Page 11 of A Thread of Breath and Bone

Raea smiles and leans in for a hug. “Good to see you, Professor.”

He looks between the two of us. “While you were gone, I took it upon myself to see to your magic training.”

Raea steps back and collides with me. I steady her, running a hand down her arm.

“The simulations won’t be enough anymore,” he says. “I converted one of the unused forest structures into a training center.” His gaze lands on Raea. “Princess Raea, you need to practice controlling that starlight. I’ve been working on a simulation room that will shoot blasts of cool air if you start to overheat. The simulation will be shadow figures. Since we aren’t sure what they actually look like, they’re just human shadows for now.”

He turns to me next. “Prince Anders, you’ll be working with the elements. It’s a good place to start. Your simulation room has access to water, soil, and a fan for wind. You’ll have shadows attacking you as well, so I want you to figure out how to access those strands of magic quickly and try sending them at the shadows.”

It seems straightforward, but Raea’s starlight…

She can’t contain it. She’ll probably melt the entire building.

When he gestures to the seats, we take them. The lights dim as he projects the new training center into the room, walking us through all the different features. The building used to be known as The Overlook, but the structure is half-hidden by forest now.

“Professor,” Raea interrupts. “When we were on Mori…” Her voice trembles before she inhales and squares her shoulders. “When we were on Mori, we were attacked. I used my starlight. It will melt all the equipment. I can’t practice safely.”

He hums, stroking his beard that is now long enough to run his hand over. “Do you think you could control the direction of the heat?”

Raea tilts her head, thinking. “I don’t know. I still don’t know how it happened. I was so scared, so angry, and before I exploded with energy, there was just an awareness. It was everywhere all at once. It was like pulling back the curtain.”

Professor Ainslyn goes quiet for a minute as he paces back and forth. I use the opportunity to take Raea’s hand. She interlaces our fingers without a thought.

Weeks ago, touching her like this would’ve been overwhelming for both of us. Now it feels natural.

Just when I’m about to voice my thoughts, Professor Ainslyn says, “If we go up to the mountains, I’ll stay back. You can try to summon it. That’s all I want you to do for now. Don’t worry about control, first you need to access it. It should become second nature.”

At this, Raea softens, and I see a weight lifted from her shoulders. “Thank you.”

“What about the energy from Sgya?” I ask. “We need to practice accessing and channeling that as well.”

“Correct,” he says, taking a seat. “I have been thinking about that. Ryker, how does the Veil feel? My working theory is Raea is able to channel the power from the planets, and you channel it to the Veil, not back to the planet.”

Raea’s head snaps toward me. “Oh,” she says, smiling now. “That would make sense. You can feel the Veil. You’ve always felt it.”

I inhale deeply, searching for the strange energy. It doesn’t belong to me, but it’s like I can see it. Like there's a window within me that grants me access. When I look, I mentally do a double-take.

Shit.

“There’s something wrong,” I report. “It’s not—” I shake my head. “It’s not right. It’s always been a single current, like a ring. Now…it’s missing a piece, and there’s no current.”

The blood drains from Raea’s face. “What do you mean?”

“I can always tell if the current is weak. I can even pinpoint where now, but this…” I shake my head. “It’s like a section has just been cut out. It's just gone.”

Chapter 5

Raea

There’s so much I need to do, and I feel like time is slipping through my fingers.

We leave Professor Ainslyn’s office in silence.

We’ve known our whole lives that the Veil protecting our system was weakening. But knowing it and seeing proof of it are two very different things. If the Veil is failing, then our system is vulnerable.

“I need to talk to Kellan,” I mutter, still trying to piece together all the things I need to do and what order to do them in. “After, I need to meet with Aolyn.”

I don’t believe for a single minute she’s involved in any of this, but I need to find out if she knows anything else. Ryker pauses beside me, wrapping a hand around my waist and tugging me closer as the door slices open to let us back into Taeolyn. A group of women giggles as they pass us. It annoys me, but it’s so low on the list of things I need to care about right now.