VYSES SMILED AND stepped toward the man, gesturing back toward Ravenna and Lyth. "It's nice to meet you, Gaius. My family and I were told that this is the best inn in town. Do you have any rooms available?"

"You're in luck," Gaius said. He smiled warmly and picked up a quill. Dipping it in ink, he scribbled something down on an unrolled scroll. "We have several available at the moment. We also have some of the best views in Elery, if you prefer."

"We need the cheapest room available," Ravenna interjected, before Gaius could start his sales pitch. "Preferably with two beds."

Gaius nodded. "That's understandable. These are tough times. I have just the room in mind then. It'll cost fifty coins a night. Do you know how long you plan on staying?"

"Haven't decided yet," Vyses answered. "A few days in the least. We wanted to explore around Elery for a bit. Do you have any recommendations for fun, safe things to do or places to visit?"

As Gaius and Vyses continued to chat, Ravenna wandered toward the one of the windows in the lobby. The glass was smudged with age and dirt, making it harder to see through. The marketplace, from what she could see, had resumed its usual pace. Both the guards and the injured man had vanished.

"I wouldn't dwell on the guards," Lyth's voice made her jump. "Like the innkeeper said, they enjoy picking fights. I doubt that will be the last attack that we'll see while we are here."

She glanced down at him, shocked. It was the first time that he'd spoken to her unprovoked. Usually, any comments made by him were in response to Vyses or directed toward his master. Never her.

"I just wanted to see if that man was alright," she told him. "The guards seemed to be pretty brutal toward him."

"When aren't they?"

That made Ravenna frown. The statement was true -even before Ravenna met Caelan, she had to deal with handsy guards. One had even tried to rape her. The guards were just vulgar brutes addicted to swinging their swords.

"Are you ready?" Vyses asked as he approached. A small iron key dangled from his index finger. "Our room is upstairs and supposedly has a good view."

"Of what?" Ravenna snorted. "The back of another building?"

Vyses sent her a disapproving look and gestured for her to follow him. She shot one last look out the window, at the bustling marketplace beyond it. Then she followed him toward the staircase, Lyth trailing behind.

Once they reached the top of the stairs, their room wasn't hard to find. Each door was labeled by a small metal plaque that depicted a number. That number supposedly corresponded with the key that unlocked the door. Their room number was twelve and it's matching door could be found at the very end of the hall. Vyses jammed the key into the doorknob and unlocked it. The door swung open to reveal a fairly small bedroom, complete with two straw mattresses and a small dresser. A window stretched across the wall opposite from the door.

"We do have a somewhat decent view," Vyses remarked as he entered the room.

Ravenna scowled. "A nice view constitutes of natural landscapes or something of the sort. Not the tops of a few buildings. We can't even see the sunset."

Vyses rolled his eyes at her. "It's still something to look at," he said. He lowered himself onto one of the beds, his fingers lightly tracing the tan sheets that covered it. "I say that we retire for the night. There is bound to be food and mead in the lobby later on tonight. Tomorrow, we can get out and explore. Maybe find a proper map of the kingdom and discuss plans for what happens next."

"That sounds good to me," Ravenna said. She sighed and sunk down onto the second bed. For the first time since they'd left the village, exhaustion tugged at her eyelids. She lifted her hand above her face and focused. A small sliver of magic appeared within her palm, crawling across her skin and dancing between her fingers.

From the corners of her eyes, she could see Vyses pull out his version of Caelan's spellbook. She waited a moment for his reaction, carefully watching him. She wasn't sure what the spellbook had written within it, considering she hadn't had a lot of time to read the copy before she had given it away. The only thing she was certain of was that the spells listed wouldn't be the same ones from Caelan's actual spellbook. The spell she'd used wouldn't create anything brand new, or anything that Ravenna hadn't seen before herself. It was very likely that whatever was written in the book was simply some of the smaller spells she'd studied on her own. Maybe even a passage or two from the novel she'd been reading.

Vyses seemed content with whatever was written though. After a few moments, she turned away from him and focused on her own little mission. She began to practice summoning small ice daggers into existence, trying to get faster at casting the spell. The hand motions required to cast it made the spell longer to perform. She was hoping to either get faster at it or even find a new way to summon them altogether. The second the daggers appeared, she allowed them to melt and repeated the process as quickly as she could.

After what felt like hours, and Ravenna managed to shave a few seconds off her spellcasting, Vyses sat up on his bed. She heard the fake spellbook snap shut and glanced back at him over her shoulder. He had a funny look on his face. "Is everything alright?" she asked him.

He glanced at her, his eyes somewhat glazed over. "Yeah," he muttered. He blinked and seemed to shake out of whatever had him dazed. "I'm fine. Just a bit hungry, lass. Let's go downstairs and get something to eat."

As they walked downstairs and entered the lobby, Ravenna watched Vyses. He seemed to be lost in thought, his eyes zeroed in on something far in the distance, and hardly paid attention to where he was going. They found a seat at a long table and a maid instantly scurried toward them with mugs of ale.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Ravenna asked him again.

Vyses glanced down at her. "I told you. I'm perfectly fine."

She didn't believe him. With a small shrug, she turned her attention to the rest of the patrons seated around them. The inn was nothing like Vyses's tavern -it lacked the music and the customers. But there were still a few people scattered about.

Just as the maid brought them their plates of food, the inn's front door burst open. Ravenna glanced back, only to watch a rather large group of armored men enter the tavern. The one that she assumed to be the leader raised a hand in the air. "We need rooms and good mead," he shouted.

The rest of the men shouted their agreement.

"Great," Ravenna heard Vyses mutter under his breath. "The Blood Knights have arrived."

Her breath caught in her throat. The Blood Knights were an elite group of highly trained knights, handpicked by the king himself. Their abilities surpassed those of a regular guard or member of the royal army and, from what the legends said, their only mission was to protect the royal family. The Blood Knights were never supposed to leave the Capitol.

"What could they possibly be doing here?" she whispered.

(i'm actually genuinely shaking right now so please excuse any typos that you see here!)

Y'ALL ICE HAS MADE IT TO THE SHORTLIST. 

I honestly did not expect to see it on that list. I'm actually at a loss for words right now. I've dreamed about this contest since 2012 (my first entry was actually a really crappy one-shot that I wrote on my other account and that I still need to delete because OMG) and this is the first year that one of my books has not only been longlisted, but shortlisted as well? Just. 

*happy screeches*

Thank you guys so, so, so, so much. I honestly cannot convey my gratitude enough. I genuinely wouldn't be here if it weren't for you. I'll try not to make my sappiness as long this time, aha. But I am so unbelievably grateful that you took the time to read and support this book. You all mean the absolute world to me! ❤