Chapter 13 #2
Daegal’s roaring laughter snapped me out of my disappointing thoughts. The sound made my stomach broil.
“Do you mind?” I hissed, picking myself up from the ground.
As I ran a hand over the back of my head, I felt a small bump already starting to take form.
“You didn’t focus enough,” he said, clearly trying to contain his delight as he wiped an amused tear from his eye. “Asked too many questions.”
“Because that’s how you learn,” I scowled.
“Then ask before you try conjuring.”
I shook my head at him. Even if his advice was reasonable, I’d rather die than tell him that. “You’re a terrible teacher.”
“And you’re an impossible student,” he countered, taking a step toward me with his arms crossed over his chest. “Your incompetence will reflect badly on both of us during the next council meeting. They’ll surely blame me for being inept.”
“In that case, it would be my pleasure to help expose your true self to them.”
“Careful, Prudence,” he sneered, his hand flexing at his side.
My head spun from the concentration, the anger, the pain…
We both stood eerily still, staring at each other in mutual dislike. All I wanted was to be free from Daegal’s company, and the look in his eyes told me he couldn’t wait to be rid of me, too.
“I think we’re done for today,” I said, turning to leave. A rough hand grabbed my wrist, spinning me back around to face those dark eyes. This time, the proximity of him strangled me. I hated that the scent of mint and earth was growing familiar.
“I don’t think so,” he answered, cocking his head and giving me a fake friendly smile. “In case you forgot, I call the shots.”
“You’re not in charge of me!” I shouted.
“I’ve been in the rebellion longer. I outrank you and, oh—" he clicked his tongue, tapping his chin in mock consideration. “I could expose all of your secrets.”
“Must I remind you, then, that I have actual proof of your previous commitment to the kingdom?” I grabbed his arm and twisted it so that the Defender symbol was clearly visible to both of us. “Whilst all you’ve got is your rotten gut feeling.”
His face tightened like he wanted to retort, but instead, he tore his arm from my grasp.
“That’s what I thought,” I spat, feeling victorious as I turned again to leave.
Light erupted in front of me, and I gasped, barely managing to stop before searing my stomach on it.
I spun around in fury, storming toward him. “You can’t be serious,” I said, pushing him viciously in the chest.
He barely staggered as he looked coldly down at me. “Deadly,” he answered. The gleeful, mocking expression on his face had twisted into something else.
At this closeness, I noticed the veins pulsing in his forearms as he kept the ring ignited around us with minimal effort.
“Stop it,” I growled, readying myself to punch him in the face if I had to. My heart raced in my chest. “I’m so serious, Daegal. I’ll go right to Hannan and tell him everything about you and what all those decorations truly mean.”
My gaze fell to his tattooed muscular arms, then to the silver piercings lining his ears.
“Give the man some credit, Prudence. He knows I used to live behind the royal border.”
“Does he know you used to be a royal bully?”
The ring around us shrank in warning, limiting the space inside it. I stepped forward to stop the heat from crawling up my back.
“Does he know you didn’t escape from Orken by yourself?”
We’d reached a stalemate. Looking at his tense jaw, I knew he’d come to the same conclusion. Like the incident in the forest, none of us had the upper hand.
I rubbed a hand over my face, yearning to wipe that superior smile from his face with a well-placed slap.
“You are just like the Defenders in Erobred,” I said scathingly, channeling all my hatred into my glare.
His expression flickered into something like disgust. His hand dropped to his side, and the heat disappeared around us, leaving only the cold, uncomfortable silence.
Our previous shouts had scared any wildlife from the area. Only the soft sound of the waves breaking on the rocky shore filled the air.
“Lesson’s over,” he whispered, then turned his back to me to walk even deeper into the forest.
Once again, I was left to find my own way. It reminded me of the time when Lili and I had to find our way to the city many years ago. From Perifer to Erobred, the place that promised shelter, food, and security for anyone who hadn’t been cursed with darkened fingertips.
The weeks of travel had been long, confusing, and scary.
Lili was frightened, and she didn’t want to leave Perifer and the kind people who had accepted our family without question.
Perhaps I would've returned her to the small village, if I hadn’t been worried that she’d start to show signs of our mother’s powers. There, she would’ve been safe.
Daegal’s face haunted me as I made my way back to the base. My words had clearly stirred something inside him, though I couldn’t quite figure out what. I doubted I’d hurt him. He didn’t care enough about my opinion of him.
Maybe he was worried because he was secretly still in alliance with the King, waiting for the perfect moment to expose the Rebellion to him and his Defender friends.
But even if his appearance still resembled those beyond the wall, the royal allies, something about him told me this wasn’t the case. As much as I disliked him, I couldn’t believe it.
“Prue, where the hell did you run off to all morning?”
The second I reached the entrance, Felix was walking towards me, his face splitting into a grin. I grimaced at him but reciprocated his hug as he slung his massive arms around me.
At the look on my face, his brows crinkled in worry. “What is it?”
“First lesson with Daegal,” I mumbled, running a hand tiresomely over my face.
“Oh,” he huffed, hiding his smile with a mock-serious expression. “That bad?”
“Worse,” I answered, nudging him in the ribs as I passed him to head home. His bright blue eyes rolled in my direction.
My pounding head begged for the lovely, quiet solitude the four walls would offer me. Felix laughed, finally unable to contain it, catching up to me a second later. “Did you manage to conjure?”
