I didn’t dare open my eyes, but I knew something had happened because I felt the usual surge of happiness and giddiness in my body. Like taking a shot and standing up too quickly at the bar. I reveled in the feeling and slowly started opening my eyes.
Lydia looked at me happily and pointed around us. The river was tinged with purple, the sunlight making it lookmore like lilac, but I guess that was close enough.
“Whew, so that worked well,” Lydia summed up, but although she seemed relieved, I knew we were only beginning.
“If we are ever under attack, you’d be dead before you could even close your eyes,” she stated matter-of-factually, and of course she was right as always. “But first things first, we need to make sure your way of communicating with your magic is foolproof before we can tackle your speed. How are you feeling?”
I was giddy with excitement and for the first time in a while, I actually felt hopeful.
“I am feeling great, let’sdothis!” I said a little too enthusiastically.
Lydia frowned in response.
“I forgot the effect magic can have on someone if they are inexperienced. We will have to raise your tolerance towards magic, otherwise you’ll be drunk on magic after the first 10 minutes of the battle.”
I chuckled, not because what she said had been particularly funny, but because I felt laughter bubbling in my belly from sheer excitement.
“The next thing I want you to do is try a spell with some force behind it. See that old tree over there? It’s been dead for a while, so I think it won’t mind us using it for practice. I want you to focus on that tree and tip it over, so it lands somewhere along the river,” Lydia explained.
I tried to calm down the tingling all over my body and locked my gaze on the tree, taking a mental picture of it. Then I closed my eyes and let the magic gather in my palms. I lifted my palms towards the tree and pulled the tree towards me with my magic. A crack erupted and I opened my eyes intime to see the tree hurling towards me at lightning speed.
* * *
Theo
I was bent over the ledger, Caelan murmuring beside me, when the strange sensation started. Like a ripple on a calm lake, a hiccup in time, a skip in ones step. Someone was meddling with time. I moved before I fully understood, a dumbfounded Caelan hot on my heels.
“Where are you going?” He shouted.
“I need to check on Maelis. Something isn’t right,” I answered and stepped onto the Luminaris. In an instant, I was transported outside, landing right next to the river.
The air hummed with untrained magic, and a tree hung frozen in mid-flight. Lydia stood frozen, eyes wide with fear. Where was Maelis?
Water splashed behind me. To my relief, Maelis appeared from the bank of the river, waving and smiling.
“Theo. Theo! Theeeeooooo!”
“What happened, Mae? Are you all right?” I asked breathlessly, taking in the scene before me. She was completely soaked, her workout clothes clinging to her body. I quickly looked away, trying not to stare.
“Theo, I can’t believe you’re here! Isn’t this water wonderful? I am so so so happy to see you, I’ve missed you so much!”
A small smile tugged at my lips, despite myself. Her energy was contagious; bright, bubbly, impossible not to like, but something in the way she flailed and gushed set off an uneasyhum in my chest. I wanted to say it back:I missed you too.But the gleam in her eyes, the erratic motion in her limbs, the unsteady joy, it wasn’t her. The magic had her high, not uncommon in untrained magic wielders. She might have meant what she said, but she would never have admitted it like this sober.
“That is very nice to hear, but you are drunk on magic right now, so maybe you should get out of the water. You stopped time, that is pretty impressive, but I think it’s time to bring back Lydia, don’t you think?”
She nodded fervently and turned away from me to start dancing.
I turned my attention towards Lydia and with a twist of my hand, time started flowing again.
The tree crashed into the river and a scream escaped Lydia. She called out Mae’s name in panic and then noticed that she was not in front of the tree anymore, but happily dancing on the other side of the river.
“Theo, what happened here?” Lydia asked, and I could see the exact moment it clicked.
“She stopped time?” she said.
“She stopped time.” I repeated.
The implication hung between us, there would be time later to dissect this information.
