Page 31 of Elemental Affections

“Oh,” Dae mumbled, at a loss.

Calya sighed, scrubbing at her face as she had when they were young and she was nervous. “I also owe you an apology. I was awful to you when you left. I’m still mad you didn’t tell me about thisat all.”She gestured about the room. Another dejected sigh followed. “Doesn’t excuse me being a brat. So … I’m sorry, Ana. I should’ve been more supportive.”

Shock left Dae speechless. She hadn’t known what to expect from Calya’s sudden appearance, but an honest apology hadn’t crossed her mind. Her fierce, stubborn little sister wasn’t one much for apologies, giving or receiving, preferring to move on and simply not make such mistakes or offenses again. Penitence through action rather than words was her favored byword.

Calya put her hands on her hips. “Sister dearest, I’m being vulnerable for you here.”

Her mock indignation spurred a laugh from Dae. She went to her sister and hugged her, holding on for a good beat past when Calya began to squirm.

“I am sorry I didn’t tell you before,” Dae said, taking her seat again. “I didn’t think I’d get in here, and I knew none of the family would approve.”

Calya started to argue but subsided with a wince. Her guilty expression affirmed Dae’s old concerns.

Dae shook her head, smile wry. “I didn’t have enough confidence to stand up for myself. Easier to just go. Hide.”

Considering that Calya was the opposite of Dae, opting to batter away at her problems even when avoidance might prove more tactful, she accepted Dae’s reasoning with a shrug.

“I’ll help however I can with HNE stuff if I’m able,” Dae said. Softly, she added, “If you want.”

“We’re managing. I may have dramatized how dire the straits you were leaving me in were,” Calya allowed. “And that’s on me. I was too caught up in my own work to see how much you’d been sidelined on projects to do the socialite thing.”

Dae’s laugh was bleak.

“But, I do expect first call on all your enchantments once you’re a master mage and all the reps from Central are trying to buy your time,” Calya said. It was partly in jest, Calya making up for her harsh lack of faith, but Dae appreciated it all the same.

“Let me get through Adept One first, then we’ll talk.”

Calya cast a critical eye around at the stacks of books and papers. “How are you getting on?”

“Well. Pretty well.” Dae pushed aside the doubts that threatened to well up when she thought of her recent poor grade. “I’m out of practice being a student, but I’m loving it here.”

“You don’t miss home?” Calya glanced out the window at the soggy gray sky and wrinkled her nose. “It’s so dreary here. And wet.”

“It’s a different pace,” Dae said. “But you get used to it. I feel like I’m finally doing something … fulfilling.”

When Calya remained skeptical, Dae stood. “Would you like a tour? Or we could go into town and see Eunny.”

“A tour would be nice. I have to meet Brint in an hour, so you’ll have to tell Eunny I said hi.”

They went back out, Calya grumbling about the rain and the wind. Dae simply laughed and took her on as sheltered a route as one could find at Sylveren. Which wasn’t much, though Calya was intrigued by the configuration of the Grove built in harmony with its mother tree.

Zhenya popped out of one of the greenhouses to press a few blue flowers upon Dae. Her greeting to Calya and explanation to Dae about the flowers as somehow pertinent to ice applications came out in a speedy run-on sentence, and then the young woman was darting back into the greenhouse.

“Friend of mine from the environmental restoration seminar. She’s very passionate,” Dae said by way of explanation.

Calya snorted, eyes cutting sidelong at her. “Dae?”

Dae blushed, keeping her own gaze forward as they walked to the student mercantile. “I go by that or my full name here.”

Calya made a noncommittal noise but didn’t inquire further. She was impressed by the student store, exclaiming at the variety of goods available. “It’s all made here? Bystudents?”she said, scanning a shelf of balance potions. “And they’resafe?”

“Initiates have to be fourth-years to submit, and everyone below Magister One gets supervisor approval before anything is accepted,” Dae said. “Blue labels are Magister levels. Stick with those, they’ll taste better.”

Calya bought a blue-tagged potion and a small bag of Adept-made hard candies. She offered one to Dae as they left for a tour of the Towers. “Students make birth control here, too?”

The bottle Ezzyn had procured flashed through Dae’s mind. A pang of wistful, bittersweet desire hit. It had seemed such a thoughtful, gallant gesture at the time. Noticing her sister’s expectant look, Dae said, “They teach body magic here. It’s a practical application of the skill.”

“What do the nonmagical folk do?”

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