Page 35 of Petals for Vicious Secrets

Lenna inhaled sharply through her nose. She wanted to strangle him. “Go on then. The sooner we start, the sooner this will be over.”

“Fantastic,” he smiled. And damn him if he wasn't a gorgeous prick when he smiled.

Jake raised his hands and with a couple of moves, the stands disappeared and the four crystal orbs floated around them, making a square until Jake and Lenna were in the middle of it.

He faced Lenna again, “Five Cardinals, five Houses, five parts of the panom.”

He opened his hands and a representation of Thyria appeared on the marble floor underneath them, Lenna and Jake standing where Corentre was on the map, each orb floating over one petal.

He continued, “Thousands of years ago, each Cardinal ruled a unit of the panom. Each of them had a unique type of magic. The North Cardinal could Give. The South Cardinal could Take. The West Cardinal could Heal. The East Cardinal could Harm.”

“And what about the center of the panom? The circle in the middle?” Lenna asked.

He opened his hand, and the Core shone under their feet.

“The Core Cardinal was the key to keeping a balance, a harmony between the opposite magics, so the land would not collapse. She was the one who intertwined the sources of power so each panom could use the four of them, and not just the one that belonged to each House.”

Lenna's eyebrows raised, “So I can do these four magics?”

Jake nodded, chuckling at her impatience, “You will be able to, when you learn to control them.” Closing his fists, the map underneath them was gone.

“Now tell me which magic is this,” Jake closed his hand and the crystal orb in front of them was cut in half, the top half vanishing.

He made it look so easy. And the movements of his hands... The way the muscles in his inked arms flexed any time he used his hands was slightly distracting.

“Surely not Healing. Where is it gone?” Lenna couldn't see it anywhere in the room.

“I Took its half,” Jake said. “Whenever you Take, a part of your magic is uneven. Quite similar to how a weighing scale would move towards one side when given too much weight.” He walked towards another orb, putting the hand on top, “To reestablish your inner balance and find the harmony again, you must Give.” Jake opened his fist, and a silver rose appeared in the center of the orb. Beautiful.

“I see. So Taking and Giving are opposites on the harmony scale. And so are Hurting and Healing?” Lenna got closer to smell the silver rose through the opening of the orb.

“Indeed. Except Hurting and Healing need way more expertise to dominate.”

So the magic of the North and South petals had their own balance, and so did the magics of the East and West.

Jake approached the third orb. He opened his hands, and the orb became a massive snake slithering towards him. Lenna resisted the incredibly powerful urge to move the fuck away from the beast precisely at the time that Jake lifted his hand and, with two fingers, traced a line across the snake’s body. The head of the snake was cut, now rolling over the floor. Jake was still meters away from it.

“This is Harming.”

Lenna swallowed. “Would you mind letting me know the next time you are going to bring a dangerous beast to a room I’m in? Please and fucking thank you?”

Jake didn’t look at her as he walked towards the fourth and last orb, again opening his hand as he said, “Now.”

Lenna inhaled deeply, getting ready for the worst, when the orb became a small brown puppy. His rear paw was bleeding, and he was sprawled on the floor, whimpering.

Jake kneeled next to him and hovered his hand over the injured leg, tracing a circle. A circle filled with navy sparkles. His color. Except it looked as if part of a navy galaxy had penetrated the circle, and was irradiating towards the leg. “And this is Healing.”

Shortly after, the puppy barked, his tail wagging as he attempted to climb on Jake in a succession of failed attempts.

“You’re welcome,” Jake laughed as he stroked the spot between the puppy’s ears. “Try to avoid picking a fight with a snake next time.” He moved his hand, and the puppy was gone. Jake stood up and found Lenna’s wide eyes looking at him as if she had seen something as unexpected as the snake.

Clearing her throat, Lenna asked, “What happens if the harmony scale is forced too much on one side?”

“If a panom uses too much of one magic without using its opposite, the magical core of the panom becomes at risk. The least that can happen is that they lose consciousness. The worst that can happen is death.” Jake moved a finger horizontally across his neck. “Hence why the general advice is that it’s better to not force your inner harmony.”

“And your personal advice differs from that?” Lenna raised her eyebrows.

Lenna could have sworn that Jake’s stare was penetrating her own damn inner harmony, his eyes piercing her with intent. He interlaced his fingers in front of his chest.

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