The stone in Talon's hand felt cold, and he smiled. He could sense traces of power in the little stone. Finally, after a month of trying, he had completed the technique. He slipped the stone into his pocket, maintaining his hold on the power.

  Such an incredible feeling. Nothing could stop Talon when he felt like this, and now it was time for him to visit his academy. He waved his right hand, creating a portal in front of him, and stepped through it. He was surprised at what he saw.

  Talon knew he should visit more often, but he had been busy; such is the life of a king. The last time he visited was over a month ago. The temple that had been under construction was now complete.

  Students were training in various locations. A few rocks shattered from the power, and Talon saw a couple of students fighting against one another. At this pace, there would be more Ashtari than mages.

  Off in the distance, Talon saw Qidan approaching him. No surprise, everyone here would have sensed his portal and his power. Some of the students stopped what they were doing and looked at him curiously. They would know he was the king, as he always wore his crown when visiting.

  Talon remained standing, observing the area until Qidan arrived. “I wasn’t expecting you,” Qidan said, stopping in front of Talon.

  “I decided it was time for a visit,” Talon said. “You told me how many students you had, but it’s still hard to believe. How are you gathering so many people with the power this quickly?”

  “There are a lot of people who can use the power. I’m as surprised as you are,” Qidan said, stroking his chin. “I never realized how much potential Mortham Tower was throwing away by not actively recruiting.”

  “It’s good to see. Perhaps we can repel the invaders without the other nations,” Talon said wistfully. “This academy is doing well.”

  “About that, the students here have been calling this place the School of Power.”

  “Really?” Talon liked the name. It gave this place a sense of purpose after the war. “It fits perfectly.”

  “I thought so too,” Qidan said.

  Talon didn’t miss the pride in Qidan’s voice. That was good. It meant the mage would want to keep the students safe, which would make him fight harder. “Have you made any of the students Ashtari?”

  “No,” Qidan said. “I want to make sure the students are properly trained. Twenty students are helping me teach and recruit.”

  “Then those shall be our first group of Ashtari,” Talon said.

  “It’s far too soon,” Qidan protested. “To become a mage takes years of training and testing. None of the students here are ready.”

  “We’ll be skipping any testing for now,” Talon said. How did Qidan not understand? They didn’t have years to prepare. It might be unfair, but he needed soldiers. His Ashtari would be soldiers; that was their mission until the war with the invaders was over. If things went well, perhaps the School of Power could train anyone to utilize the power. “Time waits for no one, and I won’t change my mind about this.”

  Qidan looked ready to argue but sighed instead. “As you command,” he said in a defeated tone. “Is this why you came?”

  “No,” Talon said, reaching into his pocket and taking out four stones. “These are to be placed around this academy. I want them to spread far. This will stop anyone from portaling in or out of this area, except for those who are authorized.”

  Qidan took them and gasped. “I can sense the power in these.”

  “There are five stones that need to be spread out for this to work. Once placed, an invisible barrier will be created. Even if the mages discover this place, they won’t be able to surprise you,” Talon said.

  “Five stones? You only gave me four.”

  “Yes,” Talon smiled and took the fifth stone from his pocket. “This will be the one I use to grant access to you and the Ashtari. The placement of the stones will be far enough away that it would take a week to get here by horse. Now, follow me.”

  Talon created a portal and prompted Qidan to enter first. He followed right behind the mage. The first place they came to was an empty field. “Make note of the locations we visit.”

  “There may be a time we need to remove the stones,” Talon said and pointed a finger at the ground. A small hole appeared, and he dropped the stone in there, kicking some dirt into the hole to cover it.

  “It won’t be hard to miss,” Qidan said, staring at the spot where the stone was buried.

  Power radiated from the spot. A mage would have no idea why, of that Talon was certain. He needed to be sure. “What would a mage do if they came here and sensed the power in this spot?” Talon asked.

  Qidan chuckled and shook his head. “They would have to be actively sensing for the power. I’m sure the stone would be discovered if a mage was looking for something odd, but even if a mage discovered the stone, they wouldn’t know why there was power in it.”

  “I thought so,” Talon said. One more thing he knew that the mages didn’t. “We should know if a stone is taken.”

  “How?”

  “You’ll see when you create a portal. It feels… different,” Talon said. He recalled the strange sensation when testing this in the hidden archives. It felt like something heavy was being placed on him when creating a portal. “Let’s get to the next spot.”

  They portaled to three more locations. One was at the edge of the forest, and the other two spots were a good distance away. The spots were obscure, so the odds of a mage discovering the stones were unlikely, especially if the mages weren’t trying to sense the power. Then they were back at the School of Power.

