13. Who Cracks First?

The early morning sun sneaks in through a crack in Ewan’s blinds. I’m already awake to watch as it spills into the room. I ponder the clarity from last night. Am I still just as sure in the light of the day? Am I really set on becoming an earthbrand?

Ice is hard to separate from my parents and their expectations from me, but the truth is that ice is one of my favorite elements. Ice is beautiful. Under the right hands, what seems so stiff and not malleable can be transformed into a work of art.

Plus, ice magic is part of me. There’s no changing that it’s where I come from. I’ll always love and respect ice magic.

But it’s not where I belong.

As I wake up, I know. Declaring my feelings for Ewan isn’t something I’ll ever regret. And my decision to follow the path of the earth is the right one. There are no regrets. I stand by my choices.

There’s no voice this time, just an awareness.

I look out the window and see flower blossoms perched on the windowsill, one of my favorites. A brilliant golden flower that darkens to deep orange at its center. Another tropical hibiscus blossom, like the petals that appeared when my test was issued, has appeared to tell me I passed. I don’t grow these hibiscus plants in my garden because they have no practical purpose and growing it in this climate would take constant effort--or the right magic.

The flower tells me everything I need to know. I passed. Earth told me to choose. I did. And now, now I can become an earthbrand.

“Tonight,” I say. Waiting any longer feels impossible. Fitting in everything I need to do to prepare to receive the brand will be tight. But I’m ready. I want it to happen. “Tonight.”

Ice is the start of my journey, not the end. My future lies with earth magic.

When I think of the earth… when I think of Ewan… there are no words. The smile on my face and the warm feeling in my chest say it all. They feel right.

Sitting up and staring at the window, the flower is gone. Only one petal remains on the sill outside. I look down in awe at my right hand where the flower now rests.

Yep, tonight. Earth is ready for me and I’m ready too.

Mostly ready. There is a bit of challenging prep work ahead that must get done before accepting a brand.

”What’s going on?” Ewan murmurs, half his face smushed against his pillow.

”I have to go.”

”What, you’re leaving?” he rolls over to face me.

”There’s so much to do!” The mental list in my head grows longer with every second that passes. I throw the covers away and jump out of bed.

”The sun’s barely up.”

”And I need to get started too.” I’m glad Ewan is only half awake because I must look demented rushing around his bedroom trying to collect my clothes and get dressed while making plans in my brain.

Ewan isn’t the only one not totally awake. My pants are mostly on and I have one leg in the air when I realize how this looks, like I’m rushing to get out of here. I am rushing to get out of here.

“It’s okay.” I return to the bed and place a kiss on Ewan’s bare shoulder. “I’m coming back.”

”Good. I wasn’t worried about that. But why do you need to get up now?”

Ewan stretches and sits up, the sheet around him slipping and pooling around his waist. I swallow hard, unable to offer any resistance when he pulls me onto the mattress. Staying in bed with him all day is tempting… No, I decided.

“There’s so much I need to get done before getting my brand. Once I get ready, I’ll meet you back here tonight.”

”Okay. Hey. Tonight’s perfect, it’s a full moon. You’re about the earth but us wolves like the moon too. It fits.”

”So, you will help me embrace—”

Ewan smirks and pulls me back once more. ”Oh, I’ll embrace you.”

”Embrace earth!” I correct.

“That too.” He kisses my cheek, and his lips start moving down my jaw. “Love to be there.”

“Good.” I take a deep breath and plan to extricate myself… I end up melting into his arms.

”Weren’t you about to leave?” he wonders with amusement.

“I am, in a second. I need this first. I need strength for what comes next.”

”What comes next? I thought you were done with the tests and jumping through all the elemental hoops?”

”I am. But I still have to tell my parents.”

Five more minutes in Ewan’s arms is necessary. Even with the decision made, telling them won’t be easy. Ugh.

Who knows? Maybe they’ll surprise me and accept my choices without question… I’m not holding my breath.

* * *

Mother drops her napkin on the table in surprise when I storm into the dining room. She raises an eyebrow. “Excellent timing, son. You arrived in time to join us for breakfast.”

“Why do you say that as though he didn’t spend the evening here?” Father wonders. He frowns when he sees me still in the same clothes as the night before.“You spent the evening here… didn’t you?”

“Young people get into all kinds of mischief under their parent’s noses,” Mother comments slyly. “Or has it been so long ago that you’ve forgotten?”

