novelxo Chapter 28
No. It couldn’t be.
She looked down at her empty hands as if they told the truth of the power that lay within them. Ambrose had told her himself – there had never been a woman given the gift of lunar magic. It was inconceivable.
“Ah,” A voice said behind her. “I was wondering when you’d put the pieces together.”
Aurelia spun around, coming face to face with the master of magic, Demir. Her heart dropped in her chest as she met his gaze. “What are you talking about?” She said hotly, gently stepping over the shards of broken crystal in hopes that he wouldn’t see them.
She hadn’t heard him come in and wondered how long he had been standing there, observing. Her stomach twisted as she realized the consequences – most especially if he had been sent to find her after her disappearance earlier.
“You know what I’m talking about,” He answered carefully.
Aurelia rose her eyebrows, feigning innocence. “No, I’m afraid I don’t.”
He sighed, clasping his hands behind his back. “You are the one the prophecy foretold. The magic-born able to conjure both the sun and the moon. The heir to the throne of both the light and the dark.”
Aurelia’s gaze darkened and a memory suddenly flashed across her mind – the fortune teller’s words from what felt like years ago, now clearer than ever: you will walk the line of light and darkness, and have more power than all that comes before you.
No – she wasn’t meant to take over the Continent. She even despised the idea of taking over Calathis once her grandmother passed away. It wasn’t her – it never was – to be the center of attention so blatantly. He couldn’t be right, yet...the silver thread was still in her mind whenever she focused, its bright shimmer unmistakable.
“You knew?” She asked coldly, looking at the man in front of her with new regard.
He shrugged casually. “When Rehema told me how quickly you excelled at solar magic, I had an idea.”
Aurelia couldn’t have heard him right. “Rehema?” She whispered. The first sound of home that wasn’t about her grandmother or defeating Calathis. She felt as if her memories were starting to fade, her new normal the dark, cold land of Damaris – and that might have been the most painful realization of all.
“Rehema,” He confirmed. “We share knowledge, sometimes.”
Aurelia paled. She was already a target being the heir to Calathis - but the heir to the entire Continent?
“Does he know?”
Demir seemed to know exactly who she was talking about and quickly shook his head. “No.”
“Are you going to tell him?” She whispered, a wave of terror crashing down on her. If he knew that he wasn’t the one meant to rule the Continent...then what would he do to her?
Demir paused for a moment and then met her gaze. “No.”
“Why?” She said, her voice cracking. This time she couldn’t stop her mind as it swirled with fear.
“Because,” Demir said, taking a few steps towards her. “I’m going to help you.”
Aurelia scoffed. “Help me? With what?” She folded her arms across her chest and gave him a cold look. As if she would ever trust someone that had taught Dorian everything he knew of lunar magic.
Demir sighed. “Lunar magic, of course.” He answered her, strolling to one of the bookcases and browsing, seemingly looking for something in particular.
Aurelia frowned, skeptical of the man before her. The risks of Dorian finding out were too great to ignore. “But why?”
Demir momentarily turned towards her. “One can never trifle with fate, Aurelia.” He leaned back over, searching for something. “And frankly, I’d rather be on the right side of it.”
Aurelia let his words sink in, a long pause of silence falling between the two. In that moment, she decided to trust the man before her, no matter the consequences. If he was telling the truth, then she could only learn more to ensure Calathis survived the war. She couldn’t afford not to.
“You’ve really been talking with Rehema?” She said softly after a moment, stepping forward, the question a truce in itself.
Demir straightened, a worn book in his hand as he met her gaze. “Just an occasional pigeon now and then.”
Aurelia took a deep breath. “Do they know I’m okay?”
Demir nodded shortly in response. “I’ve made sure of it.”
“Okay,” Aurelia said as she blinked back the tears. “Okay.” She walked towards Demir hesitantly, still unsure of him, yet with no one else left, her only choice. “So...where do we start?”
Demir pursed his lips, studying her. “Try something.”
Aurelia furrowed her eyebrows. “Something?”
Demir gave her a knowing look. “Pull on the magic.”
Aurelia bit her lip and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, the long, shimmering strings appearing in her mind, conjoined as one, but one vividly gold, the other silver. Instead of pulling at the gold like she had been for a month now, she reached for the silver.
Unlike the former, it was more taught and it felt as if she was using all of her strength to get it to budge an inch. Aurelia pulled harder, her eyes squeezed in concentration, her head feeling as if it were about to burst before t suddenly gave way, releasing its magic.
At its release, she felt it throughout her body, tingling as it spread to her fingertips and toes. She opened her eyes, wide in awe and shock.
Demir nodded approvingly. “Fate, indeed.”
Aurelia turned pink and closed her eyes once more, focusing on the silver string as she considered everything Ambrose had shown her: invisibility, ice, and night manipulation. Her focus narrowed in on ice and snow – on the smooth, crystalline form, on the pure, white color…
Aurelia felt her magic form just as when she was using solar magic, though it took every ounce of effort to control, to summon the lunar magic through her fingertips to do her bidding.
Opening her eyes, she looked up to see a small cloud raining snow upon her, the snowflakes kissing her cheeks and falling in a perfect circle around her body. Aurelia gasped in delight, holding out her palm to see the snow that she had created. She snapped her head up to meet Demir’s gaze.
“How does this work?” She asked, studying the pile of snowflakes in her palm. “Can I just...melt them, too?”
Demir walked forward, inspecting Aurelia’s handiwork. “I honestly have no idea,” He said, a small smile forming upon his elderly complexion. “This is beyond possibility. It has never happened before, yet here it is in front of me.”
He looked up at the cloud above her in awe, looking back down to smile at Aurelia. “We shall learn, together.” Stepping back, he motioned for her to continue.
