Chapter 25 Shielding 101 #2
“All right,” I said, addressing them as one. “Who’s going to explain to me what an unara is, how Kaelun knows my powers better than I do, and why you chose him as my private guard instead of someone more qualified?”
“Hey! I’m qualified,” he objected.
I raised a brow at him, indicating I thought it unlikely.
“Unara,” Caius started, drawing my attention away from a sulking Kaelun, “is a rare manifestation of elemental powers that has begun to increase since you were born. Kaelun is the first to manifest two, both of which are invaluable given the circumstance, which is why I called him into my service early.”
“I’ve scoured dozens of tomes, and not a single one mentioned an unara,” I countered.
“They wouldn’t,” Artton said. “Unaric abilities are categorized as militant weapons, which are classified.”
“He’s considered a militant weapon?” I said with a raised brow, waving a hand in his general direction.
Sidrick’s smirk was so smug it had me reassessing the situation. “Go ahead, little brother, show her.”
“Don’t have to ask me twice.” Kaelun bounced up from his chair to face me. “Daggers are your favorite, yeah?”
I nodded, my eyes narrowing as I watched his every move.
“Bam,” he said, and at least two dozen blades appeared on the table.
Eyes wide, I reached over to grab one, then stopped feeling unsure. “Are they safe to touch?”
“Not if you grab it by the pointy end,” he laughed.
Rolling my eyes, I plucked the dagger closest to me off the table. There was nothing special about it, at least ornamentally, but something about it was… familiar. I focused my senses on that sensation, my training with Thaddeus kicking in.
My eyes bulged as I realized what it was. “Your essence—it’s in the blades. Pulses to your heartbeat. They’re a physical manifestation of your power. Stars, this is your manifestation of earth, isn’t it?”
“Cool, huh?”
“Yeah,” I breathed, utterly transfixed by this truth. Standing, I leaned over the knee-height table drinking in how each dagger was crafted for an intended purpose, none of them the same. “You can manifest any weapon at will?”
“Yup. As long as I’ve seen it, held it, or drawn it.”
“Incredible.” Plucking another dagger from the mix, I stood tall, getting used to its weight. Once acclimated, I flipped it over. Steel now pinched between my fingers, the grin on my face was the only warning before I flicked my wrist, aiming at his shoulder.
“Shit!” he squealed before the familiar thunk of the blade sinking into wood made my heart sing. His topknot poked past the oversized shield he’d conjured before his shocked—if not hurt—eyes found mine. “Not cool.”
Smirking, I leaned to grab another blade.
“Absolutely not,” he said, making the daggers disappear.
“You’re no fun,” I pouted.
Incredulous, he looked to his family for backup only to find poorly veiled amusement. “Seriously, I get enough of this from them already,” the kid groused.
“It’s true,” Sidrick said through a chuckle.
“At least we know you can manifest a shield,” Artton supplied, eyebrow cocked at me in accusation.
“What?” I said, taking my seat. “I didn’t aim for anything vital, and Myron is in the other room. He would’ve been fine.”
“Wait? What? You didn’t know I could shield?”
“I took a calculated risk.”
“With my life,” he countered.
I winked at him. “Welcome to adulthood, kid.”
“Wait, I’m older tha—”
“Kaelun,” Caius interjected.
“What?” he said, swing his arm in my direction to indicate that I should be the one addressed in the High Lord tone, and the look of betrayal on his face had me to bite back a laugh.
“She wouldn’t have thrown the blade if she didn’t know on some level you could defend yourself,” Caius offered.
“Yeah, a courtesy I’m sure doesn’t extend to me,” Artton chimed in.
I offered him a saccharine smile, letting him know just how right he was.
Before anyone could throw the conversation further off topic, Caius looked to his nephew. “Grab Myron for us. We’ll need him for this conversation.”
I was suddenly nervous, as if Caius’ innocuous words were anything but. Now sitting on the edge of my seat, I offered Myron a forced smile as he took a seat to my left.
“Did she say yes?” he asked.
My head whipped to Caius. “Say yes to what?” My cautioning tone was unmistakable.
Side-stepping it, he said, “We’ve been discussing how Thaddeus attempted to steal the spark for himself and how he and Wymond believe they can siphon it using spellcraft.”
“Okay,” I said, unsure I wanted to know where this was going.
“Now that Kaelun is here, and Myron is willing, we believe that seeing the memory of Thaddeus’ attempts would help us understand the magic involved to discern if it’s possible, and if it is, how to protect you should they manage to get a hold of you.”
Ice filled my veins.
“Whoa. What just happened?” Kaelun said, his voice filled with concern.
“Brother?” Sidrick asked.
“Her power just drained away. She went from almost needing to dispel to being nearly tapped.”
He was right—I could feel it more acutely now that he’d freed whatever was holding the spark at bay.
“She’s afraid.” Artton’s simple words echoed with the truth he’d thrown at me atop the cliff. One I didn’t want to hear then, and one I wouldn’t be lectured on now.
“No shit,” I spat, not apologizing for my fear. I stood, needing to counteract how small I felt. “I’m uninterested in reliving that memory. And I sure as hell am not going to give anyone else a manual on how to steal my powers.”
“Nyleeria,” the soft plea in the High Lord’s voice did nothing to comfort me.
“No, Caius,” I said, putting my hand up. “My answer is no.”
Without another word, I turned my back on them and walked away.