“Good,” he praises, voice low, and it lights something up inside of me. I’m annoyed with myself with how easy it is for him to affect me. “Now send it toward me.” I try, but it dissipates before it makes it to him. He loves that. “Well, well, well,” he remarks, “we’ve found a weakness in the witchling’s magic.” I roll my eyes, but he continues. “Try concentrating on the intensity of the light in as small a space as you can manage. It’s similar to the concept you mentioned before. When large amounts of light are channeled into small spaces, it becomes destructive. Visualize the tiny hole you’re sending it through, then blast the light into it as you move it.” I try again, and this time the light reaches Hawthorne, but he easily disintegrates it. “Good. You’ve gotten the basic concept. Now you just need to work on the intensity and your speed and get to a point where you can consistently maintain those two things.”

We continue training for another hour. Hawthorne must also have remembered his betrothed and all the history between our kingdoms, because he keeps a healthy distance between us for the remainder of the session. When we’re both tired, I aerstep us back to his apartment and leave him with a promise that we’ll continue with our training in the coming weeks.

Back in my room, as I wash the sweat and grime from my body, I feel airy and light. Like I could float away at any moment and lose myself in the late afternoon sky.

Hawthorne

Raw thayar is processed in large towers by grinding the petals into a fine powder, then heating them to an exact temperature before immediately cooling them down. This process is known to increase the magical properties of the flower.

A Brief History of Modern Thayaria

“We need to get moving!” Silene says as she knocks on my door. Today I’m finally going to meet the leadership of the Sons and Daughters of Thayaria. It’s an opportunity to get information for Laurel. To do something useful after almost two months in this kingdom.

While Fionn will carry weapons, both Silene and I will remain unarmed. I don’t need the weapons, but it makes me nervous that Silene won’t have that extra layer of protection. She’s an air channeler of less than average strength, being part of the noble class of Velmara. I scan her small frame, looking for any sign of fear in her, but as usual, she vibrates with excitement for the adventure ahead.