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I groaned. The magus had timed his curse very well. He had struck days before I had scheduled the strengthening. Which meant I had not touched the orb in two years. The magic’s connection to the land was waning. It needed help bridging the gap between it and the land.
Muttering the Elvish words that should’ve opened the connection, I approached the globe with outstretched fingers. But no familiar warmth flooded my limbs. My inherited magic, my birthright, didn’t respond. Instead, as my fingers brushed the outer surface of the field of magic around the orb, pain bit my fingertips.
Hastily retracting my hand, I watched in horror as the color and brightness variation on the globe’s surface flickered madly. So, the experts had been correct. Dread settled in my chest. How long did we have? Slowly, the flashing of the glow settled, but the light had dimmed. Dare I try again for fear of it winking out completely?
Taking a breath and closing my eyes, I reached deep within, searching for my birthright. Since my father’s death, the connection had always been easily accessible, a warm undercurrent of power that I could tap into to bless the land, ease my subjects’ burdens, or reinforce my connection to my kingdom. The curse had limited it and my power over many aspects of my domain, along with making it impossible for me to leave my estate. Most of my previous power had returned with the curse’s lifting. And I was free to wander once more. Perhaps I was just out of practice in accessing my birthright. After all, I hadn’t attempted it in over a year.
A panicky sensation washed over me when I didn’t immediately encounter the humming flow of energy I expected. Whispering a prayer that it hadn’t disappeared completely, I reached deeper. Breathing slowly and evenly, I tried to recall my father’s words about accessing my birthright for the first time. Perhaps I needed to repeat those steps.
Then, I found it. It glowed within me, vibrant and powerful, but when I reached for it, something stopped me. No familiar hum reached my questing consciousness. I couldn’t touch it.
Sitting down heavily in the grass, I gazed up at the glowing sphere on the pedestal. My mind whirled with the implications of my discovery. I could no longer access my birthright to fulfill my duty. Horror stole my breath. Eldarlan would fall if I couldn’t fix the broken connection and soon, if the brightness of the orb before me was any indicator.
I took some comfort in my natural magic remaining accessible. But then, it was intrinsically mine, indelibly intertwined in the essence of who I was, an elf. Without it, I would die.
The birthright could only be inherited from my father. Alora and I alone carried the potential, but I had only accessed it after my father’s death. If something happened to me, she would be the only living elf with the ability to reinforce the connection with the land. Which was probably why the magus abducted her.
I closed my eyes. If only I had protected Alora better. If only she had listened to me. If only…
Shaking myself free of my familiar cycle of regrets, I forced my mind onto healthier ground. What could I do now? Find the magus, rescue Alora, fix the realm, I listed the tasks off in my mind as I rose to my feet. I couldn’t fail.
On the off chance that something had changed, I reached for my birthright one more time. It rebuffed me.
The magus had to be found.
Chapter Thirteen
Kate
A week of constant lessons followed. Thanks to Lady Channing’s attentive tutelage, I mastered the complicated gestures of formal elven greetings. My dancing still needed work, thanks to the differences in the dances I had learned as a young girl and the traditional repertoire favored by the court. Despite my best efforts, I kept making mistakes.
“Left foot first, Kate.” Lady Channing, or Opal, demonstrated the step a fourth time. “Balance. Turn, flick your foot, and take your partner’s arm. Then, promenade while gracefully weaving your right arm out from your side.” She demonstrated the motions with inhuman grace and elegance. “It will come easily once you practice enough.”
“No matter how many times I practice, I will not be as graceful as an elf,” I pointed out. “I am too short, too heavy-footed, and I can’t match your long gliding steps because my legs are not long enough. Besides, Emrys’ legs are even longer.”
Opal frowned as she visually assessed me. “You have a point.”
“Thank you.” I curtseyed to her impertinently.
“You will have to practice with His Majesty before the presentation because that is the only dance that is required of you.”
“He could modify the dance for her,” Elinor suggested from where she was distracting Sable. The pup tended to get in among the feet while barking excitedly. And now that she had doubled in size since her arrival, her antics had involved a lot of skirts entangling and at least one fall on my part.
“Modify how?” Opal asked, her delicate brows lowering. “It has to be a traditional dance and Kate hasn’t mastered one.”
“I don’t know.” Elinor shrugged as she threw the stuffed toy she had made for Sable. The puppy scampered after it, tails wagging feverishly. “He is the king. I am sure he would adjust so she won’t be embarrassed.”
“Do you think he would?” Opal asked me. “If you asked?”
I shrugged. “I would have to ask, and I do not know when I will get a chance to do that.” Emrys devoted all of his time and energy to searching out his sister and her captor. He had explained that first night after he returned from the country’s center that the future of all of us depended on him succeeding. Since then, we had barely managed more than a few words to each other.
Every night, I fell asleep before he came to bed, and each morning, he woke and left before I woke. A few murmured endearments before settling into sleep when he finally came to bed each night didn’t count as a conversation. And requesting something like this required a conversation, at the very least.
“How about this evening?” Opal asked.
I shook my head. “He is too tired to talk when he comes to bed.”
Opal’s eyes narrowed, and Elinor frowned.
