I thought back to Sasha Girard telling me I was the counter to the king’s power. Would I be able to get us close enough to the king to kill him if my touch was still immune to magic?
The buzzing was getting louder though, and I was beginning to faintly glow.
“Okay, love,” Krew said gently. “There is a very large trunk down over there. It will take more than just a little magic to move it, but could you move it over here?”
It was a massive tree trunk, over half the height of me. Had the forest been alive and not dead, I was sure it would be crawling with moss or fungi by now, a great hiding spot for creatures. Instead, it was just black and sitting there stuck. But Krew thought I could move it? Granted I knew that was what we were out here for. For me to use my magic a few times early this morning before anyone else was up.
He added, “Imagine maybe twice as much magic as you used yesterday. And try not to heal it, all right? It’s been dead for years. You can will your magic not to hurt any of the other trees in the process of moving it, but try not to heal it.”
I looked at my palm, knowing I should use magic, but also seeing if I could somewhat calm it.Not yet. Not yet.Now I knew why Krew and Owen always told me to breathe. Keeping deep breaths of air pumping into my lungs helped calm my magic immensely.
Within a minute, the glowing had faded, and the buzz disappeared entirely.
“Nicely done,” Owen gave me a nod. “But that doesn’t mean you’re off the hook for using magic.” He placed his hands on his hips. “Krew is going to be busy later in the day for a few hours and you and I are going to work a little on a combination of doing what you just did, and then bringing your magic to the surface on command. The better handle you have on that, the better you will be around the king. And then tonight after the king is asleep you can start training with the princes. But for now, you still need to use a little magic to get you through the rest of the day comfortably.”
“Will this all be just as much fun as training is?” I groaned.
Owen cocked his head. “Seems likely.” He paused. “And we will get back to our training eventually too, but you are off the hook for this week anyway.”
I tipped my head back to the hazy sky beginning to peek in from around all the branches. “Great.”
I stepped toward the downed trunk and decided I might as well get it over with. If I used my magic twice today, maybe I could be done for the day again. Relaxed and ready for more sleep.
I closed my eyes and imagined two slightly thicker strands of magic heading to the trunk of the tree and moving it toward us gently, not hitting any of the other trees, and not going too quickly. I imagined only enough magic to move the trunk, not enough to hurt anything in the forest. And then I willed the magic now buzzing in my palm out toward the trunk.
Magic shot out of my hand and traveled along the ground, wrapping around the ends of the trunk and slowly and gently beginning to move the trunk.
I slid it right to where Krew had gestured, the magic disappearing as it did.
Owen’s eyes were on Krew’s and not mine, when he said, “Good work.”
I looked at both of them. “That seemed easier today. What’s with you two though?”
Neither of them said a word for a moment. And then Krew’s eyes finally came to mine. “I wasn’t sure if you’d truly be able to move that or not.” He paused. “It was quite heavy. Did you only imagine twice the amount of magic as yesterday?”
I gave him a nod. “Yes. That’s what you said to do.”
Krew gave his head a shake. “With your Iron Will in combination with the magic I gifted you, I am not sure if we truly know the extent of your power yet.”
I sighed. “Great. I just love being an experiment. It’s my favorite.”
Krew held up his hands. “It does not matter for now, love. One day at a time.”
“Tell that to the tub,” I mumbled.
“Let’s try to do a slow breeze,” Owen offered. “So you can find out what shape your magic travels in.”
Now that I was dying to know. One more time using magic, and then I could go eat some breakfast and take a nap. I still absolutely dreaded using my magic, and I had no idea how long it was going to take, if ever, for that feeling to go away. Could I just use it a few times a day and then suppress it the rest of the time?
“Imagine a slight breeze, going only the distance of the lake, and then it dissipates,” Owen offered. “But imagine the magic leaving your hands slowly. The softest and slowest breeze you could possibly imagine. You’ll really have to concentrate.”
I shook my head and took a deep breath before shaking out my hands. “I’m nervous what it will be. What if it is a huge rat?”
“Could be a lion,” Krew argued.
“Or another wolf,” Owen stated.
“Or an insect,” I added with clear disdain. “It could be a centipede.”
