Page 13 of A Fate so Cruel

Sweat made his clothes cling to him and Rion turned again before giving up. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and extended the little fox out to stare at it. Wide orange eyes the same color as its fur stared back. Rion mirrored its smile. Not because of the stuffed animal, but due to the memory he’d always carry because of it. He cherished those now and had a row of items on his bookshelf that reminded him of the family they used to be.

Before—his lips trembled and Rion bit the inside of his cheek. He wasn’t supposed to cry, especially in a place where his father might see. Not that he saw much of his father these days. It was Saoirse who looked after him. Saoirse who ensured he kept up with his studies and training. Saoirse who cried with him at night when they both missed their mother.

He wished she’d hurry.

Rion glanced toward the door and debated walking to his room himself. It wasn’t far, just up a few flights of stairs and down a hall. But he was so tired and his feet ached.

He looked toward his father’s bookshelves instead. They were lined with old leather volumes. Gold writing on the spines. Most were in perfect condition, though Rion noted a few that were worn at the corners. Either a favorite, or a valuable resource. Maybe one day he’d be allowed to find out.

His gaze traveled down and finally landed on the large potted plant that stood beside his father’s desk. It was taller than he was and the broad leaves were wider than Rion’s palm.

Rion inclined his ear to listen for voices in the hall or footsteps that might tell him Saoirse was on her way back.

Nothing.

He stared at the plant again, debated another moment, then jumped from the chair. Rion carefully placed the little fox in the seat before approaching the plant. He couldn’t hurt it, not unless his magic revealed itself and made the plant do strange things, but even that wouldn’t damage the foliage beyond repair. Saoirse could always fix it.

Rion glanced toward the door again, listening, but silence still filled the hall. He extended his palms, just as their teachers had them do during class and tried to feel for the plant’s life energy.

He was the only one in his class who still hadn’t summoned his magic yet.A late bloomer, his teacher said, just as his mother had been. He was told it would make his magic stronger, but Rion was tired of being made fun of. Tired of the teasing from his friends who could already identify seedlings simply by feeling them in the earth. His best friend had summoned a tree last week and it had grown five feet tall.

He wanted to impress his teacher. Maybe even his father, if he were lucky. Saoirse would certainly be happy to see it.

Rion focused harder. Tension filled his small body and he took a deep breath, willing that tension to fade. Everyone said it would come naturally and that trying to force it would only result in the magic sinking deeper into his core. He needed to coax it out gently. Let it know his body was ready.

Another deep breath. Rion let his eyes close. He let the words from his classmates fade away. He wouldn’t be like the magicless half-breeds. He was the son of the two strongest Fae in all of Brónach. He’d be strong, too. Able to defend his sister and eventually help her find their mother.

A shiver ran through his body. He turned his attention inward, listening and pinpointing everything just like his mother had taught him to do. He could feel his heartbeat. His breath.The pulse throughout his body. He ignored the things that were painful.

Another shiver. No, not a shiver, something else. Like another pulse. Rion centered his focus on that pulse. He coaxed it out, pulling and willing it toward the surface until he could almost feel it crawling across his skin.

Rion opened his eyes slowly and blinked. He raised his hand up toward the light overhead and stared at the tiny particles that circled his arm.

He looked back at the plant. It hadn’t moved at all. Rion followed the bits of dirt rising from the pot, drifting toward him as if he were a magnetic force. Rion reached for them and they connected with his skin, moving in a slow spiral pattern down his entire arm.

He marveled at it, mouth gaping. He’d never seen anyone bend the earth. Nor had he read anything about it. Maybe it was in the books reserved for the older students. There were a few that Saoirse wouldn’t let him read yet, despite him insisting he’d be able to understand it.

He’d read them now, just to see.

Rion’s heart beat just a little faster as realization dawned on him. He had magic. He finally had magic. It was different, sure, but still earth-based in a way. And maybe, in time, he’d be able to control the plants, too. His teacher would know, she’d be able to teach him how to do it.

His excitement caused the grains and chunks of dirt to move faster, spiraling around his arm and now his body. Rion tried to contain himself to no avail. He didn’t want to risk getting anything in his father’s office dirty, but he had magic. Surely his father would overlook a few clumps of dirt on the rug, especially since most couldn’t control their magic for the first week or so.

He’d get to join a special after school class for the next few weeks.

Rion concentrated on the small grains, but they slipped past his mental prodding. Instead of individual grains, Rion tried shifting the particles as a whole. They responded then, moving more to the left then the right. He expanded them and raised them over his head. Not all of them—some wouldn’t respond at all and remained near his body. But he was moving his magic.

A wide grin spread across his face. Voices sounded down the hall followed by heavy footsteps.

“I told you a hundred times not to let him play in here.” Father’s voice was harsh, which was normal these days, but Rion didn’t flinch away from it. He beamed when the door opened.

“He’s not—” Saoirse stopped mid-sentence and both her and his father froze in the doorway. Their gazes traveled first to the particles circling his body, then to the ones above his head. Their lips parted and Rion heard their heart rates spike.

“Look,” he said as if they couldn’t plainly see the dirt floating around him. Rion shifted the particles lower and to his front. His smile broadened. “Look what I can do.”

Neither moved. They didn’t exclaim in excitement. Didn’t run forward to hug or congratulate him. They just . . . stared.

Rion’s smile faltered. He glanced around. He was certain he hadn’t broken anything and the dirt was still all in the air. He didn’t see any spots on the floor or the chairs. Even their father’s desk was clean.

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