I could do this. If I could learn something—anything—maybe it would save someone else from heartache in the future.
“Then let’s bus our trays and head up to my lab.” Fig’s grin widened. “Oh, yes, I have a lab of my own now—right next to the Library.”
Nowthatwas different. As Fig cracked her knuckles, a lump formed in my throat.
“What did I just sign up for?” I grumbled.
Fig, of course, was undeterred. “This is going to beso much fun.”
The next few days were spent practicing healing spells with Fig in her laboratory, poring over spellbooks from one of the libraries, and following her through the healing wards. I went to bed exhausted each night.
But never too exhausted to think.
Why did I miss the sea so much? Why did I missJax?It was clear he’d never valued me. I shouldn’t want someone who didn’t actually want me—therealme, not some altruistic, sanitized version trying to nobly save him from the curse.
Of course, there had never been anything noble about it. I’d relished the challenge, and the idea of facing off with a powerful sorceress’s death magic. I’d been so sure this was the opportunity of a lifetime, the chance to grow my own abilities.
I was so naive. The weeks that followed left people dead and others gravely injured. They’d shown me my own weaknesses, my own hubris. And they’d left my heart in pieces.
So I could not sleep easily, despite my fatigue. Nor could I give up on learning healing, even if every day I spent trying to force the magical threads of chaos into re-binding and rebuilding left me feeling as though I’d hiked Aegle’s mountains in winter.
I felt stuck, and sometimes trapped, even as I enjoyed my freedom from the curse and life back on land. It was as if my old life no longer fit me, no matter how comfortable I felt here at Dewspell. So I did what I always had when I needed guidance: I finally sent a calling card to my mentor, seeking an appointment.
I had an invitation to have tea with Master Aynia within the hour.
Chapter twenty-five
Sofie
IfeverythingaboutDewspellfelt a little different since my return, Master Aynia’s rooms were the exception: They were exactly as I remembered them.
Cheerful, buttery yellow stone welcomed me like a warm hearth as I stepped onto the zigzagging stair. Just setting foot in one of Dewspell’s many turrets, I felt transported back to earlier days, when I was a student just coming to grips with my burgeoning chaos magic. When these halls made me feel safe and strong. For just a moment, I was the person I was before, fresh from Aegle, a little afraid but so determined to master the rare gift that plagued me.
That was just a fantasy, of course. I could never be that girl again. I wasn’t even the same person who sailed from Elchion to attend the naming ceremony for Princess Auravelle of Endergeist.
My time with Jax had changed me forever.
As if my innocent years were a fading spell that wore off the higher I climbed, my steps grew slower and heavier. One of my knees even cracked as I reached Master Aynia’s landing. I paused, wincing as I tested the joint, and inadvertently caught a view of the harbor through one of the diamond grill windows.
The huge, deep harbor around Dewspell was always busy with ships. Some bore magical goods, ingredients for alchemy, or magical objects either purchased by the academy or sent here for safekeeping—or destruction. Others contained merchant goods or food for the school itself, or were destined for the open market in town. It was said every corner of the realm could be found in Dewspell Academy.
The truth was, Dewspell housed goods from multiple realms. And right now, I felt like the one thing that didn’t belong.
Before I could knock on the door, Master Aynia threw it open, greeting me with a huge smile.
“Welcome home, godmother,” she said, gathering me into a fierce hug that was made up of dangling robe sleeves and her long silver hair.
“Sorry I didn’t call on you sooner,” I mumbled as I withdrew from her warm greeting, guilt no doubt etched on my face.
“You always come to me in your own time,” she said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “Come. I’ve got a fine selection this month.”
I knew she meant spirits and not actual tea. Nor were we about to eat dainty little sandwiches and cakes. Like me, Master Aynia did nothing by half measures.
“So,” she said, gesturing at a seat at the neatly set little table that was now pushed against the wall—the only wall outside of her corner kitchen that wasn’t reserved for bookshelves, worktables or her desk. “There’s a rumor going around that you were swept off your feet by a handsome pirate.”
I blanched. “That’swhat everyone’s saying about it?”
“A handsome pirate does capture the imagination,” she said in a sing-song voice. “Doubly so since there’s a bounty out for him, placed by this very school.” She collected a pair of serving platters, filled with skewers of fruits, meats and cheeses to bring to the table. “Though I will say I’m still sore about losing out on those enchanted decanters.”
