“Even as a magic Keeper, I’ve never seen anything like it,” Noro murmured. “You were incredible, Matheson.”
I blushed. I’d done it twice so it couldn't have been a fluke, and everyone had seen Eric’s wound disappear. It felt wholly surreal, like I was in a dream.
“Holy shit,” I muttered. I let out a breathless laugh. “I can’t believe this.”
“I wouldn’t have believed it if I didn’t see it happen,” Eric admitted, running his hand over his newly-healed skin. “It’s like the wound was never there at all.”
I turned to Colton and Noro. “Does the book say anything about this? Like, is this supposed to happen?”
Colton put his finger to the page. “It does say that clear magic is more mutable than the earthly elements. Apparently its effects change depending on the user, and can be used for almost anything imaginable.”
“Incredible,” Noro murmured, his yellow eyes sparkling with awe.
“Does that mean your magic awakened to heal me?” Eric asked softly.
I smiled. “I guess it did. Maybe it read my mind and knew I wanted to make you better.”
Eric threw his shame away and leaned in to kiss me. Warmth and magic stirred in my chest, along with a familiar pulse of arousal in between my legs.
“I’m proud of you,” Eric murmured.
I smiled. “Thank you.”
“We’re proud of you too, Mathe,” Ramsay chimed in. “I hated seeing you so down when you couldn’t pull off the other ones, but now look what you can do!”
Colton nodded. “Clear magic is the strongest type of magic in terms of diversity. You had the power inside you all this time.”
I beamed with pride and happiness as my mates encouraged me. I wondered if their presence had something to do with me being able to use magic for the first time.
In any case, I was glad to finally figure it out. I wasn’t completely useless after all. The prophecy hadn’t chosen the wrong person. Hope and excitement overrode some of the looming dread inside me. If I could heal Eric, what else was I capable of? Was it just healing, or could I do even more? How much could help those around me?
“Now that we know you have this power, you should practice as often as possible,” Noro suggested. “You’ll need to hone your strength.”
The thought of the gryphons still lurking out there put a slight damper on my boisterous mood.
“Right,” I said. “Even if I can heal people, that doesn’t really give us a fighting edge, does it?”
“Not everything is about fighting,” Colton said gently, putting a hand on my back. “Healing is just as important.”
“Colt’s right,” Ramsay added with a smile. “Just because you can’t heal someone to death doesn’t mean it’s not useful. Hell, it’s probablymoreuseful than some magic attack.”
I nodded. Knowing I’d made Eric’s wound disappear was good enough for me right now. Nobody else could do that. I was deeply grateful for my ability, even if it wasn’t what I was expecting.
“This is deeply relieving,” Noro said with a sigh. “I was beginning to wonder if I was a bad teacher.”
“No way,” I said, shooting him a sympathetic grin. “You just had a hopeless student. With the other four elements, anyway.”
Noro returned my smile.
Suddenly my knees trembled and I wavered on my feet. “Whoa.”
Ramsay caught me before I fell and held me up against his chest. “That’s enough practicing for now. You’re all tuckered out.”
In my excitement, I hadn’t noticed that I felt a bit dizzy. I put a hand to my forehead. “Yeah. That took more out of me than I thought.”
“You did enough for today,” Noro agreed, gesturing with his good wing towards the shore. “Go get some rest. And Matheson, be proud of what you accomplished.”
I smiled. “I will.”
As we boarded the canoe back to West Pack, a sudden idea struck me like lightning. If I had healed Eric’s arm as easily as I did, would I be able to fix Noro’s wing? I glanced over my shoulder at the center island, becoming smaller and smaller as we floated away.
I didn’t have the strength today, but I had to try. I felt guilty that he was still stuck on the island while he waited for his feathers to grow back. After everything Noro had done for me, I had to return the favor.
I’ll come back soon,I thought.I promise.
