“You have your Blessings,”Valinbarked. “You should learn how to use them and when. And wisely, at that.Zverand their handlers will not be defeated by brute force alone.”
I turned to look at him, noting the second mention of some group of people who seemed able to maintain control over such beasts.
“Handlers?” I asked. "Riders?"
Valinfrowned, as if displeased he'd let that bit of information slip unintentionally from his lips.
“Kleiowill take over your training from here,”Valinsaid instead, nodding at the door we'd come to a stop in front of. “You won’t be of much use to our squad until you can learn to master what you’ve been given.”
I turned, looking up at the massive stone door. It was less elaborate than the gold and marble ones of the palace, but impressive all the same. ThenValinwas gone, having likely sped away the moment he'd delivered me. I sighed, turning and knocking on the smooth stone.
“Enter,” a familiar voice called from within.
So I did.
Kleio’shome was a disaster in comparison to the grandiosity of the palace I'd spent my morning in. For aGeistclearly so well connected with the council themselves, his home was small and dark with only one bedroom off to the back, as far as I could tell, and one bathing chamber inside. The rest was a single roomflowing from the front door to the opposite bedroom in a series of living arrangements, dining table, and kitchen. Cobwebs filled every corner and spiders scuttled visibly along the sand-strewn floor. ButKleiodidn’t seem to notice as he bent over a document he had laid out upon his desk, brow furrowed and lips moving as he read the text silently to himself.
I simply stood in the doorway, glancing over every available space which was filled with trinket and baubles and rolls and rolls of parchment covered in writing so fine it was hardly legible. On the fireplace beside me, there was a small globe that depicted a continent covered nearly entirely in sand. I reached for it, hoping to spin it and see what might be on the other side, but a voice interrupted me.
“Are you going to explain to me why I’m seeing you again so soon after we parted?”Kleioasked suddenly, looking up from his document. “Or am I to reason it out for myself?”
I frowned.
“Apparently, I’m not as competent with my Blessings as Valin hoped I would be,” I confessed.
Kleio sighed as he set his papers down and took a step toward me.
“I’d feared that might be the case,” he said. “Tell me, which Blessings have you mastered?”
“To be honest,” I started, gritting my teeth against what I knew I had to say, the weakness it revealed, “I’m not certain I’ve mastered any of them. I’ve used some more than others. Adrian and I practiced using our strength, our speed, the underwater breathing and healing, but not much more than that.”
Kleio watched me for a moment. He didn’t say a word as his eyes roved over me from head to toe, but the disappointment was just as clear in his expression as it had been in Valin’s.
My fists clenched at my sides. I wasn’t enjoying the sensation of disappointing so many legendary mentors so quickly. Beingbrought to Kleio, once again, after being deemed unfit for service was a humiliation Cosmo would have disowned me for.
“Today, we'll begin with the senses,”Kleioannounced abruptly, drawing me out of my disparaging thoughts. He strode to a chest in the corner and opened a drawer.
My brow furrowed in confusion ashepulled out a thick strip of cloth and turned to face me.
“The senses?” I asked. “But—”
“Until you can learn to utilize the magic you're capable of in a way in which you hardly think of it at all, you will not be able to master any of your other Blessings to their maximum potential,” Kleio explained as he approached again. "You must be able to harness your power without reaching for it, let it flow into you and through you at all times like the blood in your veins. Using it must become as natural to you as breathing, until you're hardly able to distinguish between when you are and when you are not. Therefore, we begin with the senses.”
Kleioreached out with the cloth. I flinched away, uncertain, but at his quick frown of frustration, straightened myself out and allowed him to wrap the thick cloth around my eyes, obscuring my vision as he tied it firmly behind my head. Everything became utterly dark.
“Even in humans,”Kleiobegan from somewhere beside me now, his voice strangely louder than before, “the other senses become stronger when one is restricted or denied. You cannot see so smell, touch, listen. What do you hear? What do you feel?”
I stood silently for a moment, straining to hear a single sound in the silent room. Perhaps I was more out of practice than I thought, or maybe gods were far stealthier than my people, but I couldn't even hearKleio’ssteps as he moved around me, speaking aloud from time to time and surprising me with his new location. I couldn't hear his breathing or the scraping of hisboots on the ancient stone beneath our feet. Frustrated, I blew out a breath and turned to smell.
“You’re making tea,” I said suddenly, identifying the cloyingly sweet, floral aroma for the first time.
“Very good,”Kleioremarked, now behind me. “What kind?”
I sniffed again. It was floral indeed but there was somethingcitrusyabout it as well.
“Rose,” I said. “No. Lavender. And with a hint of lemon.”
Kleiohesitated, then spoke again from my left side.
