Stone and Crow (Veiled Kingdoms: The Lost Fae Book 1)

by Stella Snow

  “If you go to Arsadia, they will do to you what they did to your mother. They will turn you into another pawn in their petty, political maneuvering.”

  “If they try to do that, I can just leave and come back here. I wouldn’t be trapped.”

  Salathia scoffed. “It’s never that easy. You’re already mooning over Gavriel and you’ve known him for two days. He’s flirting with you because he intends to use you, just like everyone else in Arsadia.”

  “He has not been flirting with me. He has been helping me. Besides, I’m eighteen. I can legally vote, so I think I can decide for myself if I want to start a relationship. But I’m not.” She couldn’t stop a blush from creeping through her cheeks though. There was a connection with Gavriel, but he wasn’t pushy. He only wanted to help.

  “He wants something from you. You’ll figure that out eventually, I just hope it’s before you’ve made a mistake I can’t save you from.”

  “You know what, no. He was there making sure I was alright and healing me while you disappeared because you thought I might be mad at you,” Melodie said, gripping the edge of the table. “You don’t get to talk about him like that.”

  Salathia leaned back and crossed her arms. “Regardless of all of that, we can’t risk taking the Stone back to the Sidhe.”

  “Oh, so this is just about the Stone.” Her hands tightening on the table. She could feel her magic feeding on her anger already and seeping out of her fingers. “For a second you actually had me fooled into thinking you were worried about me.”

  “I made a promise,” Salathia said. “You aren’t the only one that wants to go back to the Sidhe, but I have to think of more than just what either of us wants.”

  She stood and saw her hands had left scorch marks on the table. Looking down at her arms, she expected them to be glowing, but the magic wasn’t visible. Without another word, she turned and walked away. As she slammed the door shut behind her, she could see that Salathia had stayed at the table, head in her hands.

  Gavriel stood as soon as he saw Melodie walk out and met her in the middle of the backyard.

  “Are you losing control?”

  “I’m fine,” Melodie snapped, before pausing to take a breath. She rubbed her hands up and down her arms. “I’ll see you tonight, right? To train?”

  “Yes.” Gavriel hesitated, perhaps wanting to ask about what had happened, or ask again if she was about to lose control. He pressed his lips together and tugged the end of her ponytail gently. “Go rest until I come get you. It won’t be before eleven.”

  Chapter 13

  There was a sharp rap on the window. Melodie’s eyes flew open and she realized she had dozed off. She had been dreaming of the barghest chasing her through the woods. Again. It seemed like every time she shut her eyes that she had the same dream. It was making it hard to sleep.

  Gavriel tapped at the window again and she jogged over to the window and pulled the drapes aside. She lifted the window, cringing at a squeak that felt loud in the dead silence of the house. Gavriel quietly popped out the screen as she tugged on her shoes.

  “Sorry, I fell asleep,” she whispered.

  “It’s fine, you’ll have to sleep when you can since we have to train at night like this,” he whispered back. He had changed out of his formal wear but was still in what she assumed was Sidhe clothing. He wore a loose-fitting blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up over black pants made of a strange cloth that looked like it’d be smooth to the touch.

  She climbed out of the window, hunching awkwardly through the gap. It was still warm outside, and more humid than it had been during the day. She was glad she had decided to wear shorts.

  They pulled the window down, leaving a small gap and gently set the screen back in place so that you couldn’t tell at first glance that anything was amiss.

  Melodie turned to Gavriel, her heart racing as she glanced around, sure she would see someone on the back porch.

  “I’ve never snuck out of my room before,” she whispered, as she smoothed down her hair.

  “I should probably tell you this is the first time I’ve ever snuck a girl out of her room, but I promised to never lie to you,” he said with a wink. “Come on, let’s get away from the house.”

  Melodie smiled as she followed him through the backyard toward the back of the property, but the smile faded when Salathia’s comments about flirting came to mind. She shook off the warning, it was a harmless joke. And even if he was flirting, there was nothing wrong with it.

  They walked past the garden and she jogged a little to catch up to Gavriel and walk next to him.

  “Where are we going exactly?” She still had the urge to whisper even though they were well away from the house now.

  “Close to the edge of the property. We’ll be deep enough in the woods that no one in the house, much less the subdivision, would notice us using magic.”

  “Or me losing control?”

  “Or that.”

  They stepped into the trees and a shiver slithered down Melodie’s spine. She hugged her arms close around her middle and searched for any sign of movement. She couldn’t help but glance behind them either, but there was hardly any light since the trees were thick enough to block out the moonlight.

  Gavriel slowed down and flicked his hand, sending a faelight bobbing in front of them. He placed a guiding hand low on her back.

  “There are no barghests or anything else in these woods. The Founders created wards around the original area they settled that keep out anyone with ill intent. They are hard to get through, and nothing is coming across them unnoticed.”

  Her shoulders loosened slightly, but the dreams had left an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach that she just couldn’t shake.

  “That light, it’s called a faelight, right?”

