“Go ahead. Sit down and figure that out. I think that’ll go a long way in helping you learn control, too.”
With his invaluable wisdom imparted, Ilyas walked away from my little cubicle, moving to work with the group of Air Mages. Lex was having an in-depth conversation with the Pleasure Mage while Sasori stood off to the side of the training yard, a dark cloud of a sentinel.
There was something . . . off about her, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.
I shrugged, pushing all other extraneous thoughts to the side as I sat and tried to parcel out each piece of my magic.
I practically skippedup the stairs of the manor, my boots barely touching the steps as I climbed. Joy filled my soul. Ilyas’ advice had proven invaluable, and I’d spent the remainder of the lesson today parceling out each of my powers. Once I connected with one strand and pulled it apart, it felt easier to connect to the rest. I expected to only have two strands—one for my Creation Magic and the other for Destruction—but I oddly found four. I figured that, maybe, I just had two extra strands because of my uniqueness as both a Vessel and a Mage.
Though that conclusion didn’t feel quite right, as neither of the other two strands of power felt quite like my Creation or Destruction Magic.
The oddity of my discovery sent me skipping from the training yard—after giving Ilyas a hug, which caused him to blush in surprise—straight to Fay’s room. If anyone knew what was happening inside my body, it was her.
I knocked lightly on her door before a strained “come in” sounded from within.
I pushed the door open with a slight squeak and chuckled lightly when it refused to open all the way. I slipped through the crack, careful not to step on any loose papers or knock any stacks of books in my haste.
“Knock, knock!” I called, not seeing Faylinn in her sitting room.
Maybe she’s buried under her books?
Death by knowledge—the thought was amusing. If anyone could die from a book, it would be Fay.
“Ellowyn!” Fay’s excited call came from somewhere near her bedroom door, and I heard a soft “meow” as a secondary response. I looked down just as the fluffy grey cat, Cotton, rubbed himself along and between my legs, purring the entire time.
I squatted down to pet him, inordinately pleased as his back arched from the attention, his soft purr growing louder.
“Oh, you attention whore,” Fay said playfully, much to Cotton’s chagrin. He slipped from between my legs, tail in the air, as he leaped onto a wobbling pile of books and promptly sat down.
I giggled as I brushed his long, grey hairs from my pants and hands.
“To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?” Fay asked, her eyes crinkling with a smile. I could practically feel the happiness in the air.
“I have a question for you,” I said lightly as I tiptoed around the books and journals.
“I really need to clean,” Fay muttered under her breath, blowing a wayward curl from her face as I found an open space on the floor to sit.
I laughed. “We both know you’re going to say that, and nothing is going to happen to this room other than you piling more books into this already cramped space.”
“Bitch,” Fay said with an eye roll as she made her way to sit next to me, but there was no heat in her voice.
“Hoarder,” I shot right back. She sat next to me with a huff, her comforting scent wafting over me. I hugged her quickly in greeting before getting right down to my problem. Fay appreciated directness, and I figured that I had her undividedattention for maybe ten minutes before her mind inevitably trailed elsewhere.
She was simply incredibly intelligent with a lot to think about.
“So, I was working on controlling my magic today,” I started, and Fay bobbed her head.
“And?”
“Well, the control part is still a disaster, but I think I made some headway today.” I proceeded to tell her about Ilyas’ trick for separating my magics and consequently finding four power strands.
Predictably, Fay’s brow furrowed in thought as she chewed her lip. Immediately, her little journal appeared in her hands from her belt and she scribbled something in the margin of a paper.
“You identified four separate magics, not just your Destruction and Creation Magic?” she repeated, scratching at her hair with the base of her pencil.
I nodded.
“Yeah, though I’m wondering if the other two strands were just extensions of my Destruction and Creation Magic, you know? Especially because I’m the only one like me.”
