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Elix
Jace found me in my room, infuriated by my brother’s lack of understanding. Fireballs sprung in and out of my hands, none of them sustaining for very long, hard as I concentrated. The lack of control only upset me more, and I tossed the last flame into the sink in the kitchenette, turning on the tap from my spot in the living room to put it out.
“How can he be like this?” I demanded. “He’s supposed to be on my side!”
He strode across the floor and embraced me where I sat on the bed, shaking his head. “Don’t blame your brother for watching out for you, Elix. Saint has always had your best interests at heart. You know that.”
I scoffed. “It didn’t sound that way in the garden.”
“He’s worried about you,” Jace told me tenderly, his hand cupping my cheek. “You can’t blame him when you’ve never brought this up to him before.”
I sighed and exhaled, my face relaxing slightly. “Sure I can,” I grumbled begrudgingly. “He’s my brother.”
Jace chuckled. “You can still give Cirilla a sample, even if Saint doesn’t want any part of this. I’m sure she can get what she needs from your sample alone.”
I looked behind him for evidence of the enchantress, determined to do exactly that.
“I’m ready to do that right now,” I said decisively, pulling away from his embrace and rolling up the sleeve of my blouse. “Whatever it takes. I’m fully in for this.”
Jace laughed. “Slow down there, tiger. You’ve gone twenty-four years without understanding the origins of your powers.”
“So what?” I challenged.
“So Saint is right—there’s no urgency to it now. It’s not like the powers are causing you distress or keeping you from living your life.” He grinned at me coyly. “In fact, if I didn’t know better, I’d say you were having a decent time in spite of your nagging worries.”
I wasn’t swayed by his charms.
“They are, though!” I cried, throwing my hands up in exasperation. “When I can’t control them properly, they are keeping me from enjoying my life fully. I’m never sure what I can do, what I’m capable of. Am I dangerous? Can I use the powers for good? How will I ever know if I can’t fully harness them, Jace?”
I winced, loathing the whine of my tone, but before I could backtrack my complaints, he stroked my cheek again, immediately disarming me from my tirade.
“We’re going to do something about that, too,” he promised, and I lowered my arms, embarrassed.
“We are?”
He nodded. “Cirilla is off looking for faeries who specialize in elemental magic right now. I’m not sure what they’ll require of you, but I imagine there will be training involved.”
I blinked and frowned. “Training?” I repeated. “What does that mean, exactly?”
He maintained his smile, but I didn’t miss the gleam of sadness in his eyes as he studied my face, like he was thinkingthat I’d missed out on so much being just a maid’s kid. I didn’t want his pity. I wanted answers.
“You’ll understand when you meet with Cirilla,” Jace said, rising from the bed and extending my hand toward her. “Why don’t we go find her and talk about it?”
Suddenly, my chest tightened, and my heart filled with affection for Jace. No one had asked him to do this for me. He had gone to Cirilla on his own on my behalf, without even consulting Saint on the matter.
I cocked my head back and stared up at Jace in awe, the gratitude oozing from every part of me.
“What is it?” he teased. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Thank you, Jace,” I rasped, my eyes hazing over with emotion. “I don’t know how to repay you for this.”
He turned away with a grimace, but my words must have affected him more than he wanted to let on. “There’s nothing to repay. Let’s figure this out together, okay?”
“Okay,” I agreed, swallowing the lump in my throat.
The trainingthat Jace had spoken of was not as scary as I had envisioned.
After Cirilla took three vials of my blood, she brought four faeries into Jace’s private office.
