I leaned forward in my chair, practically sitting on the edge of it.
“The mark of the Elves was the ability of energy manipulation,” Warbright said, and a shiver ran down my spine. “The Elves had the power to siphon magic from any other supernatural race— save from another Elf— and use it for themselves.”
The fae girl spoke up again. “How’s that any different from the Curse Breakers of the Miriamic Coven? Can’t they siphon magic, too?”
“Yes, but their powers are limited,” Professor Warbright explained. “A Curse Breaker can only siphon witch magic, or move enchantments from one object to another. At times, they can draw out a monster’s magic, but only if they are more powerful than the creature. They can’t steal from another race, because they’d have to overpower them. Only someone as strong as an Elf could do that— such as a demigod, as the Elves themselves were originally demigods.”
I thought about what Marcus had done in the Darke Games, how he’d pulled magic from Ava and me to defeat the malumuto demon. We should’ve realized then that Marcus was a demigod.
“If an Elf took your magic, you would be left powerless, and they could perform any magic you were capable of,” Warbright continued. “The effects, of course, were temporary, but powerful enough to be feared in war. An Elf could steal an Elementai’s weather magic, or steal a fae’s ability to shift into an animal, or take the super strength and speed of a vampire— even steal the wings of an angel so they could use it to fly on their own. They could steal any magical power from any other race, and use it for themselves, and whoever they took that magic from would be weak and helpless. Eventually, the magic would return back to whomever the Elves stole it from, but by that point, the damage would be done and it would be far too late for anyone to stop them.”
Ez piped up, clearly interested in the lesson now. “How were they killed off then, if they were so powerful?”
“A very good question,” Warbright said, sounding delighted we were so interested. “The fae and their allies, the angels and the vampires, developed a plan during the Great Supernatural War to target the most powerful Elves first, leaving only the weakest alive. You see, energy manipulation was something every Elf could do, but only the strongest could harness it for lengthy periods of time— something crucial in war. Once the most powerful Elves were taken out, the remaining members of the Elven Union could not defend themselves when so vastly outnumbered.”
“How outnumbered were they?” the fae girl asked.
“Well, there are a lot of factors to consider,” Warbright said thoughtfully.
I wanted to learn more about the plan to overpower the Elves and how the fae did it, but Warbright went off into a tangent about the power split during the Great Supernatural War, who was allies with who, how many troops each side had, and so on. He didn’t get back to mentioning the Elves until the end of the lecture, then abruptly cut off when he realized we’d reached the end of the class period.
“We’ll continue with the fae next week,” Warbright announced. “There is no homework for today.”
I snatched up my recorder and hurried out of the room to find Ava and tell her what I’d learned, only to stop in my tracks halfway down the hall. If I told Ava, it would put her closer to figuring out the prophecy— and closer to her demise.
But I couldn’t keep hiding things from her. She’d feel it through the bond, I was sure. If I wanted to hide information from her, I had to find a way to lie around our bond. Practically impossible to do.
I guess Warbright’s lecture didn’treallymention anything directly related to the prophecy. If I told her what I’d learned, at least it looked like I was helping and not trying to lead her astray.
Hell, keeping secrets from pidge was the worst. I didn’t know how long I could keep it up.
I decided to tell her, but I didn’t go out of my way to find her, either. I expected to see her at dinner, but she didn’t show. It wasn’t until I was leaving the cafeteria to head to the training center in the basement that I felt her and Oberi approaching through our bond. Oberi’s hooves padded gently on the carpet, and the unicorn nickered politely.
“Hey, Charlie,” Ava greeted, stopping just in front of me. “Are you on your way to dinner?”
I shook my head. “I already finished. Where have you been?”
“I got carried away studying,” she said.
I knew Ava had been missing assignments, so I didn’t believe her. “Studying for what?” I asked skeptically.
She didn’t answer right away, like she worried someone might overhear. She lowered her voice. “Studying the prophecy. I’ve been trying to decipher that book Hemlock gave me. Have you learned anything about the Elves?”
“Some stuff,” I admitted. I listened to the sounds around the hall and noticed a few footsteps coming and going from the cafeteria. I took Ava’s arm, and we went down a secluded hall. Oberi followed.
“Warbright lectured today on Elven magic,” I told her, before diving into what I’d learned. As I explained the powers of the Elves’ energy manipulation, Ava remained silent.
“Mm…” she mused when I’d finished. “This could be important, but I think we need to know more. Have you tried searching other sources?”
Hell, no! The more I learned, the more it put Ava in danger. Though I couldn’t tell her that.
Against my better judgement, I got defensive. “Like what, pidge? You want me to pick up a book and read it? I’m doing everything I can.”
Everything I could to protect her, at least.
“You could talk to Professor Warbright again,” she suggested, sounding a bit annoyed. “We need more information. This isn’t enough.”
“I’m trying,” I growled. I hated lying to my pidge, but more than that, I hated everything her aunt had told me about the prophecy. It pissed me off just thinking about it. “You should go eat.”
