The Lost Crown Book 3: Traitor and the Truth
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Saphira Aelin
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The Desert
Book 3: Traitor and the Truth
DRAKE
Master Stone showed us the way out of Oswalda and brought us into the heat of the desert. My thighs ached from the bumping of our ride. All of us were now covered head to toe in sand.
He’d passed out matching tan cloaks before we left the school. I rode in the middle of Allyah and Celestria along the way. To pass the time, the three of us named the stallions beneath us.
Allyah’s horse was a chestnut brown, and she named him Duke. Celestria had been given a solid white horse and gave him the name Gunner. I was handed the reins of a dapple-gray horse.
He seemed to like running so much that I named him Runner, and he was extremely fast. That, and I’d never named anything before and didn’t have a creative bone in my body.
These horses were bred to travel all day and all night long without stopping. They were amazing. It blew my mind how long they could run.
They weren’t as powerful as the link horses, but they were good starters. Link horses were very powerful. They could travel several days without stopping.
They also had special powers of their own. For one, once you were given a link horse, they could literally link up to you. Hence the name. While linked, you’d be able to energize one another, speak to one another, and know when the other was in danger.
The night had come and gone, and the sun rose from its long night of rest. We ate small pieces of bread and drank from our canteens, but we didn’t stop.
Master Stone pushed us like we’d never been pushed before. He didn’t just work our horses but also our way with the animals. The man sensed everything we did wrong, but he never corrected us.
He let us try to figure it out for ourselves. Some of us had never been on the back of a horse before. Horses were expensive animals, and not all of us came from a rich home.
Johnny was most helpful. He was the horse whisperer of the group and taught us the simple things since first years only tried to transform into horses, not ride them. None of us knew anything about these animals besides their anatomy.
During our ride, we took the time to learn about our new friends. Camden, Bryan, Edward, Franklyn, and Gaberial, who preferred to be called Gabe. Franklyn didn’t like to be called Frank because that was his father’s name, and for some odd reason, he and his father didn’t get along.
Master Stone listened to us very carefully. I wasn’t sure if he knew that I was on to him, but I knew he was quietly getting to know his students.
Stone finally spoke. “Keep quiet and be ready for anything. Shields.”
Our magic shields went up around not just our own bodies but our horses as well. We came upon a small valley surrounded by the sandy hills of the desert. Camden spun his head from side to side, trying to see who we might be shielding ourselves from.
When he spotted me, I shook my head to make him stop. Never let the enemy know that you have no idea where they’re at.
Master Carleton would have made him run a hundred laps for that. The new team member listened and held his shield tightly.
“Above,” Master Stone shouted.
All shields focused on the spot directly above our heads. Arrows rained down on us. Stone whipped his horse to the left, and the rest of us followed.
The master brought us to a large nearby cave. We jumped off our stallions and moved inside.
“Druhoul.” Stone waved his wand over the entranceway.
“A cloaking spell,” Celestria whispered softly.
She knew that I had no idea what it was that he’d said. I wasn’t the only one who didn’t know either. Tanner had been waiting for her to explain as well.
The team watched as yellow shimmer mist poured out of his wand. The shimmer ran from side to side of the entrance and then slowly disappeared, revealing a rock wall.
“It may look like a wall, but if one were to try and go through it, they would slip right in,” Master Stone informed us.
We’d read about a few cloaking spells, but first years were brought to the academy to awaken the magic within and to learn defense. It was the second year when you started to really put your magic to the test.
The master placed his finger in front of his lips for us to be quiet. Each passing minute seemed to go on forever. Sitting in a cave, not being able to do anything, was driving me insane.
Stone pulled out a rolled piece of parchment and sat it on the cave floor. It was a map of the desert that we now stood in the middle of. He signaled for us to pay attention and pointed to a small spot on the map.
Red dots appeared all around us. We were completely outnumbered. Thank goodness I’d had the mindset to pack a special kind of bag while the others were meeting with the wand maker.
I’d filled it with all kinds of elixirs from my hidden stash in the potion room behind a large bookcase. I was one hundred percent sure that the potions master knew where it was and who exactly placed the mixtures inside the small space. She never said anything to me about it, so I never spoke of it.
The potions were in case of an emergency, and the masters were the ones who taught us to always have an escape bag at the ready. A set of clothes, potions, weapons, some food, and a canteen filled with water. They taught us what we would need to survive in any kind of environment.
I raced to one of the saddle bags and pulled out my things. Everyone circled around me, watching as I made several small bags of blue powder. Our master stood back, watching me mix this with another.
He didn’t speak a word. I thought for sure that he might try and stop me, but the man only watched as I continued on.
“Is that what I think it is? Incredible.” Franklyn weighed the small bag in his hand.
“That’s not the half of it.” Tanner beamed with pride. “Wait until you really see her shine.”
The prince and I had become close during our potion class. He knew exactly what I was making.
Tanner was the only other person who knew where my hidden spot was. When I thought everyone had left for the day, I had stayed behind to experiment and add to my stock.
I never knew when I might need something in a hurry and not have time to make it, so I stocked up. It was mainly for learning purposes, of course. I never thought I would actually need it.
Our beloved prince snuck up on me as I opened the hidden compartment to place a few new mixtures inside. He scared the living daylights out of me. Of course, he asked a million questions about his new findings, but he never ratted me out.
During our free time, Tanner would come with me to the potion master’s room and practice my craft. The master never objected. She let us have free range of anything in her class.
