“How did you arrange this?” I asked the warrior.
He shrugged. “I didn’t sleep much yesterday.”
With that, he and Nuwin retreated to the wall to watch. Warmth bloomed through me that Kole had been arranging this on his day off, even after he’d been up all night watching out for me.
His thoughtfulness and the fact that he’d used what little free time he had to continue focusing onme, and not him, made my lungs tighten and my stomach flip. That strange feeling itched in my chest again, but I pushed it down and forced my attention back to the tutor.
“Have they told you what my magic is?” The matron placed her hands on her wide hips.
I shook my head. “No, I only know that you trained Kole at the academy when he was younger.”
“I see. In that case, the reason that I’m the head tutor for the royal family and pupils at the Academy of Solisarium is due to my affinity. My magic allows me to sense and call out others’ magic in order to help them master their power.”
“Her magic makes her vastly superior in the art of teaching,” Nuwin called from the wall.
“Prince Nuwin!” she barked at him. “No further interrupting, or I shall have you doing chin-ups at the bar.”
Nuwin’s lips flattened, but merriment danced in his eyes. “Apologies, Matron Olsander.”
She returned her attention to me. “Now, we shall begin by me doing an internal assessment of you, Princess Primelle.” Her tone took on one of no-nonsense. “Please lower your Shield.”
I did as she said and immediately felt something foreign begin to probe inside me. I sucked in a breath, but the tutor carried on unperturbed.
“Hmm, fascinating.” Her brow furrowed, but a small smile curved her lips. “This looks promising. You’re quite magical, my dear. Magical indeed andverypowerful.” Her probing went deeper, and she harrumphed. “I can’t say that I’ve felt magic like yours previously. Tell me, do you have abilities that are unique?”
“I do, Matron Olsander.”
“Well, that would explain it. And like Kole, you feel different from Solis fae. Your magic is everywhere in your body, and it’s all swirled together. That will, of course, make things more difficult, but it’s simply a hurdle we will have to overcome.”
I stood quietly while she continued her assessment, and even though it felt so strange to be evaluated like this, it didn’t feel violating. If anything, it felt bizarre and slightly ticklish. When her magic probed my belly, I giggled.
Matron Olsander lifted her chin, her jowls wobbling. She rapped her knuckles against her thigh and withdrew her magic. “None of that, my dear. We’re here to work, not laugh like a silly hen.”
I immediately smoothed my expression.
The rotund tutor arched a silver eyebrow. “And has this young fellow told you anything about mistphasing?” She waved at Kole.
“A bit. He’s even tried to teach me, but I don’t know much. So far, every time I’ve tried to learn it, I haven’t been able to get past step one.”
She ruffled her wings, and the black leathery appendages gleamed in the light. “In that case, we haven’t a moment to spare. I only have time to teach you during the next few days, and I’m told you need to be back at your palace each day by sundown. Now, let’s get to work.”
Somehow,amazingly, after several hours of tutelage under Matron Olsander’s expert instruction, I finally learned the first step of mistphasing. As Kole had tried to teach me during our previous sessions, I had to untangle my magic from itself.
That proved to be the most challenging aspect of my learning, but with the matron’s precise instruction that involved her probing within me and guiding me with her magic as I attempted it, I slowly figured it out over the course of the morning.
By lunch time, I’d learned how to activate my mental magic only. And by late afternoon, I successfully mistphased halfway across the training room.
It felt incredible to disassemble my body into mist and shadows, air and wind, and when I rematerialized near the balance beam for the first time, I clapped in delight.
“I did it!”
Kole grinned, a true grin, and Nuwin whooped.
But Matron Olsander merely nodded once. “Well done, Primelle, but no celebrating yet. That was the most basic mistphase that one could do. A wee Solis child just out of maturing could have done that if they possessed the amount of magic you do.” She glanced at the clock. “And considering it’s almost evening, we’re nearly done for the day, so focus. This time, I want you to land precisely where I tell you. Do you see that ledge above the weapons rack?” She pointed, and I eyed the small perch perhaps twenty feet above the floor. “I want you to mistphase there. To do that, you need to focus on what we’ve worked on.”
Her magic probed me again and swirled around the heart of my mental magic, which I’d still managed to keep untangled from the rest. “All of your concentration needs to liehere. Do you understand?”
I concentrated on what her magic was showing me. “Yes, I think so.”
