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daughter is going away for almost a year,” he said. “I wanted her to have something to remind her of us.”
    “I forbid it,” said her Mother icily. “Rewards are earned, never given. The next thing you know, she’ll start expecting gifts just for surviving until her next birthday.”
    “Mother.”
    The look that her Mother gave her stopped her from saying more.
    “Come on, Ravyn,” said her Father, “Help me load the trunk on the carriage.”
    They each grabbed an end and hauled the trunk out the front door to the carriage they’d hired to take Ravyn to Kendra. The driver hopped off and helped her father lift the trunk onto the roof of the carriage. Without looking back at the house, Ravyn climbed into the carriage while her Father and the driver tied down the trunk.
    Her Father climbed into the carriage and turned to wave back at their house. “Aren’t you going to wave goodbye to your Mother?” he asked.
    “No.”
    “You’re going to miss her and wish that you’d said goodbye.” Ravyn stared at the carriage wall.
    “Let’s go, driver,” he said, and the carriage jostled into motion.
    Ravyn hugged her knees to her chest and continued to glare at the wall. It was several minutes later before she glanced out the window.
    “This isn’t the way out of the city,” she said.
    “No, it isn’t,” he said, relaxing on the padded bench in the carriage.
    “Where are we going?”
    “It’s a surprise,” he said with a wink.
    Seeing a smile ignite on her face, one slowly spread across his face.
    “You’ll need to be careful,” he said, grabbing his seat as the carriage took a hard left turn. “We won’t be there with you. You’ll be responsible for scheduling your own day.”
    “I’ll be fine,” she said, staring out the window at the houses as they passed by. “The classes will have a schedule and I’ll spend the rest of my time studying with the other students.”
    “The other kids will be different. They won’t be nearly as focused as you are.”
    “Don’t worry, they won’t corrupt me.”
    “A little bit of corruption won’t kill you. Just don’t tell your mother or she’ll kill the both of us,” he said, nudging her in the ribs. “Schedule yourself some time to make friends.”
    “I’m going to miss both of you,” she said, leaning over to rest her head on his shoulder.
    “We will too,” he said, resting his head against hers. “Do your best and I’ll always be proud of you.”
    “So where are we going?” she asked with a mischievous smile.
    Leaning his head towards the window, he said “You’ll find out in a couple minutes.”
    Both of them watched out the window until the driver stop the carriage in front of a small sweets shop.
    “We’ve got a couple days journey ahead of us and I thought that you could use a snack.”

Chapter 4
    “C lose, but you’re still not shutting everything out,” said Jerel, house wizard and tutor to Prince Caddaric and his two brothers.
    “That would be easier to do if it wasn’t for this rain,” said Prince Caddaric.
    “Find a solution, not an excuse,” said Jerel.
    The two of them stood in the courtyard of the keep. The keep sat on top of a large hill near the center of Kendra, the capital city of Rourke. Prince Caddaric Kelvin, the youngest member of the royal family, was heading off to Haven in a couple days to begin his training in the magical arts. Jerel had been his tutor since birth and had attended Haven when he was younger to become a War Wizard. The two had been spending more and more of their time together as the day for Caddaric’s departure drew nearer. Today, Caddaric was firing arrows at a straw target across the courtyard.
    Prince Caddaric was tall, with powerful shoulders, an honest face, and a cleft chin. His movements were fluid, even graceful for someone his size. His long, dark hair fell below his shoulders. The rain had plastered it onto his back, stilling its natural smoky movements.
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