Ailan extended her palms, and Mareleau mirrored her. She touched her thumbs to her ring fingers, angled her hands, and then linked the pairs of touching fingers together. Angling her hands again, she touched her pinkies, then her middle fingers, then her index. The motions stretched Mareleau’s digits in strange and unfamiliar ways, but the challenge made her feel accomplished. Ailan moved her hands again, this time lacing all five fingers together before separating them.
“You end by encompassing the subject you’d like to ward with your hands,” Ailan explained. “It may help to imagine an invisible blanket between your fingers, settling over your subject. For large subjects, you may need to repeat the gesture several times and in several different areas until it’s completely covered.”
Following her instruction, Mareleau envisioned a protective blanket falling from her hands over Noah.
And then…
She cast a hopeful look at Ailan. “Did that work?”
Ailan chuckled. “The Forest People call it quiet magic, and Elvyn magic operates in a similarly quiet way. Wards are particularly hard to test, for that would require an attempt to break through them. But don’t be discouraged. With or without this gesture, you’re still a witch. You still have a sensory affinity you can work with.”
“Claircognizance.”
Ailan nodded. “Since knowing is your strength, you must build your trust in your abilities. When you cast your ward, you mustknowit works.”
Her heart sank. How could she know when she…didn’t? How could she have confidence in something she couldn’t see or feel? It had been easy to trust her glamours because she hadn’t taken them seriously. She’d brushed them off as a logic-based skill, something she’d assumed anyone could do if they’d tried.
“You’ve tried warding Noah,” Ailan said, “but have you tried warding yourself?”
“I don’t care about warding myself.” It was an immediate response, but it wasn’t fully true. “Or…it’s more that Salinda said witch magic grows through challenge. So I’m trying to do the opposite of what my instincts want. It’s easy to be selfish, so I’m trying not to focus on myself at all.”
Ailan frowned. “Is it easy to be selfish? To me, it looks like your resistance to focusing on yourself is stronger.”
“Yes because of the challenge?—”
“That’s not quite how it works.” Ailan shook her head. “I may be Elvyn, but I lived with the Forest People for centuries. I’ve watched witches flourish and grow. You can’t challenge your magic; you must wait for it to challenge you. In the meantime, you grow it by working within your nature. Keep performing feats of magic the way you always have?—”
“Casting glamours over myself isn’t going to keep Noah safe. I want to create a shield around him or make him invisible to any who would cause him harm.”
Ailan released a weighted sigh. “I remember those feelings. That need to protect the fragile being you brought into this world. It’s been so long since I’ve felt that.”
“Then you understand why I need to protect him. You claim he’s safe behind the Veil, but if your brother finds his way here…”
“I know.” Ailan set a comforting hand on her shoulder. Mareleau was surprised that she felt no instinct to flinch away. When had she begun to grow used to this woman? Ailan spoke again. “Why don’t you try holding Noah and casting magic around the two of you? See if you can evade the notice of the servants who bring you dinner. Or perhaps convince them you have pointed ears, some feature you can get outside confirmation on. Start with a glamour before you try warding. Start with yourself before you try shifting your magic to others.”
Her shoulders fell. That sounded like a tediously slow process, but if it gave her something to work on, she supposed she should be grateful. “All right.”
Ailan must have heard the dejected note in her voice, for she rose to her feet with a warm smile. “Come, there’s someone I want you to formally meet.”
49
Mareleau couldn’t imagine who Ailan was referring to, but curiosity got the better of her. Ailan headed for the door while Mareleau rose to her feet and gathered Noah from his playmat. She retrieved her carrying sling from the end of her bed and tucked Noah into it as she strode out of her room. Ailan was waiting in the hall.
“Who am I meeting?”
Ailan gave her a sly grin. “You’ll see. I’m not sure you’d come if I told you.”
That wasn’t at all comforting.
Yet her interest was thoroughly piqued as Ailan led her through the palace halls. She was so distracted with trying to puzzle out their destination that she forgot to marvel at her surroundings until they were three floors down. Mareleau hadn’t left her room much since arriving at the palace, save for the tribunal meeting. Now that she’d earned the tribunal’s binding vow of respect and protection, she was allowed to explore the palace, but it was an unfamiliar place filled with strange people. She’d felt safest in her room.
They reached the bottom floor of the palace, where the ceilings rose four times as high as the ones in the upper halls. Elegant chandeliers sparkled with pale blue and white crystals that caught rays of sunlight and sent shards of glittering illumination upon the walls. Guards dressed in silver armor over white silk robes lined the hall ahead. They bowed as the trio passed. A pair of Elvyn footmen in blue-and-ivory robes opened the ornate double doors ahead.
Sunlight streamed through the doorway as Ailan led the way. A white marble staircase stretched out before them, leading to a large courtyard. Once they reached the bottom of the stairs, Mareleau glanced behind her, taking in the exterior of the palace for the first time. Her jaw hung on its hinge as she assessed the towering ivory turrets, the gilded balconies, and the pale blue crystalline walls that comprised the lower portions of the structure. She hadn’t been able to see much of the castle from her bedroom or any of the halls she’d walked through, but this…
This made her realize just how massive Alles’Taria Palace truly was. It was twice as large as Verlot.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Ailan’s voice startled her from her awe. She stood beside Mareleau, a wistful expression in her eyes as she admired the structure. There was something almost sad about the look. “Alles’Taria was named and modeled after the original seat of the Morkara, the palace that had been built over El’Ara’s heart.”
