Magic in the Air

KAEL

Kael groaned as he lay down on his bedroll. While the shelter of Eithne’s wing blocked the worst of the sun’s rays, the red glare that got through was nearly enough to make sleep impossible.

They’d have to travel across the Burning Sands at night if they didn’t want to die of heat.

He was beginning to doze off when the sound of rushing feet reached him. He cracked an eye open to see Andra running toward them, a look of panic on her face.

Kael leapt to his feet, instantly alert. He pushed out from underneath Eithne’s wing, ready to unsheathe his weapon. He scanned around them for any threats.

Alik and Colmen were already rising, ready for whatever might come.

~“Nothing,”~ Eithne said, her great chestnut-colored eyes seeing far more than he could.

“Ledo’s alive!” Andra panted heavily, coming to a stop before him.

“Easy,” Kael said, placing a steadying hand on her arm. “What are you talking about?”

“A dragon,” Andra gasped. Her face was flushed red, her bright green eyes wide. “A small white dragon spoke to me. ~Spoke out loud.~ It showed me a vision—that Ledo is still alive!”

Kael turned a wary eye to Colmen, but the elf could only shrug.

Alik muttered grumpily to himself and made his way back to his bedroll.

“Come, sit down,” Kael said, guiding Andra underneath Eithne’s wing. “Colmen, get her something to drink, will you?”

~“A small white dragon?”~ Tiri raised her head, peering curiously at Andra.

“No bigger than a hatchling,” she said. She accepted the waterskin that Colmen gave her and took a deep drink, a dribble of water leaking out of the corner of her mouth and running down her throat. “Except it said it was old, and it could talk out loud.”

~“What do you think?”~ Kael asked Eithne.

Eithne didn’t respond, but he could feel her turning Andra’s story over in her mind.

Colmen took a damp cloth and wiped Andra’s forehead clean of sweat. “The heat seems to have gotten to her,” he said.

“It’s true! The dragon showed me,” Andra insisted, a haunted look in her eyes. “I saw Ledo. He was bandaged and recovering from his wounds…but he was alive. And he looked right at me…”

~“I believe you, sister,”~ Tiri said, pushing forward and pressing her snout against Andra’s leg. ~“I won’t let him harm you.”~

Kael sat next to Andra. She was shaking, her hands balled up into tight fists. He reached forward and took one, gently prying her fist open and smoothing out her fingers.

“He’s dead, Andra,” Kael tried to assure her. “I killed him myself.”

“But—”

“The heat is getting to you,” he continued. “I’ve seen this before in travelers crossing the Burning Sands for the first time. It’s a brutal desert. The heat makes them see things.”

Andra looked up at him. He saw the fear in her eyes, and a flare of anger burned intensely in his chest.

Ledo had gotten off easy with only one death.

Andra took a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself. “Okay,” she said quietly. “You’re right. It was the heat. Only the heat.”

“Let’s get some rest, okay?” Colmen took her hand and helped her up, guiding her away. Tiri followed them.

Kael watched as Andra curled up on her bedroll, Tiri’s protective wing folding around her.

~“I wouldn’t be so quick to write off what she saw,”~ Eithne said.

~“You really think a tiny white dragon showed her a vision?”~ Kael asked.

~“I don’t know,”~ the dragon admitted. ~“But there’s something special about her, Kael. We’ve all felt it.”~

Kael couldn’t deny that. But still, Andra clearly wasn’t in the right state of mind.

He thought of the desperate fear in Andra’s eyes, and Kael found himself wishing he could kill the ghosts that haunted her too.

ANDRA

~“Wake up, sister.”~

Andra’s eyes remained stubbornly closed. Between the disturbing vision and the heat of the day, she’d barely gotten any sleep. Now that it was finally dark, maybe she could get some rest…

She felt a scaly snout push up against her neck, followed by a blast of hot air.

Andra shrieked, scrambling away from the ticklish sensation of dragon breath. She heard the music of Tiri’s laughter in her mind.

