Page 65 of Drawn in Blood
“We could tell my parents about Collum and Malcolm,” Fen shrugged, “or Aoife. Maybe one of them would know what to do.”
“We could talk to Professor Bjorn,” Odette added, and Fen nodded in agreement.
“No, no adults.” Ember shook her head. “It’ll just put them in danger, and possibly Maeve or Theo. We don’t need to make them targets.”
“Going off on our own didn’t bode so well last time,” Fen replied. “I don’t think we can do this on our own.”
“There’s too much at stake,” she whispered, shaking her head.
Too many people she loved. Too much to lose. Too much.
“Good afternoon, students!” Professor Eid said, as she walked to the center of the room. “I trust you all had a restful weekend?” Murmurs of agreement—and exhaustion—sounded through the room, and Professor Eid nodded her head with a smile. “Good then! As a reward for all your hard work this term, I thought I would give you a little treat today.” She conjured a large bowl in the middle of the room and flicked her hand in its direction.
It erupted into flames, and Ember could feel the heat licking at the tip of her nose.
“I told you at the beginning of the year that you would not learn to conjure fire yet, and I stand by that.” Groans sounded throughout the room, and Professor Eid gave them a very pointed look before she continued. “Instead of waiting until the end of the year, I thought we would get a small sneak peek at what our lessons on fire will look like.”
Ember groaned as Killian and Fen began to whisper amongst themselves.
“We will work on the first steps—control. As I said before, you cannot hope to successfully conjure even a spark if you don’t have the ability to control it when it roars to life.”
Small bowls appeared in front of the pillows, one for every two students, and the basins filled with onyx rocks that shone against the light filtering in from the windows. Professor Eid walked around the circle of students, lighting each bowl with a flick of her wrist as she went. Light from the small flames danced across Fen’s rosy cheeks as his bowl came to life, and the grin on his face was only mildly unsettling—something about these boys and fire just didn’t sit right with her. She laughed as Fen reached out to touch it and quickly snapped his hand back, clutching it tightly to his chest.
“It’s fire, Fenrir,” Odette whispered. “Magic or not, you probably shouldn’t touch it.”
Ember giggled as Fen made a mocking face and crossed his arms, his cheeks turning red from embarrassment. Professor Eid made her way back to the center of the room, folding her hands gently in front of her as she looked around at each student.
“All I want you to do for now is focus on making the flame grow,” she said, as she nodded to the flames dancing in the small bowls. They were small, barely the size of a lit match, and they seemed to stay lit by sheer willpower. “Keep the fire inside the basin, but make it larger if you’re able.”
“Is there a spell we should say? Or some sort of incantation?” Flynn Macguire asked from the other side of the room.
Professor Eid smiled as she shook her head. “Elemental magic is a wee bit different than Galdr,” she replied. “There are no magic words or incantations that can control flame or conjure waves or crack the earth open at its seams.” The room quieted, all the students hanging on her every word. “It’s something youhave to feel—something that vibrates your bones. You have to open yourself up to the power that is already inside of you.”
Killian and Fen snickered, and Ember had to use all of her self-control not to channel Eira and smack them both upside the head.
“So…” Fen said, drumming his fingers on his knee, “what exactly are we supposed to do?”
Professor Eid gave him a gentle smile in a way that reminded Ember so much of Odette.
“Your magic will tell you what to do,” was all she said.
Fen groaned, sweat already beading on his forehead.
“I will check in periodically. You may begin.” Professor Eid floated back to the center of the room, sitting on the pillow, and began to meditate.
Ember focused on the flame in front of her, willing her magic to connect, but nothing seemed to happen. After several minutes of flicking her wrist and cursing under her breath, she let out a sigh and blew a stray hair from in front of her eyes.
“Would you like a go?” she asked Odette, the blonde sitting silently beside her. Her bronze skin seemed to glow against the flame, giving her an otherworldly aura that gave Ember goosebumps.
Odette shook her head. “I don’t think my magic is quite ready yet.” She closed her eyes and began to meditate on the pillow, mimicking the way Professor Eid was sitting, and Ember wondered if maybe she should take a page out of Odette’s book for this lesson.
“This is hopeless,” Fen mumbled beside her, rubbing his temple as he squinted. “How are we supposed to figure out how to control fire with no guidance? Absolute shite.”
Professor Eid cleared her throat, briefly opening one eye and peering toward Fen. Ember chuckled as she rolled her eyes, focusing back on her own bowl. She wouldn’t say it out loud, butshe agreed with Fen—it did feel hopeless. She felt the invisible chord tug at her sternum, the boy’s magic playing off her own, trying to draw some sort of extra strength, but it didn’t do anything. Ember sighed again, leaning back on her elbows as she tapped her hand against the ground. She was about to give up and possibly spend the rest of the class period reading until she saw something glimmer out of the corner of her eye.
Little glowing wisps of light bounced around the center of the room, a few feet from Professor Eid, just out of Ember’s grasp. She bolted upright, her back stiff as a board as she held her breath. It was the same blue wisps she had seen in the Fae garden and on the runes glowing around the portal to Arcelia. No one else seemed to notice them, just like before.
They began floating toward her, and Ember’s felt her chest tighten as they neared the edge of her pillow. She laid her hand flat, like she was coaxing a shy rabbit to eat some berries out of her palm, and felt electricity travel along her skin as they rubbed up against her fingers. She scooped them up into her hand, the wisps danced across her freckled skin like droplets of water beading on a windshield. She felt the buzz of their magic, something strange and familiar all at once, and she felt her own magic begin to thrum in her veins. She focused her energy on the little balls of light as their glow intensified, and they danced in her hands. The magic tasted like copper and salt on her tongue, and she felt her heart beating faster.
