“Incidentally, when you reach your magic out to it, what do you feel?”
I blink at her, confused. “Feel? From the moss? Nothing. My magic can’t interact with it; I’m not a geostri.”
“No, you’re not,” she says, looking thoughtful. “But after all, all life starts with acelestialspark. His Highness and I have been discussing certain old theories regarding the connection a solari can make with living things. It’s something I think we should explore.”
I’m about to ask her what she means, but there’s a sudden shift in the energy of the soldiers that makes me follow their eyes to the door. Leon’s there, leaning against the frame. As always, he’s managing to pull off princely grace despite his intimidating physical presence.
“Let’s leave it there for today,” the proctor says. “After all, you have other lessons to learn, and I have other duties to attend to.”
I’m still not sure what she meant about the moss, but now doesn’t seem to be the time to ask. I’m more focused on the way that, as she leaves, she stops by the door to murmur to Leon, and then both of them glance my way.
More secrets. Great.
“Alright,” Leon says, clapping his hands together and nodding at his soldiers. “Now it’s your turn.”
“Their turn for what?” I ask.
“To play,” Damia says. She may be a snake speaker, but her grin is nothing short of wolfish.
“You want to learn how to protect yourself against sensic magic,” Leon says. “They’re going to help you. You’ve got to get hit with it to learn how to block it, after all.”
Suddenly nervous, I stare at the group of soldiers.
“Relax,” Alastor says. “It’s only in your head.”
Chapter 4
Morgana
“We should start with Damia,” Alastor says as the soldiers circle me like sharks. “She’ll be the easiest to block.”
“Excuse me?” Damia says. Her green eyes flash dangerously, and I’m sure I hear a hiss in the vicinity of her collar from Barb, her pet serpent.
“You know what I mean. Your power’s one of the most obvious. Peopleknowwhen it’s being used on them.”
“It’s true,” Leon points out. “Everyone else’s sensic magic has some camouflage, but people usually know they’ve got nothing to laugh about when you turn up.”
Damia squints, like she’s trying to work out if Leon has just insulted or complimented her.
I run through the soldiers’ sensic abilities, piecing together what they mean.
“So, Alastor’s truth-telling power makes people think they have a good reason to tell him things,” I say, ticking it off on my fingers.“People just think they’ve forgotten something with Eryx’s ability. Stratton’s power hides taste—you wouldn’t notice that unless you were expecting something different. And people just think they’re dreaming naturally when Leon uses his power.” I stop, turning to Phaia. “I don’t know what your sensic power is,” I say, surprised at the realization.
“We’ll get to that,” says Leon. “But for now, we’ll let Damia and Hyllus work on you.”
I wince. I’d forgotten about Hyllus. Despite his size, the man is so quiet he blends into the crowd of his comrades very well, but of course he’s no less formidable.
“Sorry,” I say to him.
He gives me a small smile. “I’ll come up with something obvious, so you know it when you hear it.”
I nod in thanks. His power makes people hear things that aren’t there—he used it once to save me from getting my eardrums blown out by a Temple bearer called Sophos. If Hyllus uses a deliberately strange sound to test me, it should be easier to focus on his magic and block it.
But first, I have to take on Damia. She squares up to me, that same disconcerting smile on her face.
“Sensic magic is hard to fully block without years of training,” Leon says. “Some fae never bother. They just stay alert to the signs of sensic magic being cast on them and try to avoid making enemies. There is, however, a shortcut. If you can block the magic for a little while—a minute or two—that could be enough to distract or disable the caster. Sensic magic takes a lot of concentration, so distraction can be enough to break the spell. Got it?”
I nod, absorbing all the information. “So how do I block it just for a minute?” I ask.