I shot him a look that didn’t need further explanation. He lifted his hands in the air, dropping the subject at last.
“I’ll come find you later,” I said, forcing an assuring smile onto my face. “I need a nap.”
When the door to my hut finally slammed shut behind me, I felt anything but tired.
My whole body was wired and alert, prepared to fight.
I scowled silently at Daegal. This is what you do to me.
The uneasy feeling didn’t subside as I pulled the big book from under my pillow and sat down at my table to study.
As interesting as Erebos’ book was to read, it hadn’t helped me at all since I joined the rebels.
I’d almost managed to forget about my involuntary quest for a few days, but the time had come to refocus my attention. My life with the rebels, as much as I longed for it, wasn’t real.
I had to betray them sooner or later. It would only be worse for me if I started caring for the people as well as their cause.
Boaz had only granted me six months to succeed, and one month had already passed.
I checked the chapter index again, running my finger over the yellowed parchment as I mumbled soundlessly.
I’d read about the location charm. Every mooncaster in proximity would feel the spell. To be able to help, the book explained usefully.
That meant that even if I managed to use the spell, Verena and all the other casters would surely figure out my plan.
The navigation charm wasn’t much help either, as you had to actually know the name or appearance of the location you were looking for.
Another chapter that had nothing to do with my quest caught my attention.
Water manipulation
My stomach surged. Manipulating water? I flipped to the page with eager fingers, my mouth hanging open in disbelief.
This could be the weapon I’d searched for all along. The book described manipulating tides, shaping water into orbs like the suncasters did light, and even how to create whips of water.
How had no one told me about this? I’d never even seen one of the mooncasters here perform any kind of magic like that.
The afternoon air was crisp when I walked towards dinner. The day's events bounced around my skull, fighting for the spotlight.
Mooncasters control the tides.
I thought back to the boat ride that got me here. I had marveled at the twins’ brute strength as the tiny boat sped along the river. And though I didn’t doubt the impressiveness of Felix and Felicity’s muscles, the sheer speed started to make sense.
Hannan had used tide manipulation to make the journey quicker.
Mooncasters can shape water into orbs. Into whips!
My eyes darted around the tables, searching for Hannan’s friendly face. He sat around the largest one, his booming laugh reaching me.
He, Verena, Angus, and a few of the other council members talked animatedly to each other. He grinned at me as I approached.
“Prudence!” he exclaimed, throwing his arms out in welcome. I noticed the red liquid in their cups, then the slight flush of their faces. “Angus was just telling us about your impressive cooking skills.”
My cheeks heated from the memory of a few days ago. “Very funny,” I said, trying to exude the same level of playfulness. “Hannan, can I ask you something?”
My eyes flickered to the people now staring curiously at me. “Alone,” I added.
“Of course,” he said, now looking worried instead.
“It’s nothing serious,” I assured him quickly.
“Oh, good,” he breathed, getting up to follow me. I stopped a few meters away from the last tables.
“I was wondering… Do you think someone can teach me dark, uhm,“ I stuttered, correcting my mistake. “Moon magic as well?”
Shifting my feet, I watched him stare at me. “I was never taught much magic, only the few things my dad occasionally taught me.”
He gave a sad smile at the mention of my father. “Of course,” he said, sympathy lacing his kind voice. “I’m very busy at the moment, or I would’ve loved to teach you, dear. But ask any other mooncaster here. I’m sure they’d be happy to teach you.”
Nodding, I bit my lip and looked around. My eyes automatically searched out the hands of the merry people sitting around the table. Midnight blue fingers and arms were easy to spot amongst the crowd.
Mooncasters made up more than a third of the rebellion. The people without power who made up the rest, except for Daegal, weren’t hunted by the Defenders but regarded as less in the eyes of the kingdom.
“Do you think Jax would teach me?” I asked uncertainly, eyeing him sitting with the usual crowd of hunters, Daegal amongst them. Despite his questionable choice of friends, the brief talk I’d had with him was friendly.
Hannan nodded, considering me. “Probably. You can ask him.”
We parted, and I went looking for Felix at the tables, deciding to wait to approach Jax for a time when he wasn’t accompanied by the sun-devil.
A deep voice called out my name. I turned to see Felix waving at me. Making my way over, I willed my mind to pause the worries for a mere hour.
“Hi,” I smiled, sitting down and grabbing a plate.
“Hey, sunshine.”
“What do you think about Jax?” I asked him, piling some of the stew onto my plate.
Saliva filled my mouth as the smell of vegetables, meat, and herbs filled my nostrils.
“Jax?” he asked, cocking an eyebrow. “Why?”
“I want to ask him for moon magic lessons,” I answered, digging into the stew. The delicious sauce coated my mouth before running smoothly down my throat. My stomach twisted, imagining Lili eating stale bread and tasteless fish.
“Oh, I like him. We run the close combat training lessons together whenever he isn’t at his outpost in Erobred. I told you to come.”
“And I told you I will,” I retorted in a friendly manner, sticking my tongue out at him. He made a grabbing motion in the air as if he tried to take hold of it.
“Then come,” he said, laughing as I shoved him lightly. “Tomorrow.”
“Okay, fine, I will!” I promised, lifting my hands in surrender before digging back into the stew.
“Fair warning,” Felix said, his eyes glancing at me nervously, almost like he was afraid I might take back my promise. “Daegal will be there too.”