Page 112 of An Empress of Fire & Steel

Bottomless.

She wasn’t ready to go exploring in that cave. Not now.

Call to your magic, Sybil had instructed before this conversation had sneakily distracted them. Tell it what you want it to do, command it. Concentrating on the air that gave her breath, she inhaled. When she exhaled, she commanded it forward, asking it to listen. The feathers twitched, and as the air reached them, she asked her element to help them rise. The air moved unseen, but Emara could feel it and the feathers began to shift and float. One at a time, they moved into the air and hovered above the table.

Sybil let out an excited squawk and clapped. “Yes. That’s it. Now place them down.”

“Not yet.” Emara smiled. She closed her eyes, harnessing the feelings running through her body, the bottomless feelings of passion and magic. She spoke to the air again, asking it to help the feathers drift. She moved her hand, acting as a guide for her magic to follow, and as a light flurry of coolness bristled her hair, she opened her eyes to see the feathers circling and floating in the air.

Her magic was more controlled for once, and a laugh bubbled in her throat before it burst into pleasured hilarity. Sybil was laughing too as Emara moved her hand, guiding the feathers towards her. They giggled, but she dug in deep to that well of magic as the air carried the white feathers and floated them around the Earth Witches head, circling like a halo.

Like an angel.

The feathers fluttered down around her shoulders as Emara flicked her wrist. They flew to the table, levitating for a second before falling onto the surface of the limestone.

“Very good.” Sybil beamed. “I can see that when you are focused, you’re a quick learner. It’s a trait you have picked up through your bloodline.”

Emara smiled. “Well, let’s see if combat is one of yours.”

Sybil snorted as she moved to clean up the feathers. “Not likely. Did you see me out there?”

“I did. And you are doing amazing. You just need to keep working on it.” Emara exhaled, feeling the magic compliment her blood. “Thank you for today.”

“Don’t mention it.” Sybil shook her head, her face sincere. “You learn so quickly, I will have you moving mountains in no time.”

“No.” Emara smiled, her cheeks a little flushed. “Not for that.”

Sybil’s nose crinkled in confusion.

“For being there for me. For just chatting with me.” Emara looked down, not sure she should say what she was about to. “I know what it is like to miss someone, especially when you want to talk to them and tell them everything about your day.” Emara’s lips pursed and then parted. “I didn’t have a sister by blood, but by the Gods, I had a sister by loyalty and friendship, and she was taken from me too.”

Emara’s nose started to sting as her heart ached so harshly, and Sybil stilled where she stood.

“I would have told her everything from my mess with Gideon, to everything that’s happened with Torin, to even just the small things, like learning how to float feathers or sending a fireletter.” Emara inhaled, trying to gather herself, but failed.

Tears streamed down Sybil’s face too, but she didn’t make a sound.

“I know how much you can rely on one person to always have your back or to hold your hand when you are scared. Or even just to talk utter nonsense with until you both fall asleep, and a sister is one of them.” Emara let her tears flow, and they fell hard and heavy. “I just wanted to let you know that I had a sister too, and the darkness took her from me. And now I have an empty void of where she used to be. She was my best friend.” Emara choked a little on her words. “I will never be able to replace her, and I feel like you know that feeling too.”

Sybil nodded, her face wet with emotion and her eyes puffy.

“But we don’t have to replace them, I suppose.” Emara swallowed, feeling bravery kick in her broken heart. “I haven’t known you long, but you have shown me kindness. You earthy witches seem to do that a lot.” She laughed through her tears as they leaked onto her lips. She wiped them. “I just wanted to let you know that I…I will be that person for you, Sybil.” She paused. “When you need a friend or even just a chat like today, I will be there.”

Sybil’s hand found hers and she squeezed, like she had the night standing in the line of ascension.

Emara nodded to Sybil. “I cannot be your sister by blood, but I can be your sister by loyalty.” They both smiled through teary eyes. “I can be that person. Even if we are not in the same coven. Witches are allowed to form unions too, right?”

Without speaking, Sybil threw her arms around Emara’s neck and wept. She hugged her back, consoling her. It felt so natural to be here with her, and it felt like she had known her a lot longer than she had. Maybe their paths had crossed in another life.

“Thank you,” Sybil finally whispered, sniffling. “You have no idea how much that means to me. To my family, my coven.” She inhaled. “I needed to hear that more than you know.”

“I had a little inkling of how much you needed to hear that.” Emara pulled back, smiling at her newest friend. “Maybe your lessons in Earth Magic are paying off already.” She picked up two white feathers and handed one to Sybil. “To Sisters of Oath.” She raised the feather.

A gleam brightened Sybil’s vast green eyes, and she placed her feather against Emara’s. “To Sisters of Oath.”

The next few days in the lead up to the Winter Solstice ball were mainly made up of training sessions and learning how to move and create with her magic. Once she finished a combat session, she and Sybil would take lunch to Emara’s room, where they practised witchcraft until it was dark outside.

Her maids had joined too. Lorta and Kaydence told her about the legends of her coven and the secrets of others. They had actually spoken a little of her grandmother, and what their mothers had once thought of her abdication as the Supreme. Their families had both seemed to think it was out of character for a woman like Theodora Clearwater, who had reigned proudly for years, to suddenly renounce her crown and disappear. Lorta even admitted that witches from House Air had tried to search for her, but simply couldn’t locate her.

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