Page 57 of Shadows of Perl

“What’s wrong?”

“Relax, child.” She cups the flame. The air in the room thickens, and condensation drips down the walls. The metal of her empty golden ring brightens. Then she presses the flame back inside me in one smooth motion. My ribs ache, shifting aside as the cold fire disappears into my chest. I feel it snaking through my insides, all the way to my limbs, and the pain finally stops.

My hands! Both sides. “The bruises are gone!”

“Your kor was a bit withered. I shifted some oxygen from the air to freshen it up. You must have used it intensely recently.”

Sun tracking with Yagrin. Then attacking him when I found my mother’s key chain.

“It’s important to prepare your toushana before using it heavily. And afterward, to let it rest.”

“How do you know all this?”

“ ‘We cannot honor the integrity of the furthest bounds of known magic until we’ve contemplated its darkest capacities.’ That’s from Dysiis: Original Writings, volume one, section four.”

Dysiis. The name is vaguely familiar.

“My kor was red. Now it’s silver.” Like Jordan’s. “Is that okay?”

“Red’s fresh. Silver’s best. Once a Marked plunges their dagger into their heart, their kor takes on the color of the metal, giving it a silver hue. Your grandmother really didn’t teach you any of this?”

I don’t answer, which is answer enough.

“What a shame.” Beaulah smiles. “There’s much you don’t know. I mentioned mementaurs when you arrived. Memory magic is a fickle thing, but with practice, you can press your toushana to the temples.” She demonstrates. “Feel around for the threads of thoughts and pluck the one you want to destroy.”

“I’ve never heard of that type of magic.”

“You probably haven’t heard of tracer magic either. Draguns have a rich archive of magic specific to their vocation. Any other curiosities?”

There is one, but it sticks in my throat. She’s been open. Maybe there is room for me to be open, too. “I would like to search my mother’s room.”

“Because you believe I’m lying.”

“Because there could be lingering pieces of her there.”

She straightens. “Jordan made you out to sound conniving.”

I grind my teeth at the name and his judgment.

“I assumed his broken heart tainted his vision.” She folds her arms. “I’d hoped you and I would establish a bit of trust, Quell. Given how freely you move here.” She thinks I’m hiding out here while the commotion of House of Marionne is sorted out. I intend to keep it that way.

“I thought we did.” I sit up sharply.

“Have we?”

“My grandmother has toushana. The rumors about her binding students to her house with Third Rite are true. She’s wiped the memories of all her members. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. Would I tell you that if I didn’t trust you?”

Beaulah’s palm flattens on her chest. And the corner of her mouth curls up.

“Fair enough. Now that we’ve bonded.” She winks. “Ready for a bit of experimenting, I think.” There are a series of bins on a shelf. She grabs a blue one from the tip-top. Inside are various stones.

“Draw your toushana.”

Waves of cold rush beneath my skin. Shadows push like sharp needles through my fist. Beaulah rummages through her bin of rocks. She tosses a gleaming yellow one at the magic thrashing in my grip. The shadows devour it, and her jaw ticks. She drops another stone in my hand, but it disappears immediately.

Her tongue pokes her cheek. “I’ll have to think on this more.” She replaces the bin on a top shelf, precisely where it was. “I’ll see you tonight.”

I grimace.

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