Page 42 of Elemental Affections

“Really?” Calya said, then softer, “But then, I guess we both know how out of touch our family was with what each other was actually doing.”

“Maybe,” Dae said. “Except you were always all about HNE. Anyone could see how you belong there.”

“I could say the same for you and this place.”

“I love it here, but I don’t know if I really fit. Sometimes I feel so far behind.”

“Excuse me, you’re in your element,” Calya said, voice firm. “You belong here.”

Dae smiled. “That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

“I’m serious.” Calya tapped the table where Dae had frozen the tea. “You didn’t even damage the wood. Targeted magic like that is expert level, isn’t it? Gods know those kinds of enchants are priced like it.”

“We don’t have ‘expert’ levels here. Most of the standard enchantments are general use because they’re sold at market and—” The nebulous thought on ice applications and Ezzyn’s experiment that had been bubbling away finally fell into place.

Calya prodded her. “Dae? You kind of stopped talking.”

“Sorry, I just … what you said. It gave me an idea for an experiment.”

Calya gave a mock bow. “I am inspirational.” She yawned. “I’m also exhausted. Windrunner in and another first thing tomorrow, so I’m going to find my bed.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to be an intermediary with Brint? I don’t mind, and it’s ridiculous for you to be making the trips.”

“No. This should be the last. The rest can wait till he’s back for Winterfest.” Calya held her gaze. “You wanted to step back. I’m honoring that.”

“If you’re sure.”

“I am. And I’m going to bed. Pretty sure the Valley doesn’t like me.”

Dae hugged her. “Thank you.”

“Yes, well, let’s not get emotional,” Calya grumped, though she squeezed Dae back.

After bidding her sister goodnight, Dae walked back toward Sylveren. She paused at the main gate, glancing in the direction of the Towers. The night was still young. Maybe—

She went in search of Ezzyn.

Chapter 16

ThanktheGoddessthatEzzyn’s office was on the third floor and no higher on the Towers. Dae wouldn’t have been able to reach it from her spot on the ground otherwise. She’d thought about running up the stairs, but reticence spurred her imagination. She paused below Ezzyn’s office, peering up. Light shone out of both the office and the lab’s windows, implying he was still there. Coming to know his habits as she had in the time she’d assisted him, experience suggested that he’d be in the lab.

“Please don’t be doing any delicate work right now,” she murmured, summoning her magic into the palm of her hand.

A penchant for frost magic and having a bossy younger sister had taught Dae the art of the snowball. In the Valley, where the air was always ripe with moisture, Dae hardly expended any effort pulling water from the air and magicking it to snow.

Her first throw fell woefully short. The second was better, dashing against the stone below the windowsill. Her third hit the glass a tad high, littering icy flakes back to the ground. The next would’ve hit Ezzyn square in the face were it not for the barrier.

He opened the window. “Anadae? What are you—”

“Targeted isolation!” she called up. “Come to the lake. Bring samples!” She turned and hurried away before he could answer.

Rain had given way to a cloudy sky as evening fell, painting the clouds in saturated shades of grayish purple and a few valiant strokes of pink. The school side of the lake was calm, the hum of its innate but dormant power a subtle presence in Dae’s mind. With its expanse at her fingertips, she felt as if she could call on her magic for days without tiring. Untrue, but standing at the waterfront while already fresh was a heady thing. Made her feel invincible.

She took a packet of loose-leaf tea from the Mighty Leaf out of her bag, pouring some into her hand. Pulling water from the air, she rehydrated the leaves, letting her magic suffuse each small piece, mapping the feel of the moisture in the tea leaves and how it differed from the lake.

Dae cast her hand out as if scattering seeds. The sodden tea plopped into the lake and slowly began to sink. Hand still outstretched, she called on her magic, the memory of the tea fixed in her mind. The presence of so much water tugged at her attention. The vast lake was easy to get lost in, swallowing up the tiny handful of foliage, claiming it as its own. Dae pressed on. Already, the feel of Sylvanor Lake had become familiar to her, its plentifulness a comfort. Made it an exercise rather than a chore to suss out the soaked tea being carried away. Threads of her magic wrapped around each leaf. A twist of her fingers coaxed them to ice.

Fishing the tea back out of the lake was the hardest part; convincing only a small channel in the body of water to separate itself out required more concentration than she’d expected.

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