Chapter 22
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Kole kept his grip on me, and I clung to him tightly even though my entire body had morphed into mist and shadows, air and wind. The realm was a blur, and then—
Snowy sand shifted beneath my feet. Nighttime sounds filled my ears. Fresh air brushed over my cheeks.
My eyes flashed open.
A dark and beautiful sky with the three moons blazing in its depths and colorful waves of magic from the galaxy greeted me.
I sucked in a breath, and Kole’s unique fragrance pummeled me anew. My fingers dug into his top’s soft material, but his clothing did little to hide his steel-like strength beneath it.
His muscles clenched, but he didn’t release me.
“Are you all right?” His mouth drifted down to my ear, and he was everywhere around me.
His chest, his arms, his face, the long length of his body.
He held me so close, and I didn’t want him to let go.
“It can be quite strange, especially for those who’ve never mistphased before. ”
Nodding, I moistened my lips. “I’m okay. I think.” I had the craziest urge to sink into him until our bodies were molded as one. I wanted to bury my face in his neck so I could kiss him. Lick him.
His grip on me tightened. In the moonlight, his face was dipped into shadows, but there was a glimmer in his eyes. It was almost primal. And I could have sworn that hunger filled them too.
A huge flare of magic sparked on Kole’s wrist.
In my next breath, he stood several feet away.
My eyebrows slammed together. What in the realm? Similar magical flares had come from his wrist enough that I was beginning to wonder if it was another type of magic he possessed. Perhaps a Solis affinity that I was completely ignorant of.
I opened my mouth to ask him, but he said, “Would you like to learn how to mistphase now?” An edge filled his voice, and he rubbed his wrist.
I hastily surveyed where we’d traveled to. It took me a moment to actually comprehend what I was looking at since the warrior’s energy was pounding into my back.
Kole had mistphased us to just outside of the rocky enclosure, to an open area littered with pebbles and scattered shrubs. Soft light from my fire flickered through our cave’s opening, the only light in the dark night apart from the moons. We hadn’t gone far at all.
“We’re just outside the cave,” I managed, but my voice sounded funny. Too breathy and light.
“It’s best to stay in the open so we can see any predators and return to our shelter immediately if needed.”
“That makes sense, and yes, I’m ready for whatever you can teach me.”
Starlight blazed in the night sky as Kole faced me, still staying an arm’s length away.
He gave a curt nod. “To a Solis fairy, mistphasing is as easy as picturing the area in the realm that they wish to travel to, and if they’ve never been there before, they focus on a location’s name or picture it on a map, and their magic automatically transports them there.
But for a Silten fairy, it’s not quite as simple.
For Silten fae, we must turn entirely inward, to the very core of our magic, but how one mistphases depends upon the kingdom’s magic they were blessed with. ”
I cocked my head. “But I have magic from three kingdoms.”
“True, which is why I believe you’re magical enough to mistphase, but it also makes this trickier.
You’ll need to figure out which of the three you’ll use to mistphase.
For me, I connect with my air element, and I have to let my Solis affinities fall to the wayside.
In order to mistphase, I have to let my air embody me completely, then I use my air to fly away . . . so to speak.”
I swallowed and wondered if he even realized he’d just said affinities, in the plural form. He had more than one Solis affinity. I was sure of it. “So if I have mental, elemental, and sensory magic, which one do I focus on?”
“Which one is your strongest?”
“My mental.”
“Then that’s likely the magic you should concentrate on, but not necessarily.
My warrior affinity is stronger than my air element, but I still use my air to mistphase.
My tutor told me that’s unusual. So most likely, you’ll use your mental magic.
Now, to start, you’ll need to disconnect your mental magic from your sensory and elemental abilities. ”
I frowned, wondering how in the realm to do that. My magic was all balled together inside me, like a glowing orb that I called upon at will. When I wanted to use my mental magic, I simply tapped into it, but I didn’t separate it from the others. I didn’t even know how to do that.
“How in the realm do I separate them? And if I somehow can, then how do I use just my mental magic to mistphase?”
“Separating one’s magic is exactly why it’s harder for siltenites than Solis fae, but it can be done.
I’m living proof.” He stepped closer to me, and his scent once again commanded my attention.
