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No, I might have to figure this one out for myself.
"Ryze said some skills are advanced magic," I said slowly. " It seems like the more kinds of magic a Fae has access to, the more complicated it becomes."
"I wonder if any Fae is one quarter of each court," Hycanthe said. "According to Dalyth, Autumn and Spring are combined but opposite to each other. Autumn needs more cold than warmth, and Spring is the other way around. She said my magic is like spring, but I can't access the cold, so it comes off weaker."
"And Khala's is a solid combination of Summer and Winter," Jezalyn said. "Like Dalyth's."
I wrinkled my nose at the idea of having anything in common with that woman.
"I bet Dalyth is pissed you didn't have your first heat here," Hycanthe said to me. "She seems to have a lot more time for the omegas who are strong in Summer Court magic. It sounds like you'd be her new favourite." For some reason, she seemed to find that idea funny. Her eyes shone with humour.
"Lucky I didn't then," I said dryly. I stepped over to the reflecting pool and looked down at the poor, dead fish. They lay with their eyes open, probably staring accusingly at me.
"Don't feel too bad about them, they've only been there a few days," Hycanthe said. "I might have boiled the water and killed the last lot. I don't know why they bothered replacing them."
"To remind you to have some self-control," Jezalyn told her. "You didn't do it again, did you?"
"No, that was all me," I said, my eyes still on the pool. I crouched and reached out my finger to one of the fish.
Without thinking, I drew a little warmth from what was left of the fire and mixed it with a sliver of cold to make some air. I pushed a drop through the fish's gills. Just lightly, I touched the fish with my fingertips.
The moment my skin touched its scales, it flicked its tail and darted away under the lily pads.
"Holy shit," Hycanthe said. “You just—” She crouched beside me, eyes huge. "Can you teach me how to do that?"
I didn't have the heart to tell her she needed a touch of Winter Court magic. I glanced over my shoulder at Jezalyn, who nodded. It would be our secret.
"Just give the fish some warmth," I said. For once, I resisted the urge to dig or tease. This was a moment between sisters. The first step in building bridges between us.
As she reached out to do as I said, I slid in some cold. A moment later, the other fish darted away to join the first one.
"You think we can do that with people?" She looked awed.
"I have no idea," I admitted. "I'm not even sure how we did that to begin with." Like with the wind, I saw how to do it and did it. I didn't have a clue it would actually work.
Whoever heard of fish being brought back to life?
I rose and wiped my brow. "When did it get so hot in here?" The sun shone through the window when we started. It wasn’t now and inside the atrium was hotter than before. Nearly uncomfortably so.
"That always happens," Jezalyn said. "The more anyone practices magic in here, the hotter it gets. It'll cool down soon."
"Or sooner," I said. This I could do. Just a little water, cooled down with ice, infused into the air, and the temperature dropped almost immediately.
"I wish I could do that," Hycanthe sighed. "Or better yet, get out of here and go down to the ocean for a swim. Or sit on the waterfront and enjoy the sea air. I never thought I'd miss Ebonfalls, but I do. We had more freedom there."
"We couldn't talk to each other," Jezalyn said. "Not out loud, anyway."
"We got by." Hycanthe gave her a soft look. "There are worse things than not being able to use our voices. At least we could communicate with each other. Otherwise, I think we all would have gone completely crazy."
She was right there. When we’d arrived at the temple as eight-year-olds, trying to understand each other was hells until we learned how to speak with our hands. Now I thought about it, we learned pretty quickly, out of sheer necessity.
"Plus, it's useful when we don't want to be overheard," I signed.
"That too," Hycanthe signed back.
Since we were getting along for a moment, I ventured to ask, "Have you tried using cold magic?"
"Of course I have," she snapped. Apparently our moment of truce was over. "What do you think I've been doing all these weeks?"
