Before she could even begin to explain or apologize, Sylph gaveanother haughty sniff, her chin inching up, and Thana’s stomach dropped. Lady Sylph was about toput in another appearance.
“I don’t need the detection pyramid because I shall never needit. It’s enough to know I can feel pyramids from a distance. I simply need morepractice ignoring them.”
Thana’s first instinct was to yell, an urge she’d been repressingfor hours. Her second was to return to the aggravated, ashamed state she’d beenstewing in all day. But they’d connected, both emotionally and physically, anda new emotion rose in her now, a stubborn anger that refused to be hidden.
“After all that’s happened,” she said, forcing herself not toyell, “do you really believe you can ignore your gift? There is another fightgoing on around us, some conflict between pyradistés and the Umbriels, and wecan’t avoid it forever.” She lifted her arms, then dropped them and shook herhead. “Well, I’m the only one who’s truly caught. If you leave me now, youmight be spared until the queen remembers you. Or if Headmaster Cyrus gets holdof you, spirits know what he’ll force you to do.” A wave of sadness washed overher, and she turned away, not willing to show how vulnerable this irritatingwoman made her. “And since you haven’t left me yet, I thought you’d realizedall of that.” Cursed tears pricked her eyes, and she blinked them back. Had shebeen this soppy before their kissing session?
Sylph didn’t respond, and the seconds drifted by, marked only bythe sound of hooves through the foliage. Thana couldn’t look at her, notknowing which expression she might see. She didn’t know what would be worse,that she’d affected Lady Sylph or that she hadn’t.
* * *
As Thana nudged her horse forward, the chance to speak passedalong with her. Sylph couldn’t help feeling grateful for that even as sheberated herself for not saying what she was feeling.
As if she could. What would Thana say if Sylph admitted that beingtogether filled her insides with embers? That being with Thana was likediscovering a new world, one she’d been certain existed only in myth? WhenThana had suggested that Sylph leave her, it had felt like a blow. How couldshe abandon this marvelous new world just as she clapped eyes on it?
And why had she said what she had, why draw a wall around herselfagain? Deep inside, she knew she could not be rid of her “gift” and return toher old life. But stubbornly, she wanted to find a way to ignore it, and sheand Thana could be…
Mistress and servant?
Employer and pyradisté?
Noble and shabby little secret?
Sylph would never let her raven be seen that way.
And she should say so. But she was still her father’s daughterand would always be. When they weren’t writhing on top of each other, therewould always be…considerations.
Still, she couldn’t just quit this field without a word. Thanadeserved more. She took a breath, paused, then took another as the wordsdeserted her. She would not say, “thank you,” again, curse it.
“Thana…” When she felt the flutter of a pyramid on the edge ofher mind, she rejoiced even as she named herself a coward.
Thana turned in her saddle, her hopefulness prompting heartache.
“Someone behind us is carrying a pyramid,” Sylph said. “I justfelt it. If you like…I’ll use the detector. I can’t tell which kind it is yet.”
“No need,” Thana said softly, her expression saying sherecognized the gesture, at least, but she probably wasn’t ready to forgive. “Ifit’s not pulling at you, it’s not one of the new ones we’re really worriedabout.” She gripped her pyramid, and her eyes took on a vacant cast. “There area few that…ow!” She rocked in her saddle as if struck, and her pyramid wentdark.
Sylph reached to take her reins as she put a hand to her head andwinced. “What is it?”
“Spirits-cursed bastards canceled my pyramid,” she said with agrowl. “Hurts like a dozen wasp stings.” She flinched. “I probably made it easyfor them somehow.” She blushed, the pretty effect ruined by the shame in her eyes.
A peculiar feeling raced through Sylph’s veins, similar to whatshe’d felt for the courtiers who’d sought to snub Thana, but this was so muchmore. No one made her raven feel less than she was.
She turned her focus behind again, watching that way as if shecould see through the trees. Canceled, was it? She pictured a pyramid with ablanket pulled over the top, but that garnered her nothing. “What does it feellike?”
“A cancelation pyramid? I don’t have one. Why?”
“I’ll use theirs against them.”
“From a distance?” She laughed. “You can’t possibly…” Afterclearing her throat, she spoke again, awe in her voice. “Let’s see if you can.It shows all surrounding pyramids as bright lights, and you have the power tosnuff them like candles. It feels…dark, consuming.”
It was enough. Sylph searched through the pyramids with nothingbut her mind. Fire, detection, light, all these she ignored until she sensedone that seemed like a blank spot among the others, an absence of pyramids castin pyramid shape. She sensed it reaching toward her and Thana like thetentacles of some beast, but as she touched them, they crumpled like paper.Following them was as easy as breathing, and there she was, inside the pyramidthat cast them.
One by one, she snuffed the surrounding pyramids as easily as ifshe threw them to the ground. Then she turned this pyramid killer in on itself,shutting it off like a closing door as she withdrew.
Someone howled among the trees, someone closer than expected.
Thana held her darkened pyramid, her eyes wide. “Did you…you did,didn’t you? You’re like…like pyramid magic brought to life.” She leaned forwardas if to stress her words. “No matter what happens, Sylph, you can’t repress agift like yours. It would be like destroying art, silencing music, taking everyactor who ever walked a stage and—”
Sylph held up a hand, not knowing whether to be flattered orterrified by such a speech. “We should be going, should we not? They soundclose and are no doubt angry.”
Indeed, the pounding of
