Page 108 of The Demon's Delight
Hailon
Greta very nearly bowled me over when we walked into Vassago’s classroom a bit later.
“I found something! In your letter. I knew something about it seemed off.”
“Oh? What is it?”
“Watch.” She waved the parchment over the flame of a candle, and different ink markings appeared under the letter, like they were somehow between the layers of the parchment.
“What does it say?”
“I think you should sit.”
That made me a little nervous, but Seir took me over to the sofa, sitting so close beside me I was almost in his lap.
“I don’t know exactly what will happen if I speak it all out loud.” Greta frowned. “But this says ‘To open your mind,’ and I’m afraid that’s exactly what it’s going to do. Except I don’t know what that means.”
“Go ahead,” I encouraged. “Please, if it helps me control my powers, I want that.” Seir squeezed my hand and everyone in the room settled down. I was quickly realizing they all moved as a unit when they were here. I didn’t mind it like I thought I would.
Greta listed off three words, watching my face with each one. Seir, too, was staring.
“Keep going.” I felt a pressure behind my left eye, like had happened with my right when I got angry with Sal.
“Your other eye is shifting now, too, Moonflower. It’s very strange to see.”
With every new word, the pressure increased. Frustration rose in my blood, too, and anger. Rage at Sal, that she’d never sought out answers for me, that she’d held onto the letter all these years without being able to read it. That she’d blamed me, instead of trying to find another way. That I’d had tools, a letter from my parents, possibly help to understand myself, but she’d never shared it.
“Now both at the same time. Are you alright?” Seir’s tone was stressed.
“Fine. I can’t feel it.”
By the time Greta got to the seventh word, I felt like my skull was too full, like the light was painfully bright.
“Two more,” she said, tone apologetic.
“I’m okay.”
Seir’s chest rumbled with a concerned growl, and I felt the presence of the others around me.
When Greta said the final word, everything disappeared. My head felt fine again, but I was in that strange nowhere place I went when I was deep in a healing trance.
I could see my healing magic, the cup now a well. The well was deep and wide, only a tiny percentage full. I knew there was more than enough in it to heal Seir again or do a day’s worth of work like I had in Olinbourg, without it running out.
My fingers moved, slowly, lifting the necklace away from my chest. The well shrank to a cup again. I truly understood then what Ophelia meant about it being an amplifier. Faint trickles of magic started to flow in. Yellowish orange, blue. Green and gold.I dropped the necklace, realizing I was filling the well from the people around me. Seir, Greta, Calla, and Rylan if I had to guess. The colors disappeared once the stone was settled against my skin.
I wanted to keep that terrible power locked down, to not siphon by accident. I focused on that, visualizing a metal plate over the top of the well. Then I lifted the necklace again. No colors appeared. I mentally cheered, gaining confidence in this new awareness.
Lingering in the nowhere space, I practiced balancing the magic against the need, trying to gain a full understanding as the noise around me increased.
Slowly I came back to myself, Seir’s grip on my hand intense as my eyes fluttered open. I frowned, blinking against the bright room.
“There you are.” Seir visibly sagged and pressed his forehead to mine before giving me a quick, gentle kiss. “That was terrifying, beloved. Don’t do that again.”
“Now you know how I felt when you passed out in the ruins.” I looked over at Greta, the letter gripped tightly between her hands. “I’m fine. I promise. That did exactly what it was supposed to do. Thank you.”
Seir relaxed his grip, and everyone else seemed to take a breath. “Your mind is open? Your eyes are back to normal now.”
“Very. I can feel both powers, not just my healing ability.”