”I don’t recall getting into any mischief.” He clears his throat and sends my mother a stern expression. ”Don’t contradict me.”

“We need to talk,” I declare. “It’s about the brand.”

The mood in the dining room changes in an instant. I have their full attention. Being their focus isn’t entirely pleasant, but telling them about my decision cannot wait.

Tokens and protections work together to keep novices safe. The protections that help prevent magic from overwhelming and hurting me need to be lifted before I can accept an element’s essence. The element must be free to fill me, change me, and give me the strength needed to permanently wield magic. As the ones to place those protections, my mother and father need to undo them.

Clearing my throat, I dive in. “First, you both should know I take our family’s history seriously and have nothing but respect for the Blanchard legacy. That’s why this has been so difficult. But at the end of the day, I’m the one who earns a bond with the element. I’m the one who passes or fails their tests.”

“It’s true,” Dad agrees. “In theory. But what have you recently done that actually brings you closer to a brand?”

“You’re right,” I say. “I was stuck for a while and not making any progress. I’ve always wanted to make you happy, so I dragged things out to avoid having to disappoint you. It took me awhile to admit the truth to myself. I think I’ve known for a long time what I really desire, and I’ve just been afraid to tell you the truth.”

”Desire, is that it? You meet a man and now—”

“I-It’s not about him,” I stutter, surprised my mother knows. Then again, she knew I hadn’t been home last night. “Well, it’s not only about him.”

I lift a hand before they can start firing off new questions. I take a deep breath and break the news. “I want to become an earthbrand. No, I’m going to become an earthbrand. Tonight.”

Both my parents freeze—uh, they stop moving. Mother”s fork clatters against her plate as she drops the silverware. An icy mist starts rising from my father, coalescing around his shoulders and head like the kind of steam that a furious person in cartoons starts spouting through their ears.

”You can”t, you can”t be serious.” Father”s normally stern expression goes slack, and his ever-present white hair suddenly makes him look much older.

”What, when did this happen?” Mother”s voice is faint as she raises a hand to her chest to steady herself.

“Earth gave me a test. I passed it. As soon as I’m able, I’ll accept its brand.” Tonight, with any luck. If my parents are over the shock by then.

They seem at a loss for words, so I nudge them in the right direction. ”You can do the reasonable thing and remove my protections and be happy for me.”

My parents blink in almost perfect unison as they struggle to process all my announcements. Their eyes dart to each other. After a round of silent conferring Father asks, ”And if we don”t?”

”You can scream, yell, and lock me in my room,” I say calmly. “It”s not going to change anything. When you”re done yelling and lecturing and ordering me to make the choice you did, you’re still going to undo the protections. Unless you’d rather I had no brand at all?”

…

Percy was right about one thing. A Brass or a Blanchard without a brand? Would cause quite the scandal. However, my parents might not be ready to listen to reason.

”There’s no rush to lift the protections now,” Mother says. “You can”t handle exposure for long, the clock starts ticking immediately.”

The longer a person remains unguarded and unbranded, the riskier it becomes. Not only has this person spent a lifetime courting magic and the elements, and therefore already sensitive to it, they are right on the cusp of something greater. This makes magic drawn to them even more.

A person should have a few days once the protections are lifted, which allows enough time to finalize arrangements for ceremonies and get the necessary people together. Casters should limit exposure to elements and magic until then. Some exposure can”t be helped but the more magic and elements one is exposed to, the less time they have before it becomes too overwhelming.

”Your mother is right.” Father”s voice trembles as he struggles to remain calm. ”Earth made you an offer, there”s no need to rush into anything. Wait for Ice to make a competing offer.”

”I don”t need a test from Ice,” I declare. ”I already have the offer I want.”

The shock on their faces begins to fade. Anger takes its place.

”No, absolutely not. You will not become an earthbrand!” Father bellows, his fists clenched at his sides.

“Yes, I will.” My palms rest on the ice-encrusted table for support, but my voice stays steady and firm. ”I”m meant to be an earthbrand.”

”That is not your destiny,” Mother interjects. “No, it’s not possible.”

”You”ll change your mind,” Father orders.

”I won”t. I was given a choice and I made it. I”m sorry if this hurts you, but earth magic is my path now. There”s no turning back.”

”Is that so?” Father challenges me, his eyes narrowing.

