Just as she’d feared the strong fingers belonged to one of the guards. The guard spun her around and pressed a blade to her throat. She didn’t know his name but she’d seen him before as he made his patrols.
He was a few years older than her and she’d always thought he was attractive in a cocky way. If you ignored his personality he was just about all a girl could want. He was tall and his giant muscles were, well gorgeous. Normally he was everything she would have gone for but now he was blocking her only chance of escape.
“You’re out awful early.”
“Yes, I was just so excited I couldn’t sleep.”
“Today’s your testing day isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“It is pretty exciting. I remember my testing day. I tested soldier which is exactly what I wanted. But then you girls aren’t being tested for apprenticeships, are you?”
Amber hoped he’d mistake her flushed cheeks for nervous jitters and she ducked her head down hoping she looked demure. While the boys tested into apprenticeships the girls were placed into a sort of courtship period with potential mates.
Until the fire magic had begun manifesting, getting married was all she could think about. She’d spent an excessive amount of time dreaming about who her future husband would be, but who would want her now? Even if she somehow managed to pass the test there was no way she could hide her powers forever.
“Can’t wait to find out who your husband will be?”
Amber shook her head shyly from side to side and was relieved to see that the guard had tucked his knife back into his waist pocket. The first rays of the early morning light were beginning to appear and Amber knew it was now or never.
“Have you been granted a wife yet?” She asked coyly as she trailed her fingers down his arm.
She could feel his body shift as he stood up straighter like a peacock fluffing his feathers before giving her his full attention.
“This is the first year I’ve qualified, so no.” He leaned forward and whispered in her ear, “You never know. We might be seeing A LOT more of each other.”
She waited until he’d started to lean in for a kiss before grabbing his knife out of its sheath. She brought her heel down on his foot as hard as she could and kicked him again in the shin before taking off at full speed towards the gate. She could only pray that it wasn’t locked.
The door was unlocked but the latch was old and half rusted so she lost precious seconds as she wrestled to get it open. She tore through the opening but she could hear the unmistakable sound of his footsteps gaining on her and his labored breathing was broken only by his grunted curses.
She’d reached the edge of the forest but he was too close for her to hide. She had to do something to slow him down and the only idea she had was insane but she did it anyway. She stopped running and spun around to face him holding up both of her hands with the palms facing out.
“Stop!” Amber shouted.
“That wasn’t very nice,” he spat as he continued menacingly towards her.
Amber tried to call the fire into her hands but it wouldn’t come. With every second that ticked by he drew closer and Amber inched backwards slowly straining and trying to force the fire into her hands. She’d never tried to call it on purpose before. She’d only ever tried to shut it off.
The back of her shoe snagged on a rock and she fell back hard with a thud. He stood over her and leered before squatting down on the ground next to her. She tried to stand but her legs were all tangled up in her heavy skirts.
“If you just wanted to be alone you should have said so.”
Amber gulped when she realized that alone was just what they were. They were far enough from the city gate that no one would hear her scream and the trees would provide more than enough cover to keep her safe from the eyes of the men patrolling the gate.
An instinctual terror began to fill her limbs as a new fear replaced that of escaping the city. She was old enough to know what this man intended and she wanted no part of it. There were worse things than death and according to city law he would become her husband by default.
It was a woman’s duty to protect her virtue and if she failed she got to spend the rest of her life cooking and cleaning for her attacker. It didn’t happen often but then most girls followed the rules and didn’t leave the city gates. Fear began to morph into rage and she started lashing out with her fists.
“I’d rather die,” she bit out angrily. And then she could feel the searing heat filling her palms, warming her yet somehow not burning the flesh of her hands. His eyes grew big as he noticed the fire.
“That’s not possible,” he stammered. “Magic is forbidden.”
She leaned towards him trying to appear confidant, but with every passing second she feared the flames would go out. She’d never been able to maintain the fire for this long before.
Incendiary the Fire Elemental Series 