She scoffs half-heartedly. “A little light trick is hardly impressive magic, princeling.” Suddenly, I’m lifted in the air by a strong gale before being set down ten paces away. Queen Laurel pins me with a smirk that’s equal parts seductive and terrifying. From this distance, her curvy figure is on full display in leather leggings and a tight-fitting tunic. With her hair pulled from her face in a simple braid and no makeup, there’s something vulnerable about her tonight. In three strides, I return to stand in front of her, only a foot away, my body towering over her small stature. I swear her breath catches the tiniest bit, though she reveals nothing in her expression. My lips pull at the corners. “How was your training session?” she asks coolly, apparently unaffected by our closeness, though she doesn’t step away.

“Hellish.” I close the distance between us by another step, and now I have her squirming. Her eyes dilate, and her nostrils flare. I’m desperate to fully crack that icy exterior. “Fionn’s brutal in his workouts, and with a month of sitting around, I was out of shape. He’s mandated high-intensity drills twice a week. I told him we should just walk up the aethers-damned stairs over and over again. But I think he hates them as much as the rest of us.” This time I know her lips twitch in a held-back smile. I almost cracked her. So I crowd her body with mine, the need to get a reaction from her overwhelming me. Once again, she doesn’t back away, and we’re so close that I can lean down and whisper in her pointed ear. “I’ve never wanted to be an air channeler more than when I walked up to the Council chambers for the first time. Good news is by the end of this ambassador appointment, my ass is going to look even better than it already does.” I pull back and wink. That comment gets an actual laugh out of her, and I can’t help from smiling at the sound.

“Good night, princeling,” she says with a roll of her eyes.

“Good night, witchling,” I yell as she walks away, her face in profile. A real smile breaks out across her lips, and my heart skips a beat in my chest. Success.

Laurel

While plant and water channelers are the most well-known of healers, light channelers can also heal injuries. In fact, light healing is said to be the strongest of the healing abilities, as it requires a stronger concentration of aether to perform and thus passes that extra aether to the person being healed. However, it takes immense focus and control to heal via light, and very few light channelers throughout history have possessed the skill.

A Practical Guide to Magical Healing