26. Chapter 25
“Good morning, Lou,” she greeted softly, pouring some water into his soil.
She brushed her hand over his fluffy fronds, which have continued to flourish.
She shuffled into the kitchen and put the cup in the empty sink.
Next to it on the counter was the letter they received this morning, before Maeve left to study, stating that the next exam would take place the week before Halloween.
All signs pointed to it having been designed by Warfare.
According to Liam, Warfare always designed their exams to be fighting ancient magical beasts and mythological creatures.
She wasn’t eager to use offensive spells, but at least they knew what they’d be getting themselves into.
A knock came on the door, and thankfully, she’d already dressed for the day, intending to go back to the library for more books.
There had to be more about her and Ezra’s magic.
Ezra was on the other side, leaning against the frame and the tips of his curls damp from his morning shower. Despite his nose and cheeks being pink from the cold outside, he only wore a deep blue sweater over a plain button-up, with the shirttails peeking out.
“Morning, snapdragon,” he said, holding out one of the coffee cups in his hands.
She took it from him and immediately took a sip. Her reliance on caffeine had reached an all-time high since coming to Arcania. “You know, if you keep getting me breakfast, I’ll expect it every day.”
He grinned, and she glanced at those once-irritating dimples in his cheeks. “I can handle that.”
“I was going to come find you in a bit anyway. We should look for more information about our magic.” She opened the door wider to let him inside. “We can go to the library an—”
“Enough with the books,” Ezra groaned, his head rolling back for a moment. He turned back to her and smirked. “I have a better idea.”
Less than twenty minutes later, they were at the lake, which was slowly becoming their spot.
There was rarely anyone else hanging around it this early, since it was getting colder.
Though the thin rays of sunlight between the trees helped with the chill and caused the mist to slowly roll off the water’s surface.
The ducks buoyed shining spots on the lake, as if they were defrosting their feathers.
“So how do we do this?” she asked. Rarely would she intentionally try something new she hadn’t studied first. Accidents happened that way, and she didn’t need to blow something up for the sake of experimentation.
“First, you need to get out of your head. He strolled along the edge of the water, waving his hand above the mist that lingered, the gray clouds swirling in time with his movements. “Not everything can be learned from a book.”
“Agree to disagree.” She followed him to the small clearing between the lake and the forest, and they tossed their bags next to one of the trees.
“Then why were we only pointed to mythology when we asked the librarian?” He shrugged and brushed his hand through his curls. “If there was something to be learned, we would’ve found more.”
“Doesn’t mean there’s nothing in the library that could help us,” she said, moving to stand in front of him with her arms crossed. “We only need to look in the right place.”
He chuckled, his hands coming to his hips. “You’re so determined to win an argument with me, huh?”
“I’d hardly call this an argument.” She shrugged, smiling at him. “Only providing a different perspective.”
“Well, Ivy, we tried it your way and haven’t found anything yet.” He took a step closer, his warm scent filling the small space between them, and placed his hands on her shoulders. “Shouldn’t we try it my way? To provide a different perspective?”
“Fine.” She rolled her eyes at him for using her own words against her. “What should we try first?”
His hands dropped back to his sides, and he glanced over at the water, whose surface had mostly cleared of fog.
“How about creating waves? Simple enough. I’ll start.
” They turned toward the lake, and Ezra lifted his arm, stretching his hand out to begin the spell.
A moment later, the water rocked in gentle waves, lapping against the grass at the edge near their feet.
Ezra’s hand fell, and the water quieted. “Now you.”
Ivy repeated the steps, the lake moving lightly again under her spell.
In her periphery, Ezra raised his hand to will his magic toward the waves.
She gasped as his magic melded with hers—a tingling, warm sensation flooding her body as their energies combined.
The water swayed with greater force, and it curled over itself as it crested the edge of the lake.
The waves splashed at their feet, leaving the grass wet and glistening as it retreated.
“Wow,” Ezra murmured. “That was…”
“Incredible,” she exhaled, letting her hand fall.
Once the spell had broken, their magic slowly drifted apart, like a piece of silk slipping delicately from a surface.
