I approached the arcana master with trepidation, hoping they were in a better mood than the last time I had seen them.
“Hurry up, girl. I am not getting any younger sitting here waiting for you,” they spat at me before I was able to get out any greeting.
“It’s so nice to see you too, arcana master,” I replied with as much mock sincerity as I could muster.
They waved their frail hand at me, scoffing in response. “Do you know what these are? You should, had you read the book I sent you away with.”
I smiled in return, eager to annoy them with the correct answer. “These are the elemental essences, I presume.”
Their foggy, milky eyes stared me down, their face holding no hint of emotion. “Lucky guess,” they mumbled. “Well, then, girl. Get to work. Show me what you can do.” They gestured toward the silver cubes.
“Before I do, I would like to know what happened with the blood-and-water rite we tried to perform. Is it possible that the water staying clear is perhaps indicative of a different type of arcana?” I queried.
After returning to my suite the day I had met the arcana master for the first time, I had spent the remainder of my evening worrying over what not registering any result in the blood-and-water rite could have meant. I knew I had arcana, so why didn’t it work? The next morning, I’d had Everett take me to the library to tempt the wrath of Leni again. I had inquired about any literature that could explain the blood-and-water rite, and what kinds of arcana it could detect. It didn’t take me very long to discover that the rite could detect more than just the four basic elemental arcanas—it could also detect dark and divine arcana, ancient arcana that only those who shared a bloodline with the goddesses of the cosmos could possess. It was now incredibly rare to come across someone with blood of the cosmos, but that didn’t mean that it never happened.
Dark arcana was said to turn the water black, while divine arcana would turn the water gold. It was clear that I did not have either of those to claim as my source of arcana, but the arcana master had failed to mention them when explaining the test to me, so what if there was some other source that they had just forgotten to mention? They were ancient, so it wasn’t such a wild thought to think that they had perhaps forgotten something. Unfortunately, all the texts Leni was able to provide me with regarding the blood-and-water rite mentioned just the six types. When I inquired whether there could be older texts available, I was promptly told that the favour of the prince only went so far and that my disgusting human hands would not be going anywhere near the scholars’ scrolls. Besides, Iwouldn’t be able to read them, as they were written in the old language. Before I could ask, Leni made it clear that she did not have the time or desire to translate them into the common language so I could read them. Regardless, I still believed there was an explanation for what had happened, and I hoped the arcana master would try to entertain my questions about it today.
“No,” the arcana master stated emphatically. “Either you are broken, or the test is cursed, and the chances of it being the latter are low.”
I crossed my arms and exhaled a large breath through my nose. “You failed to mention the dark and divine arcana to me, so how do I know you didn’t forget to mention any others?”
The arcana master laughed. “You think you carry the blood of the cosmos?”
I shifted my weight to one hip, placing my hands on either side. “Is that what I said? No. I just meant, what if there’s something else and I’m not abnormal, like you’re suggesting?”
Their laughter immediately ceased. “There is nothing else. Your human blood is too muddled for the test to decipher it. It refuses to categorize you. Now, let’s move along so this horrid business can be done, and you can finally leave me alone.”
Feeling like I had been defeated as far as this conversation was concerned, I dropped my hands from my hips and stepped up to the desk.
“Arcana—or magic as the humans call it—is a powerful essence that we must manipulate and bend to our control. The more dominant your will, the stronger your abilities will be. Now, let us see what you can do. Try to make a plant grow out of the earth.” The arcana master gestured to the first cube on my left.
I moved over to stand in front of it. After I lifted the lid off, I was immediately hit with the scent of damp, mineral-rich dirt. I reached my hand in, rubbing the soft, dark soil between my fingers. Wipingmy hand off on my skirt, I closed my eyes and focused my thoughts on the cube and the dirt that lay inside it. My skin started to prickle, and a current of energy ran through my body. I envisioned a seed in the dirt, small roots erupting from it and snaking their way through the soil. Above the soil, a small, leafy bud sprouted and grew upward, its tiny green leaves unfurling to reveal a small yellow blossom.
