Page 84 of The Tribes of Magic
I hated myself immediately. What a stupid comment. Of course he knew the name of the tower where he lived.
“I just need to pick up a few things before we go.”
Go? Go where? I didn’t have the chance to ask him. He was already moving up the seemingly endless staircase with purposeand confidence—and at a very brisk walk. I guess it was easier to pace yourself when you knew when the end was coming. I did my best to keep up.
“You did well today.” He glanced sidelong at me.
I must have been a sight to behold, stumbling my way up the winding staircase.
“Which part?” I wheezed. “Catching the mercenaries? Or setting off a tsunami at the swamp?”
“I was referring to the mercenaries, but yes, according to Eris, the tsunami was very impressive. But do you know what would have been even more impressive?”
I thought I had a pretty good idea what he was going for, but I just couldn’t help myself. “An even bigger tsunami?” I smirked at him.
He didn’t take the bait. “What would have been even more impressive was if you’d actually meant to set off the tsunami.”
I swallowed down the hard, foreboding lump in my throat. “My magic is either wild, free-flowing, and out of control—orI can’t get it to come out at all.”
“Whether your magic is shy or aggressive, Seven, it’s the same problem: lack of control. Learning control over your magic will allow you to call it when you need it and dismiss it when you don’t.”
“You make it sound so easy.” I hacked out a few coughs. This staircase was brutal.
“Using magic will never be easy, but you will get stronger. You just have to decide to fight for your magic. I will help you. Everyone’s magic works in unique ways. We will figure out how your magic works. I promise.”
“Why are you fighting so hard to help me?”
“Because you’re worth fighting for. You’re special. And one day, you’ll realize that too.”
“How can you be so sure about me?”
He stopped walking and turned to face me. “I’ve known you’re special since the day I met you. When the Cursed Ones attacked the Garden, everyone ran. But not you. You buried your fear and tried to protect people. Again and again, I’ve seen you do that. I’ve seen you put others first. That is the kind of person I can respect. That is the kind of person I will do everything in my power to help.”
My eyes were wet and my throat tight. I was still getting used to the idea of people fighting for me.
“Thank you, Kato. You’re a good person. And a good friend.”
“So are you.” He took my hand. “Now, come on. We’re almost there.”
He led me higher up the winding staircase. We soon reached the end, just as he’d promised. A large door, twice as wide and three times as tall as a normal door stood before us. It was made of wood and metal and looked really, really heavy.
“How can anyone even open that huge, heavy thing?” I asked him.
“Not just anyone can. I’ve coded the lock to my magic, so only I can open it.”
His hands closed around the door handle, which actually resembled a wheel more than a handle. He gave the wheel a hard turn, and the metal-linked vines retreated across the door’s wooden surface. There was a series of mechanical clicks and clinks, followed by some humming and buzzing.
“Does opening your door always take an hour?” I chuckled.
“I needed to put up lots of defensive measures. The other Knights love to prank me.”
I was going to protest that no one would prank a Knight Commander, but then I thought of Conner. Conner would definitely prank Kato if he got the chance. I wondered if he had to get inside Kato’s room to do it. Because one look at Kato’s defenses told me breaking in was nothing short of impossible.
Finally, Kato got his door open. I followed him inside, noting that his room was much friendlier than his door. There were big glass windows on every wall, letting in lots of light. He had a balcony that went all the way around the outside of the tower. There was even a lounge chair out there. I pictured him in the warm sunshine, reading from one of his many books.
And he hada lot of books. Every wall of his room that wasn’t covered in glass was covered in shelves full of meticulously-ordered magic books.
“Wow! You have your own personal library up here!”
