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Elder Milam stood again, signaling the end of the break. Claire stayed by her cousins as they waited for him to speak. “Welcome back, my fellow Fae, to the final trial for the Traditio to determine if our contender is worthy. A worthy leader protects their people. For this final trial, the contender’s loved ones will be put inside a barrier of protective magic by the contender and our most skilled magic users will try to break through the barrier to get to them.”
I’m sorry, what now? Break through the barrier to get to them? If there was one thing that was guaranteed to set her magic off beyond her control, it was her Triad and friends being in danger.
Elder Vali cleared her throat softly and Elder Milam’s lips tightened before he continued. “This first part of the magic trial is designed to get a feel for your magic in a defensive situation not an offensive one. Your magic should be limited to defending your loved ones, not counter-attacking.”
Claire nodded to show she understood. Her insides were clenched tight as nerves fought her magic for space in her body. She had to get this right.
Elder Milam lifted his hands and lifted the dome surrounding her Triad and friends, bringing it to the center of the stone arena. The dome shimmered and lightened until she could see her Triad through the barrier, although it was still a bit fuzzy. They looked as intense as they had during the combat trials but Claire thought she saw Desmond mouthgive them hellbefore she focused on the task at hand.
Her magic leapt eagerly against its bindings as she sank into her center, calling upon it gently. She ignored its surge into her hands and wrestled it down until it felt manageable and somewhat tamed.Just a barrier,she commanded it,no magic in and no magic out, she thought as she set her intention. She didn’t think that the magic preventing barrier would let her Triad and friends use magic anyways so it didn’t matter about the going out part. It just mattered that no magic attacking the dome could hurt her Triad or friends.
She slowly fed magic into her hands and spread them wide, building layer upon layer of magic until a shimmery light blue barrier covered the dome. “Begin,” Elder Milam barked just as she finished, giving her no time to check her work.
The first attack launched at the barrier immediately. Over a half dozen Fae had stepped up around her barrier and started launching more attacks. Claire gritted her teeth as the first few hits rocked the barrier but she kept it steady. Claire monitored her magic closely as it fought to get free to level the threat against her family.It’s just a test,she tried to soothe it.Defensive magic only. But no matter how many deep breaths she took trying to soothe it, it wasn’t working and her magic kept lashing against her control.
Claire’s focus was split between reining in her magic from leveling the attacking Fae and keeping the barrier up against the attacks that just kept coming. Two of the Fae seemed to be working together attacking a certain section of the barrier. She tried to patch what she could there, yanking back her magic when it would have surged out to strike at the attackers. She couldn’t risk failing the Traditio if her magic got out of control and attacked the very people she was born to protect.
The Fae warriors wielding magic were no amateurs and Claire could see how they would make a deadly asset on a battlefield. Their attacks came strong and steady as they used a variety of magic to try and tear apart her barrier. They combined elements and used pure Energy in a sequence that had Claire scrambling to keep up while trying to keep her magic under control.
She was so focused on the two Fae working in the pair that she didn’t see the other crack in the barrier until it had grown the size of Malcolm’s broadsword. She abandoned the patch in the barrier she was working on and focused on the new crack. Her split in focus though came at a price. She was so focused on the new crack in the barrier that she neglected to watch the attacking Fae. Four of them combined forces, creating a ball of magic almost as tall as Claire. It glinted out of the corner of her eye, drawing her attention.
Mouth open in horror, she watched helplessly as it was thrown at the original crack in the barrier, intent on blowing the barrier wide open. It was at that moment that her magic wrested control from her, exploding outwards and into the barrier. The barrier glowed so brightly that Claire had to shield her eyes, and then it exploded outwards, throwing the Fae and anyone standing within fifty yards of the arena to the ground.
The magic slammed into the Elders’ Dais and rocked the stone thrones upon which they sat. The clang against the ground as they settled reverberated through the stunned silence. Claire clapped a hand over her mouth in horror as the realization of just how badly she had lost control sunk in.
Around her, Fae helped each other to their feet. It didn’t seem like anyone was seriously hurt in the crowd but the six Fae warriors who had been attacking with magic laid on the ground, unmoving. Kieran and Kallan scrambled to their feet and checked on the warriors.
“Just knocked out,” Kallan announced to the Elders. Claire removed her hand from her mouth and tried to take a breath but found the air just couldn’t make it into her lungs. She had screwed this all up so badly. There was no way she passed the Traditio now. And even if she had, hurting the very people she was supposed to protect was not going to fly well with any of them, especially not the Elders.
She barely mustered the strength to drag her eyes up to the Elder’s dais and see the condemnation in their faces. When she did though, their faces gave nothing away. Elder Milam stood and Claire braced herself for his harsh words. Instead, he placed his hands together and said, “Given the events, we will not be testing offensive magic today.” He swept his hands over the mess Claire had created in front of them. “The Elders will adjourn and deliberate about what we have seen today and give our answer in the morning. Dismissed.”
At his final word, the magic-preventing barrier around her Triad and friends fell and her Triad instantly rushed towards Claire.
“Are you okay?” Malcolm all but growled out.
“I’m fine,” Claire said, a bit robotically. “Are you okay?”
“We’re fine,” Everett said, running a hand down her arm. “We were able to hear and see everything.”
Great. So they saw her epic failure first hand.
Kieran appeared by their side. “You should go back to the manor house,” he said, eyes on the Fae around them. “Kallan and I will stay and see what the temperature of the crowd is after today’s events.”
Claire wouldn’t be surprised if they were calling for her head. She was clearly out of control and the closer she got to her birthday, the worse she got. Maybe she just needed to go fight the Council alone, by herself where she wasn’t a danger to anyone around her. She looked around at her Triad and friends. Malcolm had an arm around her waist while Desmond held onto her other hand tightly. Her friends were unusually quiet, not even Bethany had a quip to lighten the mood.
If she thought she could get away with leaving them behind, she would in a heartbeat to protect them. Even if it was from herself.
40
“Let’s get out of here.”
Her Triad circled around Claire, blocking her view of the crowd. Or maybe the crowd’s view of her. Holly slipped through them to loop her elbow through Claire’s. Puck had hopped onto Holly’s shoulder at some point. He stayed there but brushed his head against Claire’s cheek as they started walking.
There were a few Fae still being seen by the healers and Claire tried not to stare. She wanted to make sure they were okay but didn’t want to upset the Fae either. Hopefully, Kallan and Kieran would figure out if everyone was okay.
How could she have lost control like that? She hadn’t ever experienced that feeling of helplessness before. Her magic had just exploded out of her like a tidal wave and Claire was unable to grab it. While her magic protected her Triad and friends, it hurt the Fae people. Her people. The ones she was also supposed to protect.
And not only that, by losing control, she also failed the Traditio as well. The Elders hadn’t made their decision yet but Claire couldn’t see any way that she had passed. Not losing control that epically. They probably viewed her as a loose cannon and maybe even worse than the Council because the Council was at least predictable.
