Page 78 of Daughter of No Worlds

“Magic is just as much of a living being as you or I. So the way you direct it needs to change. This Stratagram is how I needed to direct it five minutes ago. Butthisone is how I needed to direct it thirty seconds ago. And if I were to do it again, that one would be different, too.”

My lips tightened. I drew a circle, then paused. “But,” I asked, “what do the linesmean?How do I read them?”

“Do you know what I hear, when you ask me that?” Max narrowed his eyes at me. “I hear, ‘Max, how do I ram my head through this with unrelenting and methodical brute force?’”

“That’s not what I meant.”

It was, a little.

“Well, you can’t force these,” he said, smugly. “You just have to feel it.”

I tried another circle, then another. Nothing.

“They do tend to be more difficult for Valtain,” Max said, after several failed attempts. “You magic is just more nebulous than mine.”

“Does Nura use them?”

“Yes. I’ve seen her do some incredible things with them. For all her flaws, she is an exceptionally talented Wielder.”

At the mention of Nura, I thought back to my odd conversation with her in the garden. There were many times when I almost asked Max the questions that lingered at the tip of my tongue. It never seemed like a good time — especially not when we were both still recovering from our time in Tairn. Now, my frustration made me bold.

“So,” I said, drawing another circle. “Nura was your lover. Yes?”

“Excuse me?” Max let out a strangled chuckle. “What a topic change.”

“It’s true though. Yes?”

Another circle. Another set of lines. No response.

“Yes,” he said, finally. “Long time ago.”

It was no great surprise to me that Nura and Max had been together. But I still couldn’t quite envision them as a couple, like they were two puzzle pieces that didn’t quite fit. Then again, maybe that was because Nura was still such an enigma to me.

“You seem very different,” I said.

A long pause. I kept my eyes trained to the paper, repeating circles.

“As much as it pains me to say this,” Max answered at last, “Nura probably knows me better than any other living human being. I’ve known her since we were children. But when we were together, we were very different people, and far more… aligned.”

Aligned. Hm.

“Why did it end?”

“Our views had become totally incompatible, and that became obvious in the most violent possible manner.”

I glanced up at him, and he scrunched up his nose. “Don’t give me thatlook,” he said, “as if I owe you the dirty details.”

I gave him a cloying smile. He rolled his eyes.

“And after?” I asked. “Other lovers?”

“Nosy, nosy.”

My hand stopped. I pressed my finger to the tip of my nose, raising an eyebrow. “Nose-ee?”

Aran was a strange, strange language.

“It’s a term for someone who sticks their nose where it doesn’t belong. The definition might as well include your name.”

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