Chapter 3: Astoria

“You don’t have any magic.”

Elsa was surprised at first, then she watched the boy’s face carefully, to see how he would react. She knew the Diviner couldn’t be tricked or deceived, yet she felt it was wrong this time, wrong about him. There was just no way he could have survived out there on his own, without any power, while a whole squad of knights had perished.

“Well, that’s a bummer,” he said simply.

His face showed some disappointment, but it was quickly washed away by the same thoughtful look that had been on his face since he opened his blue eyes. He claimed not to remember things, and she believed him, at least a little. Not even the most skilled performer could fake the kind of confusion she had seen on his face when he first woke up.

But Elsa knew there was something he was not telling her.

He had been attacked in the forest, of that she had no doubt about. His tattered and bloodied clothes were clear evidence. But how was he alive? Why had whatever it was that had attacked him not finished him off? She had thought he might have fought it off with a power he didn’t know about—it wasn’t unheard of for one’s power to fully manifest in life or death situations—and that was why she had tested him with the Diviner.

But he had no magic whatsoever, not even a slight trace. The only explanation that made sense was that something inside the forest had saved him from death, something they knew nothing about. The mere thought was hard to believe.

Still, it would explain what Elliot had noticed, and the way he had reacted to it. But what could it possibly be? Why save him? Was he important for something?

“Are you going to let me go now?” he asked.

She held his gaze, letting his question hang unanswered. “Before that, I have a final question to ask,” she said finally, releasing a little bit of her mana and the air swelled with sudden heat. “Do you mean any harm to this kingdom or anyone within it?”

His eyes swelled with shock and he drew back slightly. “No.”

“Swear it to the One Light,” Elsa commanded, releasing a little bit more of her mana into the air, and a sudden light burst, enveloping her in a soft golden glow like the morning sun. The air in the dungeon grew heavier and hotter, thin fumes curled from the walls, iron bars began to soften, and the stone beneath her feet shimmered with heat.

“I swear it to the One Light,” he sputtered.

Immediately, she restrained her mana and the light and heat quickly ebbed. Her gaze remained on the boy, and she saw sweat beading on his forehead, his expression a mix of confusion, fear, and awe. The fear and awe were understandable, it was the natural reaction for anyone without magic when they were exposed to a high concentration of mana.

And it was dangerous. It might be only a fraction of her mana, but any more and she could have blinded him, or worse. But she’d needed to get a point across.

Elsa turned back to the table where she had left the bag. She slipped the Diviner orb inside and brought out some clothes she set aside, then she faced him once more. From her waist, she drew a key and unlocked the cell gate, stepping aside to let him pass.

“Just like that?” he asked, his voice still filled with fear.

“You made an oath,” she replied. “I will be your punishment if you break it.”

Still, he did not move from where he sat.

Elsa offered a disarming smile. “You’re not guilty of any crime, so there’s no reason to hold or hurt you,” she explained. “I just had some questions. That’s all.”

She wasn’t lying. He’d done nothing that deserved punishment. Still, there were too many unknowns around him, and she had no intention of leaving them as unknowns.

Somehow, she’d figure out what she had brought into the city.

The boy finally pushed to his feet and shuffled forward. Elsa watched him, her sharp gaze following each moment. He stepped out of the cell, and she realized they were similar height. It surprised her, for some reason he had seemed much shorter than she was.

“Your hands,” she ordered gently.

He nodded and put them forward. At once, she unlocked the shackles and the metal fell to the ground with loud thud. With him unrestrained, a cautious part of her mind urged her to be on guard, her hand even moved instinctively to rest on one of her swords. But as she looked into his face, she didn’t think he would cause problems.

“Thanks,” he muttered, looking off to the side as he rubbed his wrists.

“I didn’t do anything,” Elsa remarked, then her gaze dropped to the strange clothes he was wearing. “Your clothes, they’re very strange.”

“Strange?” he asked and quickly looked down at himself as though he had forgotten what it was he was wearing. “They’re normal where I’m from.”

“America Sea ... attle?” She asked, lifting a brow. The kingdom she had never heard about. Elsa put the name in her mind, she would search about it when she had time.

“Yeah,” he replied quickly. “America, Seattle.”

She gave a subtle nod. “Well, I don’t know what value they hold to you, but you’ll need to change them. I can’t have you walking around in bloody clothes.”

The boy frowned. “I don’t have—” he began to explain.

Elsa pointed to the clothes she had set on the table. “I brought some. They’re spares from the training ground. I didn’t know your size, so you have to manage them.”

“Thank you,” he voiced.

He walked past her toward the large table and picked up the clothes, smelling them first. If they were closer, she would have been tempted to make a comment about his sudden regard for cleanliness when he hadn’t seemed to mind the blood covering his clothes just a moment ago, but she bit her tongue and said nothing about it.

The boy began to peel off the large top he wore on. It was some kind of material she didn’t recognize, but it looked heavy, she wasn’t sure how he could be comfortable. As the top came off, her gaze subtly dropped to his bare chest and further down his abdomen. His body was well-built, slim and solid, not emancipated as she’d half expected.