“For when you’d been kidnapped in Corron.”
Cassiel broke another law to save her. She hated that it had to be that way.
“How do you do it?” she asked her.
“Do what?”
Dyna met her gaze and rephrased her question. “How are you not afraid?”
Lucenna played with the ring on her finger. It was beautiful, with a pink gemstone set on a delicate gold band. Longing shadowed her delicate features. “I am. Every day.”
Dyna didn’t know what to make of that. The sorceress was fierce and powerful.
“No one is ever truly without fear. I remind myself every day why I’m here, what I lost, what I’m fighting for. And I keep those reasons close to my heart.” Lucenna laid a hand over the Luna Medallion, her lilac eyes glowing softly. “I will do anything to get it. Nothing and no one else matters.”
Of course. How simple. Dyna already had her reason.
The distant chill of winter caressed her cheeks as screams echoed in her memories. For a moment, she returned to that snowy hill as the puddles of blood crystalized in the ice like a frozen rose.
“Why are you crying?”
Dyna exhaled sharply and wiped her eyes. “I’ve had enough of others protecting me.”
“Then protect yourself.”
She frowned. “Oh, that must be easy for you to say. When Von took me, I couldn’t do more than kick and scream. But you disarmed him with a flick of your fingers. I’m not a fighter like you.”
“Have you decided that or did someone say so?”
Dyna opened her mouth to argue, then closed it. No one had told her she couldn’t fight. She simply accepted her abilities.
Lucenna evoked a small, purple sphere in her hand. It crackled with electricity. “You must know the women of Magos are not taught how to use their power. I refused to let that stop me. Don’t allow others to place limitations on you.” Her gaze hardened. “If you want to be a fighter, then be one.”
Dyna sat on the edge of the bed. “If I could learn to wield spells as you do, I would. But I’m not capable.”
“Have you passed through The Rising?”
Dyna shook her head. The Rising was when power first awakened in mage children. Their bodies levitated from their beds during sleep and their Essence enveloped them in a magical shield while they were at their most vulnerable. It was a rite of passage for mages while they learned how to control their power. But none of the children from her village had experienced The Rising for nearly seventy-five years. While some had Essence, the power they could yield wasn’t sufficient enough to experience it.
“Did you have a Guild Master?”
Dyna shook her head again. A Guild Master was the most powerful mage in a guild who often took an apprentice. Lady Samira was the last Guild Master of North Star before her passing, and her father the last teacher. The council had not bothered to replace him when no one had displayed any significant power.
“Magic is nearly lost in my village,” she said.
Sad understanding settled on Lucenna’s features. “How many spells have you learned?”
She cringed. “None.”
“You didn’t have a teacher?”
Dyna looked away. “No. My father passed away before he could teach me. It took me years to learn one thing on my own.”
“And what was that?”
“Essence Healing.”
Lucenna’s eyes widened. “You know how to heal? Not even I have learned it. That’s remarkable.”
