“Absolutely. Make a ball of light now. From your body’s Energy, not yoursoul. You need to burn that book Ritter gave you. Feel for the bubbling.”
Evelyn closed her eyes. She felt between her shoulder blades, where her Fire magic was stored, but didn’t sense anything new. After a minute, she found a tingling sensation in her lower back along her spine. Her mind tugged on that and forced it upward. A ball of light appeared above her outstretched palm.
“Good!” Moeller said. “Hold onto it but look at the plant.”
Her gaze shifted while she balanced the flow of Energy through her arm.
“You need to pretend that this plant has wronged you somehow,” Moeller continued. “Maybe its leaves are poisonous and killed everyone at dinner. It doesn’t matter. Your goal is to hurt the plant. Throw the light at it with the intention to cause harm.”
Evelyn pictured the four dead soldiers tied up in the empty shop. She flung the light at the plant, pretending it was the person who hurt them. The whole thing turned so dark it was nearly black, and the pot cracked along one side. The stems split in two, leaves crumpled or fell off entirely, and no part of it could hold itself up anymore.
“What happened?” she gasped.
“Your magic tore through the plant’s Energy like pests eating their way through a garden. I don’t recommend trying it on a person.”
Evelyn paled. “Can I fix it?”
“That one? No. You hit it too hard to mend it now.”
Moeller replaced the destroyed plant with a healthy one and used magic to wither it slightly. “Gather your Energy but change your intent. You want to save this one, not hurt it.”
Evelyn reformed the ball of light. She urged it toward the sickly plant, which immediately perked up.
“You are good at this,” Moeller said.
Evelyn smiled. “Did you just give me a compliment?”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself. You can turn leaves brown.”
“But that’s a good start, right?”
“It is. You need to keep practicing until it feels as natural as Fire.”
She eyed the rest of the flowers. “Can I take one of the plants with me?”
“Yes, but practice with more than that.”
“Are you giving me permission to destroy the royal garden?”
“It’s not my garden and I leave tomorrow. Do what you want.”
“Why are you leaving?”
Moeller sat behind his desk. “I am no longer helpful in Gryon. Whoever is responsible for so many lives lost here is quite successful at covering their tracks. I will be more useful in Lochmatten with Wendell to help me research. Also, your wedding festivities do not interest me.”
I’m still not convinced I like Moeller, but he is a good teacher.
Was Haydn intentionally limiting what I could do with my magic? Or was he having me start small?
More importantly, how am I going to tell Leo about my magic when I don’t even understand why I have it?
43
Choice
Evelyn left Moeller’s office carrying a new potted peace lily. Leo was waiting for her in the hallway.
“How long have you been out here?” she asked, shifting the plant onto her hip.
