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“I know.”
I just wish she didn’t need to be so strong. That life would give her a fucking break, but I can’t control that. All I can do is be here.
“So what were you talking about, then?” I ask, curious about what made sense to her, if not her, finding out what was wrong with Serena. I thought that was the whole point of all the mixtures and herbs.
“Oh, that.” A smile ghosts over her lips as she moves back to the table and holds up the bottle of blue liquid for me to see. “I made this mixture myself. I’m not sure what Garrett has told you, but with my light magic, I can see people’s auras.”
So Garrett isn’t the only one with light magic.
Interesting.
“In this realm, the elements are common practice. From childhood, elemental magic is something everyone can use.”
I nod because it’s the same where we’re from. “Yeah, I can’t remember a time when I didn’t have it.”
She purses her lips before shaking her head. “Yes, and no. In your realm, you have one tie to elemental magic and two if someone is particularly powerful, but that’s rare, correct?” She phrases it as if it’s a question, but I get the feeling she already knows the answer.
How else would she even know to ask that?
I nod after a moment, unsure what else the option might be.
Isn’t that how elemental magic works?
“Here, it’s a bit different, dear. Our realm has more magic, whereas yours took the path of technology. We don’t have cars, electricity, or smartphones. But everything in life is a balancing act, so our realm’s magic has stayed the main focus.”
Again, I nod when she pauses to check and see if I’m still following what she’s saying.
She holds up her hand, and sparks begin to dance and shine in her palm the same way they did when Garrett showed us his ability. I’d only ever seen it that one time, but I can’t imagine it will ever stop amazing me. It’s as if she holds a tiny galaxy in her hand.
Reaching out, she rests her other hand on Serena’s arm, and I watch in amazement as her shadows slowly recede. Some of Serena’s color comes back, and I’m unsure if I’m projecting, but I swear she seems to breathe easier as the queen steps away again.
As if that’s not enough, the light slowly shifts before my eyes, turning into a ball of fire.
I open my mouth to comment on her double affinity, but before I can get a word out, it shifts again, and whatever I was going to say is lost.
Water.
That’s three elements! I’ve never heard of anyone having an affinity for three elements. Hell, Blair having two blew my mind as a kid. Only a few cases were reported in the last five hundred years, of which our town had records. It was so rare that it used to drive me crazy that he hid his second ability.
Don’t get me wrong. I understood his reasoning, but I always thought it would have been better if he had used it to help Serena get comfortable with it, to help her overcome her fear of fire instead of sheltering her from it. At the end of the day, it was Blair’s call, though, and he chose to keep it from her, afraid she might pull away from him had she found out.
She didn’t, of course, not that I’m surprised. Serena would never hold his gift against him, even if it did take her a while to get used to it. It’s just not who she is. Blair’s fear was unnecessary, but beyond that, I think he might have hurt her by keeping it hidden because of her. She’s always been so concerned that she’s holding us back that she’s somehow a burden on us.
Serena has always been so much tougher than we give her credit for. Even now, unconscious in my arms, some part of me knows she will pull through this.
She has to.
Water morphs into a tiny tornado for air before a chunk of the wall breaks off to float into her hand.
All of them… She has control over all the elements, plus light!
How is that possible?
“You see, everyone has a connection to the four fundamental elements here. Depending on how strong of a connection someone has to a specific element or elements, it can even develop past the basic control into something more refined.”
The chunk of the wall flies back into place before she once again forms a mini tornado in her hand. It expands slowly, but even as it grows, it doesn’t seem destructive the way they do when it happens naturally.
“Unfortunately, I cannot show you using my elemental magic, as it’s something inside me. But ask Garrett. I’m sure he would happily give you an example with his fire.” Smiling, she closes her hand, banishing the tornado as if it were never here.
