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At the bottom of the middle staircase stands a tall woman, who is so still she could almost be a statue. She is wearing a stunning, almost glittering white cloak, covered in the same crests that are on my own cloak. That same crest, as I’m learning, must be for the elemental courts, probably each of them marking where the dragon kings come from. At the collar of her cloak are two dragons made out of silver metal, holding the cloak together underneath her neck, and she has on a slim white dress that falls to her feet. Her silver hair is held up in a tight bun, and even though she is dressed as an angel, I get bad vibes from her. Pulling her thin lips back, she narrows her eyes at us all as she clamps her long-fingered hands together. “Welcome, queens in training. It is an honour to meet you all. Your sacrifice is honourable.”
Her voice is almost robotic. She lifts both her hands high in the air, arching her neck back. Words I don’t understand come out of her mouth. “Sit draco deos suos victorem eligere.”
Katherine leans closer. “That’s Latin. My mum spoke it, but I only understood dragon.”
The woman looks back down at us, her eyes now glowing a soft red. Not a scary red like Arden’s. “I am your tutor, and you may call me Desmerda. I am here to teach you, guide you, so you are ready for when the tests are over. I will teach you about this world, the politics and past, so you are prepared to leave this castle. My first lesson is the castle itself.”
She pauses as we all look around. “It was said to be made by the sorcerer for this test, and it knows you. Not everyone believes that story, as it was aid this castle once belonged to another court. This castle appears only when the test is in play, and it will only allow those it wishes within the walls. The castle was designed to help you. It understands what you need. Ask and it will decide if it wishes to give it to you, but do not abuse the power or you might find yourself lost forever in these walls.”
That’s not creepy or anything. Arty steps closer to me, her shoulder brushing mine.
“The castle scares me. For real,” Arty whispers to me. For once, I actually agree with her.
“Please follow me to your classroom, and we will begin. Every other day, I expect you here after breakfast for our lessons, and if you are late, there will be punishments.”
She turns around and all but silently glides up the steps, her heels not even clicking on the stone. We all hurry to follow after her, because she might look as scary as a mouse, but there is a vibe to her I can’t shake, and I swear there was a hint of excitement in her tone when she said punishment. She leads us up the stairs, which twist around in a circle, looping backwards on itself before coming out to a balcony where there is only one door. She opens the creaky old wooden door, slipping into the dark room.
I’m stuck in the crowd as we head inside, where it isn’t as dark as I thought it was. Inside is a large room filled with dark wooden desks and tall-backed leather chairs, and I think there are enough for all of us. The walls are as old as the rest of the castle, made of the same stone, but one wall is a massive stained glass window. The glass is broken up into sharp triangles of every colour, and light blasts through, casting rainbows across my boots.
I walk over to the window, needing to have a look outside to check I’m still not on Earth. We’re high, maybe in a tower, and there’s nothing but rocks surrounding a field of grass below. The mountain eclipses everything else around, hiding the world from this angle.
Arty follows me over and I barely notice she’s staying at my side until she steps back from the window, shivering. “I hate heights.”
“I bet this height is nothing to dragons, though. I’m yet to actually see a dragon close up since we turned up here. Have you seen one?”
“No,” she replies, shaking her head and turning from the window. She still looks pale. “But they’re definitely real.”
We head over to the desks where people are sitting down, and I go to sit at one when Hope slides into the chair, propping her legs up onto the desk and crossing her arms. “Find another one.”
I tilt my head to the side, wondering if punching her is a good idea, but Arty grabs my arm and all but pulls me away as I mutter, “She’s a bitch.”
Arty sighs. “I don’t know her very well, and my mother taught me to never judge people’s actions as anything but a reflection of their own feelings, but I’m inclined to agree with you.”
“You can call her a bitch, Arty.” I grin at her. “If the boot fits and all.”
Her cheeks redden, and she shakes her head. “I don’t swear. I was taught not to, and throwing insults is mean.”
I shake my head at her as we both find a desk, and Arty sits right behind me. Katherine moves to sit a few desks away and waves at me. Desmerda walks around into the middle of the room before holding her hand in the air. Mist pours out of her hand, shaping itself into a dragon that flies around her in a circle, hovering in the air at her side. Wow. I’m speechless as I watch her effortlessly use magic, and I don’t think there will be a day I don’t find the fact magic is real as spectacular.
“As you’re aware, dragons are real, and as long as dragons rule in Ayiolyn, their blood-sworn subjects can share their magic. The easiest way to imagine the connection is like a tree. The dragon kings are the trunk and branches, and the people of their court are the leaves. The leaves come and go, as the dragon king allows, and the dragon king can choose how much power a leaf has. If you have been listening, you should be aware there are four courts in this world. There is the Fire Court with the last heir, King Arden, who has had the throne since he was young. King Lysander rules the water kingdom, but there are many heirs to follow his line. King Emrys rules the Air Court and fought hard for his position at a great cost. Finally, King Grayson rules the Earth Court, who are the smallest and most secretive court in our world. Not much is known of them, therefore preparing you will be difficult.”
She stops and clicks her fingers. The dragon shapes itself into a map. It almost looks like the UK, but there are massive gaps between four areas, split up by water, almost like it was ripped apart. Ireland is not there; it’s broken into dozens of little islands that are dots on this mist map. There are the royal crests on each area, clearly showing the Fire, Water, Air, and Earth Courts. The fire kingdom, which would have been Scotland, is far bigger than the others, almost eclipsing them.
“Now you’ve seen what our world looks like, you must get used to the maps. Ask the castle anytime you wish to see a map. As you can see, Ayiolyn mirrors Earth in a way, and this is why we call the other worlds mirror worlds. They are all similar. Over time, we have adapted our world with modern facilities from yours, like machines and toilets. This should make your lives easier.”
Arty puts a hand straight up in the air. “So, these are the four courts, but what about the rest of the world? Is there much more land like on Earth? I mean, the UK’s only a very small part of Earth.”
Desmerda looks pissed off, only for a second, but I catch it. “Yes, but Lost Lands are controlled by wild dragons who do not have magic and cannot shift into human form. The lands are uninhabitable and dangerous, filled with dragons who will not hesitate before eating you like you’re a sheep. They are not aware of the differences and their riders are worse.”
“So, we don’t go there,” Arty mutters with wide eyes.
“Not unless you wish for a very painful death,” Desmerda agrees. “We do not go there. Do you have any more questions that aren’t ridiculous?”
No one says a word, and Arty’s cheeks are bright red. I thought her question was a good one, even if Desmerda didn’t want to answer it. “Good. Your next lesson in two days will be in general combat. As I take a look around at many of you, I am quite sure that you have no idea about that, given how weak most of you appear.” Ouch. “Today’s lesson will be cut short, but I do wish you good luck.”
With that, she walks out of the room, and we all watch her in confused silence. Do we get the first day off then? When the door shuts behind her, it disappears into stone. Seconds later, all the desks and chairs disappear too until the room is empty of furniture. I fall on my arse with a thud, like everyone else, and crawl to my feet. “Hey, alive castle thing, what was that for?!”
Of course, the castle doesn’t answer me, but instead, a single flame drops from the ceiling, right in front of me, burning right through the floorboards. Suddenly, flames start falling from the ceiling. Droplets of it sprinkle everywhere, and the smell of smoke fills the space. I stamp out a flame in front of me, but it doesn’t go out. I frown, a little fear trickling into my chest and freezing my blood as Arty comes close to my side. “This must be the fire test from the fire dragon king, Arden.”
