Page 50 of A Fate Unwoven
“Thorough.” She didn’t bother to hide her frustration. She was exhausted, and she was no closer to achieving her goal than she had been last night.
Brother Dunstan’s eyes crinkled with amusement. “Yes, the history of the Ehmars’ rule is … quite lengthy.” He clasped his hands together, his gaze traveling to the mark on Lena’s wrist. “Have you had any more visions since this morning?”
Lena fought the urge to place her hand over her wrist. “No.”
Dunstan and Iska exchanged a silent look. “Good. We will focus on the basics during our first session. When your next vision comes, you should hopefully feel a little more prepared. Please, take a seat. Lady Iska, please escort Maia back to her chambers.”
Maia folded her arms over her chest, lips tightening into a stubborn line as she demanded, “I want to stay.”
Lena tensed, her body ready to leap to Maia’s defense should the priest punish her for her insolence. But Brother Dunstan simply offered Maia a gentle smile. “Whilst your dedication to Lady Lenora is admirable, I’m afraid I must insist. The more sets of threads in the room during her practice, the harder it will be for Her Worship to concentrate.” When Maia still didn’t look convinced, the priest said, “Why don’t you wait outside, and I shall call for you when we are done?”
“It’s alright, Maia,” Lena said. “I’ll be fine.”
Finally, Maia relented. Iska led her out of the chambers, leaving Lena alone for the first time with the High Priests of Næbya’s Church.
On the surface, Brother Dunstan didn’t look like much of a threat. He had to have lived at least fifty winters, and his body was frail enoughthat a strong wind might blow him over. But there was a wisdom in his gaze that unnerved her. Fooling Dimas was one thing. Fooling a High Priest was another entirely.
But if Brother Dunstan had any inkling of her true intentions, he showed no sign as he sat beside her and said, “Close your eyes.”
Everything inside of her fought against the command. In the Wilds, using every sense to its fullest ability was how you survived. To close your eyes when faced with a threat was a sure way to get yourself killed. But if it meant getting the priest to believe she was on their side, then Lena had no choice but to obey.
Slowly, her fingers itching to reach for a blade that wasn’t there, Lena closed her eyes. In the darkness, she was overly aware of the rustle of Brother Dunstan’s robes. Of the steady sound of his breathing.
“I want you to take a deep breath in through your nose. Do not release it until I tell you to.”
Skepticism knit her brows, but Lena did what he asked. The musky remains of incense tickled her nose as she drew in her breath. The gesture wasn’t dissimilar to how her mother had taught her to fire a bow, and the unexpected reminder caused the Fateweaver’s power to spark in response.
Just as her lungs started to burn, Brother Dunstan said, “Good. Now release. You felt it, didn’t you? Næbya’s gift? It calls to you.”
Lena opened her eyes. The priest’s threads hovered in the air around him, encasing him in an intricate silver web.
“Yes,” she said.
There wasn’t any point in hiding it, but admitting it out loud still left a sour taste in Lena’s mouth.
“And yet you are still resisting. You’re going to do the same thing again, but this time, when you feel that flicker of magic, I want you to embrace it.”
Lena shut her eyes once more, her heart fluttering in her chest. On Brother Dunstan’s command, she drew in a breath, holding it in herlungs just as she had before. Seconds passed before she felt the rumble of the Fateweaver’s power, a steady, ice-cold sensation in her chest. It was stronger than it had been in the tunnels, and her pulse quickened in response, her body bracing for pain before her mind could tell it not to.
“Focus on the beating of your heart. Relax your mind. When the urge to fight against your power rises, I want you to breathe out. Release your fear with your breath and tell yourself:I am in control.”
The ice-cold feeling in her chest began to spread outward, and Lena’s palms became slick with sweat. Her heart was thumping so hard in her chest she thought it might burst. She should run away from the sensation, run from it like she had from herboda’sabilities and her complicated feelings for Finæn. But as Venysa had warned her before, these powers were not something Lena could ever outrun.
So instead of fighting her magic, Lena did the one thing she’d always been terrified to do.
She surrendered.
It was like releasing an arrow. Something within her snapped as she let go of her fear, and like a bowstring going slack, the icy feeling in her chest receded. Almost as if, just like thekoruptedin Forvyrg, it was waiting for something.
As if it was waiting forher.
When Lena opened her eyes, Brother Dunstan was smiling. “How do you feel?”
The priest’s threads were fainter, their power over her easier to ignore. Lena couldn’t help the smile tugging at her lips. “Everything feels … clearer.”
It was the only way she could think to describe it. For the first time in almost a fortnight, the pain in her head was bearable, and the hum of power that usually accompanied a person’s threads had gone from unavoidable to barely noticeable.
Her relief barely lasted a few seconds before Brother Dunstan’s threads began to flicker and the magic inside of her rose in response. Inless than a heartbeat, Lena’s control broke, and pain surged in her head with a nauseating throb.
