Beauty In Darkness

23

He straightened up and walked out of the room without another word. I grabbed my skirts and followed him like a puppy tailing its master and hoping for a treat. He’d likely hand me another massive pile of thick, dusty history books, but maybe I could convince him to show me a new rune also. Just one, at least. I would take anything at this point.

He strode into his magical workshop and I hurried a little faster. The door slammed shut behind us, making me jump, and then we were surrounded by all of his books, flasks, and other artifacts. Every time I entered this room, I sensed all the things I didn’t know yet, the runes I could learn, and the vast potential I wanted nothing more than to unlock.

He moved to one side of the room and scanned the bookshelf with the skull on it, while I practically quivered with anticipation. When he grabbed a thick book, my heart sank a little, even though it was what I’d been expecting. But instead of handing it to me, he opened it on the table in the center and flipped to a page about halfway through.

“There,” he said, pointing to something on the page. “This is the spell you cast the first time we met.”

I moved up behind him to peer down at the book. The pages were old and filled with runes, the intricate designs done in black ink with a heavy hand. Excitement rose up within me. This book was even bigger than my mother’s spellbook and must hold so many runes I didn’t know yet. “Yes, that’s the one.”

“Cast it again now.”

I drew in a surprised breath and took a few steps back, before raising my hand to trace the shape of the rune. Silvery light followed my fingers as the power grew within me and the ice shard formed in the air.

“No, no, no,” Raith said, holding up a hand to stop me.

My fingers froze and the half-finished shard vanished, disintegrating into nothing. “What’s wrong?”

“Everything.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “First of all, your execution is incorrect. Study the rune again and make sure to get it right next time. And second, you’re trying to form the rune with your hand, instead of with your mind.”

My brow furrowed. “I don’t see how there is a difference.”

“Of course you don’t.” He huffed. “Watch me.”

He slowly and very deliberately cast the same rune I’d been practicing, except the silvery light was stronger, emanating with his intense, controlled power. Sun and Moon, his magic was strong. I’d once heard his only equal was the Archwizard herself, and now I truly believed it.

At the end of his rune he added a small circle, and the magic flashed bright before shifting into a perfect, ornate snowflake hovering between us. The icicles were so delicate, the design so elaborate, I couldn’t imagine how he had created something so beautiful out of nothing but his own magic and willpower.

“Each rune is simply a base spell,” he said, as he drew more runes, creating different snowflakes in the air, each one unique. He moved gracefully, almost as if he were a painter and the world his canvas, and soon the room glittered with frost and ice. “Once you understand the various complexities of the symbols involved, you can change them to suit your will. Add a flourish here, subtract a line there, and so forth. But the runes are not what really matters—it’s all about intent. The runes are simply a way for you to channel your magic into something more specific and precise.”

I reached out to touch the nearest snowflake, enchanted by its beauty, but it crumbled away when my fingers brushed against it. I’d studied magic for years on my own, but had never been able to make anything like that before. My runes were crude compared to what Raith could do.

Humbled, I bowed my head. “What must I do?”

He ran a hand along his stubbled jaw as he considered me, then grabbed something off the table. A long strip of black cloth.

“I’m going to put this over your eyes,” he said, as he stepped toward me.

My heart jumped into my throat, but I nodded. He moved behind me, brushing my hair out of the way, and I shivered slightly at his light touch. As he wrapped the silky black cloth around my head and plunged me into darkness, I remembered tales I’d heard of men and women doing this sort of thing in more…intimate ways. Heat rushed between my legs as he tied the knot behind my head, while I imagined what he might do to me next. How his hands might travel down my body…

“Now,” he said, his voice right at my ear. “Cast the rune.”

I quickly banished those sensual thoughts from my mind. All Raith wanted was a student, nothing more. I couldn’t let myself forget that, because when I did it only hurt more once I was reminded of the truth.

I willed my hand to be steady as I began to trace the rune from memory. I tried to put as much power and grace into it as Raith had done, but doubt and uncertainty crept in and I knew my sad attempt at a snowflake looked nothing as fine as his. When my arm dropped, I didn’t even need to take off the blindfold to know I’d failed.

“This isn’t working,” I said.

“Have some patience. That’s half your problem.”

Now he sounded like Lily. I was about to bite out a reply, when his cool fingers wrapped around my wrist, making me jump. He moved behind me, his hard chest pressed against my back, as he raised my arm up.