something, but what? He couldn’t just wake up the whole barracks.
He silently got out of bed and shook Fil to wake him. Fil, stirring in his sleep, slowly opened his eyes. “Fil, wake up, something is wrong.”
Fil’s eyes focused as he saw Jonas. “What is it?” he asked groggily.
“My chest, something is happening.”
Fil got up quickly, knowing that Jonas’s warnings in the past had been all too real.
“The warning is slight, but I can feel it. What should we do?” Jonas asked with concern in his voice.
Fil got up and climbed down to stand next to Jonas. “We need to tell someone,” he said, putting on his boots.
“But who? No one will believe us.”
“The king will, or Prince Baylin, or even the high priests that know about you,” whispered Fil as he buckled his belt around his waist. “We could tell Master Morgan, he knows about the mark.”
“We can’t go see them in the middle of the night. The guards will stop us.”
“We have to try, Jonas. You know what this means. We are in danger.”
“You’re right. Whatever the warning is, it is probably for me. I should get away immediately so I