“You are aware of the deal that you made, yet you continuously test fate with your words,” a male says, his voice deep and powerful as it ricochets across the Middle.
I duck my head, my eyes growing wide. “Who are you?”
“Young one, you needn’t worry about who I am. It is not relevant to your journey now,” he says around a velvety laugh.
“Seems pretty relevant,” I grumble back.
The male chuckles again, and I feelit caress my shoulders and weave into my hair. “Yes, I can see I have chosen well.Though I make no mistakes when it comes to matters such as these.”
Gods above, what is he talking about?
“She would like you,” he says, a deep longing ringing in the timbre of his voice. “Time is a treasure that cannot be bought, bartered, or stolen, Your Highness. You must remind yourself of this often.”
“Can anyone in this godsforsaken place please speakplainly?” I blurt out, running my hands through my hair.
His laugh rattles the stars. “This space is anything but forsaken of gods.”
“What does thatmean?” But his presence is already retreating, his power lifting off of me as if it were never there at all.
“Rhea,” Selene says hesitantly, her soft voice soothing, “you still have much to learn about yourself and your magic. You’ve made great progress, but you cannot stop now. Though the tides have receded, the swell is gathering again in the distance, and it is coming back in full force.”
Her words feel like an omen, and they send a rush of worry down my spine as I purse my lips together. “I need more practice with my light magic—just a little more. Then, I promise, I will let Nox teach me how to use the shadows.” It is the best I can offer. I refuse to put anyone’s life at risk if I lose control again.
“Very well,” she concedes. Silence, ancient and boundless, fills the space as I cradle my hands in my lap. “Have you thought about having your own Flame Ceremony?”
I’m confused by the question and tilt my head to the side as I think about the answer. “Not really. I don’t need to see the size of a flame to know that my magic is nearly as strong as Nox’s.”
“It’s stronger, and he suspects it.”
I snort as I shake my head. “No, the things he can do far exceed my own abilities.”
“Because he’s had a lifetime to train with it, whereas you’ve merely had a few months.”
“Does it matter?” I ask as stardust glitters past me. “Truly, does it matter that I see this measurement of my magic, knowing how foreign it still feels to me?”
“Knowledge is a tool, and one that only helps you make the best decisions you possibly can. Hiding from truths, whatever they are, does not help you. It only hinders.”
I consider her words, chewing on my lower lip. Selene is limited by what she can say and how she can phrase things, theotherpresence confirming so. If she believes the results of a Flame Ceremony to be something pertinent for me to know, I have to acknowledge that it would be foolish to disregard that.
There’s another swirl of splintered stars that dance in front of me, as if in agreement. Then she asks, “Do you want to hear the rest of the story I started the last time you were here? Of the magical woman and the prince?”
I look above me to where a glimmering galaxy in shades of purple glows. “Alright.”
“The magical woman had a lovely life as a child. One filled with joy and happiness with a family who loved her dearly, and yet, though she had everything she could ever want at her disposal, she ached for somethingmore. Her parents tried to quell this thirst by giving her every distraction they could think of. Books upon books to read. Training with her magic and with weapons she would never have to wield in battle. She learned how to dance and studied all the variations of the flowers that grew in her home. She made friends wherever she went. But that yearning for more remained.
“As a teenager, she began to push at her boundaries, sneaking into realms that she knew were forbidden. Hercuriosity was too strong to ignore, however, and she ventured farther and farther into one of those new realms until, one day, the forest she traveled through gave way to a beautiful city.”
The ends of my hair begin to lift while goosebumps break out over my skin. All around me, the stars begin to flicker. “Are you sending me back?” I ask.
“No. His magic is calling you back.”
I blink in surprise. “Nox’s magicknowsthat I’m here?”
“Rhea, do you not ponder why your magic reacts with his the way that it does? How it seems to always know where he is?”
“You know that I have.”
“Then you have your answer. Your magic is also strong enough to bring you here whenever you want, but only once you’ve embracedbothhalves.”
