My pulse races as I look at it.
Something presses at the back of my mind, seeking entrance. I furrow my brow.
“Focus. You can play with the gems after,” Liana snaps.
My gaze lowers back to the ground, and I look at the other images, some of the starry nights with glowing jewels and a variety of chalices. One suchcard, as Liana called it, catches my attention, and I lean forward. The stars are written with six chalices of glowing silver and gold paint. Four remain upright and organized while two spill their cosmic contents upon the land.
I pick this one up, too, and place it next to the image of the passionate lovers.
As I wait, looking around, there’s an image of a skeleton reclining on a throne, dressed up and regal like a king. Ittaunts me with its haughty smirk, bony chin resting atop its fist.
Rholker’s face flashes in my mind, and I think of revenge. Of the pretty dresses and the expectation that I would be his. I pick up thishlumscriand place it below the others.
Liana watches my choices carefully, and then her eyes return to mine. There’s a new type of harmony in front of me.
Each card has the most subtle differences. The tune comes to me easily, showing me the right cards. It’s almost like plucking different strings of a single instrument.
“Do you feel you’ve chosen correctly?” she asks.
I look down at them. “I don’t really know what I was meant to look for.”
“A wise woman acts from deep in here.” She places a hand on my belly.
I recoil, and all echoes of another being in my mind slide away.
“I’m using my magic right now. I don’t want to burn you,” I say, panicked.
“Then don’t.” She replaces her hand, and there is no smell of sizzling flesh. “You worry about many things. That is felt in here.” Her other hand comes to my breastbone where tension bunches under her fingers.
Her strong touch reassures me, and it is… empowering. The twisted knots inside of me start to melt away.
“Let the crystals focus you. They’ll naturally bring out your power.”
I can do this.
“You have a gift. It cannot be taught to someone who does not possess it; it can merely be nurtured, respected, and strengthened over time. Do you understand?” Her voice is low, and her tongue is much less sharp than it often is when we discuss such matters.
I close my eyes, giving way to my body. Liana’s hand pulls away, but the humming and sparking against my skin doesn’t. It continues to skitter across my skin with pulses of fire.
“Estela,” Liana’s voice comes again. Louder, but not sharper. “Are these the ones you wish to select?”
Liana wasn’t lying when she said this would focus my magic. The Fuegorra blazes to life on my chest, then flows through me. It covers my arms and legs, extending past my fingertips, beyond the grotto, filling the cave. The crystals around me wish to hold it, amplify it, but it’s too much power. The brightness burns my retinas through my eyelids.
“Pull back, Estela,” Liana insists.
The lyre string inside of me vibrates back and forth, but doesn’t still.
“I can’t,” I grit out. “The string inside of me moves too fast.”
“Youcan. You control yourself. Reach out and grab it. Don’t worry about getting hurt.”
Gathering every ounce of strength in my body, use my mind to reach toward the magic. When I grasp on, I wobble, and a pain splits through my head. But then… the light starts to fade.
Relief spreads across my skin, cooling the heat from before.
As a child, I would’ve thought that magic was mostly wielded through one’s hands and body. I never knew how I would have to protect my mind. First, I learned to keep unwanted thoughts away from Teo. Then I had to push past destroyed memories and regain the truth.
Now… I learn to control myself.