“It’s also why most siltenites can’t mistphase.
Those who only possess magic from one kingdom are likely not magical enough to do so, and those who do possess enough magic struggle to get beyond the first step. ”
I sighed. “All right, so assuming I am magical enough, and assuming I can somehow separate my magic from one another, then what do I do with my mental magic to move myself?”
“If mental magic is truly the magic you’ll end up using to mistphase, you’ll need to figure out how to tap into it to transfer. That could be by using imagery or projection or telekinesis or something else. It depends upon what kind of mental magic you have.”
My nose scrunched up. “But I have several types of mental magic, so which one do I use?” The words flowed from my lips so easily. So few fae knew about the extent of my abilities, but once again, I felt like I could trust Kole.
He frowned slightly. “In that case, that’s a good question.”
I took a deep breath. “Assuming it’s my mental magic I need to use, and assuming I can separate it from the others, and assuming I can figure out which aspect of my mental magic I use to mistphase, then where should I travel to?”
“Distance takes practice. You likely won’t be able to go far the first time. I would recommend just going to the other side of this clearing.”
“Okay, I’ll try.”
A small smile lifted his lips, and it hit me how open he appeared. There was no mask. No curtain hiding his emotions. No veil suppressing his reactions. Just pure, unfiltered Kole.
And I liked it. I liked it more than I wanted to admit.
“Close your eyes. Concentrate on separating your magic,” he instructed.
I did as he said until all I felt was the wind on my skin and Kole’s pounding aura.
Scrunching my eyes tighter, I focused on the throb of my power, the steady pulse of it.
But my magic was everywhere. It was a part of me, just as my blood, my lungs, and my vital organs were.
It lived within me, so to separate it . . .
“How do I untangle it?” It was embarrassing to admit that I had no idea how to do that. What Kole was asking me to do was so different from anything I’d ever been instructed to do as a child when Timith and Gwenery had taught me how to tap into my power.
“You said your strongest magic is mental. Maybe shift your attention to your mind. Focus on that area, and try to separate it there.”
I did as he said, concentrating on the magic that encased my mind. Mental magic. Focus on my mental magic only.
Yet despite the swirling mass of it filling my head, my fire and sensory magic were still there too, still filtering through the psychic magic that encompassed my very essence.
I huffed but kept trying to do as he implied. “This is harder than I thought it would be.”
“It’s all right. Keep trying.” His tone was calm, patient, and I could have sworn he’d stepped nearer to me.
But I forced myself to concentrate on my magic only, not on his proximity. Filter through it. Sort it out.
But it was like wading through a tub of water of three different colors that all swirled together and had become one, and somehow, I was supposed to separate the fluid into three separate buckets. Only thing, I had no buckets. Just the large tub.
Still, despite that crutch, I tried and tried and tried.
I had no idea how long Kole and I stayed out under the night sky as he coaxed and encouraged me. His patience seemed never-ending, but I finally admitted defeat after who knew how long.
“I can’t, at least, not tonight. I’m sorry, but this is proving much more difficult than I hoped it would be.” I opened my eyes, and my breath sucked in.
The warrior stood right in front of me, his chest so near that all I would have to do was lean forward, and we would be touching.
A glow filled his irises despite my total and complete failure at this.
My stomach flipped. “I am a horrible student, it seems.”
“Not at all, and no need to apologize.” His voice was deep, slightly husky, and it made my entire body vibrate to attention. “It would have been a miracle if you’d learned how to do it tonight, but I have no doubt that eventually you will.”
“Really?” I laughed self-consciously. “Because, what you’re asking seems impossible.”
“It might feel that way, but keep working on it. Once you’re able to fully separate your mental magic from the others, mistphasing should be possible.”
I nodded, then offered him a grateful smile. “Thank you for trying to teach me.”
“We can continue working on it in the coming days.”
His willingness to keep helping me sent a bolt of pleasure down my spine, but I also knew our time together was finite. Once I found the Stone, I would be racing back to Whiteolf to save my uncle, and Kole would be continuing on with Imperial Warrior business.
A pang of remorse filled me, but he was right. We had a few more days until then, and I might as well make the most of it.
To avoid having to enter the enclosure through the small opening again, Kole mistphased us back inside our makeshift cave.