“I-I… don’t see why they’d bless faeries with so many more gifts than their human counterparts—if we both originate from the same place. It doesn’t seem right.”
“Ah,” Louis said softly. “Well, faeries would consider a human’s ability to breed easily and often a gift that we don’t possess. Who’s to say we have more gifts? We’re the ones who’ve been exiled and cursed, after all.”
I didn’t bother arguing about it, so Louis went on. “Most faeries can channel an element—some can wield multiple. Fire, ice, and shadow are more…volatilethan other types of magic. They can overtake an undisciplined wielder. Magic can kill its master if not properly harnessed.” He emphasized the point with a stern expression.
“And then of course, there’s our shifting abilities. All faeries have an animal form—apneuma. It manifests when it decides to. I cannot shift yet, but my brothers can.”
“Pneuma…”I repeated, letting the foreign word roll of my tongue.
“Yes, it translates tospirit animalin the language of the Fae.”
“Will you tell me what your brothers are?” I asked, trying to feign only mild interest.
I imagined they were both sharp-toothed predators. I thought of the deliberate way Galen stalked me before he’d seduced me last night. My skin prickled as the flash backs threatened to make me flush.
“No. They'll show you if and when they want to. What if you were to shift and become a butterfly? You’d be an easy target and viewed as inferior to many. Some faeries will proudly display their animal form, while others will never reveal it. Pneumas can become status symbols—another way to divide our already fragile social system. It also takes considerable magic to shift back and forth. What was once as natural as breathing is considered a luxury for many now.”
“When do Fae typically learn how to shift?”
Louis flashed me a look I couldn’t quite read. “Most can shift after puberty—around eighteen years old. I’m not sure what the gods have in store for me, but they seem to be insisting on my patience.”
“You believe the gods decide what your animal form is?”
“I do. Our powers aren’t always passed through lineage. It’s much too random. I can wield water. Galen, fire. Raf, shadow and earth. My mother also has earth magic, but as you now know, Raf isn’t related to her. Animal forms are even more unique. It’s rare for family members to take the same form.”
I yawned, the lack of sleep beginning to catch up to me. Louis shot me an expression of mock-outrage. I grinned back and said, “Are you ever going toshowme what you’re capable of? Or are we going to discuss the theory of magic for the rest of the lesson?”
Louis narrowed his eyes at me before stepping back and aiming his palms towards the sky. His shield dissolved into mist. Water droplets began forming, hovering above his cupped hands. Soon he was rotating a ball of water the size of a dinner plate—moving it up and down with an invisible force. He formed the ball into a life-sized dolphin, making it race circles around us. Suddenly it was an eagle, soaring above us, before turning into apuddleand dumping on my head.
“You-You’re going to pay for that!” I sputtered, my soaking hair hanging over my eyes. I was drenched. Louis laughed as the surrounding birds crowed along with him.
“Will I? Why don’t you try getting me back… withmagic.” I wanted to wipe that smug smile off his face more than anything.
I tried to reach inside and search for any type of feeling or source I could pull from. It was impossible—I felt ridiculous. I held my hands up in a threatening posture, before dropping them to my sides. The frustration that followed caught me by surprise as tears threatened to fall. I wouldnotcry at my first training session.
I would not.
“Hey, it’s alright. I haven’t even told you what to do yet—what to feel for. I just thought your anger might bring something to the surface. Don’t worry, you’re just too sweet for retaliation. It isn’t a character flaw.”
Sweet?My blood froze over at the idea that I wassweet. Women were little more than chattel in Aurelius. Men wanted us docile. We weren’t allowed to show any personalitybesidessweet. It made me furious.
My rage awoke something in my veins. I felt a wave of dizziness before a pins and needles sensation covered my hands. I leaned into the discomfort and frost began to form on my fingers. I gasped in surprise and the ice vanished, like it had been a mirage.
“Did you— Did you see that?!” I’d foundmagicinside of me. The rush was exhilarating. Glowing pride washed over me.
“Ice wielder.” Louis smiled. “Now, can you please stop insisting you’re not Fae?” I tried to bring back the magic, but it was elusive, like trying to force a sneeze.
“Ugh. Why is it so difficult?” I kicked a rock and sent it sailing towards a column. Apparently, I had a faerie temper to go with the magic.
“You’re not ready to use serious magic. It’s impressive that you were able to access anything on your first day of training. You need to be cautious when experimenting with it until you’re stronger. Don’t practice without me until I say so. Understood?”
I was dying to see the ice again—to master it—to feel less vulnerable in this foreign land, but I agreed and meant it. “You said faeries are difficult to kill. What does that mean exactly?” I flexed my hands open and shut, straining to bring magic to my fingertips.
“Yes. While most of us don’t heal as quickly as a healer would, we do heal from most injuries as long as we have magic in our blood. If we don’t have magic, we’re just as helpless as humans.”
Helpless as humans.Humans weren’t helpless. We were clever, adaptable… capable. I felt a flicker of frost coat my fingers again.
“If we’re decapitated, we’re dead. Unless there happens to be a healer nearby who can put us back together.”