  “Yes. Salathia told you about it?”

  She nodded as she hopped over a fallen log.

  “It’s the first thing I’m going to be teaching you, actually.”

  “Is this what you do back in the Sidhe as well? Teach people?”

  Gavriel chuckled. “No, not at all. My duties are varied, recently it has simply been whatever my father has asked me to do. I came here to research relics. The Forgotten have some books that you cannot find in the Sidhe.”

  “What is a relic, exactly?” Salathia had said the Stone was a relic but hadn't explained what that meant.

  "Not long after the Sidhe itself was created, some of the gods created these gifts that they gave to whoever they favored. Some say they are cursed, but since one has not been seen or used in so long, no one can prove it. I think it is just an old superstition."

  “And you're looking for them? So, you can use them?”

  “If I could find one, we would have to study it before we decided.” Gavriel stopped and looked around them. “This will work, we're far enough away.”

  There wasn't much room between the trees, but there was less underbrush here than some areas they had tromped through.

  “I’ll begin by explaining what I can about magic itself.” He stretched out his hand and golden light lifted from his palm like smoke, rolling and twisting into a glimmering ball.

  “When my sister and I were children, this was the first controlled magic we learned. Magic is alive. There isn’t a list of incantations you can memorize to cast a spell, instead it’s an energy that you must master and control by the power of your will. Sometimes it feels like it has a mind of its own. There is only so much I can teach you here, but learning not to get swept away by the magic once you start using it is as important in the Sidhe as it is here.”

  She picked at her hem while she mulled over what he had told her. “Alright, that sounds— confusing. What can you do exactly with the magic? Salathia used it to look different. She called it a glamour, is that part of it?”

  “For some, everyone has different talents. Since your parents were different races, we can’t know which side of your heritage will display most strongly in you un
til you use your magic. Glamour is fairly basic, though anyone with a decent ability in magic could see there is a glamour in place, and even see through the glamour if they put out the effort. It is rarely used in the Sidhe.”

  “Esther said I needed to be able to maintain a glamour before she’d let me leave the house. Can I learn that first?”

  Gavriel closed his hand and snuffed out the light. “You can learn it soon, but you'll need to master the faelight first.”

  She leaned forward. “You make it look easy, but I’m guessing it won’t be.”

  “It will be difficult. It takes significantly more effort and energy to use magic here. Our magic comes from something we call the godstones. They are in the Sidhe, and the Veil weakens our connection to them.”

  “So, you would be able to do more in the Sidhe?”

  “Yes, and much more easily,” he said as he reformed the faelight and held his hand out. “Someone skilled could will it into any shape.”

  The light lengthened, turning into a swirling cylinder.

  “They could create ten of them and send them dancing around us.”

  He split the light into three parts and sent them flying around her head. They brushed against her ponytail before they returned to his hand and melded back together.

  “The faelight is one of our most basic forms of magic, and one of the most versatile. The light can be cool like it is now,” he said motioning for her to touch it.

  She held her finger near the top curve of the light and it arced up gently, straining to meet her skin. She was surprised it was cold despite its appearance. It also felt as though she was touching Gavriel himself, just as intimate as when he was healing her. She looked up to meet his eyes and could see the magic reflected there. For just a moment she had the sensation of falling once again.

  “The light can also be warm,” he said, startling her out of staring at him. She looked back at the light as it warmed. “It can even be hot. It can also be brighter, or dimmer. There are myriad uses for it, do you understand?”

  She pulled her hand away, thinking back to the scorched earth that had surrounded her when she had been attacked. “Yes, that makes sense, I think. You can use it to fight?”

  Gavriel nodded and snuffed out the light again. “But it is also the most common magic used in day-to-day life. You can actually store it in specially crafted lanterns, and we use them to light our homes.”

  “That is versatile.” She inspected the magic. It was beautiful, and for the first time since this had started, she was excited. She wanted to learn how to create something like this. “So, how exactly do I create the faelight?”

  Gavriel leaned forward. “First, we have to see if you can access your magic at all. You should be able to sense the magic around you, you might have felt it the first time you stepped into the garden, it’s inundated with it.”

  “Yes, I felt it.”

  “Can you feel it inside of you as well?”

  “Yes, feeling the magic isn't an issue. It's like a headache. It's always right there.”

  “Good, I was worried you might have trouble sensing it at all when you weren’t in the middle of losing control. As for creating the faelight, you should understand that your magic is tied to an unthinking part of you, like your emotions. You felt that when I was healing you. If you draw on your magic, you must always give it a purpose, or it will find one on its own. It also makes it easier to let go of the magic when you are done. For now, the faelight will be your purpose.”

  Gavriel held out his hand again and light sprung from his palm and surrounded his hand, flickering out in places like a sun flare.

  “This is what the faelight looks like when I don’t give it shape. It wavers because it is trying to become what I want, but since I didn’t will into something, it is unfocused like this.”

  “You talk about magic like it’s sentient,” Melodie said.

