Page 30 of Elemental Affections

Dae flushed. She should’ve felt exhilarated or confident at having her advisor’s support. Vaadt thinking well enough of her to urge submitting a proposal meant something. Yet, Dae had a hard time feeling anything aside from slight panic. Her paper from the Concepts of Water Magic course was hidden away in her bag, its middling score and plethora of red marks filling the margins already burned into her memory. It drowned out the more favorable grade she’d received on her analysis of the intricacies and applications of ice magic, even though she’d felt like that had been pure luck and bullshitting her way through theory.

One decent grade didn’t matter. She had an unending pile of reading to do every night, another paper, and practice for the research elements of the ice magic class. There wasn’t time to put together a decent proposal.

“I think your theories for ice applications and containment work has merit,” Vaadt said, either ignorant of or flat-out ignoring Dae’s silent inferiority complex unfolding before them. “Apply. You’ve already signed on for the seminar. They go together. Even if you don’t receive a spot on the spring trip, the work can be applied to your research for Adept Two.”

Tier two. Everflow take her. Dae wasn’t sure she’d survive attempting the first tier, let alone earning it.

“Were you this indecisive when shepherding transportation projects in your previous job?” Vaadt said.

Dae’s mouth opened, but no rebuttal came out. She’d applied and pushed for things at HNE against stiff competition, merchant guilds not being known as soft touches. But she’d had the strength of her team behind her back then, known the work well enough that she could find the resources she’d need to educate herself. Here it all rode on her, and her grasp on magical knowledge was still so far from concrete. Instead of direct plans and experience, she had a heavily annotated first-year text and … feelings.

Vaadt leaned forward. “When you applied to come here, you wrote of your desire to use your magic for good. To be of service to the community, even if your impact was small. Find that drive again.”

Recognizing the dismissal, Dae took the proposal guidelines and bade Vaadt farewell. She trudged back to her room, fingers wrapped around the strap of her bag.

Fieldwork in Rhell. Ezzyn would undoubtedly go on the trip. The opportunity was aimed at the ecological restoration seminar and its efforts to halt Eylle’s poison. And wasn’t Vaadt right? She had signed on for the seminar, so why not apply for the spring trip? She’d have to make the time, come up with a worthy proposal. Her previous excuse of not wanting to be distracted by Ezzyn, well, it couldn’t get any worse than what they’d already done. An act that wouldn’t be repeated.

That’s a damned crime.He’d said that. Stayed, when she asked, even though he must have known what would come. His words and his actions—hisreactions—made no sense, and instead of dismissing such things as the annoyances they should have been, Dae turned them over in her mind. Felt something like an ache in her chest.

As she approached the outer door to Vanas House, Dae roused herself from her angst-riddled thoughts. She started to murmur a polite greeting to a younger woman waiting outside when recognition brought her up short.

“Calya?”

Her little sister gave a half-hearted wave.

Chapter 12

Theystaredatoneanother. Calya blinked first, shifting from foot to foot as she peered over Dae’s shoulder. “So, can I come in?” Despite a disaffected tone, Calya’s words carried an undercurrent of nervous tension at odds with her usual confidence.

The defensive instinct in Dae softened. “Sure.” She unlocked the door and ushered her sister inside.

Calya stopped in the center of the floor, taking in every detail. While Dae’s room was still on the sparse side, especially in comparison to how Dae had lived with Brint back in the capital, she had accumulated an assortment of paraphernalia indicative of her life at Sylveren. A variety of books, both standard textbooks and a few of creative small press binding, graced her desk. They vied for space with paper tray organizers, a dip pen and trio of inks Zhenya had insisted she try, and her student-grade alembic. A teapot and mismatched cups courtesy of Eunny were crammed onto a small bookshelf, whose shelves were filled with more ingredients for her water spells than actual books.

Dae motioned for her sister to sit on the bed, breathing an inward sigh of relief that she’d decided to make it that morning. Dae seated herself on her desk chair, trying not to appear anxious.

They sat in uncomfortable silence again as Dae fished for an opening that didn’t sound too suspicious. Even seemingly benign questions now took on an accusatory tone in her head.What brings you here?Could sound too demanding.I wasn’t expecting you.Calya could interpret it as passive aggressive.

In truth, Dae wasn’t entirely sure if she meant it as such or not. Genuine curiosity was in play, but she couldn’t forget how they’d left things. Calya hadn’t exactly given Dae reason to expect a friendly visit, nor had Brint mentioned a word about her family during their brief greetings. Her mailbox had remained empty save for brief notes from Eunny or a random piece of campus news.

“Well, this is awkward.” Calya leaned back on Dae’s bed.

A faint smile pulled at Dae’s lips. “A bit.” Her voice softened. “How are you?”

Calya heaved a dramatic sigh. “Slightly nauseous. Got a late opening for a roundtrip on a windrunner for cheap, but they were out of seasick draughts.”

Dae winced. Windrunners were small and fast—and susceptible to every motion on the water. For a daughter of a multigenerational maritime family, Calya had a delicate constitution when it came to motion sickness. The Vanor River was hardly the wildest waterway, but the trip between Sylvan down to Grae Port’s harbor had its moments. Dae preferred the leisurely three-day trip on a more stable vessel, even if it took more than double the amount of time.

“Do you want to go by the student exchange?” Dae asked. “They’ll have plenty of grades of balance potions.”

Calya sat up, face animating. “Goddess yes.” She froze, hands curling in her lap. “But first … I should explain. Why I’m here, you know.” Her hand made a circle to indicate Dae’s room.

Dae waited, eyebrows rising gently in encouragement.

Calya bit her lip. “I need to talk to Brint about a joint project we have with AG. He keeps ignoring parts of my letters, so I figured I’d make it hard for him to dodge if it’s in person.”

“I’m not sure how much I can help,” Dae said, pushing back her feelings. “He doesn’t live in Vanas House. I’m not actually sure where he lives … we don’t interact much.”

“Really?” Calya gave her a confused look but smoothed it away with a dismissive shrug. “I’ve got his residence hall name. Asked at the main building. It’s how I knew where to find you.”

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