Her attraction defied all logic and reason. Maybe because itwasillogical.
She had begun to look forward to their night together almost like craving a drug. She felt sick thinking about it. Changing her innermost thoughts without her consent was something she didn’t think she could forgive.
Chapter 35
Wards
The next day, Elizabeth told Fiza about the contraceptive tea. Fiza listened closely with a guarded expression and nodded.
“I’ll boil the kettle for you and bring it up.” Fiza held her gaze and added seriously, “I will tell no one of this.”
Elizabeth appreciated Fiza’s kindness more in this moment than she ever had before.
She didn’t want Caspian to know she was taking the tea. Whether he supported or opposed it, she didn’t want to hear his opinion. She wanted to be in charge of that decision.
Elizabeth hesitated. “Fiza … there is one other favour I require.”
***
When she went to Veridas, Fiza came with her. Draugr tried to bite Fiza twice, which did not improve the girl’s nervousness around horses. Left to his own devices, Draugr would stare down the fearful demon.
When they reached the city limits and boarded their horses for the afternoon, Elizabeth pulled Fiza aside. “I would like you to swear an oath to me that you will not reveal where I go when we are in the city.”
“I see.” Fiza considered for a moment. “It seems when we get to the city, I will have some clothes to mend, which will take some time … I trust you have a weapon?”
Elizabeth flashed the small dagger she had bought on her last city trip. It was nondescript, with a leather-wrapped handle. She covered the weapon with her cloak. “I don’t know how to actually use it, but I have one.”
Fiza nodded. “Meet me back here in three hours. Will that be enough time, Lady?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
“Go then,” Fiza said softly.
She hugged the older girl, making Fiza gasp in surprise at the expression of human friendship.
She left Fiza standing in the square and made a beeline for the witch’s shop.
Risna was pleased at Elizabeth’s progress with her mental shields, but easily found holes and trapped her mind again.
They tried to practice other spells, but she failed at almost all of them. Sweat covered her underarms and her lower spine by the end of their session.
Frustration gnawed at Elizabeth. She glared at her palms. Useless. Her progress was embarrassingly small, and often nonexistent.
“You’ll find you are hungry after magic. It eats up your energy reserves.” Risna handed her a bowl of stew that Elizabeth tucked into ravenously. “Be careful. If you attempt a spell and are not strong enough to finish it, you may die. This is why we start small, take breaks, and if you feel these tasks bring you in danger of burning out, we’ll stop.”
“You know, manifesting flame is something that witch children can do,” Nasera said waspishly as she breezed into the room. “I was listening to you pant and struggle for the past hour.”
Unable to think of anything nice to say, she said nothing.
“Have you covered wards yet?” Nasera asked drily.
“No, I wanted her to master the basics first,” Risna informed her daughter.
“Let us see what you can really do. If you are so slow at learning how to break free from a simple rope, we will have to teach you many things at once.” Nasera circled the table with a gleam in her eye. “SayVarda.You should imagine an envelope of thin, translucent material surrounding your body.Varda—for your information—means shield, or to protect in the Godstongue.”
Nasera turned to her mother and cried, “Varda!”
Elizabeth narrowed her eyes but didn’t see anything.