~“We’re preparing to leave,”~ Tiri said. ~“Now, are you going to get up, or do you need more encouragement?”~

Andra stood up, a smile on her lips. She reached up to the canopy of Tiri’s wing and ran her fingers across the smooth surface, tickling the dragon in retaliation.

Tiri snorted, raising her wing into the air. Andra escaped from underneath its shade, sticking her tongue out at the dragon.

The two stared each other down, a stand-off of epic proportions—until Tiri cracked a toothy smile that had Andra giggling.

“Good to see that you’re feeling better now,” Kael called from across camp.

Andra paused, realizing that Kael was right. The paralyzing fear that had gripped her during the day felt like a distant nightmare now.

While the night air was still warm, it was nowhere near as scalding as when the sun was in the sky.

She looked at Tiri. The dragon had been trying to cheer her up.

~“Thank you,”~ Andra said.

~“I don’t know what you’re talking about,”~ Tiri said evasively.

Andra looked around and saw that the others were preparing to continue their trek across the Burning Sands. Kael and Colmen were packing everything up while Alik was sharpening his axe.

Andra got to work packing up her own things, her mind replaying the events of the day before. Maybe the white dragon really was just her mind playing tricks on her.

“Everyone come get a drink and fill up your water skins,” Kael called. “We’re going to need every last drop.”

Andra saw that he was kneeling on the ground, his palms flat against the earth. A pool of water had emerged from the cracked, dry lands. Everyone filled their water skins, the horses and the dragons drinking their fill afterward.

Kael stood up with a sigh, wiping the sweat off of his brow as the water sunk underneath the ground. He looked tired.

“Are you okay?” Andra asked, concerned.

“I’m fine,” he responded, a little breathless. “Magic gets a bit draining if you use too much of it.”

“Do you think…” Andra bit her lip, wondering at her next words. “Do you think I could use magic too?”

Kael thought about it for a moment before responding. “I think so.”

Andra’s breath hitched in her throat. So it wasn’t just her imagination. She thought back to when she had caught the arrow, how it had turned to ash in her hand.

But that hadn’t been the only time.

She had seen a purple spark in the campfire as well. Maybe there ~was~ something inside her…

“Would you like to try?” Kael asked.

Her head snapped up as she eagerly nodded.

Kael looked around at the others, still preparing for the journey ahead. “We’ve got some time. Let’s find a spot.”

Andra followed behind him, excitement brewing in her stomach. The two dragons watched them go, and Andra could feel their curiosity mirroring her own.

Kael stopped in a small rocky clearing, a few loose boulders perched around the edges.

“This looks as good a place as any…” Kael focused his gaze on her, and Andra found herself standing straighter. “What do you know about magic?”

“Not much,” Andra said.

“Well, there are two main types of magic,” Kael began. “There’s nature magic, which is elvish magic. It’s based on the four elements—earth, wind, water, and fire. Colmen said he thought you had elf blood?”

“My father was half-elf.”

“Hmm. Likely not enough elf blood in you to give you nature magic then.”

Andra’s face fell with disappointment.

“But you could also have some sorcery in you,” Kael said.

“Sorcery?”

“The other main type of magic. Word magic.” Kael turned his attention to a loose rock near Andra’s feet. “Concalo!” The rock lifted into the air, hovering in front of Andra’s face.

Andra reached up and poked it with her finger, the rock floating gently away like a dandelion in the wind.

“Sorcerers use spells and words of power to give them control over an object or an element.” Kael let the stone fall. “Now you try.”

Andra looked at the rock, determined to make it move. “Concalo!” she said in a loud, confident voice.

The stone didn’t move.

Disappointment flooded through her. She looked up at Kael with a sheepish smile. “I really thought it would work.”

“There’s always dark magic,” Alik called from his perch.

Kael glared at him, and Andra jumped at the sound of his voice. She’d been so focused on Kael that she’d forgotten he was there.

