“My magic speaks to me when I need to change.” Little horns poked through his temples to prove his point. “Your magic speaks to you when others need to change. My affinity is transformation, yours ishealing.”
I scrunched my nose. I was never clever with medicine nor did I know how to wrap a sprain or make a compress. I excelled in our childcare classes at Ashmore, but I was never drawn to making sick people well again.
“Healing makes no sense,” I said. “I rarely cared about anyone other than myself.”
I clamped down my teeth and shut my eyes. I did not mean for that bit of ugly truth to come out, but I could not help it.
Daigen laughed. “Still having trouble with the compulsive truth?”
I shot him a glare. “You never said this would be a problem. I am going to lose my head if I keep hiccupping up damning truths!”
“Just accept your truth so the magic does not force you to! For example…” His skin began to flare red. “You will never see me wear someone else’s face. The magic only reflects what I truly believe I am.”
I crossed my arms. “A monster.”
His violet eyes were still. “A son of a goat herder who cannot hide no matter how hard he tries.”
I bit my tongue…what didItruly believe I was?
Was I a bride? A daughter? Friend? Liar? Magic danced within my veins, making me a sorceress…but did my gift from an immortal man really answer my question?
No matter how much I achieved or reflected on my inner turmoil, I still did not know myself…or Riyan, for that matter.
Would he have even believed that I was a healer?
Daigen’s voice suddenly pulled me out of my thoughts. “By the way, the young Alastar is prowling within the walls, just like I was.”
I suppressed a groan—as if I could find Derrick in an even darker maze.
Daigen rose from the chair and flipped his cloak to reveal a grey side. He wrapped the darker fabric over his shoulders. “His behavior isverypredictable—he generally is in the same place every night.”
I hissed out a breath. Not very helpful.
He stepped toward the fireless hearth. “Think of this as another trust exercise. Just as you float on your back in the middle of the lake, I am the gentle tide that pushes you in the direction of your heart’s desire.”
I folded my arms. “I cannot float! Or swim.”
He rolled his eyes. “The art of a good metaphor is lost on you.”
“Just tell me!”
“Justfeelsomething!” The air tensed, as if Daigen had suddenly taken command of all the magic in the room. “Stop demanding answers and find them. Your emotionswillput you on the right path.”
Daigen stepped into the ashy hearth and turned to face me, his back against the bricks in the fireplace. “I have too much at stake for you to go the wrong direction. Just trust me.”
He leaned against the bricks and they instantly swallowed him. I had no idea how he had done it.
He was the master of illusions and a complete pain in the ass.
My head fell into my hands. If merely looking for Derrick had not worked, I had no other option but to heed Daigen’s advice.
My white flame snaked around a little spot of warmth within my heart. Derrick was hurt. I wanted to heal him, if I could. He was predictable, but where would he run off to night after night where no one could find him?
Then the realization hit me like a jolt of lightning. I knew where he was…or at least where he would be.
I stood on the balcony of the North tower as the stars twinkled above me. I kept darting my eyes between the door and the pile of pillows and blankets in the corner of the balcony.
Brietta had said Derrick was able to escape to the North tower, but maybe a guard had grabbed him and locked in his bedroom for another night.
