Page 52 of Beneath the Flames
An unexpected snort came out of me, and Maren’s face looked a little too happy to have drawn it out of me.
“Yes,” I replied, forcing any expression from my face, unwilling to let her know her little quip was amusing.The light slipped off her face, her countenance falling in response.But why?
She cleared her throat and looked at the plate in front of her.“So what are Aeros’s and Siris’s specialties?”
“Aeros’s magic is white and they have an affinity for manipulating air and physical objects.”
Maren perked up, spreading her hands on the table in front of her.“LikeAvatar the Last Airbender?”she said excitedly.
“What?”I had no clue what she was talking about.
“The Fae in Aeros are airbenders, like in the show?”
“Show?What in Avalea are you talking about?”
Her face fell again, the excitement draining from her face, and I felt a strange pang of…regret?Remorse?It was a foreign feeling, and I couldn’t say I was a fan of it.
“It’s something I watched for entertainment back home.”Sadness filled her voice, and for some inexplicable reason, that weird feeling doubled.
Ridiculous, Rhydian.Stop letting her get inside your head.
An awkward silence settled between us for several moments until she changed the subject.“And Siris?”
Grateful for the distraction, I replied, “Siris’s magic is blue in color and they have the ability to manipulate light.”
“Light?What good does that do?”Maren asked.
“It might seem harmless until you’re surrounded by enemies and suddenly all light disappears.Light is as much a weapon as any physical one.”
The memory of my parents falling in battle decades ago, before the curse, losing to Queen Valianna’s army, to their light magic, made fury surge through my veins like the Scorching Rivers.
Golden magic flared in my palms, out of control, and Maren jumped from her seat and backed up a few steps.It took several seconds of deep breaths before I got it back under control.
Day by day, I was losing more and more control over my magic.It kept lashing out or failing entirely.How long until I hurt someone I cared about like Nico or—
You don’t care about her, Rhydian.
“What’s wrong with your magic?”Maren asked when the golden light finally disappeared.“Did you change your mind about killing me?”
Something about the question got under my skin, forcing me to my feet.I rounded the table and stalked toward her.Maren quickly backed up, trying to escape from me, before her back hit the wall.Her eyes were full of fear, but for some reason, instead of finding pleasure in it, there was that infernal pang of regret again, echoing deep in my gut.What was that about?
The fear in her eyes stopped me in my tracks, though I was nearly toe-to-toe with her already.I leaned down to her level.“If I weretryingto kill you, you’d already be dead.”
Her throat bobbed as she swallowed, but she kept her gaze locked on mine.Her fisted hands crossed in front of her chest, putting an extra barrier between us.Those bruises on her wrists were nearly gone now, I noticed, and I found myself, once again, wanting to ask where they’d come from.
“Then what’s wrong with your magic?”she asked, pulling me back to the present.“Why does it seem like you can’t control it?”
I took a step back and didn’t miss the way her shoulders dropped ever so slightly.“When the curse was laid on me, it became a sort of lock on my magic.I have access to only a fraction of what I used to, and each day that I get closer to the Magmara dying, I lose more and more control.”
“Why would the curse affect your magic?”
I opened my mouth to answer her before snapping my teeth shut.I couldn’t answer that.Not without telling her the entire truth.AndthatI could not do.
I pushed off the wall, turning my back to her.“The curse was meant to ruin me.My magic is part of me.Is that a good enough answer for you?”I snapped.
Her head cocked to the side.“Are you ever not rude?”
I blinked in surprise.Who was this human to think she could speak to me like that?If she knew who—
