Page 103 of Of Shadows and Blood

“A cess I practice next to. A little reserved and slightly out of her mind but she told me a few weeks ago that I needed heat. And now this!” I smile and clap to myself. This could be a breakthrough for my head. But how would she know that?

“I’ll ask Avonde about it.” He smiles at me wide with fangs fully glistening. “Do you feel okay? Could you access your magic right now?”

I nod excitedly and focus on that internal well, the pocket of space I can imagine. Fuzzy, unsure, but it exists. I close my mouth and channel a heated breath in and out of my nose. The thread of magic is sealed tight but if I can melt into it…

Nothing.

“Well, we’ll have to do that again,” I sigh.

“To be sure,” Cedric adds. I wink and send a silent sorry to the guards in the snow.

Chapter 27

The parasite within fills with deep loathing, immense dread. It worms, it burrows, it creates caverns of loss. Every pocket created risks my sanity.

Safely back in Lux, Yully was reluctant to skip our lesson this morning when I sent Jett downstairs. We know of my skills with the earth but the heat indicates flame. Aside from that, the cess naturally possess defensive and offensive powers that pull directly from our raw magic. This is the part that is still locked away, leashed.

That is what I feel like. A leashed animal.

“Good morning.” I smile at Garreth, who looks unamused with my presence in the training yard. Cedric thought it would be best to expand the area so I may practice battle moves. We’re a few extra yards away from the castle, near the forest. Just in case I almost burn everything down.

“You’re supposed to be working on your magic,” he replies, crossing his arms.

“I know, but I think I should know how to hold a sword properly.”

“You technically already know how to.” I feel my shoulders sag and he makes an apologetic look. “Sorry.”

“We just have to tap back into that well, then.”

Garreth wrings his neck and glances around. “Cedric won’t like this.”

I grab the practice wooden sword from a rack and adjust my grip. “I disagree. He wants me to be strong. To be confident in my body. This,” I swing it around clumsily, “is how I can do that. Now, are you going to train me or stand there?”

He rocks back on his heels before sighing and grabbing his own. “In battle, the ideal situation would be a sword that belongs to you and only you. Balanced,” he settles the blade across his arm to demonstrate, “fit,” he pulls his arm back and grabs the sword midfall. “And for you, your sword would be made of cess metal.”

“Cess metal?”

“An alloy that subdues vampyr but speaks to the magic imbued in it from the cess who made it. Lead, on the other hand, subdues all cess. Senna ensured balance.”

“Oh, we’re blacksmiths now?” I laugh.

“No, you imbue blades often.”

Interesting.

“But I’m a hybrid.”

Garreth sucks in air, switching the sword to his nondominant hand. “Indeed. So, with your magic being locked, Avonde believes cess metal would affect you. Until you can wield and speak to the magic imbued, you will need to use a standard blade.”

Firming my stance in the dirt ring, I raise the sword. Garreth steps inside the circle and begins laughing. I squint my eyebrows and charge at him. In two strides I swing the wooden blade down but he steps aside quickly, causing me to trip and crash out in the dirt.

Huffing, I press up onto my haunches and spit out the dirt that made its way into my mouth somehow. Garreth simply laughs and offers me a hand up.

“You have the right idea, to be sure. Your muscle memory is likely still there. But you need to work on your alignment.” He points down to my foot. “This one right here.” He draws an X in the dirt.

Garreth draws another X and I place my back foot there. He places his hand on my calf, pulling me forward just slightly and then moves to adjust my arms.

“Good, Liv. Now with arms, we want a firm frame. You will tire from the weight of your sword, no matter how well made. Plus, battle is messy. You may need to grab the blade of your enemy.”