“If it manifests differently in everyone, what can you do with aether?”
He’s silent as he flicks his eyes over to me but keeps his face forward in the direction we’re walking. “That’s not something I feel like sharing at this moment.” His words are tense.
“Okay…” I trail off in confusion at the way he shut down that line of questioning.
He continues on with his lesson, ignoring the growing tension between us. “Every Fae can wield aether in some way, but only the most powerful can truly tap into its fullest potential.”
“And are you one of those powerful?” I press, trying to find outsomethingabout him. I can see the wheels turning in his head as he tries to determine whether he should offer up the answer. Because I’m watching him so closely, I can also detect the moment he slams a door down and is going to refuse, so I beat him to the punch. “I think you are. You have this whole strong and powerful asshole vibe you’re projecting. You don’t have to tell me—or lie to me.” I offer him a raised eyebrow calling him out for the fact that he was about to lie or redirect. I swear I see a twitch in his lips.
“As for the rest of the elements, the four are split between the two courts. Theoretically, we can all use the four elements, but we have far more success with the two that belong to our court.Again, the level of power one has will determine how much success they have in using all four elements.”
“Let me guess, the Unseelie get fire because it’s a ruthless, brutal, and unforgiving element?”
He chuckles darkly. “That’s not quite how I would’ve described it, but yes, the Unseelie are the strongest at wielding fire and air while Seelie are gifted with water and earth.”
“So that’s what you meant by which court…” I muse.
He nods. “We won’t be able to know which elements you’re able to wield until we know which court your powers are drawn from.”
“Is there anyone powerful enough to wield all elements as if the court lines didn’t exist?”
I almost don’t expect him to answer with how long he remains silent. “I can only think of one person in my living history.”
“And how long would you say that living history is?” I throw him a smirk.
“Not answering that,” he answers, returning the smirk.
I shrug. “A girl’s got to try.” I didn’t actually think he would answer, but it was worth a shot. “So, tell me more about the magic. What can you do with it? How does it work?” I ramble off all the questions that are running through my head the more I learn of it. “Have you always been able to use it?”
“I don’t even know where to start with all that…” he says with a shake of his head. “I suppose the last one is the easiest to explain. We’re born with our magic but we’re not able to tap into it reliably until we’re older, usually by the time we reach our teenage years. Although we begin taking lessons on how to tap into our magic and safely wield it from an incredibly young age.”
“So, what you’re telling me is that you’ve had many years, maybe even centuries,” I raise an eyebrow in his direction, “to practice using your abilities and I’ve never once done anythingwith mine in twenty years? This is going to go just swimmingly,” I deadpan.
“I’m not going to lie to you, you are certainly at a disadvantage through your lack of training, but it could be much worse than twenty years. As for how it works, it’s hard to explain. And I can’t recall how our tutors walked us through it when I was young. It’s something you canfeel. You can feel the power flowing through your body and you sort of reach in and draw on that. Sorry, I’m not the best at explaining these things.” He grips the back of his neck. “We can use our magic in a variety of different ways, depending on what we need it to do in that moment. Offensive or defensive. For example,” he says before flicking his hand out in front of him, sending a boomerang of flame towards a nearby tree, clipping a limb from the branches, before it returns to sink into his palm.
I stare at his hand where the flames disappeared with mouth agape and eyes wide. “That was…”
“Impressive?” He smirks.
“Terrifying?” I offer instead and his smirk drops into a frown. “I mean it was impressive but also frightening. How does one even defend against something like that?” I gesture towards the fallen branch that slowly smolders where the flames cut through.
“Well, water for one. The elements each court is able to wield are opposites for a reason. To provide that balance between the courts. Water and fire can counteract each other. Earth and air don’t necessarily counteract, but they are diametrically opposed.”
“That makes it seem like Seelie elements are defensive in nature. Where’s the balance in that if you can only defend?” I ask, hackles rising.
“Anything can be offensive if you get creative with it. Water for example. Yes, you can use it to extinguish or defend againstan Unseelie’s flames. But you can also use it in more… unsavory ways. And I’ve seen it done.”
“Unsavory, how?”
He raises an eyebrow in my direction. “Someone feeling a little vicious today?”
I huff out a breath. “Forget it.”
“Earth can also be used offensively. It doesn’t just mean the ground and dirt around you. All of nature around you can fall under that control. The trees, the flowers, anything you can think of that belongs to the earth.” He casts his arm out, gesturing to the forest around us. The worn dirt path, the faded grass dotted with the ivory buds of weeds.
My eyes drift over the twisting branches of the trees that tower over us. Trying to imagine how I could mold them under my magic. What would that even look like?
“I’ve seen some particularly brutal Seelie draw on vines and… well, I think you get the idea. Is that unsavory enough to feed your bloodlust?” He asks, eyes twinkling with amusement.
