Chapter 1
The thing about living in a circus is that every day is the same and every day is different. Every few days, you’re traveling to a new town or city and the air feels colder or hotter or drier or saltier. There’s the itchy, unsettled feeling of a village that isn’t quite sure what it thinks about circuses and their folk or the fizzy excitement of a welcoming town, where the breeze almost seems to smell of popcorn before the kernels have started popping. But the shape of Elio Gale’s days was less varied. There were travel days and show days and occasionally rest days, but they all revolved round the routines of the animals he cared for—both the non-magical beasts that carried them from place to place and the enchanted Tangles that performed in the show.
“Are the creatures ready?” a voice shouted from somewhere outside the tent where Elio was preparing the magical animals.
“Ready when you are,” he called back as he cast an eye over tonight’s stars: miniature tigers practicing their roars that sent out little bursts of fire and soot, peacocks with tail feathers made of ice crystals that never melted, and Elio’s personal favorite, the mice who looked entirely normal—apart from the beautiful wings that sprang from their backs. People flocked from
near and far to see the incredible Tangles of Circus Astra. They were all
made by ringleader and enchanter Stella, who was an expert at manipulating
the threads of magic that made up the island of Whetherwhy. Stella
wove and unraveled Tangles as she pleased and impatiently assured Elio
that they were more than happy to perform in the circus, for they were,
as their name indicated, mere tangles of enchantment. And, regardless of
what Elio thought, everything at Circus Astra was decided by Stella.
Elio handed the Tangles to the newest trapeze artist, Colt, who gave
a thumbs-up and disappeared into the big top with the mice fluttering
around his ears, the tigers at his feet, and the icy peacocks stalking haughtily
behind him. When Colt had come to find work with Circus Astra,
Stella had asked him, as she asked all new recruits, what his magic was,
for everyone in Whetherwhy had a little bit of magic that grew from one
of the seasons. Not many were enchanters like Stella, and she preferred
to employ those with summer magic in their veins, because summer was
the magic of revelation and celebration, warmth and sharing, and it lent
itself to performance and confidence. And tonight was particularly rich
with it as it was the Summer Ember Day, the celebration that marked the
beginning of the season. Potent with magic and joy, the circus was decked
out with extra decorations in gold and pink and purple alongside its usual
celestial-themed banners and hangings.
The four seasonal Ember Days always made Elio feel a little odd, but
the Summer Ember Day in particular gave him a sort of tug in his stomach.
He’d wondered if this meant he had summer magic, but he was unlikely
to ever know, as, despite the fact that he had turned thirteen in time for the
last round of magical tests, no letter had come for him from the Council of
Months to invite him to attend, and his father hadn’t taken him.
“Just an administrative error, I’m sure,” his father, Jonah, had said,
without meeting his eye. “We’ll sort it out when we get a quiet moment, but it doesn’t change who you are inside. I sometimes wonder if any of us really need to know.” But that quiet moment never came. The circus was always busy and always moving, and Jonah never mentioned it again.
***
Fifteen minutes later, a breathless Colt emerged again from the big top at
the tent flap where Elio was waiting to take the Tangles from him.
“There’s nothing like the thrill of the applause,” Colt said, a sheen of
sweat on his tanned forehead. “Never wished you could get into the ring
yourself ?”
“Oh no.” Elio laughed. “I like it much better backstage. I don’t like
being the center of attention. Much prefer looking after this lot.” One of
the mice fluttered up and landed on his shoulder, and Elio gave it a gentle
stroke.
“Each to their own,” Colt said, downing a tankard of water from the
barrel that stood by the tent flap for that purpose. “I wouldn’t change it for
the world, though. I was in a theater in Saltgate before I came here, but I
fancied something a bit less proper, and when you were last in town, I knew
this was perfect. Do you go through Saltgate much?”
“Every few years,” Elio said, a little distracted as he tried to keep track
of the tiny tigers, who were a distinct fire risk. “There’s never much time
to explore, though. You know how it is.”
“Saltgate’s a great place,” Colt said, putting the tankard down and
dunking his whole head into the barrel. “Not as grand as Stormgrove, of
course, but all the better for it. Being the second city of the island means
you get all the fun of a big place, but everyone takes themselves a little
less seriously. It has a mischievous spirit, does Saltgate—next time we pass
through I’ll show you its charms. Were you tucked away back here last time
you passed through?”
“Yep.” Elio nodded. “Jonah and I have been here since I was a baby,
and I’ve been looking after the animals since I was old enough to be useful.”
But before he could go on, one of the tiny tigers sent a spark of fire onto the edge of the tent and Elio had to stamp it out. He gave the miniature
tiger a stern glare, and it looked appropriately chastened.
“Thanks for your help,” Colt said with a broad smile and a pat on
Elio’s shoulder. “I’ll see you in the mess tent for grub after the show?”
“Almost definitely.”
***
Once the Tangles were safely back in their variously equipped cages and
boxes, Elio went to peep through the tent flap to watch the end of the
show. Stella was wearing her customary outfit of top hat, slim black trousers,
knee-high boots, a crisp white shirt, and a black jacket with tails, embroidered
with the patterns of the night sky in gold and silver thread. As
it was Ember Day, she had added a purple silk scarf round her neck and a
pink flower in her bright white hair.
“My dear friends,” she called, her voice amplified by an enchanted
speaking horn. “We are coming to the end of tonight’s performance. We
are honored you have chosen to celebrate your Summer Ember Day here
with all of us, and we are delighted to have shared it with you. This is our
final night here in Arrowfell, and we hope you have had a magnificent
time. Circus Astra will return, but for now, my friends, please welcome
back the stars of Circus Astra for one last display of wonder!”
Copyright © 2025 by Anna James; illustrated by David Wyatt. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
