The Magicians' Guild

Epilogue

In the air above the table floated a speck of light. It slowly expanded until it was a globe about the size of a child’s head, then rose up to hover near the ceiling.

“That’s it,” Rothen told her. “You’ve made a globe light.”

Sonea smiled. “Now I really do feel like a magician.”

Rothen looked at her face and felt his heart warm. It was hard to resist the temptation to keep teaching her magic when it obviously gave her so much pleasure.

“At the speed you’re learning, you’ll be weeks ahead of the other novices when you start lessons in the University,” he told her. “At least in magic. But ...” Reaching to a pile of books beside his chair he started to sort through them. “Your calculation skills are far behind,” he said firmly. “It’s time we got stuck into some real work.”

Sonea looked down at the books and sighed. “I wish I’d known what tortures you were going to put me through before I decided to stay.”

Chuckling, Rothen slid a book across the table. He paused, then narrowed his eyes at her.

“You haven’t answered my question yet.”

“What question?”

“When did you decide to stay?”

The hand reaching for the book froze. Sonea looked up at him. The smile she gave him did not extend to her eyes.

“When it occurred to me that I should,” she said.

“Now, Sonea.” Rothen shook a finger at her. “Don’t get evasive on me again.”

She leaned back in her chair. “I decided at the Hearing,” she told him. “Fergun made me realize what I was giving up, but that wasn’t what changed my mind. Cery told me he’d think I was stupid if I went home and that helped, too.”

Rothen laughed. “I like your friend. I don’t approve of him, but I like him.”

She nodded, then pursed her lips.

“Rothen, is there any chance at all that someone might be able to hear us?” she asked. “Servants? Other magicians?”

He shook his head. “No.”

She leaned forward. “Are you absolutely sure?”

“Yes,” he said.

“There’s ...” she paused, then slipped out of her chair and knelt down beside him, her voice dropping to a murmur. “There’s something Lorlen said I had to tell you.”