Startled by the unexpected clapping behind me, I opened my eyes and turned to see where the sound was coming from. Casually leaning in the doorway to the arcana master’s chamber was Prince Sterling. The sight of him stirred instant anger within me. I was still seething from the ruthless mocking and ridicule he and his companion had put me through during my tea party with Everett. He pushed the sleeves of his white tunic up his muscular arms and made his way into the chamber.
“What are you doing here?” the arcana master asked with a level of hostility I had thought was reserved just for me.
The only emotion evident on the prince’s face was indifference; seemingly, this tone from the arcana master was familiar. “Well, seeing as I have spoken for and taken on the responsibility of her, I figured it would be in my best interest to check in and see how things were going. By the looks of it, it’s going much better than the blood-and-water rite.”
I peeled my glaring eyes away from the prince and stared in shock at the tiny yellow bloom that sat in the middle of the soil in the earth cube. I had done it. I had made something grow instantly from the earth using arcana—my arcana. A huge smile spread across my face at the sight. I looked up at the arcana master. “Not too bad for someone with muddled human blood, huh?”
I was instantly aware of Sterling’s presence by my side. His hand lightly brushed against mine as he stood uncomfortably close to me. His scent of vanilla and musk sent my mind into a jumble. I stepped away, putting space between us. Looking down, I focused my gazeon the single red hair stuck to the top of one of my shoes—similar to the ones I had seen floating about in my bedroom. I brought my gaze up from the floor and stared ahead as an incredible thought entered my mind. Had Sterling been visiting me in his fox form? My stomach twisted at the implications of that thought.
“This is something even infant fae can do,” Sterling said, looking over at me, assessing the distance now between us. “When you can erect an entire forest, then it will be impressive.”
I returned his look with a glare of my own as his words cut through the air and devastated any pride I had felt at the accomplishment.
“Continue. I want to see what else you can do.” He waved his hands toward the silver cubes. His words were more of a demand than a request.
The next cube was air. For this one, I had to create either a gust of wind or a small cloud. After several attempts at both, I was only able to manifest a tiny puff of air that made both the arcana master and Sterling laugh because of how pathetic it was. The arcana master went on to explain that they were not surprised I did not show promise with air, as humans were, by nature, “not very intelligent beings.”
Frustrated and angry, I shoved a keeled-over Sterling aside so I could move on to the next cube. I had even less success with fire than I’d had with air. No matter how many times I tried to force my will on the arcana and visualize fire, nothing would materialize for me. Not even a puff of smoke. When neither the arcana master nor Sterling had any quick-witted remarks for my failure with fire, I moved on to the last one.
I was confident in my healing abilities. I had high hopes that this would translate into a decent handle on the water element. If nothing else, all I wanted was to be great at this particular element.
As I had with the three elements prior, I closed my eyes and began the process of envisioning the manipulation of the element.My mind went to the crystal beach Everett had taken me to. I visualized the waves crashing onto the shore, the thunderous sounds they made vibrating deep within my core. I thought of Forrest before I knew him as Sterling and how much we would have enjoyed sitting on the beach together, basking in the energy of the ocean. The picturesque beach in my mind darkened as thoughts of the present version of Sterling seeped into my consciousness. The way he now looked at me and talked to me, like I was insignificant and what we had was meaningless. The waves, in turn, became more violent and crashed on the beach with more intensity.
The prickling sensation I had felt earlier returned, this time with an incredible increase in intensity. My skin was crackling with energy, and deep within my chest, a pressure built. The angrier I became, thinking about Sterling and my time spent in this realm so far, the more intense the pressure became. My chest hurt, and my lungs burned, like I had been holding my breath for far too long. All these feelings came to a head, and a feminine voice I had never heard before quietly whispered to me, “Breathe.”