Whenever she cast spells with another in the past, there had been competing movements with both of their energies trying to exist in the same space.
But with him, their magic danced as one to its own music.
“We should try something more complex.” Ezra turned to her. “See if we use the same amount of energy or not when we work together.” He pushed his sleeves up to his elbows, showing the tips of his tattoos from beneath the fabric. “You remember how I made the water shield against the snapdragons?”
She nodded.
“When I do something like that myself, depending on how large it is, it can use a lot of magic energy. After you left the garden, I noticed I used less than I expected. I wasn’t shaky or exhausted from using too much.”
“It was the same for me too.” She thought back to the exam. When their shields had combined, her magic hadn’t totally drained then either.
“If we make one big enough together, we could test how much of our energy is spent.”
“Okay.” She chewed her bottom lip. “Water spells aren’t my strong suit. I can make waves easily enough, beyond that it’s always been weak.”
“I can show you.” The corner of his lips curled into a gentle smile as he faced the water again, gesturing for her to do the same.
“So, like the waves, reach out for the water and concentrate on calling it to you.” She did as he said, and the water shook under her magic.
“When you’re ready to transform it into a shield, flatten your palm up and say the words aqua praenumio to give the spell more strength. ”
She exhaled slowly, moving her hand in the same position as Ezra’s. “Aqua praenumio.” The water slowly rose from the lake, but before it could even resemble a shield, it flopped back into the water with an exaggerated splash, as if it were mocking her.
“God, that was pathetic,” she groaned, throwing her head back.
“No, it wasn’t.” Ezra moved his hand to her lower back to guide her closer to the water. “Try again. This time, say the words louder.”
So she did. While it was more like a shield than before, it dropped only a few seconds later.
So she tried again. Same result. Ezra offered to help, but she waved him off to try one more time.
When she failed, her jaw clenched as her arm fell to her side with her hand tight in a fist. She squeezed her eyes shut as tears threatened to spill.
If she couldn’t form a simple spell like making a shield from water, what hope did she have of finding Briar? How would she get her parents’ magic back from only a theory? If a shield spell was out of her reach, surely everything else was too.
“Hey,” Ezra murmured. “It’s alright.” His hand slid over her fist. Smooth magic slid over her tense muscles, warmth sinking into them until she loosened her grip enough for his palm to slip into hers. “Water is difficult to control.”
“It’s not that.” She finally opened her eyes again, her gaze first going to where their hands were joined.
His fingers entwined with hers, and his thumb stroked her skin softly.
When her attention shifted to him, her breath caught in her throat for a moment.
He was fixed on her, clinging to every syllable she spoke as if they were significant.
“Every mistake I make reminds me how much depends on my success. Finding Briar, helping my parents,” she exhaled shakily and shook her head. “I don’t know how I’m supposed to do all that when I can’t even do this.”
“Were you always successful at calling upon your light spells? Or how about mixing potions? Healing?” he asked.
“No, but—”
“But you practiced and got better, right?”
“That’s different,” she huffed, running her free hand through her hair.
He cocked his head to the side. “How so?”
“I didn’t have people’s lives depending on my learning them.”
“Fair point.” He took a step back from her, but his hand still held hers. “Technically, there are no lives at stake in what we’re doing right now. We’re only figuring out what our bond is capable of.”
The words our bond brought heat to her cheeks. “True.”
“So, instead of trying again on your own, let’s try together.”
She nodded, chewing her bottom lip as her focus shifted back to the lake. “Maybe you can show me exactly what I’m getting wrong?”
“It’s not that you’re doing it wrong,” he said softly, stepping closer to her. “You’re overthinking it.” His hand slipped from hers, coming to her shoulders to guide her closer to the water.
She sighed. “That’s kind of my specialty.”
“I know.” The words were gentle, like reaffirming something he had already discovered from their time together.
And she wasn’t sure if she should be embarrassed about her racing mind showing through or charmed by how he was helping her through it.
He stepped behind her, and his warmth radiated in the few inches between them.
His hand came to her hip. “Is this alright?”