Chapter 2

I walked to the center of the training area and stopped. Turning around, I found Dionysius facing me with a bored expression. Well, I couldn’t blame him. Iris had never shown any interest in magic—or in training, for that matter. And it was true she couldn’t even conjure up a single flame. I wondered how I was supposed to do any better.
“Okay, my lady. Let’s begin with the very basics,” Dionysius said, his voice carrying the tired weight of someone who’d repeated the same line more times than he could count.
I ignored his attitude and focused on his instructions.
“So first,” he continued, “imagine a small flame in your hand, like striking a match. Don’t let the image falter. As long as you keep it clear in your head, you can keep that flame dancing in your palm—like this.”
He jerked his hand lightly, and at once, a small but steady flame flickered to life. I watched in awe as he flicked his wrist and it vanished, leaving only a faint shimmer of heat in the air.
I clenched my fists in excitement. That was amazing. Now I was even more eager to try it myself.
Dionysius, noticing my enthusiasm, stifled a laugh.
I didn’t care. I had a pretty good imagination, if I did say so myself. I was sure I could do it.
Closing my eyes, I stretched out my hand and pictured a tiny flame on a matchstick. The feeling was subtle at first—like the image itself was coming alive. The clearer it became, the hotter my hand grew. Then, with a sharp inhale, I opened my eyes and gasped at my outstretched palm.

Right there, before my very eyes, a bright flame burned steadily. It seemed even stronger than the one Dionysius had shown me. Well, what do you know! I was so mesmerized by the sight that I didn’t even jump around in joy like I should have.

The little flame was beautiful—tiny specks of gold flickering within it, its soft warmth wrapping around my palm without even burning. An astonished exclamation snapped me out of my daze, and I jerked my head up. Oh… I forgot about him.

Dionysius was staring at me as if his eyes were about to pop right out of their sockets.

“H… how did you do that? Finally… oh goodness, I was afraid you really didn’t have the magic of the Flares in you! Well done!! Oh, well done!!”

He kept blabbering on like an idiot, and I rolled my eyes, though I couldn’t stop the small smile tugging at my lips.

I stopped him. “Well, can I try something else now? This is pretty easy, you know.”

Dionysius gaped at me as if I’d lost my mind. What? Was it really such a difficult request? Honestly.

He straightened up, forcing his voice to stay calm. “My lady, it is a great effort on your part to conjure that bit of flame, but I really feel it would be better to take things one step at a time. We can have another class tomorrow.”

Before he could walk away, I grabbed his sleeve. “Wait!” I shrieked. I only had five days. If I didn’t reach at least a decent level of magical prowess, I wouldn’t survive all the doom flags waiting for me at the academy. Not to mention… the Crown Prince.

“You can’t!” I said frantically. “I have only a few days left. You have to at least teach me something more than a silly little flame! Besides, this only took ten minutes! We’ve got plenty of time left. Now come on… pleaseee?”

I cast a puppy-dog look at him—though honestly, if a villainess can pull that off without looking ridiculous, then congratulations to me.

Dionysius’s eyes widened, and he quickly looked away, his ears turning red. Oops. I must’ve looked terrifying. He cleared his throat and glanced down at my hand.

“Would you… be so kind as to remove your hand, my lady?”

I jumped. Oh. Right. I’d forgotten I was still clutching his sleeve. I let go in a hurry, my face heating up slightly.

Dionysius cleared his throat again before continuing. “Then… how about you try conjuring a ball of flame? It’s technically much more difficult than a simple flame, because of its shape. However, if your imagination is strong, I daresay it will work.”

Excitement bubbled up inside me. How big could I make it? Maybe not huge, but it was worth a shot. I shut my eyes and held out my hands—both of them this time.