  “Many people in the Sidhe believe that,” Gavriel said as he dropped his hand and extinguished the light. “Some people even speak to the magic as though it could answer them, but they are somewhat insane.”

  “So, how exactly do I ‘give the magic a purpose’?” she asked, using finger quotes.

  “Hold your hand out.”

  She complied, holding her hand out palm up.

  “Now, make a fist.”

  She curled her fingers into a tight fist.

  He imitated the motion. “That is how you control magic, the same way you would move a muscle.”

  Melodie sighed deeply. “You realize that doesn’t actually tell me anything, right?”

  Gavriel smirked. “That’s how magic works. You simply use it. I think you will find it easier than you think.”

  “So, now what? I just try?”

  “Yes,” Gavriel said, slipping his hands into his pockets and stepping over to the side. “You’ll do fine, go ahead and try.”

  Melodie nodded and crossed her arms, then uncrossed them when that felt too restrictive. She took a deep breath and turned slightly away from Gavriel. She’d just have to pretend he was standing there watching her.

  The magic was tingling along her arms already, as if it knew it was about to be used. She hesitated, fear making her heart jump in her chest. The magic could get away from her so easily. She bit the inside of her cheek and pushed the thought away. It didn’t matter out here. No one would see, and she didn’t think she could hurt Gavriel. Enough was enough.

  She held out her hand and started to let the magic flow. She realized she was holding her breath and exhaled shakily. The magic flickered brightly around her hand for a moment, then left entirely. Her magic snapped back into her uncomfortably fast.

  “You’re afraid of it, and you’re fighting against yourself.”

  Melodie pulled on it harshly and grit her teeth against the rush of magic as the light flickered around her hand once again. The magic snapped back into her even more quickly this time, knocking the air from her lungs.

  “If you do that, you’re going to lose control. Don’t make this a fight, don’t get angry. Just relax,” he said. “You’re not in a rush.”

  “Right.” Still out of breath, she pulled her hair out of the ponytail and twisted it into a bun instead to give her a moment to just relax and convince her hands to stop shaking.

  This time when she held out her hand and the magic started to flow, she didn’t try to stop it. It was okay. Gavriel had said she could lose control out here. She made herself count to four on each inhale and exhale to keep herself focused. For a brief second the magic gathered in her palm, but then it began rushing out of her like a waterfall.

  There was a noise from her left, she flinched, and when she did, she felt her magic move between her and the threat. She realized that the noise had only been a branch creaking in the wind.

  Melodie laughed as the realization hit her, for a split second she had controlled her magic. She had moved it. Now that she had felt it once, it was easier to move it again. She dragged it back in front of her then took another deep breath and chanted faelight over and over in her head as she gave the magic purpose. It was a strange sensation, like she was pulling something out of herself.

  The magic hovered in front of her unseen until a light started at her chest and spread in creeping tendrils throughout her magic. She stood in awe as the light spread up as high as the trees around them. Lightning skittered in slow motion through the air and between the trees.

  The forest in front of them was lit up with soft, white light. She had no idea how she was supposed to condense this down into a single sphere, but she found she didn’t care. She was using magic, and she was in control. This was so different from the panic she usually associated with it.

  “Oh my god, I did it. I did it!” She turned to Gavriel with a huge grin on her face.

  Gavriel was watching her with his lips slightly parted and his face open with wonder.

  “You did,” he said. “You are so full of magic.”

  She laugh
ed and trailed her hand through the light. It curled around her hand and clung to her fingertips. She could feel her own happiness echoing back to her through the magic.

  “You’re doing so well. Do you want to try pulling the magic back now?”

  She nodded.

  “Alright, go ahead. Go slow, and if it becomes too much, just stop.”

  “Okay.” The magic moved instantly, and it was mesmerizing to watch the light roll back. There was none of the tension, or the stinging snap from earlier when it had come back too quickly. Slowly, but surely, the last bit of light disappeared inside of her and she let out a breath of relief.

  “That was perfect,” Gavriel said, grinning widely.

  “What now?” Right now, anything seemed possible.

  “Now, you do it again.”

  She smiled; it was good to be in control for once.

  Chapter 14

  The magic came too fast, just like it had in training with Gavriel the night before. She let it go, took five slow breaths, and tried again. Over and over, she failed. Each time, she pushed down the frustration and thought back to the moment the faelight had hung around her and Gavriel in the forest. No matter how hard this was, it was possible. That was enough for her to endure the struggle.

  The echoes of her earlier frustration still lingered in the magic. It was such a strange feeling now that she recognized what it was exactly. The magic was starting to seem like a crazy person living in her head that overreacted to everything. She hadn’t felt this dramatic since she was thirteen and had gone through a phase where she had refused to play her violin for a month because she’d gotten second in a competition.

  Letting out a breath as she pulled on magic, she tried again, willing it to pool in her hands. Slowly, it coalesced over her hands and legs. The wobbly faelight wasn’t round at all, but it was mostly contained in her lap at least. She grinned, and as her heart leaped, the magic surged.