Making my way further into the dazzling space, I appreciated how the glow from the early morning sun cascaded through the glass walls, giving everything within an ethereal glimmer.
I settled onto one of the benches in the center of the room and closed my eyes, enjoying the smell of flowers and the rhythmic beating of tiny wings all around me.
“Look,” I said, refusing to open my eyes just yet. “I’m not stupid. I know you grew up in this world and that you were raised to believe that humans are somehow less than. But being taught something as a child doesn’t make it okay to continue the belief as an adult. Not when you should be able to think for yourself.”
“Princess—” he began, but I stopped him.
“Tell me the truth, Dey,” I said, finally opening my eyes. “For once, ignore what you were taught and just think for yourself. If this all was just a huge mistake, and I ended up being nothing more than completely human… would you still care about me?”
He didn’t have to say a word because the answer was written all over his face.
“That’s what I thought. So how about we just focus on the task at hand, and in a few weeks you’ll never have to see me again.”
“I do not want you to leave though,” he protested. “I am sorry, Rain, I…”
“It doesn’t matter,” I said hastily, not wanting to hear anymore. “I wanted a lot of things in life that I’m never going to get, so right now I just want to focus on this.”
I took a deep breath and forced myself to ignore that sore spot in my heart. Dey was never going to be the guy for me, and all of this just made it so much easier to resist the attraction. He might not be as bad as the people in Civi Adasa that violently attacked me, but I was fairly certain he wouldn’t have stopped it either if I was any other human.
“So, why did you bring me here? Not that I’m complaining, it’s beautiful, but what does this have to do with awakening my magic?”
He looked like he wanted to say something more, but my body language must have told him it was a lost cause.
“There are a few different ways to awaken a Vitaean’s power,” he started. “Manifestation typically occurs between eighteen and twenty years of age, and—”
“Has anyone ever not manifested?” I interrupted.
“No, Princess,” Dey said, a bit shocked at the idea. “Our ability to access magic is a defining characteristic of who we are. Nothing short of forcing a Vitaean to live their entire life cut off from the Source could prevent manifestation.”
“So, like me?” I asked dryly.
“Yes, like you. That must have been torture.” He tried to lay a comforting hand on my thigh, but I brushed it off.
“No, Dey, it really wasn’t. You can’t miss something you never even knew about.” I huffed out an annoyed sigh. “Can we please get back on topic. What do I need to do to jumpstart this whole magic thing?”
“Yes, right, apologies,” he stammered. “Since many families of lesser status rely on magic for their income, elemental casters are very desirable for a number of occupations and it behooves them to gain access as soon as possible. It also gives the families more time to plan should their offspring’s magic prove to be less… in demand.”
“Yeah, heaven forbid your kid turned out to be just a lowly healer,” I said sarcastically, hating the clinical way Dey spoke about people’s lives.
“You are correct. Healers are less desirable given that most in Civi Adasa have their own healing power,” Dey replied, clearly missing the sarcasm. “Yet it can still be a useful skill to those living in Civi Obsura.”
I hadn’t seen any of the town outside the high wall, but it was becoming apparent they basically considered it the slums. The place where they hid those with lesser magic so they wouldn’t taint their perfect society. He had the gall to think this world was better than mine when in reality they were both fucked up.
“There are three circumstances that have been shown to be helpful in the past,” Dey continued, oblivious of my frustration. “There is no guarantee any of these will work, but there has been enough recorded success to warrant an attempt. The first is extreme emotional and physical distress. Young Rivellans who suffer a truly traumatic event often manifest their power as a result.”
“Well almost dying yesterday was pretty fucking traumatic and nothing happened,” I replied.
Of course my broken brain chose that moment to flash back to a different night, years ago, when I’d been just a naïve teenager. I quickly stuffed that memory back into the recesses of my mind, though, refusing to go there just yet. “What are the other two?” I asked. Anything would be better than going back to that night.
“The second one I do not think you would be interested in entertaining. At least not anymore.”
There was a slight blush to his cheeks, and my lips popped open into a small 'o' as I realized what he was referring to. “You’re talking about…”
“Yes, Rain. Intercourse has actually been proven the most effective of the three. So if you were planning to forgive me at any point in the near future…”
“I’m not,” I interjected, cutting off his train of thought. If he'd told me that bit of info twenty-four hours ago, I probably would have been naked and riding him at a gallop if it meant I might get home faster. Now, however, when I searched for that small flare of heat low in my abdomen that I felt every time I thought of Dey naked… there was nothing there. No heat, no desire. Just sadness that he wasn’t the person I thought he was.
I cleared my throat, banishing the flash of melancholy. “So what is the third one?”
