“I have been unkind to you,” she admitted, lifting her hands in small surrender. “Brenton is one of my oldest friends, and I don’t like the ways you’ve hurt him, but it isn’t my place to treat you poorly because of it. You have my apologies, Finley, and if you are willing, I’d like us to attempt to be friends.”
I bit the inside of my cheek to keep the dry laugh from slipping out. “Was it Brenton or our king who ordered you to speak to me?”
She grimaced, but her eyes didn’t hold any of the coldness I’d grown accustomed to. “When Brenton returned, they both strongly suggested I apologize and make amends.”
“You’ve done so.” My magic sparked at my fingertips, and I fisted my hands to hold it back. The fact that she’d shown no hesitation to apologize made me appreciate her more.Shehad had Brenton’s back so many times in battles over the years, for which I was thankful. And shewas willing to apologize humbly. Why would my magic spark in anger then?
Everly reached into the inner pocket of her magic to pull out a small vial with water. “Alastor gave this to me several months ago. If I focus my magic into it, it helps me feel the difference between my magic building and overflowing. It teaches you to release it in measured pulses instead of letting it blow.”
I took the vial, weighing the cool glass in my hand. I’d never been taught to release my magic in small pulses, but it was something I desperately tried to train myself in.
“Your magic isn’t the enemy,” she said quietly. “Losing yourself to it is.”
She started to turn away, but I found myself calling to her. “Wait. Can you explain how? I don’t . . . I was trained to let my magic go in calculated explosions for maximum efficacy.” I cringed at the truth of it, the way my magic always took more than I’d intended. “I’ve tried aiming at small campfires, but even then, the pulses are too big.”
“Water helps weigh magic down,” Everly explained, stepping closer again. “Think of it as a counterweight. It keeps the energy from rushing through you too fast. It allows you to feel the way the magic builds inside you. Your bones will hum when you’re building too fast. Your pulse will kick, faster and faster, until it feels like your heart is chasing the power instead of controlling it. Even your blood”—she lifted her hand, examining it as if she could see her blood pump through her veins—“will feel crowded.”
I felt it. The curling heat tingling up my forearms, the way my heart thudded faster.
“Do you feel that?” she asked.
I nodded, holding the vial against my chest.
“Now, stop. Breathe,” she said. “Feel the weight of the water. Imagine yourself filling it with the threads of your magic. Let the pulse go in a slow, steady push.”
I exhaled, letting the building surge slip into the water that rippled in my hand. It was similar to my morning trainings, but with something to aim for, with the water acting as a weight, I found the release came easier. My shoulders eased, and the gnawing pressure in my chest lightened until it fell away entirely.
In its absence was a soothing emptiness I rarely ever found.
“Good,” she said, another smile lifting her cheeks.
When the water stilled, I moved to give the vial back to her.
“Keep it,” she said.
“I don’t know what to say,” I said, voice shaking with emotion. But for the first time since our magic started malfunctioning, I felt a modicum of control. “Thank you.”
“If you don’t want to train your magic with me, I won’t push,” she said. “I am here if you need someone to ground you. But if you truly want to thank me, then train in combat with me. I usually train with Teddy, and while I enjoy kicking our queen’s ass, she isn’t here. I’m sure I’ve given you plenty of reasons to be angry with me. You can use it to try to beat me.”
I huffed out a laugh, a joking tease settling on my tongue. Instead, I said, “I can do that after I train my magic.”After I learn from Zaicha.
“Good.” Everly’s smile grew. “The males will be happy to hear we’re friends now.”
I shook my head, following her when she started heading back to camp. “I wouldn’t go that far.”
But she was Brenton’s friend, and if I were to be his future, I could at the very least try not to hate her since she was putting forth the same effort.
“If you’re anything like me, you’ll hate Elias’s suggestion, but hear me out before you refuse.” Everly angled her head to the side to watch me. “He said you came back yesterday evening pretty beat up and thinks you and Brenton should take the day to rest.” She held up a hand when I opened my mouth to protest. “I know, I know. Did you know that when a couple has a strong soul-mate bond, one’s magic can bleed into the other? I’m not a seer like George, but sometimes I get these feelings. Intuitions. This island is going to take a lot from all of us, but especially you and Brenton. Spend the day with your mate. Explore, do absolutely nothing, but spend a day off with the male you were promised before life goes to shit.”
I hid my grin behind my palm as I scratched my nose. “Goes to shit? Sounds like your manner of speaking is as heavily influenced by humans as the rest of Niev.”
She grunted. “George and Donnie have this strange bromance going on that I swear is as binding as a soul-mate bond.”
I couldn’t hide the laugh that built, and Everly’s lips lifted in a companionable half smile.
The grass crunched beneath my boots, my steps falling into rhythm with hers. I kept the vial tucked in my palm, the faint warmth of the water steadying my pulse. But the memory of Zaicha’s words, of her offer, curled in the back of my mind like smoke that wouldn’t clear.
In the tent, Brenton sat cross-legged on the floor with a small spread laid out before him. Bright slices of fruit, including the coconut we’d only learned about yesterday, and a scatter of smooth, pearled trinkets I didn’t recognize.
