“Where are you conjuring magic from?” Moeller asked impatiently.
“My… spirit?”
He looked nauseated. “Why?”
“That’s what the book said to do!”
“What book?”
“Channeling Energy Magic.”
“And what nonsense did Engelbert manage to publish?”
“The book said to calm your body and then feel your heartbeat to access your life force so you can draw magic from your spirit.”
Moeller stared at her for a good ten seconds before saying, “That’s disgusting.”
“Well, it works!”
“No, it doesn’t. You are wasting all your effort for the smallest effect.”
“So how am I supposed to access Energy magic?”
“You don’t access it. You use it.”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” Evelyn whined.
Moeller walked around the desk to stand in front of her. “Do you have to take deep breaths and feel your heartbeat before you use Fire magic?”
“No. I can just do it.”
“Energy magic isn’t any different. But you are so used to Fire magic that switching to Energy will feel like writing with your non-dominant hand.”
“Why didn’t the book say that?”
“The book is for people with no experience or understanding of magic. It has the added benefit of not allowing those people to become powerful enough to do any damage.”
“Why didn’t—” Evelyn’s voice cut out and she dropped her gaze.
Moeller raised a brow. “Why didn’tRitterexplain any of this to you? I’m sure he enjoyed making a young princess feel special. The ball of light is impressive when you don’t know any better. Ritter got you excited about something new without giving you any actual power.” His tone was firm but laced with sympathy. A lecture without judgment. “Do you want a parlor trick, or do you want power?”
Evelyn smirked, accepting the challenge. “Power.”
“Good. Now pay attention.”
A table in the corner was covered with a half-dozen potted plants that hadn’t been there earlier. Moeller retrieved one of them, a peace lily with bright green leaves, and set it on his desk. As his fingers curled into a loose fist, the plant withered. The leaves drooped and lost their vibrant hue. When he stretched his fingers out, the plant revived itself and added white blossoms.
Evelyn stared, dumbfounded, at the plant. “How did you do that?”
“As easily as you could set it on fire. Sit down.”
She obeyed. Moeller used a pair of scissors to snip a single leaf off the plant. He set the leaf on the edge of the desk in front of her.
“Think about the magic you would use to lift the leaf into your hand,” he said. “Except you don’t want the actual leaf, but the Energy it contains.”
Evelyn lifted a hand with her palm facing up, as if the leaf would jump onto it.
“Don’t worry about doing any damage to the leaf,” Moeller added. “Unless you use Fire, nothing you do will hurt it.”
