Page 94 of These Fractured Bonds

“For believing in me.”

When her insecurity, powerlessness, naivety, andothernessconstantly undermined her confidence, it meant a lot to have someone who always believed in her. A nice change to her inner monologue with its incessant attacks. If only she could bring herself to trust him completely again.

Chapter 36

Half-eatenfoodremaineduntouchedon her small table; a handful of strawberries spread across the white plate like a crimson splatter. Yareli popped one into her mouth, chewing it with indifference. She needed to eat; magic used an enormous amount of energy, and she was still recovering from the last event, but even as her stomach rumbled, her appetite was nonexistent. Although she had cracked her core, she was nervous it wouldn’t work, that it had been a fluke.

The door clicked open.

“And that’s the medical purpose of trallesul,” Leo finished saying.

Erick shrugged. “The institute needs to update its research records. The Air Court has proven at least five more uses for it.”

“And they haven’t reported it?”

“I’m sure they’re still getting to that. They aren’t the fastest with bureaucracy—another effect of trallesul.”

“What is it, exactly?” Yareli interrupted, striding over to her sitting area. She sat in the armchair facing the two of them.

“It’s—” Leo started.

Erick interjected. “Similar to that flower that you humans like to smoke.” He plopped onto the couch, legs flopping over its armrest. He blew a curl away from his face. “Only, it has magical properties which make it more potent.”

“Is that what Tonio meant about the Air Court debating its usages?”

“Yup.” Erick popped the “p.”

“It’s used recreationally as well, adding to its popularity,” Leo said. “Scoot over, Erick. You’re taking most of the couch.”

“I need my beauty sleep,” Erick replied. “Augrys has me working overtime these days.”

“Why are you here then?” Yareli said, concerned. “Go rest.”

“He’s here in case things go wrong,” Leo explained.

“Wrong?”

Erick’s head flopped over the edge of the couch, his blue eyes locking onto hers. “Yeah, in case you go boom!”

Yareli blinked, her mouth hanging open.

Leo smacked Erick’s forehead. “Don’t put it like that!”

To her, he said, “He’s not exaggerating, but it’s normal.” He gestured at her to stand. “Magic is both simple and not. Most modern spellwork doesn’t use spells to cast. You can simply do it. However, that is highly dependent on a couple of factors: raw power, proficiency, and gifts. For example, a fire gifted Faenaturally is inclined to fire spellwork and won’t need spells for it at all. However, water spellwork will be harder and require study to achieve wordless, spell-less casting.”

He paused, his gray eyes meeting hers. “But the hard part isn’t casting; it’s controlling it.”

Yareli frowned. “But don’t you need control to cast…”

“He means ‘small spell go boom’ if you don’t control how much magic you pour into it,” Erick said, rolling onto his side and yawning.

She thought that over. “Hypothetically speaking, if I wanted to draw a flame, if I wasn’t careful, I could cause an explosion?”

“Exactly.” Leo confirmed. Although that’s only one of the possible outcomes. Magic can be unruly.”

“Great,” she said.

Leo patted her shoulder. “Don’t worry. All of us have exploded once during our formative years.”