Free The Vaetra Chronicles: Book 01 - Vaetra Unveiled by Daniel R. Marvello Page B

miss opportunities with Raven Company either. If work came in, I had to be there to take it.
    Nevertheless, I found myself drawn to the idea of spending more time with Sulana. I liked being near her. What that meant for my relationship with Dela was uncertain and probably not good.
    Daven leaned on the outside wall of the cottage with his arms folded and watched me in bemusement as I paced back and forth considering my future. I finally stopped pacing and sighed.
    "What have you decided?" Daven asked me. His tone was casual, but his words had an edge to them that hinted at more than a passing interest in my response. His gaze didn't waver from me as he waited for me to answer.
    "Nothing," I finally said. "My life is complicated enough already without adding sorcery to the mix. As disturbing as the revelation is, I don't see how I can do anything about it right now."
    Daven nodded, his lips pressed into a serious line. "I don't blame you. It's a lot to take in all at once. You've lived your life so far just fine without sorcery, so what's the point of changing that now? Even if you did decide to pursue it, you'd be starting pretty late in life and you'd have a lot of catching up to do."
    I agreed with him completely, but for some reason, hearing it from him rankled a bit. "I'm a fast learner, so I think I could pick it up quickly, but you're right. Now isn't the time."
    As the last words came out of my mouth, Sulana emerged from the healer's cottage with an armful of bottles and pouches. She headed over to her horse to add them to her saddle bags. As she walked by me she said, "It's up to you, of course. But I wouldn't waste your gift or the opportunity to develop it lightly. It could be a tremendous help to you in your work with Raven Company."
    I considered her point. "That might be nice in the end, but I'd have to abandon my responsibilities for however long while I developed those skills."
    Sulana finished lacing up her saddle bags and turned back to me. "Every goal has a price. It's up to you to decide if the price is worth achieving the goal."
    I snorted. "How very philosophical of you. But from where I'm standing, the decision is far from easy."
    "Life-changing decisions are never easy. I just think you should know what you may be giving up. I can probably answer the questions you must have about sorcery so you can make an informed decision."
    Daven rolled his eyes and grunted. He walked off to where Barek and Talon were finishing their grisly task. Sulana watched him walk away and waited until he was out of earshot before turning back to me.
    She lowered her voice and continued. "If you went to the Archives for training, it wouldn't take long to find out if you had a knack for sorcery and if you liked it. Within a month or so, you'd know if you wanted to continue. If you didn't think it could improve your life, you could just leave."
    My eyes widened. "A month!" I exclaimed. "If I told Dela I was running off for a month, she'd sneak into my room and slit my throat in my sleep."
    Sulana shrugged. "It would take at least a month just to learn the basics. If you decided to continue, it would take a year or more to become proficient. What did you expect?"
    I smirked. "Well, that pretty much settles it. There's no way I can abandon my responsibilities for a year or more to learn skills I may never need to use. As Daven said, I've been doing fine without sorcery up to now." Okay, maybe I wasn't doing particularly fine at the moment, but I was working on it.
    Sulana looked disappointed, which made me want to reach out and touch her arm, but I had nothing encouraging to say to her. She shrugged again. "Suit yourself. But the work you do for Raven Company isn't that different from what I do for the Archives. I'm certain sorcery would be a big help to you."
    She looked over toward the horses and saw that the others were preparing to leave. "Well, we'd better get going," she said, and then she turned and walked away.
    I wanted to