Not. Acceptable.
“Kolstov has a problem with being locked out,” Zephyrus put in, completely oblivious to the turmoil brewing beneath my skin. “Don’t worry. You’ll get used to it.”
“Are you going to be an ass to me all year?” Kolstov demanded, his focus on the headmaster.
“Likely,” Zephyrus replied.
The thumping in my ears drowned out the continuation of his statement, my focus on the little tendril of power peeking at me from beneath the thick, inky waves inside me.
Oh, hello, I thought at it.Come here.
Closing my eyes, I followed the flare of light through the dark web in my mind.
This is where they’ve trapped me, I realized, the map clearing behind my eyes.They’ve cast a binding spell over me.
It must have happened while I was asleep.
Did Shade do it? Kolstov? Another fae?
It didn’t matter.
What I needed to do was unravel it.
Zephyrus and Kolstov continued to bicker in the living area, neither of them seeming to remember my presence. Normally, I would consider that rude. In this case, their impudence worked in my favor.
Energy swirled inside me as I navigated each thread, carefully plucking them apart with my invisible scissors, longing to free that spark at the bottom.
The design wasn’t too intricate, suggesting it’d been done in a hurry. The fact that I could suddenly see the binds implied Shade had indeed contaminated my blood and that perhaps my power was growing in darkness as a result. Or maybe I just hadn’t looked in the right place.
Regardless, I could see it now.
And I seemed to be able to undo it.
Kolstov raised his voice.
Zephyrus remained calm.
The two of them were engaged in some argument about Kolstov throwing Zephyrus to the wolves three months ago. I only half listened, my attention on the growing light inside me.
There you are, I breathed, smiling at the earth source.Come to me now. Help me.
Power hummed through my being, revitalizing me in the strength of my core essence.
Yes, yes.
I felt alive.
Exuberant.
Whole.
I sighed, the plant life around the Academy prickling at my instincts. The trees weren’t dead at all, just a different species.A burning thwomp, the roots told me, giving me a proper name to work from.
Nice to meet you, I murmured, rolling my neck and memorizing the heart of the species in my mind.You’ll do very well.
With a twirl of power, I began to reconstruct the base of the charred tree, rooting it in the guest room.
Kolstov didn’t want to give me a lock? Then I’d make one.
