But I wasn’t like that, and I was tired of watching her squirm, so I raised my hand for her. “Is it possible that Unseelie magic can be used for... I don’t know... good?”
Several gasps rang throughout the classroom. Professor Mara lifted an eyebrow and said, “Now why would you ask a question like that, Miss Sosna?”
“I don’t know,” I replied. “I was just wondering.”
Mara’s gaze rattled me. “Fae magic was once seen as neither good nor bad, but that is no longer the case. Unseelie magic is dangerous, especially to us Seelie fae. Any result it might bring about is irrelevant.”
When class was dismissed, Kiara gathered her things and stomped out of the classroom. I hurried to catch up with her, and almost lost my books. I had to struggle to grab them as they nearly tumbled out of my arms.
One of them did. I had to bend down and get it off the floor before scuttling after Kiara. It was the black-bound book I’d bought at her sister’s shop last year, the one with the beautiful drawings, written in a language I couldn’t understand. I still hadn’t deciphered any of it, but I carried it with me most of the time, because I thought it was pretty to look at between boring class hours when I had nothing to do.
“You seem peeved,” I said as we left the classroom. “Is something bothering you?”
“It’s because Professor Mara’s lecture iswrong,” Kiara said firmly. “Unseelie magic is dangerous to Seelie fae, yes, and it can have consequences, but if used wisely it can be a tool for good. And she knows nothing about the Miriamic Coven. They got their magic from a demon long ago, but that doesn’t mean they harnessonlydemonic powers now.”
Kiara took the crystal out that she wore underneath her shirt and grasped it tight. “Tools of magic aren’t inherently evil or good. The meaning you apply to them makes them what they are. That’s the basics of fae magic. I can’t believe she’s so discriminatory.”
I shrugged. “Well, prejudice is high amongst the Arcanea. Are you surprised she didn’t do any research?”
Kiara huffed. “No. I guess it’s not uncommon.”
Her tone was depressing. “You seem to be taking this very personally.”
Kiara bit her lip. “You know that my mother was kicked out of Arcanean society, because she fell in love with a human.”
“Yeah.” Wasn’t anything I cared about, but I knew to most idiots around here, the idea of a fae loving a human was scandalous, even if we had interbred with them centuries ago.
“Well, that’s not the only reason, if I’m being honest.” Kiara sighed. “My mother was playing around with dark magic. Nothing that would harm her, but stuff forbidden by the Seelie besides. They argued it wasn’t our way. My mom was a big advocate for Unseelie magic— said we needed to stick to our fae roots— but the people in Dolinska ran her out of town.”
Kiara looked down. “Siona and I share the same views, but we can’t speak them out loud. Even though Siona runs a contraband shop, where you can find things most Arcanea would disapprove of, her customers wouldn’t go so far as thinking Unseelie magic’s okay for personal use.”
“If that’s true, why did you make it such a big deal that I used the dark necklace in the King’s Contest?” I asked.
“I didn’t care that you used dark magic, only that you cheated,” Kiara explained. “I don’t think Unseelie magic is a bad thing. In my eyes, shadow magic can be a tool used for good.”
“But what’s the real difference between Unseelie magic and Seelie magic, besides one is considered good and the other evil?” I asked.
“Seelie magic comes from your own power, your own source— which is our connection to Edinmyre,” Kiara clarified. “Unseelie magic can be drawn from any object or being that’s not your own, like through rituals, or by using crystals and wands. Seelie magic is internal, while Unseelie magic is external. It has to take energy from something else. It’s not technicallyyourmagic, but you can cast it for your own purposes.”
“Isn’t that inherently evil?” I asked.
“Not if you use it the right way. If you drew enough power from a living creature and killed it for your own material gain, that would be considered evil, but if you’re using a tool like a wand that has its own energy, it’s just dark magic,” Kiara said. “People say that casting Unseelie magic opens you up to demon possession, but that’s just not true. Yes, you can pull magic from demonic sources, and it’s incredibly dangerous, but there are so many other things you could use instead.”
She grabbed at her crystal again. “I’d like to experiment with Unseelie magic, but there’s so little knowledge about it out there, I’m not sure how.”
I reached out to take her hand. “Well... if it helps, I agree with you. And I’d like to experiment with Unseelie magic, too. It’s part of my blood. And I want to learn more about my heritage.”
Kiara smiled. “Thanks, Emma. At least you’re not a dolt like the rest of the fae.”
Her eyes shifted downward as we came to a deserted area of the school. “What’s that you got?”
She stopped, and I showed her the black book. “It’s the book I got fromEnchanted Whisperslast year. I carry it around because—”
Kiara let out a huge gasp. She took the book out of my arms and started thumbing through the pages. I startled. “What?”
“I didn’t know what this was before, but I do now,” Kiara said in a hurry. “I’ve been writing my essay for Protection Against Black Magic on Unseelie items, andthisis one of them!”
My heartbeat picked up. “Really?”
