Page 42 of Omega Sanctuary

I sighed. "It's okay. It's just..."

Confusing. Nova seemed calmer, but if I asked her if Hashir made her feel better, she would just feel guilty.

Nova leaned her head against mine. "It's a lot."

"Yes."

But this was my life now.

Nova cocked her head. "What in the world was that bit with the raven? I thought you were running a ruse with Valens but he seemed confused too."

I bit my lip. I didn't want to tell her, if only because it would make the "bomb about to go off" status even worse.

But she was my friend now, and maybe she had answers. If she didn't know what a tseia quera was, maybe she would know someone who did.

I heaved a great sigh. "I see spirits."

Nova blinked.

I gestured around the room, even though Nova couldn't see the little raven spirits fluttering about the ceiling. "Apparently most of my life."

Nova's skin went pale and she kept blinking. "If you've been seeing spirits your entire life why didn't they find out at the first ceremony?"

I turned away, bile sour and acid in my stomach. "I don't know. I had to beg Sabine to even test me."

I told Nova everything. Even about Kivai. Nova sat on the edge of the bed and looked at me for a long moment.

I covered my face with my hands. "Stop looking at me like that."

"Sorry." Nova shook her head. "I was just thinking about how you're fully an adult and it took them this long."

I picked up the soggy wet clothes. Suds floated to the top of the basin, and the acrid burn of anger sat heavy in my stomach. "Yeah."

Nova sighed. "I don't know much about spirit magic. Just the basic stuff about the spirit world being separate than ours. The Shrines were created, in part, to direct the flow of magic."

She stood up, and grabbed a shirt. "You're going to need a real teacher."

I sighed. "Like I wasn't going to need classes anyway." The idea of sitting in a stuffy classroom made me want to take a nap.

"Yes, but spirit magic isn't common and hard to teach." Nova flicked some hair off her shoulder. It was getting longer. "At least at the Omega Sanctuary they should be equipped to deal with your gifts."

I eyed Nova. "You never talk about your magic."

Her shoulders dropped. I knew better than to ask her personal questions. Grief rolled off her like the high tide coming in. "It's hard to control." She looked up at me. "I guess we have that in common too. They were ready to bond me to the closest alpha."

I made a noise, just to keep her talking if she wanted to continue.

"Fire magic." Her mouth pulled into a frown.

"You're acting like that's the bad thing."

"Not bad. Just...difficult to control. And now without..."

Oh. "Right, so they're worried you're going to burn everything down accidentally."

She grimaced. "Just like being a teenager again."

"We can tag team them," I said brightly. If Nova was coming with me, at least I would have one friend in the Sanctuary. "When they annoy you too much, I can draw their attention."

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