Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

R emoving the damp, cool towel covering her face, Rose opened her eyes. She was in a large, open space, the soft yellow of the sun’s emerging light peeking through a second-floor window. The soft cushion beneath her indicated she was on the long chair in Suden house’s grand entry room. Luc’s brother, Aaron, walked into the room with a replacement cloth. He sat in the empty wooden chair next to where she lay and handed it to her. Folding his muscular arms across his broad chest, he seemed too big for the seat. Or maybe it was that she’d recently seen him as such a small child. The pieces knit together in her mind.

She had been evaluating Luc’s magic. And then—what? Had she passed out?

“Where is Luc?” Rose asked, her voice groggier than expected. How long had she been lying there?

“Fetching a healer,” Aaron said. His tone was even, but the firm line of his mouth told her he wasn’t saying everything he wanted to.

She remembered sinking into Luc’s skin, a tunnel leading to the heart of his power. There were images—memories. It came back in flashes. Watching one, reaching for another, then darkness. Had she really exhausted herself so fully? When had that last happened? As a child, training with Mom? She shook her head. Cutting herself a break, she chided that this was the first time she had evaluated a Compass Point’s magic at the source. Maybe her weapons-master magic wasn’t strong enough. “Do you know what happened?” she asked.

Aaron’s patient look reminded her of the one his father wore in the memory. He shook his head in response to her question. “Not quite, though I gather from Luc’s rant that he feels responsible for breaking you.” His words were a statement, but his gaze held only questions.

“I was evaluating his magic,” she said. “I want to make him a weapon for the journey we’ll have to take.”

Aaron nodded, unsurprised by the news.

She searched his features, hoping to find a semblance of understanding. “I was trying to give him protection, the only way I know how.”

The lines of his face softened. While he wasn’t yet overly fond of Rose, protecting his brother was something he knew well.

“So, what? It didn’t work? You passed out?” He leaned forward in his chair.

“It was working.” Rose hesitated. She should talk to Luc about this first, but if anyone else knew about Luc’s past, it would be Aaron. “I saw a scene from your childhood—something about Luc shaking the schoolyard?”

“You’ll have to be more specific,” Aaron said, his tone wry and lip twitching, trying desperately not to curl into a smile.

“He said he was asked to leave school after this one… And you said he was defending you?” Rose added, recalling the details.

Aaron nodded. He tilted his head to each side, an odd mix of stretching and indecision. Finally, he came to some conclusion as his gaze locked with hers. “Luc didn’t have an easy childhood.”

“I gathered.”

“He wasn’t bad. He was, in fact, wonderful. The best older brother I could ask for.” Aaron paused, searching for words. “You know, many fae have issues controlling their element when they’re young.”

Rose nodded. It was common.

“The impacts of those lapses aren’t usually broadly felt, though.” Aaron’s gaze begged Rose to put the pieces together, wanting her to finish a sentence for him so he wouldn’t have to spill his brother’s secrets.

Rose put him out of his misery. “I understand. Not many eight-year-olds can break apart the schoolyard.” She tried to sit up, to better invest in this conversation. “Luc could, though. His slips had higher stakes due to the nature of his power.”

Aaron nodded. “Made worse because Mother couldn’t help him with it.” Aaron glanced at the door nervously, as if expecting Luc to walk through it.

“He told me he doesn’t know his father, Aaron. You’re not betraying him.”

Aaron let out a breath, and his shoulders sagged. Her comment freed him to tell the rest of his story. “It was just such a big part of his life growing up. Everyone cared about his magic and where it came from. I always hoped he could leave it behind. Like when he became Suden Point, maybe others would no longer question his fae lines.”

Rose gave Aaron a gentle smile. It was incredibly naive to think that the center of fae politics wouldn’t care about lineage, especially when someone so unknown with such strength appeared. She appreciated Aaron’s sentiment, though. Luc didn’t deserve the baggage.

Rose rolled her neck and stretched her arms. Her body felt fine. It must have been a temporary burnout of her magic. A pang of grief hit her unexpectedly as she wished Mom were around to explain the situation. She had evaluated other Nordens at Compass Lake when she worked with Mom—though never the Norden Point. Or maybe Suden magic was different at the source? She’d been doing fine as a reclusive weapons master, but her overly selective process meant she didn’t have a wealth of experience from which to draw conclusions.

Her feet hit the floor as she attempted to stand. She needed to figure this out. Not just for Luc, but for all the Compass Points. She would need to arm them all with her magical weapons. Anything to improve their chances in the fight against Aterra.

“Aaron, could I ask a favor of you?”

He nodded slowly, his face partially pinched in worry as she stood, likely anticipating how Luc would yell if she injured herself getting up too fast.

“Could I evaluate your magic?” she tacked on more information before Aaron could respond. “I haven’t evaluated any other Sudens at their seat of power. I started with the Suden Point.” Rose stumbled over her words. “I need to know how an average Suden compares.”

Aaron’s lip twitched again. She could have sworn he fought a smile as she awkwardly attempted to describe his magic relative to Luc’s. She winced and kept rushing through, to get to the part Aaron would understand. “I need to know before Luc blames himself and his magic for whatever happened. I think I just went too far, too fast, with his power. I want to be able to tell him my magic was simply…exhausted.”

Aaron only considered for a moment before nodding. She suspected she’d hooked him with Luc blaming himself. It was apparent Aaron would do anything for his brother.

It took Rose only moments to find her place again in the rhythm of her swings, the forge fire still warm. Not that she was actually making a weapon for Aaron, but the same rules she explained to Luc applied. Her evaluation was more thorough when she lost herself in the familiar movements of making a weapon.

