AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Magic is energy,” the Queen says, beginning whatever her lesson is. “Nothing more.”
“I’ve mostly figured that out.”
“Good,” she says. “Then you know it flows across this planet because that is what energy does. It goes from one point to another.”
“Makes sense.”
“The energy of magic responds to the will of the wielder. How or why doesn’t matter if you can accept that it does.”
“Again, this all makes sense with what I’ve experienced. You’re saying there are no magic ‘spells’ per se, but they are ways to focus the energy. I’m guessing that some people need more help to direct it.”
“Some people try,” she clarifies. “And they can achieve some modest success, but to truly control magic, you have to accept you are the source and the cause.”
“Huh?”
She smiles and her eyes glint in the dimming light.
“Ah, there are things for you to learn still.” I keep my face perfectly neutral and wait, not wanting to slow this down with my own exasperation that even now she seems to be dragging this out. “The problem those who use spells, charms, or other means to direct the energy have is that they are assigning the source of cause to something outside themselves.”
“What does this have to do with anything?” I ask, frustration boiling over.
“Everything. Or nothing. It really is up to what you do with it.”
“Great,” I mutter.
“She’s not ready to understand,” Siobhan snorts.
“Perhaps,” the Queen says. “But we are out of time, for the first time ever. Quinn, you know this. You know it is true, in your heart, even if your mind is trying to reject it.”
“You’re saying go with my gut?”
“I’m saying that what is true for you is what is true. There are depths of truth and in that there is simplicity. Can you accept that you are the source of magic?”
I think about that. Every time I’ve used magic, I’ve pulled it in. I canseeit flowing around the world even. It’s a roaring river, even now I see it, but its tainted.
“But I see it. You said its energy that flows around the world. How does that mean I am the source and cause?”
“All true,” she says. “For now, look at it this way. The magical energy, when you direct it, when it creates an effect, you are the cause of that effect. Not some spell, not some charm, or some other person, you. Can you understand that?”
“Yes, that makes sense.”
“Good.”
“But why me? Why do I have more power than others?”
“You are a third generation Fae,” she says.
“My mother,” I say and the Queen nods. “She was a Fae?”
“Second generation,” the Queen says. “She was half-human, just as you are, except for her it was her father.”
“Oh, I never knew my grandparents,” I say.
“No, which is unfortunate,” the Queen says. “He was a good man.”
While all of this is fascinating dinner conversation, I can’t see where any of it is moving me closer to saving Duncan and the world. I can’t deny I do want to know more, but I also don’t have time for this.
“Great, can we discuss my family tree later?” I ask. “I do want to know, but I don’t see the connections here. How does this help?”
