I smile and lead the way.
We make light conversation on the way out there. It’s a little chilly, so I pull my cloak out of my bag and put it on. He asks more questions about thecastle and the town. Of course he’s naturally curious, having lived so far south his whole life.
“So how did you guys make the journey with no inns for half the route here?”
“Cunning, strength, determination…”
I glance at him and find a teasing grin. “Okay tough guy. Keep your little secrets. For now.”
“Not much of our history is unknown to you, is it?”
“I don’t know…” I take a deep breath, pulling my hands into my cloak. “Lately I feel…”
I sense him watching me, waiting. “What?”
“I feel so stupid. Blindsided by so many things I had no idea about. How can I know so little about the world, when I’ve spent most of my life in the library?”
I glance at him, waiting for a response. He looks off in the distance thoughtfully, his eyebrows scrunched. “You’ve studied a lot about history—at least, the versions someone carefully curated to their liking. You don’t know much about the present, because you’ve rarely left the safety of Ellyar.” He glances at me, his expression growing more serious. “But you will. You’re far from stupid.”
I think about what he said as I look out at the tall icy walls that line the castle grounds. They’ve kept danger out, but they’ve also kept me trapped in here most of my life.
My hands are still cold, so I cast two small orbs of swirling warm water that I then dip my hands into as I walk. “Ah. That’s better,” I nearly moan with relief.
Daegan lets out something like a chortle beside me.
I whip my head toward him. “What?”
“You’ve spent your whole life barely learning to defend yourself,” he says with an ironic smile. “And yet, many of you have taught yourself so many ridiculous little tricks like that for your own comfort.”
I can’t help but laugh with him. “It is ridiculous, isn’t it?”
“Very much so,” he says, the corner of his lip still turned up just a little. “But I’m glad your hands are warm.”
I drop the water orbs, suddenly feeling stupid.
He glances down at my hands with an eyebrow quirked but says nothing.
We pass a few regal old nox trees with deep green ivy crawling up them in twists and turns, and then I stop just beyond them. They offer a little bit of cover from the castle.
“Well, this is where we’ve been practicing.”
He assesses the area, crossing his arms.
“Learn anything good?”
“Yeah, actually.”
I set my bag down and shake out my hands. “Watch this.”
I show him the trick I learned earlier that almost took Meela out, but this time, I’m a little more careful. I aim toward the tree, and dozens of sharp ice crystals the size of my pinky finger appear out of the air and whizz past him, hitting their targets. Every one of them is successfully buried in the bark.
He looks at me with his eyebrows halfway up his forehead. “That’s… great.”
I can’t help the smile that pulls at my cheeks. “Thank you.”
“What else?”
“I can cast a large water orb that I think I can trap someone’s head in… they won’t be able to get out of it.”
