The class leaned closer, and a few gasps were heard echoing in the room.
“Wands are conduits for magic. You can, of course, channel your magic without it, but most find it easier with a wand or amulet. Which you will be getting at the upcoming fair.”
Every gaze in the room watched as the professor swirled her wand around and little white fireworks shot out like a sparkler.
“Magic has been around for thousands of years, even in this realm. Every time you go into nature, you can feel the wonder, the energy connecting us all.” Professor Jules smiled, and a few of the students nodded.
“The magic running through you is like the very blood flowing in every vein beneath your skin. It is you, in your very cells. Like a living entity working with you. Your closest friend, if you will.” She watched us kindly, and I looked at my hands like they were strangers instead of friends.
I didn’t have a traumatic experience of magic. Though most of us knew the stories of planes crashing to the ground, buildings catching fire, and people turning into animals.
The electric energy in the room fizzled out, and a heavy feeling coated the air.
The professor caught onto the shift right away. “Yes, those of us from Nathuria understand magic has troubled your realm. Once our two sides have come to further arrangements, we will try to help rebuild what we can.”
Rylan stiffened beside me. From what I’d learned, he was doing everything in his power—no pun intended—to fix what his company had inadvertently unleashed. It was a lot of pressure on one man and part of me wondered how he was handling it all.
Professor Jules lifted her hand, and a ball of fire appeared in her hand. We all watched the fire twist and roll over her palm like a golf ball instead of flame.
“Magic is neither good, nor bad; it simply is.”
It simply is.
That sounded so easy, but it would take time to accept that perspective.
Professor Jules moved to the front of her desk and clenched her hand, the fire vanishing without a trace.
“Let’s get our fingers magically dipped, as you all would say.” She clapped with joy and walked down the aisle of lab tables, her eyes darting to each of our faces. “Close your eyes and place your hand on top of the table palm side up. Yes, that’s it.” I did as instructed and bit my bottom lip as the awareness of Rylan’s body heat brushed against me. Thankfully Professor Jules’s voice distracted me from the man mere inches from my side.
“Now I want you to think of a time in your life where you were happy. It doesn’t have to be a big memory. Even that first sip of that strange brown liquid that makes you joyous in the morning is enough for this lesson.”
I’m pretty she meant sure coffee, which I did enjoy, but instead I chose to think about Piper’s smile. Whenever I felt like the world was too much to handle, Piper would bounce in with that big smile, and instantly I’d relax.
“Now whatever you feel from your magic in your body, I want you to focus on that feeling but move it to your palm. Guide the tingles, or crackles, or icy feelings forward,” Professor Jules spoke softly. “Once that feeling feels grounded in your palm, open your eyes.” “Holy shit.” Someone cursed, but I remained focused on feeling the sensations. The tingles started in my chest, and I imagined pushing them toward my hand as if I was putting lotion on my skin.
The magic moved in a snakelike manner before coiling in my palm.
I opened my eyes and gasped.
A bouquet of flowers sprouted up from my hand. An orange rose, a purple iris, blue calla lily, a purple aster, a daisy.Were the tingles like vines moving inside me?
I didn’t want to move or look away, but I had to see what the others had in their palms. Nearly everyone had a form of nature in their hand. Icicles, mini thunderstorms, a water puddle, a tiny oak, and more that I couldn’t quite make out.
Rylan, along with a few others, hadn’t created anything yet, and the professor was quick to soothe any anxieties to those who didn’t conjure light. “Do not worry, my young learners. Magic is still inside you. Sometimes it takes a little coaxing and connection to come out.”
“Nice,” Rylan whispered, and I shifted to see a smoky glass ball in the middle of his palm with sand falling between his fingers onto the table.
His power was like glass? Interesting.
The tingles in my hand intensified, and I drew my gaze back to my own magical display, watching as the flowers grew another inch. His head turned my way, eyes on the magic in my hands. He smiled and stared into me with awe. That look stole my breath, and I knew Piper had competition for best smile in my memories now.
My head never moved so fast as it did to turn away from Rylan and that thought.
The magic in my palms pulsed, and I willed that new friend in me to stop being so embarrassing.
“Yes, that’s it.” Professor Jules beamed as she walked between the aisles, helping the ones who hadn’t been able to get it on the first try. Maybe they needed to see others do it first. I could imagine if their first time using magic had been traumatic, they’d have difficulty trusting it again.
Without warning, the flowers popped. Shredded petals and stems fell to the table in a sad-looking pile.
