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Most everyone shakes their heads, though I notice Delilah remains still, with her hands in her lap.
“Then it’s good we’re changing our lesson plan for today.” Aspen joins Mel at the table and sets down his box. “Since the hunt for materials was interrupted yesterday, we thought we’d test everyone’s affinities today.”
He opens the box and pulls out a stack of metal bowls. “Most witches have an element they resonate with, but if you don’t, no fear. As with Rowe’s grandmother, you may be a different type of witch, and we’ll focus on discovering your specialties.”
A stir of excitement goes through the room.
“Some of you may already suspect which element you have an affinity for.” Mel takes a bottle of water from her bag and pours it into the bowl Aspen sets in front of her. “Maybe going to the beach always fills you with a sense of peace, or you find yourself calmed by being out in nature.”
She next empties a bag of dirt into a new bowl, before pulling out a jar of clear liquid and pouring it into the next bowl.
“Or perhaps you find comfort in building a fire at night, or your pulse races near a bonfire.” Aspen slips a pack of matches from his pocket and strikes one before dropping it into the bowl.
Fire whooshes out before the flames settle to just above the bowl’s rim.
Into the last bowl, Mel places a handful of tiny white feathers before setting the bag on the floor. “Or maybe meditation is your thing, and you find solace in silence.”
Eww. That sounds like a nap to me.
Aspen traces his finger around the rim of each bowl, murmuring too softly for us to hear, then nods at Mel.
“You may resonate with more than one element, too. For example, I have an affinity for fire.” She holds her hand over the bowl of fire, and the flames rise to caress her palm. “I also have an affinity for earth.”
She picks up the bowl and walks among the tables with her hand held over the top. As she passes us, I see the top of the earth shifting into different patterns.
More murmurs of excitement fill the room while my stomach clenches with anxiety.
If there was an affinity for pie, I’d have this test in the bag. But those other things they mentioned? So not me.
As Mel walks back to the teacher’s table, Aspen gives us all a winning smile. “I have an affinity for all elements, so no matter what you are, we can teach you.”
“Braggart,” Tris coughs from the back.
Aspen’s icy gaze fixed on him. “How about we start at the back today? Tris, you can go first.”
His groan echoes through the room, and his chair scrapes back.
When he passes, he tweaks my braid and smiles down at me with a confidence I lack.
He stops in front of the bowls and rubs his hands together. “How does this work?”
“Hold your hand over each bowl and concentrate on the element it holds,” Aspen instructs. “Feel for a connection, a resonance within that speaks to your magic.”
“Take your time,” Mel adds. “There’s no rush.”
Tris lets out a long breath before he holds his hand over the first bowl with the water.
After several seconds, he shakes his head and moves to the bowl of earth next. He barely pauses before moving to the fire, tentatively extending his hand over the flames.
As they flicker and dance, I lean forward, my elbows on the table. They’re not touching his palm like they did for Mel, but they’re definitely higher than they started.
It’s like a magical game of eeny, meeny, miny, moe.
Tris lets out a huff of surprise and moves to the bowl of feathers. Before he even extends his hand, the feathers swirl out of the bowl in a little whirlwind.
“What the—” Tris leaps back from the soft flurry, and they drift back into the bowl.
Mel grins at him. “Congratulations, Tris. You are an air witch with minor fire affinity. It’s a common combination, as air feeds fire.”