Aaron did his part. He stood where Luc had been and played with his magic. The difference in their power was evident even in the activity Aaron chose. While Luc had balanced a rock above his palm, pushing his element away from itself, Aaron drew lines in the dirt floor of the workshop—a more passive motion.

Glancing at the Suden over her shoulder and seeing his nod, Rose settled into the process. Her power pressed forward. Magically, he bore nearly no resemblance to Luc. That, right there, might have been enough information, but she wanted to be sure. Her power wound around Aaron and seeped into his skin.

It wasn’t an endless plummeting down a dark tunnel. The path to Aaron’s power had her skating across a plateau. A wide expanse unfolded before her. Halting, she sat on the ground, reaching for the connection to the earth magic he wielded. Emotions flashed through her mind: contentment, peace, and a gnawing anxiety with a particular focus. No full scenes, or moving images. This was more in line with her expectations of the process. Experiencing feelings, beliefs, and snapshots of those the evaluated held dear was what she usually saw.

This was enough. She knew what Aaron’s weapon would be. It would need to be defensive. Something to protect his family should danger arrive. He wouldn’t go out and chase it. Rose suspected the focused anxiety was for someone Aaron cared about, who did tackle problems by chasing them down: Luc.

The safety of Compass Lake calmed Aaron, but danger didn’t just follow Luc, he actively sought it. Him leading the investigations on the mist plague must have been hard for Aaron to endure. Never knowing if his brother would come back or if he’d fall into the endless sleep himself.

Rose pulled back from Aaron’s magic. She had her answer. There was no problem evaluating a Suden at the source. She wasn’t sure if she was happy about the result—it seemed the best case. It just meant she needed to go slower with Luc’s weapon.

His power was different from anything she’d dealt with before. She had never worked with anyone who possessed that much magic. And the way her magic was drawn to his made it all the more challenging to control her exploration. She tilted her head, considering. Luc wouldn’t take this well. He’d still think his magic had hurt her. If anything, it overwhelmed her. It really was her fault. She had felt her exhaustion when she reached for the second scene—but she’d done it anyway. She was enthralled by his magic, and she wasn’t sure how to tell him that.

She heard a cough behind her.

“And what do we think we’re doing here?” Luc asked. He stood in the doorway, his arms crossing over his chest.

Rose glanced at Aaron, the two sharing a shrug before turning to face the Suden Point.

“I know you’re not testing your magic again so soon after passing out while using it…” Luc paused as if to give her a chance to refute his suspicion.

Her mouth curved into a smile, telling him she’d do no such thing.

“Rose,” he said, wiping his hand across his face.

Her smile broadened. His gesture was one of her favorites to pull from him. “I needed to understand what happened,” she said. She wouldn’t hide it from him. Too much of her life had been spent trying to keep secrets that others needed to know.

“Did you learn anything?” He raised an eyebrow at her.

She nodded. “I evaluated Aaron’s magic. While I didn’t make him a weapon, I know I could. This experience was much more in line with my past evaluations.” She shrugged. “Searching your magic was”—words failed her—“different.”

“I’ll leave you to it,” Aaron said as he headed for the door, squeezing past Luc’s glare.

“It’s not bad, Luc,” Rose assured.

He shook his head, ready to disagree.

“It is more power than I’m used to, and my magic wants to…” She hesitated. “Well, it wants to know all of yours—all at once.”

“What does that mean?” he asked as he stepped toward her, his body drawn to her words, like her magic was to him. At least it was a mutual addiction.

“I’m usually only learning enough about someone to determine the best weapon.” She reached for him. “With you, my magic wants to know more than what weapon to make you. It wants... everything. ”

He couldn’t hold back the self-satisfied smirk that tugged at the corner of his lip. “I’m glad your magic and I are in agreement,” he said. “But it can’t come at the expense of your safety.”

Rose let out a breath. It was a start. The sun’s more insistent rays caught her eye through the window before she spoke. “Can we continue this conversation later? We should get going. We promised to be back at Norden house early.”

Luc’s fingers wrapped around her shoulders, trailing movement up and down her arms, reassuring himself that she was okay. “You’re really fine?” he asked.

“I am,” she said, meeting his gaze. “I won’t lie and say it was a normal experience.”

“Nor would I believe you if you tried.”

“It’s something we can work through together,” she said.

“Rose…” His hands slipped down to hers, and he entwined them. “I can only imagine what you experienced with my magic. I caught a glimpse of the scene you saw. My power hasn’t always been pleasant.” He dropped her hands and ran his fingers through his hair. “And it hasn’t always reacted as expected. I don’t know if you should trust it.”

“Why not? Your magic is you, and I know you would never hurt me.”

“My power isn’t normal, but I’ve made peace with it,” Luc began.

Rose very much doubted that.

“That doesn’t mean I give it free rein,” he said firmly. “I keep it on a tight leash, but something about you makes it want to slip. I don’t think we should risk it.”

Rose tilted her head, considering before responding. “It was just overwhelming. I’ll go slower next time.”

Luc shook his head.

“How you describe your magic and your relationship with it affects you. It’s not something to brush aside. I’ve felt the draw you speak of, but I’ve never once felt in danger. It wants to protect me, cherish me even, but not harm.”

Luc’s eyes widened. Had he not registered his magic’s recent attention to her? Or had he thought she was unaware?

“But I also felt your disgust in the memory, especially as a child, for what your magic had done. Maybe more importantly—how it made those you care about feel.”

Luc opened and closed his mouth—uncharacteristically at a loss for words.

“Let’s continue this conversation later,” Rose suggested, knowing she’d given him enough to think about. “We really should get to Norden house. I have a seat of power to claim.”