“Yes,” I whisper. “But until today, the only magic that caused a buzzing in my body was from the energy-force magic—if that’s what we’ve decided to call it. I’ve never…spokento anyone before. Anytime my uncle spoke to me that way, I’ve heard him, but I could never answer.”
“Her nose bled,” Nadya said. “When she used the magic.”
Worry sharpens in Ezra’s features like a blade being honed. “Is this the first time this has happened, Celeste?”
“The nosebleed, yes. But there have been other… consequences when I’ve used my magic before.”
He doesn’t ask me. He simply waits for me to continue.
“Headaches. A pain behind my eyes that makes everything go black. Twangs in my gut, sometimes.”
Nadya puts a hand on my arm. “Oh, Celeste.”
“It doesn’t last long.” Even to my own ears, it sounds like I’m making excuses, dismissing something serious as if it were nothing.
It takes a moment before Ezra breaks the silence. “Your power hasn’t fully manifested. Not truly. What’s happening now… I believe your body is trying to decide what to do with the magic that’s been hidden away. The pressure of it is building behind a locked door, and some of it is bursting through.”
I blink at him. “And the pain?”
“Cracks.” His expression is grim. “The door is sealed, but the magic is leaking through, uncontrolled. It’s not meant to trickle out this way. It’s meant to be unlocked. If it continues to claw through the cracks…” His voice trails off, and his eyes flick away.
“Say it,” I demand.
Ezra meets my gaze again. “It could break you.”
The room goes eerily still to the point my ears ring. The air tastes like old dust. My hands feel clammy despite the chill in the castle.
“I don’t feel broken,” I say softly. “I just feel… tired. Like I’m being tugged in too many directions.”
“You are,” Ezra replies. “You’re holding in something that wants out, and it’s trying to escape by any means. Your body, your mind—they’re paying the price.”
I lower my head into my hands. “What do I do?”
“For now?” He exhales slowly. “Nothing. No more magic. No more desperate pushes. Not until we know more.”
“How?” Nadya asks. “How do we find answers?”
Ezra straightens, his voice cautious. “I’ve been conversing with the Podrosan magister. He may be able to point us in the right direction. Ironshield Keep has one of the oldest libraries in Terre Ferique, if nottheoldest. If the king permits me access, I might be able to find something. Maybe even a record of a similar case. A fae whose magic was locked from within.”
“And if he saysno?” I ask.
Ezra’s jaw tightens. “Then I’ll find another way in.”
A flicker of hope stirs in my chest, but it’s paper thin. Fragile.
And still, at the edge of it all, my thoughts drift to Dante.
I wonder if he felt it too. The push. The call. The thread between us. I wonder if he suspects. Or if he simply thinks he survived the trial on his own. And what will his reaction be, knowing I helped him? I’m sure if it had been Torbin, he would have reacted with anger. But surely Dante would understand. Wouldn’t he?
Part of me wants to tell him everything. But I don’t have all the answers yet.
ChApter
Twenty-Four
The fire crackles low in the hearth, casting slow-turning shadows on the stone walls as I perch on the edge of the bed, tugging loose the pins from my hair. My head throbs—sharp behind my eyes, dull at the base of my skull, like something’s been pressing outward all day, trying to escape. I wince as the last pin comes free.
“You should rest, my lady,” Indira says, standing near the window. “I would offer to draw the curtains, but there aren’t any. I could light the balm candle if you like.”
