“Building a protective shield of aether around the room. It’s just a precaution in case… in case my control slips. I’ve never trained in the palace before. I want to make sure there’s something to stop my magic from getting out.” She returns to her slow walk, brows furrowed, and I study her full figure.

Aethers, she’s beautiful. That dark hair paired with her creamy, plump skin makes me want to bite her, to wrap her up in my arms and never let her go. Her curves do something to me that no one’s ever done before, and I wonder not for the first time what it might be like to see her naked. To see that heated expression she gives me when she’s challenging me on her face while her breasts sway with her attitude. She’s so confident and strong. And yet, there’s a softness to her, a sadness, that’s hard to ignore.

Something nags at me as she makes her third layer of wards on the room, a feeling about her that won’t leave me be. Then, it hits me—she’s afraid of her own magic. The realization shocks me, and I nearly laugh. The formidable and ferocious Witch Queen—feared across kingdoms, her name whispered out of concern it will conjure her, infamous for her supposed nefarious and terrible magic—is here making a shield around herself in case she loses control. The single most in control channeler I’ve ever encountered is afraid she’ll lose control practicing simple sparring drills. The very fact that she can somehow build a shield of aether around us is a show of expert control.

I grieve for her. This wonderful, beautiful, insanely powerful female has been convinced she is something to be feared, rather than someone to be celebrated. As much as my father is envious of my power, he always sought to elevate it, even if only for his own gain. But while he memorialized my aether-blessed light and water magic through the streets of Velmara, he also spun a tale about Laurel that made her into a nightmare. Whether a small part of her believes him, or cows from her magic for her own reasons, I don’t know. But she’s afraid what she can do if unleashed, and I vow to change that for her.

Laurel finishes her warding and returns to the middle of the room. She must notice my staring, because she says, her tone filled with sass, “What?”

My lips twitch. “Nothing, just observing. Let’s get started. Before you do any actual channeling, I want you to watch me. As you’re watching, visualize yourself displaying the same power. Light channeling is the hardest for a reason. You have to believe the light can slice through objects, or it won’t.”