“Mind giving us some space, Alik?” Kael asked, his tone as sharp as Alik’s axe.

Alik shrugged, unbothered. He gathered his things and sauntered back toward the others.

“Dark magic?” Andra asked.

“Dark magic uses the power of the dead,” Kael said reluctantly. “It’s incredibly powerful and has none of the limitations that word and nature magic have. But it’s been banned for a reason. Harnessing the souls of the dead…it changes you.”

A cold chill ran through Andra at the thought.

“Forget about dark magic,” Kael said quickly. “Let’s try nature magic.”

KAEL

“Close your eyes,” Kael said.

She did so.

“Focus on the feeling of the breeze on your skin. Try to find the energy in it.”

Her face was calm and relaxed as she tried to feel the slight breeze that stirred the sand around them.

Kael watched her, noticing for the first time how her skin had darkened from traveling in the sun. Her brown hair had attained streaks of auburn that would burn to life in the sunlight.

Much about Andra had changed since he’d first found her in Castigo’s manor.

“Now what?” she asked.

Her voice jolted him out of his thoughts, and he answered quickly. “Try to control that energy. Gather it in front of you.”

Andra focused, her brow furrowing.

“Stay relaxed,” Kael added. “Nature magic is connected to your emotions. You can’t force it to obey. You have to gently guide it to your will.”

Andra tried for a moment longer, but eventually, she opened her eyes. “I guess I don’t have the ability,” she said. Her voice was calm and composed, but Kael could sense her disappointment.

“These things take time,” Kael said. “Don’t give up so easily.”

That earned a smile from her, and they were quiet for a time.

“Can I see it?” she asked eventually.

“See what?”

“Your Rider’s mark.” She shuffled uneasily on her feet. “I spent years at the Hall and never saw one up close. It seems all the Riders always keep their gloves on.”

Kael slipped off his glove, and he heard Andra let out a quiet gasp as she saw it. She stepped forward and seized his hand in hers, bringing it closer so she could examine the flame-shaped mark.

Even underneath the evening sky, the mark gave off a dim, reflective glow.

“It’s beautiful,” she breathed. Andra’s fingers traced gently along the edges of the flame. “Why is it red?”

Kael swallowed hard, watching her fingers trail across his palm. “A Rider’s mark reflects the color of his dragon’s scales,” he answered.

She looked up at him, her green eyes meeting his. They stayed like that for a moment, Kael trapped in her gaze. Andra looked down, an embarrassed smile on her face as she released his hand.

“Sorry,” she began. “I shouldn’t have—”

“It’s fine,” he answered brusquely, pulling the glove back on.

Kael felt a tickle in the back of his mind—his dragon’s amusement—and he pushed it away with a flash of irritation at her. That only made Eithne’s amusement flare brighter before she pulled it away.

“Let’s get back to the others,” Kael said. “They’re probably done packing up by now.”

Andra nodded, turning to walk back to camp.

Kael’s brow furrowed as he felt Eithne prod his mind again.

~“Something funny, dragon?”~

~“Still think she’s just a responsibility?”~ she teased.

~“And what else would she be?”~

~“Kael. Even I can still feel her touch on your skin. You’re dwelling on the sensation quite intently.”~

Kael slammed down the mental walls around his mind. He watched Andra walking in front of him.

She was his responsibility, nothing more.

He could still feel Eithne’s amusement hovering in his mind, and he opened his thoughts so he could tell her off.

~“She’s just a girl. And not a very talkative one at that,”~ he said defensively. ~“It’s nothing more.”~

But Eithne wasn’t convinced, and Kael immediately regretted giving her the opening.

~“She’s causing quite the racket in your mind for such a quiet girl,”~ Eithne teased. ~“It’s the quiet ones that you have to watch out for…”~

Kael’s face burned hot.

He couldn’t deny it—the silent servant girl had disarmed him…

And it was his heart that was left exposed.