Page 65 of My Trojan Horse Majesty

“I wonder whether it’s related to my mastery of all five powers. I was knocked out. . .I’m not sure for how long. When I woke up, I was stuck as a horse, and you showed up moments later.”

“Did my parents stick you in that pasture?” Her eyes are intent on mine.

“No,” I say. “Some people had come to talk to your family friend, a woman named Amanda Saddler. They were distant relatives of hers from Latvia. I followed them, because they were from the two lines I hadn’t yet acquired powers for—wind and earth.”

“Did you kill them?” She doesn’t look away when she asks, which is progress.

“I did not,” I say. “In fact, I healed your family friend Amanda Saddler, though I doubt anyone there credits me for doing it. Her heart was actively failing, but I swear I had nothing to do with that either.”

Her face looks terribly pained. “Is she alright?”

“She was better when I left than when I arrived.” I can’t help my frown. “She was bright-faced—I wouldn’t have harmed her. I told you I only kill villains.”

She doesn’t speak as I drive up, up, up, winding a path into the mountains, but once I find a small clearing and park, she follows me out of the car and down the path. Ours is the only car in the parking lot, and I wonder how long it will be before my team follows us out here.

“At least there’s no one else to overhear or interfere,” I say. “Yet.”

“Because it’s freezing,” she mutters. “I should’ve brought a heavier coat.”

I reach for her hand. “That’s easy to fix.” I’ve had the fire magic for so long, I can do most anything with it—including warming the area around us—without much thought.

She arches one eyebrow and pins me with a look.

“I have to be touching you or this won’t work, but have a little faith.”

As the air warms, she gasps.

“See?” I don’t release her. “I think this may be the key to understanding what this is and how it works. I can show you what my magic does, and you can tell me what you feel when I use it.” And if it draws her to me a little bit, like my stupid face, well, I won’t hate that either.

“I guess.” She looks around. “It’s not like there’s anyone to see us. I guess that was the point.”

“Exactly,” I say. “Let’s start with fire. As I already showed you, I can heat things up.” I pick up one hand, palm up. “I can burn most anything, without a spark, and without a power source. I guessI’mthe power source.”

When she smiles, I can’t help smiling back. “Don’t burn yourself up, please.” She squeezes my hand.

“I’ll try,” I say. “But how about that sagebrush?” I point, and it bursts into flames, catching the small scrub next to it on fire as well. “It behaves as all fire does, but thankfully, I can also suppress the flames—putting it out.” I demonstrate.

Her eyes widen and she nods. “That’s pretty cool.”

“Thanks.” I point. “Or, if I didn’t want to just snuff it out, another element, water, would be able to stop it. The difference between fire, a destructive power, and water, a life-giving power, is that I need to draw water from the surrounding environment. Luckily, there’s almost always water somewhere close. I can sense it in the air, the ground, and any standing water nearby.”

She tugs on my hand. “And as we’re walking along, as long as you’re touching me, you can feel it all around us? How far out?”

“I’m not sure,” I say, “but close to a mile. Maybe more.”

“That’s amazing.” She looks like she means it.

“Water’s the best one, I think. You can do the most with it. I can heal people’s injuries, like Amanda Saddler’s, or a broken leg, or a gaping wound, or even cancer. I can make it rain where that’s needed, pulling from the ocean or a nearby lake. I can attack with water, and I can kill if I have to, removing water from people’s bodies. It’s the most versatile element.”

Her face is scrunched up now. “Kill?” She shudders.

Instead of letting her dwell on that, I press on. “The other power I’ve had for a long time is the manipulation of currents. All humans have electrical currents, as do the more obvious things, like electric lines and cellular phones. Like the fire, I don’t have to pull from a power source—I can make one.” I pick up the same free hand and pop a small crackle up and out before it absorbs back inside my body. “It can be a little uncomfortable to learn, but once you do.” I shrug.

“That feels like fire—a mostly offensive power.”

“Maybe,” I say. “But if there was a power surge or a lightning strike, I could simply absorb and ground the power, preventing it from harming anyone. It has plenty of practical uses as well, and when combined with fire and water. . .” I shrug. “Like all the other elements, it has the potential for both good and bad.”

“None of the other magic users can combine powers?”

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