Page 35 of Anomalies

“I can’t do this,” I blurt.

Delia freezes at my words, settling back down in the grass. “Today. You can’t do it today, Lucina. But there’s always tomorrow.”

I look down at my throbbing hands. “How long did it take you? To control it.”

“Three days.”

It’s my third day.

I lose the battle against my curiosity, my next question coming out before I can talk myself out of it. “And how long did it take the Captain?”

Her navy eyes flick to mine. Gemma told me that the Captain is the only other person the Dame has trained. Delia casts her gaze to the rolling hills and says, “A few hours.”

My mouth hangs open. “Hours? Are you serious?”

“Don’t compare yourself to him,” she says. “His father had been… preparing Callan to inherit his magic from the very moment he was born. I simply finished what he couldn’t.”

Callan was probably six or seven when the attack happened. Gemma told me that’s how he lost his father. And while I’m not sure how you train someone on a magic they don’t even have yet, I know it couldn’t have been easy. He went straight from being a kid to filling his father’s shoes—at least that’s how Gemma put it.

“So, you’re telling me,” I peel my dry tongue off the roof of my mouth, “that Callan was able to control that silver tattoo-thingy only a few hours after his Split?”

The Dame nods, gathering her robes to stand.

“And if I learn enough control to show you mine…” I start after her, my legs wobbly as I shove them beneath me. “Will you take the Ajax coven off my watch?”

She falters only a fraction of a step through the grass, but she doesn’t slow her pace. “That depends, Lucina.”

“On what?”

“On whose daughter you are,” she mutters over her shoulder, and I halt in the grass.

Then the Dame leaves me in the wake of her silver robes.

“My cabin’s haunted,” I announce to the table, casually unfolding my napkin.

Kimber’s eyes shoot up from her book so fast, I bet she’s dizzy. “What do you mean?”

I shrug, tearing off a piece of my dinner roll. “I’ll be dreaming, then I’ll wake up…except I’m not awake. When I open my eyes, there’s a man at the foot of my bed, sometimes he’s in the corner. Long arms, pale, faceless, mostly made of dark shadows. He sits on the edge of the mattress, says some creepy shit, then he leaves. Last night he touched my face.”

When I look up, Gemma’s jaw hangs slack over her plate, and even Selene is gaping.

“What does he say to you?” Kimber says slowly, and something about her tone makes me uneasy.

“Uh—he said, I’m here now, and don’t let them see.” I chew through the last bit of bread, swallowing thickly. “Oh, and he left me⁠—”

“Lucina, come with me,” Kimber blurts, and all three of us swing our heads in her direction. “We need to talk to Pa, and he won’t be up much longer.” The Diviner stands, gathering her things quickly.

“Kimber,” Gemma blurts, “what’s going on?”

The Diviner stiffens, green eyes darting to every face at the table, then settling on something she sees behind me. Chills break out across my skin.

“Kimber…” I say slowly.

“Lucina has two Velkans,” she blurts out and my eyes widen. “Her grandmother and someone who should be in…” Kimber’s voice trails off, the urgency in it dying. Then she whispers, “Pyra.”

Hell.

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