Page 34 of Strength of Desire

“I mean, it says ‘History’ right there on the cover.” She pointed at it.

“Yeah, but I—” I shrugged. “I still feel like I don’t understand any of this. It’ll probably be helpful, though, you’re right.”

I stuck it in the crook of my arm. Would it help with our research? Felix would know.

“That’s good, though,” Erika said. “That you don’t understand stuff. That’s the whole point of our first year. To introduce us to all the different types of magic out there, before we pick one to focus on. There’s so much that still confuses me too.”

“Yeah, but it’s different for you,” I told her. “You like,getmagic. You grew up in a family of witches.”

“Doesn’t mean I could do any magic, though. I didn’t come into my powers until age seventeen.”

“But you still heard about all of this stuff. People talked about it. To me, all this magic stuff feels like trying to learn Ancient Greek.”

Erika laughed. “Then I probably shouldn’t tell you that learning Ancient Greek is a huge help if you’re trying to study the magical systems of antiquity.”

I looked at her, widening my eyes half in jest, half in legitimate panic.

She giggled. “Don’t worry, we don’t get to that until second year.”

“Are you serious?” I asked. “I feel like I’m drowning just trying to keep all that we’ve learned so far in my head.”

“I mean, it’s optional,” she said. “You don’t need it for every haven. It’s most useful if you’re studying comparative historical magic.”

“Wait, are you planning to go out for History like Felix?”

“Nah, probably not. Hex is where the cutting edge spellwork is being done. But Ancient Greek is a help there too.”

“Right,” I deadpanned. “Because what’s more cutting edge than a dead language?”

“All invention builds on knowledge of the past,” she said primly—and then grinned. “But I’m also kind of a language geek. It just sounds fun.”

I looked at her stack of books. “Do they use a lot of ancient languages in Harvest?”

“Sort of. A lot of ancient magic had to do with the natural world. Some of the oldest spells we’ve found date back to early Mesopotamian kingdoms attempting to control floods, bring rain, increase crop yields, and all that. But I mostly just picked Harvest to research because it’s the haven I know least about. It’s always good to expand your knowledge, right?”

“Don’t let Ash hear you say that,” I snickered. “So okay, you want to learn Ancient Greek. What other languages do you want to study?”

“Oh God, the list is so long. But I’ll probably start with Sanskrit, and then Egyptian and Sumerian written records.” She grinned. “I heard Vesperwood even has an elective on Linear A.”

I frowned. “Like, algebra?”

Erika shook her head. “No, it’s the name of a language—well, a script—that no one’s deciphered yet. From thirty-five hundred years ago.”

“And theyteachthat here?”

“Not teach, exactly. But you work on trying to decrypt it through a magical lens. Or something like that. Val was a little vague on the details, since she’s never taken it.”

Val, or Valeria Martinez, was Erika’s older sister, a fourth-year Hunter who, from Erika’s description, was equal parts Barbie doll and Xena, Warrior Princess. She’d pointed Val out at lunch once, across the refectory. All I’d been able to see was curly brown hair on someone who was at least six feet tall. She’d looked like she could beat me up, though.

Erika flicked one of her long braids over her shoulder and returned to studying the shelves. The action highlighted an angry scar on the side of her neck. It hadn’t been infected, but it was still taking a while to heal.

“How are you doing today?” I asked. “With, you know. Everything.”

I didn’t want to press her to talk about something she’d rather avoid, but I felt the need to ask anyway. She’d been through a lot, and much as she was trying to act like it never happened, I could tell it still bothered her.

It bothered me too.

“Oh, you know. My ribs still hurt any time I take too deep a breath, my ankle aches, and I’m terrified Cinda missed something and I’m about to turn into a monster. But other than that, hunky dory.” She smiled wryly. “How about you?”

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