Page 53 of A Conduit of Light
Illuminare,Excress,Incendo,Nitidus—she had learned all of these magic enhancements from one single book in theMagicLanguageHallon the first floor.
Illuminareshe had used often, the light of her magic glowing bright and pulsating with the beat of her heart.
Excresswas used to enhance the size of fruits or objects, but the magic didn’t last forever.
Incendoshe’d never really need.Itwas a way to make a fire grow, not start, and she could already do both of those things, but she had practiced it anyway, interested in the power of her words rather than the power that came easily to her.
Lastly,Nitidus,she found useful on occasion.Itenhanced the appearance of things, cleaning them if they were dirty, or giving them a polish and shine.Shehadn’t used it to enhance her own appearance, but she had definitely thought about it, unsure if it would work.
ThoughtsofRevichcrept into her mind for the thousandth time and she beamed, holdingTheLanguageofMagic, aGuidetoSpeakingWithaConduit’sSoulbySeraphynAntynn.Shehad opened to a page about magical language in the history of love.Accordingto the author, spells had been tried throughout the ages to coerce another into falling in love but all were futile—that type of magic did not exist.Amagic user could not use their power to force something like love onto another.
Ashchewed on her lower lip, just at the corner, thinking aboutRevich.Whatshe felt when she was with him…she couldn’t imagine how she had lived without it.
Herthoughts passed to her friends as well.ClairanniaandFiguerahhad made her time inFelgrenbearable in those first few weeks, training with her, going through the experience of a new channeler coming toFelgren.Shehad grown to love them as sisters and looked forward to talking with them each day.
Hertime here had changed in the blink of an eye.
Shethought of her refusal to cooperate at first.Shethought of how much she had softened since then, loving the forest, lovingViridis, and being loved in return.
Just…loved.
Sheunderstood now that her relationships inHyrithiahad been but a shadow of the word.Shedidn’t doubt theQueenand thePrince—evenGeyrand—had loved her.Buther role in that castle was given to her, not taken for herself, and she realized then that she could never have been free within those walls.Shecould never have been loved fully if she was caged, if her power was used for convenience, never as something great that could create life or bring light to the darkness.
Hatredand fear had led her survival in her first days withinFelgren.Butnow?Achance at happiness, loving those she wished, and fulfilling her purpose here drove her to keep trying.Shehad found a reason to give her power over to those who could wield it and stop the disease killingFelgren.
Hereyes skimmed over the page, reading words of magical endearments of love.
Theystopped over one word, and she whispered it aloud.
Allat once, the scent of lilac and roses filled the air.Awarm breeze swept past her cheeks, as birds, blue as the sky above her, flew from the courtyard in one flighted symphony.Theword echoed in the hallway around her as she spoke it again.
Itfelt…right.Itfelt as if this word had been waiting for her here, inViridis, all this time—waiting for her to read it aloud, to take it in, to realize that she had the power to choose her own self, her own future, her own loves in this world.
Andshe understood then.
Viridishad given its approval.
Shehad found her new name—the one that fit her heart fully.
Theone that meantbeloved.
Chapter24
Ash
Closingthe book and thanking it under her breath, she rushed to the nearby podium, tearing off a piece of parchment that was left there for training channelers to take notes on any of their discoveries or thoughts.
Shedipped the quill in the dark green ink and watched in delight as the letters curved over the paper in her own handwriting.
Itwas lovely.
Andit washers.Shehad the choice to accept it and that was…that was everything.
Sheblew softly on the ink and folded it into the pocket of her mossy green skirt.Sheknew who she wanted to tell first.Andto get to him beforeBaronHeimlenshowed, she’d have to hurry.
* * *
“Thisis agony,you know.Ihaven’t been able to focus on a single thing all day withyourunning through my mind as a thorough distraction.”
