“You are much faster now,” she said, acknowledging her defeat in our little race.
“You were right,” I said. “It’s not really fair. My wings don’t ever get tired. I have no idea how you can run that far as fast as you do.”
“It doesn’t matter if it’s fair or not, little fairy. We all have the gifts that we’ve been given. It’s the mark of an idiot to not use those gifts. I have four legs and a body built for running. You have wings.”
I nodded and began walking into the village with Kasia beside me. Andryn was digging a hole, and I smiled at him. “Need a little help?”
“I wouldn’t refuse it. It’d be nice to be able to eat a nice smoked boar tomorrow without having my back ache.”
Kneeling down, I reached out towards Sebastian who was out hunting the boar that would eventually go in the firepit. He was close to the maximum range of my powers. Maybe a mile away.
I couldn’t connect with anyone as well as I could with Sebastian. I was limited to a range of several hundred yards with the rest of the villagers, but Sebastian and I had a much stronger bond. I closed my mind, focusing on building the tether between the two of us. Silver lines that would connect our souls and powers temporarily.
Then, I felt the soil under my hands. With just a brush of power, I pulled the soil deeper, forcing it to compact in the circle that Andryn was digging. I looked up, and a round hole five feet wide had appeared.
Andryn was grinning at me. “Remember when you didn’t even know how to peel potatoes without a knife?”
“I’ll never forget. My hands still ache from that night. You could have told me that you could do it in a few minutes with magic instead of watching me struggle with them.”
He shrugged. “You didn’t ask.”
“What are you wrapping the boar in this time?” I asked, changing the subject.
“Sinivyn’s going to gather some fire fronds.”
“One of the Fae could make a lot of money taking those back to the Mortal Realm. Who would have thought that any kind of greens would taste like chilis?”
“They wouldn’t survive in the Mortal Realm.” He began covering the bottom of the pit with wood that would smoke the boar. “Some plants like apples are simply different here. They’re native to both realms, but they draw in some extra magic from the world here. Others like fire fronds require the magic of the Immortal Realm. Their flavors aren’t developed from soil conditions. Instead, they get their spicy flavor from the magic that is in the very air that we breathe.”
I nodded. I may have learned a lot of things about the Immortal Realm, but I was still lost in so many ways. Luckily, no one had any problem explaining things to me once I’d told them that I wanted to learn.
“Does that mean that there are different places with stronger types of magic than others? Like, would Sebastian’s mists be weaker in some places than others?”
Andryn grinned. “That’s a good leap, Rose. Sometimes I wonder if being human for so long helped you learn faster.” He paused for a moment to think. “A good example is the Dark Court. It was built in a place where light magic was weak, a natural defense against the Court of Light. As it’s been inhabited and changed by the Dark Court, it has slowly become even more hostile towards those who use light magic.”
I nodded. “What about the Court of Light? From what I’ve heard, there aren’t very many magics specifically common amongst the Dark Court.”
He grinned again, enjoying teaching me. “The Court of Light saps the very essence of anyone associated with the Dark Court. Slowly, it drains them of their power, and if stay for too long, it can even kill them.”
I blinked in surprise, but Andryn seemed not to notice. “On that note, have you been training with light as well as shadow?”
I sighed. “Yes, but it’s a lot harder to use. Shadows seem so easy comparatively.”
“That’s because light is a Court of Light gift when you are obviously Dark Court. You somehow managed to get both which is uncommon, but Queens have strange powers. You shouldn’t neglect it. Uncommon gifts are oftentimes some of the most powerful.”
“It’d be better if you’d said all that in a Yoda voice, Andryn.”
He raised an eyebrow. “What is a Yoda voice?”
“Don’t worry about it. It’s a human thing. Yoda’s like a really old green gnome who uses magic and says things backwards.”
He went back to stacking the wood. “That doesn’t sound like a compliment and is extremely confusing.”
“You just like to lecture me. I think it’s a Court of Light thing.” The light elf nodded and brushed his hands off.
“No, it’s an elf thing.” He stepped back and looked at the hole. “All prepped and ready for the boar and fire fronds. Now I have to make tonight’s dinner. Unless you want to help make bread and stew, you’d better move along. I hear that the shifter pups need some playing with.”
“I think I’ll pass on the bread making.” He nodded to me and I headed towards the shifter family’s hut. I could already hear the curses from Cara. Shifter pups were notoriously difficult to control, but they were easy to entertain. Cara just didn’t seem to understand how to be entertaining.
As I walked through the village, people waved and smiled at me. For the first time in my life, I felt like I belonged. When I’d first gotten here, everyone had been wary, but as I’d learned more about them and my powers, I’d found ways to help.
This was exactly what I’d always wanted. People who genuinely cared about me and appreciated me. A place
