Page 88 of Spirit Storm

"Dr. Thorne said the settling process is complete," Wylder says. "He was clear about that before he left. The danger of the overlap is resolved."

I work my jaw again. The pressure shifts infinitesimally but doesn't release. "Right now it honestly just feels like I'm on a plane and my ears won't pop. It's been like this since I woke up."

Asher chuckles and points at me. "Oh, that's what you keep doing. I wasn't going to say anything because of the whole near-death experience, but yeah, you've been doing that jaw thing, and I genuinely had no idea what was happening. I thought you developed a strange facial tic."

“No. It’s just very distracting."

“So, what do you think about trying again with the affinity? Dr. Thorne gave you the all-clear.”

I turn my attention to Wylder. “What do you think?”

He shrugs. “You’re going to have to access it sometime. It seems to me that doing it while you’re already in the infirmary is a good call. We’ve got help if we need it.”

Yeah, but he’s not the one that will explode if this goes badly. Of course, I keep that to myself because he’s only trying to help.

And he’s also not wrong.

Better here than in Emberwood.

I take a breath. Hold it. And then I reach—very carefully this time—and approach the warm stream of power with more respect than curiosity.

My ears pop.

The sensation is immediate and extraordinary. The draft through the open window doesn't just touch my skin—I feel it as something dimensional, layered, a thing with pressure and direction and weight.

I can feel the difference in the air between the window side of the room and the wall behind me. The density of it. The movement of it.

"I feel the air," I say slowly, looking at Wylder. "The breeze, the atmospheric pressure… Is that a wind affinity? Because it feels like more than just wind."

Wylder's brow pulls together in that particular thinking way. "Wind affinity is possible. But wind witches don't typically describe air pressure. Atmospheric awareness might mean it’s something different."

"Oh, this is incredible." Asher is already on his feet. "Okay, okay, so wind. You could carry things with it. Light objects, maybe heavier ones if you get strong enough. Push people back in a fight. Redirect spells coming at you⁠—"

"Asher—"

"Flying." His eyes go wide. "Poppy, you could fly!"

"Let's absolutely not get ahead of ourselves."

"Wind witches can't fly," Wylder says, with the patient firmness of someone who has worked very hard to remain reasonable.

Asher points at him triumphantly. “But you just said it's probably something more than wind. So, the rules are different. Flying is on the table."

Wylder opens his mouth. Then, closes it.

Asher's astonishment feeds my soul. Despite everything that has gone wrong in the past week, I find myself turning the idea over in my head.

The pressure I can feel through the window. The weight and direction of the air…

“Honestly, as fun as it would be to dive into thoughts of flying, that will have to wait. I still need you guys to tell me what happened in the cave. And I need to tell you what Tharuzel said to me while I was possessed.”

Wylder frowns. “Maybe we should wait until you’re fully recovered. Your system has been through enough stress for one day.”

Asher nods, looking uncharacteristically serious. “Yeah, let’s hold off on that and focus on this moment, right here, right now.”

My chest tightens as my stomach knots. “Now I’m sure I need to know what I missed. I can tell by your reactions it’s bad, right?”

Wylder lets out a long sigh. “Yeah, it’s bad.”