Melisa took a deep breath, forcing herself to tune out the chaos around her.
She closed her eyes, trying to imagine she was back in her room at the academy, practicing the spell in peace.
[You can do this, Mel. You've got this. Just breathe.]
And, with those words, she began to calm down.
In her mind's eye, she saw herself tracing the spellsign perfectly, felt the surge of magic coursing through her veins.
She could almost hear Javir's voice in her head, encouraging her, guiding her. She could almost hear one of the knights whispering as well, "sword" and "your neck".
She went through what little memory of the spellsign she had, given that she made it yesterday, but what she had was more than enough.
She hadn't lied when she talked to the king earlier. This world's magic system came naturally to her. So much so, that...
