“I…” She looked at her own hands. The open palms smoldered in greeting. She closed them, choking the shadows that had danced on her palms. “You’re not the only one with magic, Rey.”
The center of my world split open. After the shame I felt for being different. After the disappointment I continuously resurrected within Cova again and again. Now, after a lifetime of turmoil, she was finally backed into a corner and forced to admit that she too had secrets. Enormous, life eroding secrets.
She had magic.
Wehad magic.
And she may have saved us.
So rather than reflecting the hurt and shame she’d gifted me with over many decades, all I said was, “Show me.”
Cova paused. Her silence questioned me and I nodded in encouragement.
She blew out a shaky breath as she opened her clenched hands again and let the dark mist spill from her palms. Translucent wisps of night fell gently to the dungeon floor like fog slithering across a forest floor.
First the shadows surrounded her. Then, they spread to Cova’s adjacent cells. The darkness floated a gentle greeting to my ankles. Lydia let out a nervous gasp and lifted her feet away from the smoky visitor.
“This is…incredible.” I was in complete awe of her. Of this raw, unfiltered talent. My own magic swirled in my gut like it was asking to be let out to play. Like recognizing like.
I opened my hands and light spread, illuminating the space. Power purred beneath my skin as if to thank me for releasing it to greet its equal opposite.
A gentle ringing echoed off the walls, the thin beams of light singing and chiming to one another, an ethereal conversation. And where the light and dark magic met, they hissed a tender greeting. No retreat, no battle, but a simple acknowledgement. Like acquaintances touching palms in a dance.
I smiled at my sister and saw the expression mirrored back at me.
“You have shadow magic. You can conceal things.” Like a key had forced open a stubborn lock, everything clicked into place.
Where had the necklace gone? Nowhere. It was right where it had always been. Cova used her magic to hide it.
Cova touched her neck, the stone now revealed against her skin. There it was. The shard of Lorana’s stone. All wasn’t lost.
My light retreated at the realization. Cova’s shadows followed suit and the dungeon was dark and quiet again.
My sister and I stared at each other, words failing both of us.
I knew she held a trove of secrets close to her chest and always assumed our shared secret about Lydia’s true parents was the most damning. But here she was, with the same magic in her blood that led to my societal condemnation.
Cova was smarter than me. Better at concealing her gift. Because concealingwasher gift.
“How long?” I looked at her and restrained myself from asking too many questions too quickly.
“Since we were children,” she admitted. I suspected but I’d never known for sure. “At first, the flares were random and small. Items would disappear and I wouldn’t be able to find them for days. I hadn’t even known I’d used my magic.”
I remembered the feeling. The fear of not knowing if I touched someone if it would accidentally trigger a vision. The magic was always ready and willing to serve. It took me years of practice to secure a leash around its wild inhibitions and learn to use it only when I called.
My sister laughed softly to herself. “One time, I sneezed and camouflaged myself. I followed mother around for an entire day.”
It felt forbidden to discuss our magic so openly with each other. Like this could be a bridge to the sisterhood we’d never quite achieved on our own. Her distant demeanor and secretive tendencies made so much sense now.
It wasn’t just that she had been disappointed or ashamed of the reputation I’d earned; it was the attention it brought on our family. Because if Iwere able to tap into such a power, it was a reasonable question to ask if others in our family had similar talents.
Dommik had assumed as much that first night in the keep. And I’d answered him honestly—I wasn’t sure if my affinity for magic ran in my family or if I was an anomaly.
My thoughts turned to the stormy-eyed commander. There was so much I still needed to say to him. And he was alive. For now. And I needed him to stay that way.
I needed him.
A flicker of a plan sparked within me.
