The Dragon's Vow or the Stubborn Bride. Edgars Auziņš

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      – And I’m Mirre. Mirrae Blackrock. “It means fair, reasonable,” she added in tone with her cousins.

      It sounded strange, but Dustrasse really had such a tradition.

      “And also brave and selfless, don’t even doubt it,” Ada suddenly added additional meanings to my name.

      Vilde stared at me incredulously.

      – Come on! Are you the same Mirre? – she said in amazement.

      – But you’re empty! – Volde blurted out bluntly.

      – What stupidity! Would a dummy be invited to the academy? – Khvoyana noted innocently.

      – Girls, don’t you think that for boarding school girls, you are all a little… ill-mannered? – Lisel noted.

      – What did I say? – Vilde took it personally.

      – In your opinion, is it polite to call a relative empty in front of unfamiliar people? – Khvoyana, who had just distinguished herself, chuckled.

      – It wasn’t me who called it, it was you and Volde! – Vilde was indignant.

      – But it's true! Everyone knows that Mirre Blackrock was born without magic…” Volde tried to justify herself, batting her long, thick eyelashes.

      “Then how did I end up on this stagecoach?” – I pretended to think, barely restraining myself from anger.

      Here we go again! As soon as someone from Dustrasse is nearby, they start pestering me!

      – Well… Maybe your father set it up? – Vilde suggested in all seriousness, lowering her voice.

      – Who is your father, Mirre? – Khvoyana suddenly asked.

      – Duke of Blackrock! – Volde responded innocently. – He serves as dean at the academy. He could have pulled it off in such a way that Mirre was taken.

      The envious girls at the boarding school said the same thing, but for some reason it was the cousins’ words that touched me. I even jumped out of my seat and blurted out:

      – What nonsense! I have the highest score on testing! Yes, our Grymza signed me up as a combat magician!

      I came to my senses when Ada persistently pulled my hand. It turns out that I was standing over my sisters, clenching my fists and wheezing like an angry yak.

      The Dustrasse sisters looked at each other.

      – Yes cold!

      – Can't be!

      – Show me!

      – What can you do?

      They demanded vying with each other.

      – Yes, girls! Stop! Mirre will not demonstrate his skills to you, if only because this is prohibited for first-year adepts,” Uncle Alan stood up for me. – Sit down, and let's move on. We should be at the crossing already an hour ago. There we will change to a vehicle more suitable for traveling across the steppe, and several days of travel await us. I advise you to find a common language during this time.

      Having thrown the twins' bags into the luggage compartment on the roof, Uncle Alan joined the driver on the box. It seems he spent the whole night there. The Dustrasse cousins took seats opposite me and began to look at me without a twinge of conscience.

      – Mirre, how did it happen that you finally got magic? – Vilde asked a question.

      – No, really! It is interesting to us. After all, they said that…” Wolde joined her, but her sister elbowed her in the side.

      I realized that questions could not be avoided, and I decided that it would be better to tell them my version. In addition, the other girls watched us with curiosity. Even Yumi, who never said a word except her name.

      “Late initiation under stress,” I very briefly described my deadly adventures in the Ancient Forest two years ago.*

      – Oh!

      – Wow!

      The cousins reacted.

      – What happened to you? – Vilde asked.

      “I was in mortal danger, so the gift woke up.” “It happens,” I gave the version that was agreed upon in the family.

      We kept the details of that story secret for obvious reasons.

      – Of course…

      “I see…” the sisters said in disappointment, hoping for a more detailed story.

      The others hoped so too, judging by the way they looked at me.

      “Girls, maybe someday we’ll get to know each other better, become friends, and I’ll tell you, but not now.” “Everyone started talking in unison, assuring me that this would definitely happen.” And I decided to take the bull by the horns, and smiling, added: “But on one condition: don’t shout at every corner in the academy that my father is the Duke of Blackrock, agreed?”

      Chapter 4

      On the way, we caught up with the gap and arrived at the crossing on time. After warming up and having a snack at the tavern at the Travel Bureau station, we transferred to another stagecoach. More bulky than the previous one, it did not have wheels, but simply hovered above the ground. The steppe stagecoach looked unusual, but it turned out to be spacious. I could even walk upright inside. The cabin had shelves for luggage and special light bunks for sleeping according to the number of passengers.

      – The ride is smooth, the load capacity is increased. “Everything is as ordered,” the new driver in the blue bureau uniform muttered nasally.

      “I know, I know,” Uncle Alan nodded. – I’ve already traveled on one of these. Please take care of our luggage while I sort out the formalities.

      Having overloaded his few belongings, the driver took his place on the box. After waiting for Alan Nett to return, we climbed inside and the stagecoach set off, carried by a team of long-legged steppe wolves. They were much tougher than horses, did not need a good road and were not afraid of the inhabitants of the plains – the Yutars, two-legged nimble lizards who, although they did not eat meat, fiercely defended their territory. There were also plenty of other creatures in the steppe, an encounter with which could have been fatal if wolves had not been with us.

      The night on the road was not very comfortable; we had to sleep sitting up, so the girls immediately took their bunks and dozed off. Lying on my own, I looked out the narrow window for a long time and hoped that Simka would catch up with us, but without waiting, I fell asleep too. Simuran appeared only on the third day of the journey. We had just stopped at the next station to have a snack and rest when a white spot appeared in the sky.

      Adalbjorg was the first to notice him.

      – I can’t believe my eyes! – the northern woman muttered under her breath.

      – What's there? – attentive Khvoyana, immediately appeared nearby.

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