“Yeah, about that…” I shoved a few loose strands of hair behind my ear and shifted on the bench to face him fully. “Canwe talk about this whole magic thing? Because I’m pretty sure I would know if I had powers. It’s not like walking around all day with a coffee stain and wondering why people are snickering.”
Dey chuckled. “You would not have abilities in the Other Realm,” he explained, placing his hands on the bench behind him and settling back. “Your world is a place void of all magic. It was a very disconcerting feeling in truth as our power is tied to the Source. When I stepped through the portal, I could feel my magic being ripped from my body as it refused to leave this world. Now that you are here, we have no idea how long it will take before your abilities emerge.”
“What does that mean exactly?” I asked, exasperation filling my voice. “You all seem to have different powers.”
“Yes, that is accurate,” he agreed. “There are four types of magic. Our native healing magic is the most common as our bodies naturally are drawn to it. Mental magic is what you felt when I soothed your emotions, and it can manifest in many different ways. Elemental magic is, of course, the ability to manipulate an element such as water or air.”
“Okay,” I said, digesting his words. “And the fourth type?”
“Not much is known about creation magic. Most likely because they used to execute those who exhibited the ability.”
“What?” I gasped. “They murdered innocent children?”
He sat forward and took my hands in his. “Not children, Princess. Abilities do not manifest until adulthood. You must understand that in the early days, people still feared the return of overwhelming magic, and creation wielders are dangerous. Their magic allows the caster to bring forth something from nothing. There is no telling what someone could create with that ability. Thankfully there has not been an emergence of creation magic in many years.”
It horrified me that people were killed for something they couldn’t control, but I’d never been an idealist. I knew whatpeople were capable of, and it would be ignorant to think Vitaeans would be any better. Still, there had to have been a better option than murder.
It was all too much to process, and the pressure in my throat grew tighter. “I need to get away from these walls so I can breathe. Is it okay if I go for a walk?”
“Of course,” Dey said, beaming at me as he stood. “I would be happy to escort you anywhere.”
“Ummm…” I shifted from foot to foot awkwardly, jamming my hands into the pockets of my shorts. “I was kind of hoping to go alone.”
Dey’s face fell so fast you would think I kicked him in the balls. I knew then that there could never be anything between us beyond friendship. I knew his kind. He was the type that got too attached. The type that wanted things I couldn't give.
And despite the fact that he technically abducted me here, I didn't want to break his heart when I left.
Tumultuous thoughts bounced around in my head as my feet took me out of the castle, past the rose garden, and down to the copse of trees. When I got closer I could see that they weren’t actually oak trees. The leaves were the wrong shape, and fruit that looked like pudgy, pink bananas hung from their limbs.
I was seconds away from snatching the fruit and shoving it into my mouth when another smell hit me. I sniffed deeply and let out a near-sexual groan as the smell of cooked meat wafted over on the breeze. Moving deeper into the woods, I headed in the direction of the small houses I'd seen earlier.
Boisterous male laughter reached my ears, and I followed it to a small cottage that couldn’t be much larger than my apartment back in Jersey. A stone pathway cut through the grass andended at a set of stairs leading up to a spacious front porch. Blue shingles and white shutters added adorable accents to the sun bleached wooden walls, one of which was mostly covered in untamed ivy.
Smoke wafted up from the back of the home, and I made my way toward it, determined to convince them to share their food despite the language barrier.
Two dark-skinned males roughly my age sat on the back porch steps, laughing and drinking from glasses filled with amber liquid. My eyes barely skittered over them before landing on what I truly sought. A few feet from the house, in a section cleared of trees and grass, a hunk of meat rotated on a spit above a low fire.
I took a few steps closer and cleared my throat loudly. Two heads shot over to my position. Twins, I realized. They were identical in every way that I could see with matching mops of short dreadlocks, wide naturally upturned smiles with gleaming white teeth, and swirling tattoos along their arms that stopped short of their necks.
They both stood as I took a step forward. “Hi, um, I know you probably don’t understand me, but I was hoping to have some of your food?” I pointed at the meat, then back to myself, my hands making the motion of putting something in my mouth. “Meat,” I said louder, as if volume was the problem. “Can I have your meat?” I opened and closed my mouth, miming chewing an invisible burger.
To my surprise, both males burst into laughter, collapsing against each other as if they heard the best joke of their life.
“What’s so funny?” I demanded.
“You are, Princess,” the one on the right said.
“What the hell?” I blurted out, enraged not only that they spoke English, but that they were clearly laughing at me.
“We are sorry,” the one on the left said, “but we do not think it is a good idea for you to… eat our meat.”
That set them both off again, and they collapsed to the porch steps in a fit of laughter. I glared at them, trying to mask my embarrassment with anger, but the bright red of my burning cheeks was probably giving me away.
I stomped over and kicked the boot of the one on the left. “Hey, care to explain who you are and how you know English? I thought I met everyone who knew my language. And don’t call me princess. My name is Rain.”
Their laughter died off, but the amused grins wouldn’t leave their faces.
“Sorry, Princess,” the right one said, ignoring my request to be called Rain. “We are two members of the team that has been searching for you over the years. Dey told us this morning that you had arrived at the palace. We meant to introduce ourselves but…”
