Page 278 of Cursed Evermore
She giggled and wiped away my tears. “I’d be real mad at your heart, too. You’re the only person I can share my love for scented candles and cupcakes with.”
I laughed, and it felt good. “I know. The gods would be cruel to make me forget all those things.”
She smiled back at me. “We’ll form new memories when you return from the mortal lands. The summer festival will be just around the corner. Maybe we can go with our guys.”
“That sounds great.”
The clock on the wall chimed, alerting us that the seminar was about to start.
“That’s my cue. Are you sure you don’t want to come with me?”
I nodded. “I’ll be okay. I think I’ll make better use of the time here.”
“Alright. Here’s a little something to get you through the next hour.” She wiggled her fingers, and the batch of muffins Sirril prepared for us earlier appeared on the table. “I don’t care what you say, there’s no way you can resist those muffins.”
“Thanks. I think I’m hungry now.”
"Just don't let the librarian see them. She'll have a fit if she catches us with food in here, but she can't resist Sirril's muffins, either. I once caught her eating the batch she'd confiscated from me."
I laughed and shook my head. “Don’t worry, I’ll be careful.”
“Good, see you in about two hours.”
“Have fun.”
“You too.” She threw me one last smile then sauntered out of the room.
I got up and set the healing book back on the shelf, then grabbed the one about basic conjuring. I'd already read this book twice since starting at Hyxian, but I decided to go back to the first page. There was obviously something I was missing.
My conjuring techniques were no better than they'd been in Stormfell. I could conjure something that already existed and was close by, like when I'd gotten drunk at the manor, but creating anything new from my mind was problematic.
Archmage Magdelena had told me to focus on flowers because they were the most basic things to conjure.
At the moment, every flower I conjured withered within seconds of appearing.
Magdelena thought I was overthinking my spells and needed to slow down. To improve, I needed to go back to basics and take each step one at a time.
I returned to my seat and dove in, reading and making notes. I did that for an hour before eating a muffin. I was about to reach for another when Zyrra suddenly stepped out of the air in front of me.
I screeched, nearly jumping out of my skin.
“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry.” She rushed over to me and crouched to see if I was okay. “I was trying so hard not to startle you. I even waited until you took a break because you seemed so engrossed in your book.”
I placed my hand to my heart and calmed my breathing. “It’s fine. I’m okay.” I chuckled lightly.
“Thank goodness. I feel so bad. I came to check on you. I didn’t want to give you a heart attack.” She smiled and lowered into the seat where Arielle previously sat.
“Honestly, I’m fine. And thanks for checking on me.” I looked her over. Like every time I’d seen her, she was dressed in an elegant gown with her hair styled to perfection. “I haven’t seen you in a while.”
It wasn't that long ago, but it felt like forever because so much had happened since we last saw each other.
"I've been in the Southern Isles. I run a boutique there with a sailor I met." Her cheeks warmed at the mention of the sailor.
“That sounds nice.”
“It is. But I’m afraid my family wouldn’t think so. The daughter of Lysander Nightblade isn’t supposed to be shacked up in the Southern Isles with a sailor.” She gave me a coy smile. “Especially since we’re not married. Hence why I never attended my uncle’s name day celebration.”
That explained a lot. “You didn’t miss much.”
