Page 11 of A Touch of Stars and Stones
“Maybe. They were born under a quarter moon. Their heritage is Warrior. Their latent ability is Warrior, and both their parents are Warrior. So, it’s no surprise what their magic is. But they will still have a lot to learn. And they will also be vulnerable.”
My brows furrow at this. Calix is even stronger now than he was. And he’s not shy in making that point.
“You don’t believe me.” She tilts her head at me.
“I’m yet to see what you mean by them being vulnerable.”
She shifts in her position, bringing her gaze firmly back to me. “You know you are powerful. Aslendrix blessed us when you were born under the full moon. But you also have my blood. Guards are rarer than Warriors because they are more powerful. Don’t think solely in terms of physical strength. That’s your father’s influence, and while strong, it’s not your whole.”
“But what?—”
She brings her finger to her lips, silencing me. “This is your magic to understand, Aten. I can’t do that for you. That is what training and the tests are for. Trust the process, but trust your own magic, too. Lean into your instincts. Lean into your thoughts. Your mind is a powerful tool, much stronger than your arm might be.” She stands and heads back to her position at the window as if resuming her vigil.
I watch her for a moment and let her words sink in.
The only other Guard in training is Azur Leo. If Mother is going to remain cryptic, I might have to play nice with him to get some straight answers.
“I’ll visit soon.”
“Perhaps.” She doesn’t turn to look at me or say goodbye, but I can feel a strange pulse in my blood, like a presence, a shadow ghosting over me.
“Be safe.” They aren’t the words I wanted to say. I wanted to ask more questions, find out why, if a Guard was as powerful as she was suggesting, I’d never seen or felt any of her magic growing up.
Aslendrix did bless us with magic, but it was on her terms. And while she gave it freely, she also took it away, as if proving her power over us. One way or another, everyone would lose the magic she blessed you with, either fading quickly until just an essence is left after being an Advocate for someone at their Transference, or gradually growing more unstable and fading if you kept it into older age.
Either way, Aslendrix always saw that her rule prevailed, measures and checks were kept, and power was balanced.
My mother was my Advocate. The heaviest words in my heart I keep unsaid, the words of thanks, still stuck in my throat, refusing to cooperate. I hope she knows that beneath my anger and hurt at my father, there is a depth of gratitude for her.
And as if in response to my thought, that strange pulse starts again. Less alarming this time.
I leave.
five
. . .
Ever
We don’t detour to Orasia, and we barely rest. Lyle’s silence is as I feared and allows me to create wild and fantastical thoughts in my head, pulled together from the chips of information that have cracked from her lie.
That’s what our life has been, after all, a lie.
The silence allows me to simmer. Thinking over everything again and again. Dissecting it, turning it around to see if I can understand it from a different viewpoint, but I can’t.
There’s magic in the world. Lyle has magic.
The careful distraction of the landscape provides some relief as I note the subtle changes of the land around us, mile by mile. The trees grow sparser the further away from Orasia we travel, until there’s nothing to look at except a great expanse of… nothing.
A patchwork of yellows and greens stretches before us, and rolling green hills loom in the distance.
I would say we’re trekking through fields, but there’s no clear definition between the areas. It’s just grass, or straw, or acombination of both. Darker patches with clusters of weeds and taller grasses surround us.
Lyle is steadfast, moving forward, even with no path to guide her.
“How many times have you done this? Taken somebody to The Court?” I shout.
Nettle trots on, and Lyle slows, giving me a chance to catch up. When I draw up alongside her, she starts again, keeping her distance and perhaps out of reach of the answer I want.
