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“If you don’t want to talk, why did you even wake me up?”
Sunder stares at me flatly. “Do you want to learn to channel Chroma or not? Go get dressed and we’ll begin.”
My instincts rebel at the command. I won’t let this, whatever he is, push me around. But… damn it, I want powers. My whole life, I’ve played different games and read books about magical worlds and powers.
Every fiber of my being aches to wield magic. Real magic. Well, maybe not real, but probably just a long, vivid dream. A delicious dream. A dream because I’m in a coma.
I’ve always been ordinary.
This is my chance to be something more.
I sigh, glancing at my plate, which is still half full.I’ll get dressed when I’m damn well ready.Slowing my pace, I cut into the second pancake.
“What exactly is Chroma?” I ask, with both curiosity and reluctance. I hate that he holds the knowledge I’m desperate for.
“Chroma is the source of new magics in the universe. You can picture it as a color wheel gluing the worlds together, where each hue is blessed by one of the six Chromatic Gods. Each hue feels and is used a little differently. Each color has strengths and weaknesses. Yellow, for example, is for flesh manipulation. Healing or wounding, whatever the wielder decides. But all colors can do this in tiny amounts if the user is skilled enough,” Sunder explains slowly. I can tell he thinks that I’m stupid.
I’m determined to prove him wrong.
“So everyone can only channel one color that gives them an inherent specialization?” I ask, intrigued. My grumpy attitude is forgotten as he pulls me into this wondrous world.
“Well, not everyone can touch Chroma. In fact, most don’t. That honor is only given to those with pure and noble bloodlines. For others, they need the mating bond to gain access to Chroma. But yes, which hue you channel will offer you a specialization.”
Sunder’s eyes glaze over for a moment, as if he’s somewhere else.
“And yours is blue?”
Sunder takes a long sip of coffee, staring into the cup as if searching for an answer. Putting down my fork, my belly feels close to bursting.
My mind flashes to last Saturday morning when I promised to change. That I wouldn’t overeat or binge drink to punish myself anymore. That I’d start taking care of myself. As the effects of overeating overtake my senses, I shoot a glare at Sunder. It’s his fault for making such a big breakfast.
“Blue is emotional manipulation. I can push or pull on the way people feel. Fanning the bravery of a failing line of soldiers in battle, letting them fortify defenses until reinforcements arrive. Or suppressing anger in a tavern, to prevent a drunken brawl.” He speaks slowly, as if picking his words carefully. “If you are powerful enough to spread it that far, at least.”
“So, did you manipulate my emotions when you made that sphere?”
He takes another sip of coffee with a slight grimace before answering. “No, the blue light would need to touch you to manipulate you.”
“But the white light did, when you healed me.”
He nods at that. “Channeling white is complex and too difficult for many who can touch the source. It’s like channeling all colors in tiny streams, including yellow for healing. It is multifunctional, and I am among the few who can access it so readily.”
He gives my forehead a meaningful glance, speaking again before I can ask more questions.
“Get dressed. Let’s see which hue has blessed you.”
I narrow my eyes angrily, mostly at myself for obeying, as I stalk off to comply. A giant color wheel spinning at the center of the universe dances in my mind’s eye. A group of ancient Gods in togas playing roulette?
If I get yellow magic, maybe I can rip Sunder’s cock off. At least I’ll be able to put it back on again.
Chapter Ten
Sunder
The running water in the bathroom turns off finally. A thirty-minute shower seems excessive.Waiting in Mira’s living room, I let my mind wander.
When I was Dan’thiel, a High Elf of noble blood, I channeled beautiful, delicate green Chroma. I know it like the whispering touch of a lover. Intimate and thorough. I trained for hundreds of years to wield the strengths and weaknesses of the verdant hue.
And now, dropped into the body of this vile fae. I’m a ticking time bomb, no longer having the luxury of an extended life. The Gods revoked the Blessing of Long Life from the fae long before my time. So long ago that no one even remembers why.
