Page 100 of Court of Lies and Deceit

Shock still clangs inside my skull like giant bells, and memories long buried are now rattling around in there. I feel off-kilter. As if something fundamental has snapped free inside me, and now I’m just flailing as I tumble through an open sky with nothing to grab on to.

Seated on a bench at the back of the room, I stare at Oleander Darkmane. He is hiding underneath a pale wooden table, as far away from me as he can possibly get. His blue and red eyes are wide with terror as he stares at me from underneath that table, and his face is ghostly pale. The remaining two members of the White Faction, who aren’t currently arguing with their faction owner, are looking between me and Oleander’s shaking body. Confusion and fury mix in their eyes.

“Malachi’s balls,” Jocasta says as she plops down on the bench next to me. Leaning back, she stretches out her legs and rests her back against the stone wall behind us. “That was some finale, kid.” There is deep approval in her eyes as she glances over at me and smiles. “I knew you could do it.”

“Thank you,” I reply, as sincerely as I can.

I want to mean it. Idomean it. But I’m just so shellshocked right now that I’m having trouble functioning. That memory of my parents is still swirling around inside my mind. And I also can’t stop thinking about that incredible feeling of pleasure that I got when I created the fear in Oleander’s chest. And I can’tstop staring at Oleander, huddled underneath that table and still terrified of me.

Jocasta follows my gaze and then nods discreetly towards the terrified man. “You must’ve used a lot of power if he’s still this scared of you even after you’ve released the magic.”

Jolted out of my stupor, I blink repeatedly as a sudden idea hits me. I can decrease his fear so that he won’t have to hide under the table now that the match is over. Calling up my magic, I throw it out in search of that bone white spark of fear.

Shock crackles up my spine when I findtwo.

There is a small spark of fear and a big one. The small spark feels the way it usually does when I connect to someone’s emotions. But that big flame next to it, it’s distinctly mine. I can both see and feel my own influence and magic in it. It’s incredibly obvious that it’s not his own fear. Leaving the small spark alone, since it probably has nothing to do with me, I instead latch on to the bigger spark and start lowering his fear at a rapid pace.

That massive bone white flame decreases steadily.

Then it stops.

I scowl, trying again to decrease it. It’s smaller than before, but it’s still there, burning steadily. And no matter how much I try to decrease it, it doesn’t get any smaller than that. I try instead to simply slam it down. Like a lid slammed onto a burning pot. That doesn’t work either.

With that frown of confusion on my face, I turn to Jocasta. “How do I release it?”

She blinks, looking genuinely stunned by the question. “What do you mean?”

“I haven’t removed the fear that I put in his chest. It’s still there. I can feel my own magic in it. I managed to decrease it a little. But how do I turn it off completely?”

Silence falls over us for a few seconds as she just stares at me, her mouth slightly open. As if she’s trying to figure out if I’m messing with her or not. When she sees the seriousness on my face, she blinks again and gives her head a quick shake.

“Like normal,” she says, sounding hesitant. “When you disengage your magic, it disappears.”

“No.” My frown deepens. “It’s still there.”

“Just try it again. You looked a little dazed after the match so maybe you just forgot.”

I cut off the flow of my magic. Once Jocasta has seen that my eyes have stopped glowing, she nods. Turning towards Oleander, I throw my magic towards that bone white spark of fear. Just like last time, there are two. One small spark and one steadily burning flame. The flame has my distinctive feel to it.

“It’s still there,” I say, cutting off the flow of my magic again and turning back to Jocasta. “And I can’t decrease it beyond a certain point either.”

Once again, silence descends over us. But this time, it’s filled with tension. Jocasta turns to look at Oleander. After I decreased his fear slightly, he has at least stopped shaking and hiding underneath the table. But he’s still staring at me with terrified eyes.

Through the open slot in the door, the murmur of the crowd drifts in like the rumble of the sea as they discuss the matches and wait for the victory presentation.

Next to me, Jocasta licks her lips. But all she says is, “Oh.”

My heart jerks. I don’t like the sound of that. “What do you mean,oh?”

“It’s supposed to disappear when you withdraw your magic.”

“But it doesn’t.”

“Probably because your magic is so much stronger than mine. With that much raw power, I guess there are… side effects.”

Ice washes through my veins and my stomach drops. “It’s permanent?”

“It would appear so.”

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