AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Yes,” Noctus said.
That would be why Noctus thought they might leave Magiford in the future—Shiloh was considering leaving.
“Wait.” I frowned. “Isn’t she human?”
“Half,” Noctus said. “Her father was human. He never told her the truth.”
“Why not?”
“Because he knew his daughter. She’d feel honor-bound to find her mother’s family, even though her elven grandmother is just as shrewish and hateful as my own mother was. In their pride, arrogance, and greed, Shiloh’s maternal family would consume her.”
“And if the Paragon finds out, you think he’ll just sacrifice her in a different way,” I guessed.
“Yes.”
I mulled over that for a moment, before I asked, “Similar to how—in a way—you were sacrificed to end the war?
Noctus looked away, but I saw a muscle in his jaw twitch. “The Paragon would use Shiloh to try to rebuild wild magic—which would be a temporary fix, if it even worked at all. No matter how righteous his intentions, I won’t let him bleed her in such a way.”
“And you’re telling me this because protecting her is important to you, so it needs to be important to me, too,” I said.
“The time I can protect her is coming to an end,” Noctus said.
“Yeah,” I agreed. “And eventually you’ll need to tell her what she is—it’s not fair to Shiloh to keep her in the dark.” I narrowed my eyes as I thought of the sunny student, who had already experienced so much pain. “But I’ll help you to protect her. I know what it’s like to be vulnerable. I wouldn’t want that for Shiloh, either.”
Noctus watched me for a moment, studying me with a scrutiny that almost made me feel shy. “How did you learn to be so compassionate, despite being so thoroughly abused by other supernaturals?”
I smiled. “It comes with the territory of being raised by humans.”
“Not all humans are compassionate,” Noctus said. “In fact, I would argue that the majority of them are not.”
“There are bad humans—just like there are bad supernaturals,” I agreed as we started strolling toward the elevators again—we were just a few steps away from them. “But they can be kind and loyal in a way most supernaturals wouldn’t understand,” I said.
“If you say so.”
I glanced up at Noctus, trying to gauge his reaction. “Now that we’re on the topic of humans,” I began. “There’s just one last thing I’d like to ask you about.”
Noctus’s open skepticism morphed to something warm as he studied me. “I believe I told you before: ask me for anything, and it will be yours.”
“Well.” I cleared my throat as my cheeks burned in a blush. “I still really don’t think humans are magic’s favorites,” I said. “I know we’ve talked about this before, but I don’t get why you’re so stuck on the idea of magic playing favorites.”
“I’ve told you why I know it has favoritism—in the way it grants humans the ability to use magic.”
“That’s really vague and not really an answer,” I said.
“Very well, then I’ll explain in a more concrete way. Vampires have a few powers, but they cannot wield magic. Shifters have abilities, but all of those are innate and come with being a shifter, they can’t command magic. Fae and elves can both use magic, but fae need something to wield it—an artifact of some sort. Elves can also use artifacts—or weapons—but we can also use things like cast spells, runes, tattoos, et cetera. However, our emotions impact and can entirely cut us off from magic which we still require tools to reach. Wizards—and all their subclasses—can innately use magic without any need for interference of any kind, and without any kind of failsafe. They can just reach for it.”
“Okay.” We slowed to a stop in front of the elevators, and Noctus pressed the button to summon the elevator while I considered his argument. “I can see what you mean. It’s not about strength of supernaturals, it’s about the ability to access magic without needing any kind of go between.”
“Precisely.”
“But why do you say that humans are magic’s favorite, not just wizards?” I asked. “Humans technically get the worst deal out of everyone because fae, vampires, wizards, shifters—all supernatural powers and abilities work on them, and they can’t even really use potions and glamours for themselves.”
“Because,” Noctus said, “wild magic is the most potent and the most present amonghumansthan anywhere else in the world.”
“What?”
“Yes. You’ll find more wild magic around humans than you could find in the most pristine, untouched land, or even in what used to be the fae realm,” Noctus said.