  “Try to create a portal,” Talon said.

  “As you wish,” Qidan said.

  Talon saw the portal try to form but disappear before it could fully materialize. He smiled. The stones worked exactly as described. He had feared the distance might be too much, but they were placed correctly. Each stone had to be set up in a square-like formation, which was what he had done with the four. The fifth one he had was only needed to allow other power users to create portals.

  “This is incredible,” Qidan gasped. “I’ve never heard of such a technique. What is this called?”

  “Restrictive traveling,” Talon said.

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  Qidan didn’t hide his frustration when Talon didn’t elaborate further. “When will you trust me? At this point, you should know I’m faithful to you,” Qidan said.

  “I’ll never tell you or anyone else,” Talon said and handed the fifth stone to Qidan. “Put some power into the stone.”

  Talon felt the power fill Qidan and enter the stone. “Now try to create a portal,” he said.

  The mage did as commanded, and the portal formed. “I see what you mean by how it feels,” Qidan said before letting go of the power, along with the portal.

  “Keep the stone. You’ll give this stone to the Ashtari and have them put power into the stone. Make sure you trust the students you promote to Ashtari.”

  “I will,” Qidan said.

  Talon placed his hands behind his back and looked at the students, who all resumed their training. The power swirled in the air. “How is the training going?”

  “Very well, given the circumstances. The students are forced to train fast, which has caused some injuries. Somehow, nobody has died yet. A few people tried deserting but were captured before they got too far.”

  “I see,” Talon said, unsure what to do with deserters. He didn’t want them killed, but letting them go posed a danger. If they told the mages, all of Mortham Tower would come down on this place and him. “Can any of the students create portals?”

  “No. I didn’t want to risk potential deserters,” Qidan said.

  “Now you can. Train the promoted Ashtari on how to create a portal. That should be their top priority,” Talon said.

  “As you wish,” Qidan said.

  “I need to get some sleep as I have a busy schedule,” Talon said.

  “I understand. I’ll be back in a couple of days to make my usual appearances,” Qidan said.

  Nodding, Talon created a portal and returned to the hidden archives. He released the power, picked up a couple of books lying on a table, and placed them back on the shelf before leaving.

  He hadn’t lied about having a busy schedule. King Harold hadn’t escalated matters yet, but Talon expected that to change, even if the king seemed to have simmered down. Skahad and Malvarian refused to meet him, even after all the help he had provided with their rebellions. Drastic measures might be needed for those two.

  Talon didn’t like how easily he thought of going further to get Malvarian and Skahad to join him. Vandalor should have been the only one, yet the other nations were more stubborn than ever. Why? It was a question he asked himself every night and never received an answer.

  A problem for another time. He walked the halls for well over an hour before finding himself back in his chambers. Talon’s eyes felt heavy. Sleep was calling him, and he was going to allow himself to rest well, for once. He stripped off his clothes and went to sleep.

  Talon’s eyes snapped open when his barrier went off. He pretended to be asleep but quickly recognized who it was by their footsteps. A hand touched his shoulder, and he moved as if being awoken. “Roderick?” he mumbled and let out a yawn.

  “Apologies, Your Grace,” Roderick said, stepping back a few feet. “Two mages are requesting a meeting with you and are threatening the guards if you don’t meet them right now.”

  “Mages?” Talon hadn’t expected that. Any tiredness vanished as rage began to take over. He was tired of these disrespectful mages always expecting people to rush to them. “Did they say what they wanted?”

  “Something to do with missing mages.”

  Talon froze for a brief second before moving. He had forgotten about the three mages he was holding prisoner. It had been a month and a half since he captured them, and the mages took their time investigating. Luckily, he was prepared. He got out of bed, dressed in a red and black coat, put on his boots, attached his sword to his hip, and lastly, grabbed his crown and placed it on his head.

  “They are already in the throne room,” Roderick said.

  “I suppose they gave you no choice,” Talon stated matter-of-factly.

  “Yes, Your Grace.”

  “Let’s get this over with,” Talon sighed and walked swiftly to his throne. He calmed himself down, knowing he couldn't risk capturing two more mages. If he did, the other mages would be on him like flies to a lantern.

  Talon stopped in front of the giant doors leading to his throne and took a few deep breaths. Once his anger was gone, he walked through the doors and noticed the two mages standing in front of his throne. Both were wearing red robes and turned to face him.

  The older one had a short gray beard with green eyes and brown pants. He seemed patient, unlike the young one with red curly hair and dark blue eyes, who wore rings on each finger and fine leather red pants.

