Page 27 of Forged in Flame and Shadow

Which is why I jump to the point with the proctor now.

“I know Leon wants me to find a way to help his brother,” I say. Gallis’s face doesn’t give much away. “Something to do with this celestial spark you’ve mentioned.”

“It’s not all he asked of me,” she says eventually.

“What do you mean?”

“Yes, he hopes we may be able to unlock new abilities within you—and that one ability in particular. It’s part of why I was so eager to help. In terms of magical theory, it’s a fascinating experiment,” she says. I try not to get annoyed at the idea of being viewed as an experiment.

“But he also asked me to help you strengthen your existing abilities,” she continues, “to achieve some precision and moderation, as we’ve discussed. That, I believe, is for your benefit rather than his.”

Her eyes twinkle a little, and I get the sense she knows precisely what kind of tension sits between myself and the fae prince. Shewants me to know that he was, at least partially, telling the truth all those times he claimed he wanted to help me. I don’t know if I’m convinced, but if it turns out Ican’tcure Fairon then being strong enough to take Leon on will still be my priority.

“Well, now I know, I imagine we can speed things up a bit.”

She inclines her head. “Yes, I’m glad he told you. And glad to see you so determined despite yesterday’s events. Shall we begin?” She gestures to the door.

When I step inside, it’s clear that she already knew what Leon had told me. Once again, everyone here is one step ahead of me, because there are a dozen tall yellow flowers sprouting from the training room’s mossy floor.

“I had one of the geostri mages grow them for us this morning,” she says. “Sunflowers. Rather appropriate, yes?”

I smile wryly. At least this will beat practicing magic with a cushion.

“Whether one believes in the gods or not, whether we believe that life starts with a celestial spark or otherwise, there’s no question that there are patterns in the energy of living things,” Gallis says as she steps between the sunflowers.

“That energy is like a flame and, as with the sun, we rely on its warmth to survive. When someone draws closer to death, we find that inner flame burns less brightly. When someone’s flame extinguishes completely, they die and grow cold. We solari are more in touch with our celestial flame than others.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Even more than incendi?”

“Their magic is filtered through a different element. Just because they too produce heat doesn’t make it the same. Theirfires need air and fuel to thrive—the celestial flame is quite different.”

I nod, trying to wrap my head around the idea as Gallis continues.

“When you and I cast our sun beams, we are finding the celestial flame inside ourselves and projecting it outward.”

“So what does that have to do with healing someone?” I ask, wondering how much theory she’s going to pile on me before we arrive at the tricky little issue of needing to save someone’s life.

Gallis smiles serenely. “You are unusually powerful, Morgana. If you can connect with a fading, damaged celestial flame in another living being, then we believe you may be able to revitalize it by channeling your magic into it.”

She just said that when someone’s dying, their flame fades. And when it goes out, they’re gone. So she’s talking about bringing someone on the brink of death back to life. It’s a crazy idea, but not as crazy as the thought that pops into my head next: If I can revitalize a celestial flame, could I snuff one out?

That would certainly solve the problem with your aunt.

I’m too startled by the idea whispering at the back of my mind to be able to fully process it right now. Instead, I quickly brush it away. It’s all hypothetical anyway.

For now, at least.

Gallis claps her hands together and calls me forward. “Enough talk. Now that you know what you’re looking for, let’s see if you can connect with the celestial flames of these plants.”

I eye them, focusing more on the details. They don’t look very happy. Most of their heads are drooping, and several have shriveled, brown petals.

“Did you say these were grown this morning?” I ask dubiously.

Gallis’s lips twitch with amusement. “Yes, but I asked our mages to starve them a little—they’ve had the water and nutrients drained from them.”

In other words, they’ve started killing them so that I can save them. I try to ignore the heavy weight of doubt about whether I can pull this off. Instead, I focus on the flowers.

“So you said I have to look for the celestial flame?”

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