“I feel… different. But not,” she begins. “I mean, if I’ve got magick–”
“Are you really questioningifafter what happened in the bathroom?” I’m not judging. I’m honestly curious at where she is mentally.
She props herself up on her elbows, narrowing her eyes in my general direction. “Fair point.”
“It’s not about feeling different or feeling dangerous. Magick doesn’t usually sit on your skin like static. That’s not what it’s for. When you feel strongly, when you let yourself connect to it. It’s often quiet until you call on it. Which is what you did. I know you didn’t mean to, but you drew more power than you intended. That’s all.”
“…am IreallyFae? Have I always been?”
Once again we’re on treacherous ground.
“Since it’s not something you can just suddenly change into, yes.”
She seems to think that over. I wait, quietly.
“You said all Fae have ways their powers manifest, right?”
“I did.”
“So what? Am I a water witch? Was that what the thing with the bathtub meant? Am I… I don’t know… a mirror witch, since that shattered? Do I work with metal? Why did my eyes go stupid?”
Careful truths. Gods, I don’t want to lie to her.
“I don’t know, exactly, what your true powers manifest as. We’ll practice and work on it; I’ll help you learn. I think you pulled on general power and because you were taken by surprise, it got away from you. Your eyes did not go stupid — they simply changed color which, as I showed you, is normal.”
“So if I’m surprised, I’m going to flood the apartment?”
“Well emotions can make things… less predictable.”
She raises her eyebrows. “Less predictable. Great. Just what I wanted to hear.”
I give her an encouraging smile. “Think of elements as instruments, okay? They’ll play when you call them, usually clear and steady. They want to help. Your emotions can influence them — their volume, their sharpness. If you’re calm, the song is soft. If you’re afraid or upset, it gets sharp–”
“Like in the bathroom.”
“…like in the bathroom, yeah.”
She nods. “Okay, I get that. But what about the special part?”
“Special part?”
She waves a hand in the air. “Like the princess. You said she could wield emotions, right? So what is my special perk in this?”
I try to seem nonchalant. “Why don’t we work on the basics first? You’ve obviously blocked your powers for a reason and trying to unearth everything too fast might make things harder.”
She appears lost in thought, staring off into the air.
“Cas?”
She starts, coming back to the present. She stares at me until I want to squirm, but doesn’t say anything.
“Cas? Talk to me, witchling.”
The nickname pulls a smile out of her. “Am I… do I really havemagick?”
I smile back. “Yes. You reallyaremagick.”
Her smile falters. “Am I dangerous?”