I nod confidently, ready to face whatever consequences may come from my choice. Even if I lose the Blanchard name, and their support, even if they give me the cold shoulder for months, years… decades? They are quite good at the cold shoulder, after all.

But this isn’t about them. After being so close to the beauty and potential of earth magic, how can I ever return to ice’s permanent frost?

I wait for my parents to do their worst…

…

…

…

My mother turns to my father. “Where’s the obsidian athame? Is it in the study?”

”Was it really the obsidian one? I thought we used the quartz.”

”No, our best quartz tools aren’t that old. We definitely used obsidian for Jack”s protections.”

Father rises from his seat and places his napkin on the table. ”You interrupted us in the middle of breakfast,” he says. ”You”re aware that food doesn”t stay hot long in here. You really should have waited until after we finished eating.”

”Uh, wait. What?” That isn”t the response I expected.

”It is rude,” Mother agrees. “You could have waited 10 more minutes.”

What in the world is happening? Are they in denial? Did they block out everything I just said in some kind of icy, shared delusion?

”No, he comes in here making demands,” Father complains. ”And he expects us to deal with cold bacon and eggs.”

”Bacon is bacon,” Mother argues.

”Yes, but cold eggs are awful.”

”You”re right.” She nods and looks at me with reproach. ”Cold eggs are the worst.”

My mouth drops open. No sound comes out.

“You and your wolf are treating us to a nice brunch within the week.”

”Are, are you going to lift the protections?” I whisper.

”Oh, am I not moving fast enough?” Father throws up his hands as he leaves the dining room. “I’ll get the knife. We’ll have to lift the protections outside.”

Mother sees my shock and gives me an amused expression. ”Did you really think we’d allow you to abandon centuries of tradition for something you weren’t absolutely certain about, something you weren’t completely devoted to?”

”I kind of thought you wouldn’t allow me to abandon centuries of tradition,” I admit.

”Yes, well. We probably tried a tad too hard to give you that impression.” She hides a smile beneath her hand as she pops a piece of cold bacon into her mouth, signaling that she”s aware them being a ”tad” overbearing is an understatement.“We weren’t going to let you give up the ice without a fight. All of us needed to be certain.”

”But… you said...”

”Ice is what we know.” She shrugs. ”Why is it a bad choice?”

”It’s not, it”s just not for me.”

“Yes, also a valid choice.” She smiles at my shock. “You seem surprised. But tell me this, have you ever expressed your intentions to us before today?”

”…no.”

“Exactly. Like I said, all of us needed to be certain about your decision.”

Including me, she means. From their perspective, earth magic must have seemed like only a hobby, one that could have been interfering with a brand. They weren’t sure what it meant to me because I’d been too afraid to share that with them.

”We offered you what we considered your best option,” she continues. “You weren’t offering another. It may look like you have plenty of time in your early 20’s, but you must keep making progress and moving forward. Even making the wrong choices is better than standing still.” She laughs. “That might sound ironic coming from an icebrand, but it’s true. I’ve seen people miss out on magic and it’s always hard. We thought it best not to let you relax too much, so it would force you to do something and not be complacent while a brand passes you by.”

“Oh.” I numbly take a piece of bacon and chew it slowly, hoping some food will help me process this turn of events.

”The elements won’t consider you seriously until you’re ready and you can’t get ready by doing nothing.”

They were trying to keep me motivated. To go forward. All to ensure I kept getting closer to figuring out myself and working towards my brand.

When I hesitated, they were quick to step in with suggestions and even demands. But now that I”ve stood up to them and not backed down, now that they know there”s no changing my mind… it seems they have, for lack of a better word, thawed out.

”If you stood up to us at our most severe and unyielding, we’re satisfied you have the strength to follow your own path and take the Blanchard legacy in a new direction. You”re getting a brand, and it sounds like you’ve met a man,” she adds with a satisfied nod. ”Overall, we are quite pleased with this turn of events.”

”Oh, you didn’t have to go and tell him right away,” Father complains as he returns with the ceremonial athame in its case. ”Don’t we at least get to complain about it a while? Ice is losing one of its finest potential talents.”

”Considering what we put him through to get here, why wait?” Mother counters.

”I suppose you’re right. Hey, we put up a good fight, didn’t we?”

“Yes,” I agree. “Frighteningly good.”

“And you made a different decision anyway,” Father says. “What else is there to do? We know when to admit defeat.’

“You do?”