  “About time you showed up!” the younger mage spat out.

  “Quiet, Jarako!” the older one said, raising his voice slightly, which caused the young mage to clamp his mouth shut. “Excuse him; he’s my student and has a bit of a mouth.”

  “No problem,” Talon said and walked to his throne. The older mage, strong with power and at least sixty years old, caught his attention. “What do I call you?”

  “Paparus,” the older mage said.

  “How can I help you?” Talon asked.

  “I’m hoping you might recall three mages who spoke with you roughly six weeks ago,” Paparus said. “Dajrone, Danisha, and Onyakoon were their names.”

  “Yes, I remember them well. I kicked them out of Carhan before they returned, demanding to look into a couple of rogue power users,” Talon said.

  Jarako opened his mouth but quickly shut it again when Paparus glared at him. Paparus continued. “Good, then I can get right to it. Nobody has heard from or seen them since they returned here. Do you recall your last meeting with them and where they might have gone?”

  Relief flooded through Talon. “Yes, while we were talking, one of them, Onyakoon, I think, created a portal and the other two mages followed. It looked urgent, but they didn’t say what as we were in the middle of a conversation when they left.”

  “What was this conversation about?” Paparus asked.

  “It was as I said earlier, about letting them continue their search for rogue power users. I admit to being a bit hostile at first but realized the futility of our fight. Before I could agree, they left. That’s all I know,” Talon said.

  Talon felt power gather around Jarako and braced himself for an attack, but he couldn’t risk another incident, not yet. Jarako moved his hands, and blue streams of light began moving around the room.

  “Talon is telling the truth,” Jarako said to his master, lowering his arms as the lights vanished. “A portal was created here sometime over the past six weeks. It’s too old for me to say who created it or where it went.”

  Alarm flooded through Talon. This Jarako could detect where portals went if not enough time had passed? He kept a straight face, relieved he made it a habit not to create portals in the throne room.

  “At least that confirms the king’s story,” Paparus said, shaking his head.

  Thinking I am lying? Talon’s right hand curled into a fist. “I’ve never heard of such an ability. How long can you detect where portals go?”

  “Three weeks,” Paparus said, shaking his head again at his student’s outburst.

  “I wish I knew where they went. If there was trouble, or I had known they were missing, I would have sent word,” Talon said.

  “It is of no matter. Is there anything else you can recall? Any idea where they might have gone?” Paparus asked.

  “No, I’m sorry,” Talon said, trying to sound sincere.

  “Don’t think you can kick us out of your kingdom like you did those three,” Jarako sneered.

  “Jarako! If you have one more outburst, you will regret it!” Paparus snapped. The young mage paled slightly and stared at the ground.

  “I apologize for my actions to those three,” Talon said, feeling his stomach churn at this fake apology. “The stress of being king caused me to act irrationally, and I hope there is no further conflict between us.”

  “It’s fine, so long as you learned your lesson,” Paparus said.

  Yes, believe what I say. You won’t have this power over me much longer. Talon thought, noticing Jarako staring at him. “Is there anything else I can help you with?”

  “No, that will be all. We’ll be going now,” Paparus said.

  Talon watched the two mages leave the palace and let out the sigh he had been holding. The mages bought his story, and there should be no more problems. However, he needed to talk to Qidan, as he hadn’t known a power user could detect and track portal placements. That could have been disastrous if he had portaled to the School of Power recently. Qidan would get a piece of his mind.

  “Talon hates us,” Jarako said once they left the palace.

  “Yes,” Paparus said without pause. “All kings hate us. We possess a power they don’t and walk over them like they are our servants. It is no surprise Talon hates us.”

  “This is different,” Jarako insisted. “I think we need to keep a close eye on Talon.”

  “We have mages as advisors for a reason,” Paparus pointed out.

  “Did you see Qidan in there? I couldn’t sense him nearby!”

  “He was probably busy with something,” Paparus said with a wave of his hand. He hadn’t spoken to Qidan in many years. It would have been nice to catch up with him, and perhaps get more of a reading into Talon. The young king was more hotheaded than the others and didn’t try to hide his hatred for the mages. The apology was fake, yet he saw no need to call the king out.

  “We should keep an eye on him. I have a feeling it’ll be important,” Jarako said stubbornly.

  When was the last time a mage wanted to watch a king so badly? Decades at least. There was something off about Talon, yet Paparus couldn’t see what. Perhaps Jarako was right. “I’ll bring it up to the Kaidin and see what he thinks.”