Page 26 of Court of Bone and Amethyst

“What are you doing?” I ask, jaw dropping. I can’t believe Owyn is being so cavalier about this. Sarielle’s magic is dangerous.

“Just a little practice,” he calls.

Seeing me standing there dumbstruck, Sarielle calls, “No luck with dinner? That’s okay. It was worth a try.”

Indignation roils in my gut. “I caught a hare. I just dropped it because I heard a scream and thought something was wrong.”

“Everything is perfectly fine, Zyren,” Sarielle says with a laugh as she dodges a slow-moving ball of yellow light from Merla.

I watch them for several moments, my blood boiling again. Sarielle has only known Owyn for two days, but here she is, trusting him to teach her control of her magic, after she knows what she can do? He’d seen what she did to that scout. They’re all out here acting like a bunch of children playing with toys rather than deadly powers.

“Sarielle, can I speak to you?” I ask, trying to keep the growl from my tone unsuccessfully.

Her smile drops and her forehead furrows. She walks toward me, and I turn and move farther away so Owyn and Merlacan’t eavesdrop on us. When she reaches me, her brows raise inquisitively.

“That isnotthe way to practice your magic,” I begin. “Your powers are far too dangerous to go right to sparring like that.”

Sarielle crosses her arms over her chest. “I don’t agree. And clearly, Owyn doesn’t, either.”

“Excuse me?”

She sighs. “My family book explains it all, Zyren. I know we didn’t get a chance to talk about it yet.”

She gestures for me to sit on a nearby stone, and she does the same. I bristle for a moment, but then join her.

“I know you fear the part of you that is nightmare,” she begins, her tone soft. She reaches out and touches my hand. “But that’s what I learned… our very origins come from the nightmares. It’s part of who we are.”

I can feel my forehead scrunching in confusion. “What are you saying?”

“The great battle, after Valaron was pulled into the nightmare realm… the spell our families have wrought every twenty-two years to keep the nightmares at bay… it all started because of… love.” She continues before I can interrupt, “Did you see the mural in the library? Everything began because an Otreyas woman—my ancestor—and one of the more civilized nightmares, they had an affair. Their people rejected them for this, and the nightmares tried to take over as retaliation, and then there was the battle, and the spell which sealed the nightmares behind the barrier, separating the two lovers forever.”

I lift a hand to stop her. “Sarielle, that is not what happened. I have never heard that version of history.”

Her face hardens. “So, you’re going to dismiss the written history of my entire family, thousands of years of journal entries, just like that?”

I curl my fingers around hers. “I’m not trying to—”

“Yes,” she snaps. “That’s exactly what you’re doing! Would you at least let me finish before you pass judgement?”

I swallow down my immediate reaction and slowly nod. She pulls her fingers out of my hand before continuing.

“The thing was, my ancestor was pregnant. So, even though she never got to see her lover again, that’s how nightmare blood was introduced into our family. And then, because the blood spell requires marriage between an Otreyas and a Lyonian, that blood was introduced to your family as well.”

My mind spins. I had always wondered the reason for my dark shame, thinking that something I’d done had cursed me with the dark magic. Could it be possible that she’s right?

“The dark magic doesn’t pass to everyone. It skips certain people, sometimes entire generations. My brother didn’t have it. But I do, of course.” She hooks her gaze to mine, eyes burning more brightly than I’ve ever seen them. “Don’t you see, Zyren? This is our birthright. It’s not something to be ashamed of. Just two people in love long, long ago who were torn apart.”

I shake my head. “Even if you are right, just because it started with love doesn’t mean it’s not dangerous. I know firsthand…”

“I know you think it was your nightmare side that got your younger brother killed,” she says. “But that was just a horrible tragedy. It wasn’t your fault, or the fault of the magic within you. Some nightmares are evil. Just as some fae are.”

“But you’ve seen, too, what your magic can do,” I say, my tone flat and hard as steel. “It may be a family legacy, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t to be feared.”

“Do you know the last thing my mother wrote in the book? She addressed it to me, and she told me not to fear my magic. I am going to trustthat, Zyren.” Her face, tone, and posture are all queen, brokering no argument. “I am sorry if you disagree, butthat’s how it’s going to be. Owyn offered to teach me, and I have accepted. If you don’t want to watch, you don’t have to.”

I stiffen as her words hit me with palpable force. “So that’s it, then? That’s what you wanted to tell me from the book?”

Something passes over her face, a flicker of emotion quick as lightning.

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