“No, not really,” he admits with an amused huff. “But we’re willing to make an exception for you.”

“I’m honored,” I say, though my dad still looks a tad bummed he missed out on the tail end of the conversation.

”If it makes you feel any better, we can critique Jack’s earth magic skills together,” Mother suggests.

”What? No, we aren’t doing that!” I protest quickly because I can already see my father taking an interest in the idea. “You’ve barely even seen me do earth magic.”

”Exactly,” Mother says with a sly smile. “The Earth is accepting you, but you’ll have your work cut out to master the element.”

I have an idea about that, but it”s not finalized yet. Need to run it by Ewan first.

”You will have some catching up to do.” Dad places a proud hand on my shoulder. “But you’re a Blanchard. You’ll pick it up quickly.”

My parents are not the impenetrable glaciers I once thought. I”m so excited I can”t stop grinning as I text Ewan the news and we finalize our plans to meet later.

I”m so close. All we need to do is lift my protections and then nothing will stand in the way of getting my brand and starting the next chapter of my life, with Ewan by my side.

* * *

“It’s a pity we aren’t in the front yard,” I tell my floating parents. “If only the neighbors could see this.”

”Be quiet,” my mother hisses, her eyes glowing with intense white light. ”We”re almost finished.”

The protections shielding me from raw magical power have many neutral, strengthening properties that target magic as a whole, but the finishing touches for branded magic must always be tweaked and grounded in one element as much as possible to prevent strain on a caster.

The end result is quite a spectacle.

My parents have formed a circle of frost around me and they’re both floating outside the circle in the air. An icy blue-white glow emanates from them as they chant in low voices. Since they’re releasing me from the protections, we need to do this in the backyard since it’s less icy out here than inside.

“Whoa!” A shock of icy wind and snow rushes towards me.

Mother floats higher in the air as energy crackles from her. “We release you.”

The frost gathering around me parts enough to reveal my father on the other side of the circle.

Dad brings the athame down on the circle of frost. The circle shatters and the cold drains away. It’s done. My protections are gone.

“Now go get your brand,” Father tells me.

I’m free to brand and seek the earth’s essence.

The authoritative magical aura drains from my father as he clears his throat and adds, “Are we correct in assuming that we are not invited?” Thankfully, he doesn”t sound offended. ”It is more challenging to connect with the essence of earth when one has an icy presence looking over their shoulder.”

I nod, grateful they understand. “That’s exactly why I’m not asking for the brand in my garden.” The stiff presence of ice magic still lingers too close nearby.

My guest list is extremely small anyway. The only other soul invited is a certain wolf shifter.

We say our goodbyes and my parents head inside. I do stop by my garden first. For a while, this small garden was my one outlet, my way to connect with earth magic and be close to the natural flowers and plants that I love.

I have to take a moment and appreciate where I started before heading into the future. As I stroll through the rows, I smile at my thriving green charges. Instead of a small plot of dirt, soon I’ll be connected to the whole earth.

A sudden gust of cold air makes me shiver. Huh, is the magic my parents cast still lingering? I still feel a chill from the other end of the lawn.

No, the chill persists and grows even stronger. Are my parents coming back? Did they forget something?

The energy approaching feels strange. Icy... yet wrong. When I venture past the hedge to meet them, only one figure approaches me.

Not my parents at all. It’s Percy.

“What are you doing here?”

“We aren’t finished yet.” His voice is low and menacing as he stalks towards me. Why is he walking so fast?

When he reaches me, I see his face twisted with sinister determination and the weird energy clings to him like a cloak. Some combination of ice magic and malicious intent. Sweating and with bloodshot eyes, he looks deranged, a totally different person than the haughty, ruthless prick I saw earlier.

Percy blocks my path and grabs my arm, ouch, holding it much too tight. ”You”re going to help me.”

”No. Whatever you want, I’m not interested.”

“Ice told me no too. If I didn’t accept its decision, why would I accept yours?”

This whole situation is quickly shaping up to be quite alarming. Not good. My parents are inside the house, if I can just reach them…

“Percy, hold on. Wait, we can talk.”

“No, I must get what I deserve. Before it’s too late.”

I know exactly what he deserves, but before I can tell him to go to hell or use my magic against him, he releases me. I stumble backwards and fall down to the ground.

At least I”m free from his grasp. He stands over me with a triumphant look in his eyes as something hard strikes my head. I barely register the pain before the darkness descends.