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“It is not the only power with strength, however,” Marc continued, still playing with the flame. “Wôder wielders, like our Queen, can manipulate water in many different ways. Those with vio power do the same with the rocks and the ground beneath our feet. Ær, is the rarest of all magic, and those lucky enough to yield it can control the wind and air around us. It all depends on the power you and your Catalyst share. And that depends on if you can find it.”
With that, he let the flame extinguish, moving between the pairs again as he helped position the ribbons of those who had lost their grip in the demonstration.
“For now, let this be your guide.” Marc continued to weave through the children, handing out a few more hair ribbons before returning to the front, his Catalyst following at a near run.
“Requisites! It is time for you to find your power. Focus on the buzz of power from your Catalyst in your bond. Once found, feel it through the hair. Find the connection,” Marc continued, the children shifting uncomfortably around the ribbon. “You should feel it in the air simply from being close, so search for that same sensation in the ribbon. It could be a buzz, a flood of warmth, or even a tingle. Find that feeling in the ribbon and focus on it. Memorize how it feels. Let it soak into you so you can find it anywhere. Anytime.”
That phantom feeling from before tingled over my skin, as though I could feel Toblin’s magic tickle its way over me again. As it had the day I had known he was my Catalyst, that first buzz of his magic. I hadn't felt it so strongly since… since…
I shivered at the sensation, ducking my head down as I tried to push it away. To push everything about him away, shoving everything about that life that could have been as far away as I could get it. A second later the Boy shifted up to lay right next to me, his cloak fanning over the worn cobbles as he wrapped his gloved hand around mine, his covered face turning toward me.
“I’m alright,” I whispered, answering the question that I was sure he wanted to ask me. “It’s just… sometimes I feel like he’s still here, like the magic is still here.” Like I’m not broken and useless to my crown…
He squeezed my hand as Marc’s voice drifted up to us, and I shifted to look over the side of the wall again, pulling my hand from the Boy’s grip.
“Now that you have felt the magic, tug at it, bring the magic into the ribbon. Let that power become a fuel to your own. It will know what to do.”
A dozen faces screwed up in concentration as they all did what they were told, tiny grunts and exhales filling the courtyard before magic started to pop into being. A spark of fire, a gust of wind, a pool of water, a sharp crack as the ground shifted… One after another, all of the types of magic I had been surrounded with my whole life emerged.
Another tingle moved over my skin, the feeling of starlight pooling in my chest as the ache I spent so much of my time trying to push away knocked its way back into being. Shifting closer, I peered over the ruined edge of the turret wall as a little girl shrieked in joy and another in horror as someone’s sleeve caught fire.
“Stay calm. Just put it out,” Marc gruffed with clear exasperation as he marched his way over to the frazzled pair. Some of the other kids had started laughing now, but I stared at the dull glow of the flame, at the water another child was playing with, his Catalyst looking slightly green as he still held on to the edge of the ribbon.
“Focus on the magic. What you create is part of your power, so it can easily be extinguished by the same magic,” Marc boomed, putting the fire out with a wave. I only gave him a glance before I returned to stare at the pair with their growing water orb, that feeling of tingly need still growing in my chest.
It sure felt like magic, but I knew what it was really. Longing.
Or maybe jealousy.
Probably jealousy.
I had watched the Requisites bring forth their magic for so many years, but the longing I felt was so much worse seeing this first day. Everything from breastbone to navel felt like it was cracking.
I shouldn’t have come.
“Now, focus again on that magic. Cling to it. Pull at it. This is the connection you will keep between you and it’s important that?—”
“What are you doing up here?”
I nearly jumped out of my skin at the low hiss of a whisper directly in my ear. I yelped instead, which sent the Boy directly to his feet, sword drawn before we both realized who had caught us up there.
Batian.
My brother.
The Crown Prince of Okivo.
“Calm down, calm down.” Batian grinned, his usual smile stretching across his perfect face. “It’s just me. Although you are lucky it wasn’t someone else. An assassin, maybe?” Batian gave the
Boy a look, the poor guy letting out a small grunt before he resheathed his sword and stepped back.
Crap. He was going to hear about this later.
Even with how much Batian was smiling, I knew better. Batian almost always smiled.
He was known as the Sun Prince for a reason. First, because he was always grinning. Second, because his blond hair always looked like gold, as though it was reflecting sunlight. Third, he held the rare magic of light, Lðt.
It was a nickname he leaned into, however. He stood there in a golden tunic and cape, his pale deer-skin breeches tucked into white boots. White! I wasn’t even sure where he found a cobbler to make him such boots!
