Elnora shifted and placed her hand on her shoulder, rubbing it affectionally.

‘I don’t think you should be that hard on him,’ she said. Something caught in her throat. ‘I would do the same.’

Bethan rolled her shoulders back, suddenly uncomfortable with Elnora’s touch. ‘He didn’t have to use his magic like that.’

‘He didn’t have much choice.’ Elnora inspected her long nails. ‘There had been no attacks on you until now. You both have gotten too relaxed. He doesn’t carry as many weapons anymore; that’s why he had to resort to using them.’

Elnora’s words reminded her of what Kellan had said in Tharin’s office.

But sometimes people don’t give you a choice.

She couldn’t pinpoint when her heart had started beating so fast, but that dreadful realisation dawned on her—that, like her, Kellan was without magic.

When she woke up to losing hers, a part of her was gone. The most important part of her distinguished like a fire in a flood, like Dana.

Her entire self-worth was her magic.

But Kellan was different to her. His worth had never been in his powers but an extension.

Yet, she still wondered if he felt like a part of him was missing. His powers hadn’t left him like hers had, but the fact he couldn’t conjure them must have been hard.

Glimpses of him sitting in her office with his feet kicked up, playing with a dancing flame on his fingertips, flashed over her.

She supposed it was better than being sent back to Zakros. Maybe she wasn’t scared of him after all but afraid she’d lose him.

Elnora got up and disappeared into the kitchen, followed by crockery clanging together and cupboards opening and closing. The kettle boiled, and Bethan followed after her.

‘What papers were you even looking for?’ Elnora asked, pouring water into the tea bag. She reached into a pot, pulling out her required ingredients. A grey mist emerged from her hands.

‘Artal,’ she whispered, bringing an ingredient to her mouth. She used the altering enchantments that would likely change the ingredient she used for the tea.

Bethan watched her methodically cut up a strange root.

‘Lenovik gave some of his own papers to Dana for her search.’ Bethan had answered her earlier question, and Elnora placed the tea on the table in front of her. ‘It’s the only lead I have right now. The last thing I wanna deal with is going through another meeting with Tharin saying that I’m useless.’

‘I should have hexed his shampoo bottles when I had the chance,’ Elnora blurted.

Bethan chuckled and sipped her tea, Elnora watching her intently. The tea tasted how it usually did; it was supposed to help bring her magic back. She welcomed the familiar taste of elderberries and the oaken root.

‘Do you know anything about the Antiphonus?’

She froze for a split second. ‘My family don’t talk about it.’

Bethan took another sip, the tension in her shoulders dissipating.