Lyralei’s smile held equal parts warmth and warning. “We start by teaching you to simply sense the Veil. The Veil is alive in a sense. It moves. Shifts. Strengthens. Weakens.” She released my shoulders and stepped back. “I will teach you how to guide it rather than deplete it.”
She raised one hand. Light condensed into a shimmering ball.
“The Veil and the nature it holds can be shaped, Seris. Right now, I’m simply pulling together the Veil to condense light.” Lyralei extended her hand as the light dispersed, her palm open and fingers pointed at the treeline. The branches came alive and swayed at her beckoning.
“The Veil envelops all.” Lyralei made a fist and pulled it tight to her shoulder.
The branches violently struck each other.
Thwack. Thwack.
Leaves fell as brittle branches snapped. The force made me flinch.
Then Lyralei let her hand fall to her side before raising both hands to chest level with open palms, all her muscles soft and gentle.
“We can destroy, and we can also create.” The air around her began to blur, and I felt the same energy I had first sensed when I entered the Nightwood. The snapped branches danced back into place, whole again, and leaves grew out to replace theones that had fallen. “Just now, I channeled the magic from Thalynward to repair these beautiful trees.”
“How did you do that? How do I create and not destroy?”
“Patience, child. First, you must master the basics. I can teach you the principles, but understanding them and mastering them are very different things.” The shimmer faded, reality settling back into its normal shape. “This will take time. Patience. And hard work.”
“I can do it.”
“I know you can. Even if you believed you couldn’t, I would make sure you did.” A reassuring smile spread across her face. “Be warned, though, that this process means learning to reshape the core of who you are. I understand that you have been through your fair share of pain and are tougher than the average Fae, but this is not as simple as bearing physical discomfort. This means learning to touch power that wants to unmake you while maintaining enough control not to let it. Learning to face the darkest parts of yourself without flinching.”
I thought of the ritual chamber. Of the months in Blackstone. Of every moment I had wanted to give up but hadn’t because dying felt like surrender.
“Then I’ll survive that too.”
Lyralei studied me for a long moment. Then she nodded, something like pride flickering across her features.
“Very well. We begin now.” She gestured to the center of the clearing. “Sit. Close your eyes. And tell me what you feel when you reach for your power.”
I followed her directions, eager to learn, settling into a cross-legged position on the moss. I closed my eyes and took a deep inhale.
I reached inward toward the place where my magic lived and held my breath for a moment.
Then I exhaled, searching for the Veil to reach back.
CHAPTER 12
SERIS
The training ended before sunset, a sense of defeat hanging around my shoulders.
Hours of sitting and breathing. Hours of reaching toward my power only to be told,Not yet.
I’d expected something tangible. Lyralei had spoken of reshaping reality, of wielding the Veil with precision and control. Instead, I only took more breaths than I had in the past week.
“Patience,” she’d said when I’d finally voiced my frustration.
Easy words from someone who moved through the world like a breeze passing through the forest. I channeled the Veil like an arrowhead hitting a shield. My power didn’t flow. It erupted, abrasive and immature.
I picked my way back through Vaelthorne’s winding paths, head down and deep in my own thoughts. Maybe Lyralei was wrong. Maybe I was too broken and volatile. The Veil hadn’t responded during the training session, as if it were an adult refusing to trust a child with a kitchen knife.
Lyralei had stopped me before I lost myself in my emotions. Before I’d hurt anyone.
Lost in my never-ending thoughts of doubt, I pushed open the door to our lodging without thinking.
