18 Legacy #3
Nonetheless, there is a broad consensus on one point: crystals and gemstones have long functioned as conduits for essensia.
While nearly any naturally occurring stone can be adapted for this use, the following varieties are commonly recorded in both historical texts and mage records: amethyst, quartz, obsidian, ruby, moonstone and labradorite.
Vaelira froze. Her eyes flicked from the page to the moonstone and her pulse quickened.
Gathering the books, she forced herself to walk calmly as she returned each one to its proper place. Hood still drawn low, she walked back to the Index, every muscle screaming at her to run.
When Vaelira reached the barracks, she almost forgot to seal the passage behind her. Racing for the dormitories, she flew through the courtyard then launched herself up the stairs two at a time.
She rounded the first bend and slammed right into someone. Her feet slipped out from under her, and she reached blindly forward as she began to fall. A strong hand caught her wrist and hauled her upright.
“By the Abyss, Vaelira,” Elijah said, still gripping her arm as he continued down the stairs, pulling her with him. She tried to yank free, but he didn’t let go until they reached a shadowed corner beneath the archways that lined the courtyard.
“Where have you been?” he demanded, his gaze raking over her.
Her skin prickled. She was suddenly grateful she’d thought to change back into her uniform.
“Hello to you too,” she said, crossing her arms. He hadn’t spoken to her for weeks but had the audacity to drag her around like a petulant child.
“I sent a messenger last night, but you were already in bed,” he said, the words clipped. “He left the note in the mailroom. I sent another this morning, but no one could find you. I’ve been sitting there,” he said, pointing towards the courtyard, “long enough to realise you weren’t coming.”
She followed his gaze to the bench under the tree, then glanced up. It was later than she’d realised. Recruits would be heading to dinner any minute. “I was strength training,” she said. A weak lie, but there was no time for a better one.
“It’s your day off,” Elijah said flatly. “And the messenger checked the weight room.”
“Body weight training,” she said quickly. “You know, squats, planks. I was in my room.” She shifted her feet, resisting the urge to look over her shoulder.
This could wait. She needed to get upstairs.
Elijah sighed, eyes sweeping across the quiet courtyard. He hadn’t bought the lie, and she cursed herself for the stupidity of it. He had probably just been to her room, and she most definitely hadn’t been coming from there.
He stepped closer, voice low. “We were meant to patrol today,” he said. “We’ll have to do it tonight.” His eyes lingered on her, and he leaned in, smiling faintly, the scent of pine and leather on his cloak. That smirk, the half-lidded look… He was trying to be charming again.
She barely noticed.
He leaned nearer. “Meet me at The Seven Squids after dinner. I’ll—”
“Fine,” she said.
He paused, frowned, then loosed a breath. “Ok then.” He shot her a wink before turning towards the Noble Gate, clearly pleased with himself.
She watched him for a single breath, then bolted up the stairs.
She threw her bedroom door shut and crossed the room. The sword still rested where she’d left it, propped against the dresser. She reached for it, her fingers curling around the leather grip.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, she laid the sheathed blade across her lap. Her thumb brushed the ruby in the pommel, a smooth oval, like her moonstone, only smaller. It had once adorned her mother’s betrothal ring.
Galfri had said essensia ran in bloodlines.
She drew a breath and closed her eyes. Essensia stirred beneath her skin. She gathered it, focused it, directing the warmth into the stone, willing it to know her blood.
Nothing happened.
She tried again, drawing deeper this time, holding the heat longer.
Still nothing.
She shifted her grip, pressing her palm flat over the gem. She summoned fire, let it lick against the surface, pushing it into the stone with everything Galfri had taught her, but the ruby remained unchanged.
She thought back to the cavern. The moonstone had reacted when she had been in danger.
What if that’s the key?
She unsheathed a few inches of the blade, torchlight catching the steel. Pressing her palm to it, the metal sliced cleanly and blood welled fast and warm. If pain was the price of recognition, the ruby could have it.
Holding her hand over the stone, thick drops fell, sliding over the polished surface.
She didn’t know how long she sat there. Long enough for the blood to clot and her arm to ache.
She had been so sure this would work. Certain she was about to discover something about her past, something that could help explain why she was like this, why she had been given this power and Jon had not. But the ruby remained unchanged.
At last, she set the sword back against the dresser. She needed to clean and bandage her hand.
She looked once more at the sword. The ruby caught the light but gave nothing back.
A lifeless stone.
A memory her father had wanted to hold close and nothing more.