Aurelia nodded, closing her eyes once more, returning to the familiar golden thread that she had grown fond of. Whereas the magic she pulled from the silver thread was very little and took a great amount of effort, the golden thread responded to her call viciously, a ring of fire liquefying the snow in a matter of milliseconds.
Demir’s eyes widened. “So,” He began, taking a deep breath. “It seems that your solar power is much stronger.”
Aurelia shrugged as if she had not just summoned opposing powers, together. As if it was completely normal to not only carry magic but magic from both the sun and the moon.
As if she were an eclipse.
“Evidently,” She responded, looking down once more to her hands as if they were foreign. “What do you propose?” She asked, looking back up at Demir.
He smirked. “I suppose we start working on the moon’s side of things, don’t you think?” He walked towards her, placing the worn book he had been holding from earlier in her hands. “It’s the book that I’ve used to train all of my best sorcerers. And now...my first sorceress.”
Aurelia tilted her head. “But aren’t women of solar magic called enchantresses?”
“As men of lunar magic are called sorcerers,” He answered. “But you aren’t just an enchantress, are you?”
Aurelia shrugged her shoulders. “I suppose not.”
“A sorceress, it is then,” Demir concluded, his hand on the book she was holding once more. “It has everything you need, every step, to practice on your own.”
Aurelia nodded.
“And then, we will practice together, here.” Demir continued, motioning to the tower around them. “Hardly anyone ever comes here anymore except Ambrose. Dorian has his own magic chambers he uses to test his magic.”
Aurelia’s eyebrows rose in curiosity. “Does he?” She said innocently, tilting her head. “Where?”
Demir gave her a small smile. “I suppose you’ll find that out when you learn how to make yourself invisible, now wouldn’t you?”
Aurelia pursed her lips. “I suppose so.”
Demir nodded and then motioned for her to set the book down. “Very well. Try again. This time, summon ice, not snow. It’s a bit more advanced to create such a solid, shaped figure.”
Aurelia closed her eyes once more, her focus returning to the magic swirling beneath her fingertips. Once more, she summoned the unfamiliar magic forward and imagined ice shards poking out of the ground around her as if in protection from an attacker. Clenching her fists tightly in immense concentration, she urged them to grow outwards.
When she opened her eyes, though in spikes, the ice was hardly a foot off of the ground, a far cry from the fearsome ice shards she had imagined. Panic threatened to envelop her as the reality settled upon her shoulders like a heavy weight, pulling her towards the ground in fear. Not only was Calathis dependent upon her, but according to the prophecy, the entire Continent.
Aurelia wasn’t sure what terrified her more: what the prophecy truly foretold, or what would happen when people found out.
Demir chuckled. “You didn’t think you’d get anywhere as quickly as with solar magic, did you?” He said to her, leaning over to inspect the ice that she had created.
Aurelia’s cheeks turned pink. “I’m not sure what I was expecting.” She bent over to inspect them herself. “Perhaps something not so...pitiful?”
Demir looked up to meet her gaze. “A woman practicing lunar magic. Not pitiful in the least.” He gave her a knowing look and reached over to place the worn book in her hands once more. “That’s enough for today. Keep this. Read it. And we’ll keep working on your magic. The fact that you can do anything at all...” He exhaled sharply, a smile crossing his face. “It’s...it’s what we’ve been waiting for for centuries.”
Aurelia smiled and held the book to her chest tightly as if it could protect her from the darkness that threatened to drown her. “Very well. Thank you, Demir. I should get back before they send all of the soldiers in search for me.”
Demir nodded shortly and turned back towards the pile of books he had been rummaging through. Aurelia quietly left the beloved tower, making her way down the steps, unsure of the time but certain that she would be in loads of trouble when she returned. Quickly, she tucked the small book into her dress and hurried back to her new rooms, making sure to avoid anyone in the hallways.
When she arrived at her room, Aurelia burst through the doorway, ready to soak in the large, stone tub that was now considered hers. There was nothing like taking a long bath on a cold, winter day to ease the tension that riddled her body.
“Aurelia!” Cressida jumped up from the couch in front of the fireplace as she entered, a look of deep annoyance crossing her features. “Where have you been?”
Aurelia smiled weakly. “I was just...”
“You were just what?” Cressida snapped. “You didn’t hear from half of the village business owners. Do you know how that makes this castle look? For hardworking people to waste an entire day for your godforsaken wedding and you simply leave—“
“Cressida!” Aurelia interrupted, astounded at her outburst yet knowing that it rang with truth. “I’m sorry,” She said gentler. “I couldn’t breathe in that room. It was too much, everyone talking at once...”
Cressida rolled her eyes. “Don’t bother wasting your explanations on me. I’m sure the king will want to hear them.”
Aurelia’s shoulders drooped at her words, her gaze falling as she considered the thought of having to deal with Dorian of all people right now. All she wanted to do was bathe, and sleep, her mind exhausted from her work with magic.
“Oh, do I have to?” Aurelia said softly, a hint of desperation in her voice.
Cressida observed Aurelia for a moment. “I’ll take it you aren’t feeling very well?”
Aurelia stood unsure for a moment. “I just...am tired.”
Cressida clasped her hands behind her back. “I’ll let the king know you aren’t feeling very well and to not expect you this evening.” She translated, giving her a small nod. “I’ll begin preparing a bath.”
Aurelia could have fallen to her knees in gratefulness to Cressida’s unexpected kindness. The day’s revelations, never mind the guise of planning a wedding had drained Aurelia to the point that she felt as if she could sleep for days.
Sighing deeply, she trudged behind Cressida into her bathing room, feeling as if the world rested upon her shoulders.