Chapter 5 of

Radiance

by Lauren Stinton

By the time Radiance made it to the breakfast table the next morning, only one biscuit sat all by itself on the serving dish. Biscuits were her favorite.

“Radiance,” Mrs. Semos said sternly, “you have to eat more than just one biscuit for breakfast. We won’t be having lunch today until nearly one o’clock because of the tour.”

So Radiance had a piece of fish too. She heated it up on her fingertips and pretended she meant to catch the last little bit on fire. Some people said flamemakers made the best cooks, and of course that was true—but only if they had patience and knew how to do things slowly.

I am very patient, Radiance told herself as she licked her fingers. More patient than any flamemaker alive. This was not true, but she thought maybe it could be true. One day.

The hour was early, just a little after seven, and the inn’s dining room was mostly empty. At Hawk’s table sat a man and woman who were bickering over their plans for the day. The lady wanted to walk the beach, and the man wanted to go see a horse race in the city.

As she watched them, Radiance took a deep breath and noticed the dining room smelled different this morning. Today it didn’t smell like the sea—just like biscuits and burned fish.

Was it the wind? Was that why it sometimes smelled like the sea in here and sometimes it didn’t?

All of this was very interesting to her. Anything that involved the sea was interesting.

An hour later, Radiance looked around in awe as a soldier escorted her class through the huge gates of Northpost.

On the way here, Mrs. Semos had explained this was the oldest outpost in King’s Barrow. It was built during the reign of the first king of Dasken, long before King’s Barrow was a separate country. The wall around the outpost stood as tall as the tallest tree Radiance had ever seen, and the gates looked strong enough to keep out dragons.

“It’s so big,” one of the girls whispered.

“Look at all the soldiers,” someone else said.

Most of the men and women at work in the courtyard wore the king’s uniform, their armor glinting in the early morning light. The king’s banner hung in several places—above the gate, near the large steel door of the outpost itself, on a huge pole in the courtyard’s center—as if to remind people why the outpost existed.

But the most important thing Radiance observed was the salt clinging to the air. The outpost smelled like the sea. Just on the other side of the distant wall, she knew the ground dropped away and the saltwater began. From where she stood in the courtyard, the sea was close by—closer here than it was even at the inn.

She could feel the water calling to her just like fire did. It felt like a quiet ache inside her, only it didn’t hurt. A longing as deep as the sea.

A man stopped in front of their group. He was one of the few people Radiance could see who wore regular clothing instead of armor. He nodded to the soldier who had brought them through the gate and then turned to Mr. Liam and Mrs. Semos.

“Welcome to Northpost,” he said. “My name is Shain. I’m the steward’s assistant, and I will be your guide this morning. But first, which of you is the senior staff member?”

Mr. Liam lifted his hand.

“Excellent. The general would like to see you right away.” Shain hesitated. “It seems there is some…concern about one of the girls in your group, but I will let the general explain.” He gestured toward the guard directly behind him. “Drake here will escort you to the general’s office, sir. You are to bring the child named Radiance with you.”

Radiance had been watching some men on the other side of the courtyard who were loading barrels into a wagon. At her name, she startled and looked up at the guide quickly. What? But they had only just arrived! She hadn’t had time to get in trouble yet.

Mr. Liam was frowning. He glanced at Radiance with a warning look in his eyes and then turned back to their guide. “Do you know what this is about?”

“The general will explain,” Shain repeated pleasantly. It appeared he didn’t wish to say anything more.

Radiance’s stomach felt like it flopped around at her sandals. What was going on? Her friend Ama, the jeweler who always knew good things to say, reached out and grabbed her hand.

Mr. Liam said gruffly, “Come along, Radiance.”

They followed the soldiers into the outpost.

The general’s office was on the first floor at the end of a hallway that seemed very dark after Radiance had been out in the sunlight. Rubbing her eyes, she peered at the tapestries on the walls and tried to make sense of the pictures woven into the fabric.

The smell of the sea floated across her, and she frowned, feeling only slightly better as the sea tried to comfort her. Why could she smell the sea in a dark old hallway? Maybe there was a window open somewhere.

A soldier stood guard at the last door. As they drew closer, he knocked twice on the door then reached for the handle and pulled the door open.

“Sir,” the soldier called, “they’re here.”

A gravelly voice replied, “Show them in.”

Mr. Liam set his hand on Radiance’s shoulder and guided her forward. As they passed through the doorway, the smell of the sea wrapped around her like a blanket. She took deep breaths and told herself not to flinch, not to show anything on her face at all, as every person in the room turned and looked at her.

Two men stood in front of the desk. They wore green uniforms she didn’t recognize, but she did know they weren’t part of the King’s Barrow military. One man was older than the other, and the younger had long black hair he’d tied back in a tail. Both men wore swords.

Mr. Liam’s fingers dug into Radiance’s shoulder.

The general rose from his chair behind the desk. He had scraggly white hair and large shoulders, like he was used to carrying heavy things. Radiance immediately thought of the soldiers moving barrels out in the courtyard.

“And you are?” the general asked Mr. Liam.

Mr. Liam gave his full name.

“And you are the girl’s legal guardian?”

Mr. Liam cleared his throat. “The Marble Town School for Girls is officially her guardian, according to the king’s records.”

“Please remove your hand from the girl, Mr. Liam.”

Instantly the weight of Mr. Liam’s hand disappeared. For the first time in her life, Radiance nearly shivered.

The general looked down at her. She didn’t know what else to do so she tried to smile at him, but it was possible it turned out more like a grimace. Why was she in trouble? She hadn’t done anything.

His wrinkly face softened. “How long have you lived at the Marble Town school, child?”

“Years and years,” she replied.

“Do you remember how old you were when you started living there?”

She glanced at Mr. Liam. “I was very little. Maybe two, sir.”

“Less than that,” Mr. Liam corrected. “Eighteen months. Barely a toddler.”

The general turned to the older man, who was studying Radiance thoughtfully. This man didn’t look at the general, but he seemed to sense the general’s gaze because he nodded once.

Breathing a sigh, the general said, “Were you aware, Mr. Liam, that you have accepted a Theranian child into your school? By law, she must be turned over to her countrymen immediately. This is a breach in our treaty with Theraine. You will need to prove your ignorance in this matter, or it is possible the school will be held liable.”

Radiance gasped. A Theranian? Who’s the Theranian? She thought of all the girls in her class. Most of them she liked, but the weathermaker named Leesla thought all flamemakers were mean, and she wouldn’t change her mind about it. Maybe Leesla was the Theranian. That would be good. Then she’d have to leave.

Mr. Liam cleared his throat again. “There seems to be some mistake, sir.” He looked quickly at the other men. “Ah—sirs. Radiance is not Theranian.”

“Me?” she exclaimed. They were talking about her? But she couldn’t be Theranian. Everyone knew this.

Mr. Liam’s face turned scarlet. “General—sir, we never would have knowingly accepted a Theranian into our program. We are familiar with the laws of the land, and we have no intention of breaking them. Radiance is not Theranian.”

The older man in the green uniform spoke for the first time. Radiance noted he had the same accent Hawk did. “You seem to be quite convinced she is not what she is, school teacher. What inspires this belief?”

“She’s a flamemaker,” Mr. Liam retorted. “You do not have flamemakers in Theraine.”

Radiance nodded. It was true.

– R –

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Copyright notice: © 2019 by Lauren Stinton. All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.