She laughed. “My Father can’t help himself.”
“Yes,” said Mal absentmindedly, pulling back the paper. “I’ve noticed his affinity for giving you gifts.”
“Oh, look-” said Maeve. “it’s a first edition.”
Mal held up a copy of “Vaukore: the Legend of Magic.”
“Am I being bought?” Mal asked, smirking.
“Perhaps,” shrugged Maeve.
Mal turned to the inside cover. There, in sparkling gold letters, was a swirly signature.
Cressida Juniper Felixx
It took Maeve the entire evening and most of the next morning to not be sour that her own father had gifted Mal a first edition, signed copy of “Vaukore: the Legend of Magic,” and not his own daughter.
They spent their mornings practicing in the Ballroom A full-force blow from Mal was impossible to fully deflect, though Maeve nearly blocked a few spells quite well without completely losing her balance. Spinel was asleep on his back, sunbathing by the windows.
“I have an idea,” said Mal. “If you want to try.”
“Alright,” said Maeve.
He strode towards her. He slipped the Peur ring off his finger. He ran his fingers over it a few times before instructing her to hold out her hand. She obeyed.
The ring fell into her palm. A cold sensation dripped down her whole body as the ring made contact with her skin, causing her to shiver.
“You want me to-”
“Put it on, yes.”
“It’s too big.”
It was, truthfully. Mal sighed and looked at her in frustration, as though it was her fault. He studied her for a moment.
“Your necklace,” he said.
Maeve grabbed the ivory cameo pendant hanging around her neck. “Ah,” she said.
She removed the chain and replaced the pendant with Mal’s ring, so that it hung around her neck. Mal nodded and circled back around the room.
“Touch it,” commanded Mal cooly, “and close your eyes.”
Maeve, again, obeyed.
“Now,” he said, “feel for the magic it holds.”
She inhaled deeply, letting her mind fall blank. The cool feeling of Magic turned to deadly shards of ice. Agile and fierce. The sensation started to grow, only sparks of Magic at first, but with each inhale, she felt a flame of ice wafting- surging with each breath. Soon, the feeling was a current moving through her body. It felt like spell casting, but it was constant. Sturdy and unmovable.
The feeling was so exhilarating, so captivating, that not even Mal’s velvet voice broke her connection with it.
“I’m going to attack; I want you to deflect.”
Maeve nodded. Mal unleashed on her. A bright light slammed towards her.
Maeve opened her eyes and, with an easy swish of her hand, deflected his curse with such a potent burst of magic his robes whipped violently behind him as he took a step back, bracing himself.
Maeve gasped. She looked at her right hand in disbelief- she had never been able to do that before- and certainly not with ease. Mal had the most victorious grin on his face. Maeve laughed.
