Total pages in book: 142
Estimated words: 137017 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 685(@200wpm)___ 548(@250wpm)___ 457(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 137017 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 685(@200wpm)___ 548(@250wpm)___ 457(@300wpm)
Bella sighed, shaking her head. “She’s such a hard worker that I forget she’s barely eighteen sometimes.”
I grinned. “Her excitement is infectious. Come, let us see.”
The coachman was waiting for me outside the carriage and offered me his hand. “It shouldn’t take the mages too long to set up the circles, Lady Alicia. There’s a waiting area we can set up for you if you’d like.”
“Oh, gosh, it’s quite all right. I’m thankful for the opportunity to stretch my legs,” I replied, adjusting the rim of my hat so I could see in the sunlight, and smiled at the young coachman. “What’s your name?”
“Peter, my lady. I work for the Grand Duke.” He straightened as if someone had shot a bolt of lightning down his spine, and I suppressed a chuckle. He reminded me so much of Harry.
“Well, Peter, thank you very much for your care so far. The trip has been quite smooth for us.” I smiled again. “Do make sure you rest while we wait.”
He blushed. “I will, Madam.”
Oh, God.
They were addressing me as his fiancée already.
“Her Ladyship would like to see the mages work, if it’s possible,” Bella said. “Can you arrange that for us, Mister Peter?”
If I thought he was blushing before, it was nothing quite like the red that coloured his face at Bella’s words.
“I-I’ll be right b-back, miss.” He tipped his hat before running off to a group of people in deep navy robes with intricate golden stitching.
One of them turned, peering at me from under the hood, and gave a little nod of their head. The person in question followed Peter back over, and he wrung his hands together tightly before speaking.
“M-my lady, this is Aerwyna, the Head of the Stein Mages.” He held out his hand to motion to her. “I will take my leave.”
“Thank you, Peter.” I smiled at him once more before turning to the robed mage and offering her my hand, which she took. “Lady Aerwyna, it’s an honour to make your acquaintance. Please accept my apologies for drawing you away from your work.”
“It’s not a problem, my lady. How could I not greet the incoming Grand Duchess of Stein on her journey to my homeland?” She raised two elegant hands and slipped off her hood. “The honour is all mine.”
Wow.
She was gorgeous.
Her hair was a mix of aquamarine and silver that blended in the kind of perfect highlights that people would pay a fortune to get back in my past life, and her eyes were the most incredible shade of amber that gazed upon me kindly, but they were not void of suspicion.
That made sense. Bella had helped me educate myself about Stein somewhat over the past two weeks, and I knew their mages were struggling. The previous duke had all but cut off their funding, and the Magic Tower in Sada hadn’t taken too kindly to Kalon’s plans for Stein to have their own equivalent. Kalon had increased their funding, and in turn, the empire’s mages were angry at their perceived competition and were demanding they not work together.
I was fuzzy on the details, but it seemed to be an ongoing battle that Duke Trelawney was stuck in the middle of.
No wonder Lady Aerwyna was wary of me, a blue-blooded noble of the empire coming to her home.
“I’ve never travelled by magic circle before,” I said warmly, peeking over her shoulder. “I was merely hoping to see it before we departed.”
“Of course, my lady.” She bowed her head. “If you’ll follow me, I’ll show you a circle that’s waiting to be activated.”
“I appreciate it.”
“Although… is that your maid? The excitable redhead?” She raised a hand and pointed across the clearing. “Pardon my rudeness, but can you ask her to leave my mages alone?”
Annie was bouncing from mage to mage, and her excitable questions were easy to hear from where we are.
I sighed.
“I will fetch her, my lady.” Bella spun on the balls of her feet and marched across the clearing, then grabbed Annie by the back of her cloak and yanked her up.
“I do apologise,” I said, turning my attention away from the sight of Bella frantically whispering in Annie’s ear. “Annie only recently came to my service and is still undergoing training. Please don’t think unkindly of her.”
“Your maid over there seems to have a good handle on her. Which is just as well—the Grand Duke doesn’t tolerate discourtesy in his household,” Lady Aerwyna replied. “Anyway, here we are.”
She then proceeded to explain to me the mechanics of drawing the circles and the symbols that were involved, offering a brief rundown of how they changed based upon what they were required for.
“Fascinating,” I said, peering at the intricate pattering on the ground. “I’ve seen magic be used directly, but rarely through circles.”
“Yes, smaller amounts of magic can be used without a medium,” Aerwyna explained. “But for large scale magic such as this, it requires more than one mage, and circles are a convenient medium for us to work through. In this instance, these circles have been used a few times this week as your belongings have been moved to Stein, my lady.”