Page 73 of To Kill a King
Wow. Aliya’s ribs squeezed tight around a warming sensation in her gut that quickly spread to her face. Even her laugh was refined and graceful.
After three or four breaths, the elf brushed a tear away with her finger. “Who said you needed a spellbook? A human?”
Heat flooded Aliya’s face as she studied the ground at her feet. Where was a magically created chasm when she wanted one? “Well, yes.”
“Oh.” Lady Cressida’s expression turned somber. “I suppose that explains why you’re so untrained.” Her voice dropped, as if speaking to herself. “Idiots. Those who are clueless about a topic shouldn’t be teaching it.”
Aliya crossed her ankles under the chair and shifted her weight.
Cressida’s gaze narrowed in on her. “Child, lesson number one. Magic comes in two varieties: natural and human.”
Aliya frowned, quirking one of her eyebrows up.
“Natural magic arises from nature and responds to the mage’s desires or intent. When the spellcasting is complete, the power returns to the environment. Human magic is an abomination. Human wizards use enchantments and certain ingredient combinations to excise magic in its pure form, twist and contort it to the desired effect, then the energy is destroyed.”
Aliya blinked. “As in, forever?”
Cressida nodded. “The world is fortunate few humans are born who’re skilled in sorcery.”
“Is that why none of the spells in the grimoire would work for me?”
“You’re not one of them,” Cressida said as she fixed Aliya with a pointed stare.
Aliya let out a sigh as a weight lifted off her back. “So, mine is the natural type?”
“Does your power generally do what you ask, without any particular words?”
Cressida’s voice sounded just a little too patient. Aliya bit back her retort and thought back to her most recent magical attempts. “Yes, though not like I expect or want. It tends to overreact or kind of…” she pantomimed a bomb with her fingers, “explodes.”
“Tell me.”
“Well, this one time, I snuck down to the kitchen to find some tuna for one of the castle cats, but I ended up spilling hot grease all over the floor...” Her voice drifted off as her throat dried.
“And?” Cressida prompted.
“I used magic to clean up the mess, but it turned the cat’s fur purple for a month. This other time, when I was younger and didn’t want to go to bed, I wanted to make it so it would be daylight all the time. Every time someone tried to blow out the candles in my room for the next week, they’d throw sparks. My comforter even caught fire.”
Cressida nodded. “So, you know the basics. Subtlety I can teach. Finesse, you’ll gain with practice. And patience.”
Aliya bit her lower lip. “Patience?” This was going to be harder than she expected.
The older elf stood, grabbed the other half of Aliya’s dragon fruit and cut it in two before walking to the center of the clearing. Setting one piece down, she came back to the table. Meeting Aliya’s gaze, she gestured. “Blow that up with your magic.”
She glanced at Cressida. “Are you sure? The last time someone tried to teach me, I destroyed their safe house.”
The air turned heavy, popping Aliya’s ears. The other woman nodded. “I have shielded us. You will do no harm here.”
“Okay…” If she said so… Aliya reached inside and gathered the kernel of light in her core, drawing it out to her fingertips. She flicked her fingers at the target.
A loud boom reverberated through the area, rattling her teeth. A fountain of sparks burst forth much like the fireworks they used to ignite for her father’s birthday as a child. They crashed against an invisible cylinder shield a few paces from each side of the target that absorbed the energy from Aliya’s spell like a dry sponge. Thirty heartbeats later, as the blaze burned itself out, the smoke cleared.
The mossy carpet sat untouched. No trace remained of the target.
Aliya’s jaw dropped. No one had ever been able to contain her power before, much less make it look so easy.
Lady Cressida nodded. “Excellent.” She set the second piece of dragon fruit down in the same spot. “Now, do it again, but this time, instead of throwing all your ability at the problem, section out the tiniest thread and direct it to do your bidding. The object is small, the task will only require a tiny amount of magic.”
Aliya examined the light inside her. Smaller? She poked at the luminous bit of power with a mental finger, pinching out a miniscule portion. It twinkled at her like one of Elessan’s stars. She smiled at the thought before flicking the tendril of energy toward the target.