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“Good. How are you feeling?” Vali asked.
“A little queasy,” Holly admitted. It made her feel incompetent, especially compared to the Elder Empath, but she needed Vali’s help.
“What does your Empath magic feel like in your center? Does it mix with your earth magic?”
Holly shook her head. “No. It’s in its own separate area.”
Vali’s eyebrows furrowed. “Has it always been separate?”
Holly nodded, and Vali frowned even deeper. “Why?” Holly asked. “Is it not supposed to be separate?”
“All magic—even magic of different types—usually mingles together freely in a person’s center. You said yours has always been separate.”
“As far as I can remember,” Holly said.
Vali looked thoughtful as she stared out her cottage window. “That might be the problem, and why it causes you pain to use it. It doesn’t feel natural to your body to feel your emotions deeply.”
“You mean everyone’s emotions?”
Vali smiled. “No, I mean yours. The first person’s emotions an Empath must be used to feeling are their own.”
Holly frowned. She didn’t know what Vali was talking about. She felt her emotions all the time. Her confusion must have shown on her face, as Vali smiled at her. “We will practice,” she promised.
Holly nodded her head, but internally, she was still confused. What did she need to practice? She felt her own and others’ emotions all the time. That was part of the problem.
Twenty minutes later, all Holly was feeling was frustration. None of what Vali was saying was making any sense. She said Holly had built the walls, so Holly had to bring them down, but Holly didn’t remember building them at all. So, she kept trying, and the walls kept staying stubbornly up. Vali kept saying this was normal, but Holly felt like a failure. If she couldn’t figure this out, then she was going to be useless to Claire and her mates in hunting for Roland and Vanya’s right hand person.
A knock on the door interrupted Holly’s frustrated inner monologue. “Come in,” Vali called out.
Holly turned to see Claire poke her head in the door with Puck on her shoulder. “I’m here to steal my best friend away.” She grinned, her pale blue eyes staring sightlessly around the room.
CHAPTER11
“Claire,” Holly breathed, trying not to let relief color her tone too much. Vali’s amused laugh made it clear Holly hadn’t been successful, but Holly didn’t care, and she rose to hug her friend. Claire wrapped her arms tightly around Holly, and Puck rubbed his cheek against Holly’s hair, demanding his own attention.
“Hi, Puck,” Holly said with a laugh, pulling back and rubbing under his chin.
“Can I steal her away, Elder Vali?” Claire asked.
“Yes, young Queen,” Vali said. “However, take these books with you, Holly, and keep working on what we started today. Remember, from what you were describing, it’s normal for this to take time.”
Time that she didn’t have, Holly thought, but she smiled and thanked the Elder. Claire waited patiently while Holly stuffed the three books Vali gave her into her satchel and swung it over her head.
Claire reached out for Holly’s arm like she had a thousand times before at the Academy, and the familiarity of it had Holly’s eyes stinging. While she knew her friend didn’t regret sacrificing her sight to save her mates and defeat Vanya and Roland, she had just gotten her sight before it was torn away from her. There was so much beauty in the Realm Claire had yet to explore. But she had Puck, who, from what Holly understood, lent her his vision. She also had her mates, so Holly knew she would never hear her sweet friend complaining.
Holly guided them outside and set a meandering path for the village. “Is it coming back at all?” she asked Claire.
Claire shrugged, but her voice sounded hopeful. “The shadows have lightened a bit, but no massive improvement. Greta keeps telling me it will take time, so I’ll keep waiting.”
“And how’s your father? Is he waking up more?” Holly asked. She spotted a small grove of trees and moved them both to sit among the trunks.
Claire bit her lip as she looked away. Her unseeing eyes filled with pain. “Vali says he is. He stays awake for a few minutes at a time.”
“That’s good.” Holly laid a hand on her friend’s knee and squeezed comfortingly.
“It is.” Claire picked at the grass as Puck playfully hunted a butterfly a few paces away.
“So, what else is it?” Holly knew there was more.
