Page 73 of The Eye of the Fifth
A churning began in Kyra’s stomach that had nothing to do with hunger. ‘Ah,’ she muttered with a nod as she crammed the last book into the small gap it had come from. ‘How fun.’
‘Oh, I am sure it will be,’ Zuriel said. ‘After all, you are a Warden. Magic is in your nature.’ She smiled, but it was too sweet, too knowing. ‘Good luck.’
Any pity Kyra had felt for Zuriel the night before evaporated. When she was sure Zuriel had gone far enough to be out of earshot, Kyra asked the cluster of faeries buzzing above her head, ‘Is she always such a bitch?’
She took the answering silence as a resoundingyes.
???
Kyra liked to think she was in fairly good physical shape.
But the endless steps leading up and out to the summit of the Floating Mountains almost made her keel over.
She finally arrived on the top step, her breath spilling fast and furiously from her mouth, puffing clouds against the freezing air. At least the sweat dripping down her spine was somewhat warming.
Before she could take another step, a greatsquawksounded and a bird as big as any man landed in front of her, wings outstretched, its shimmering brown and golden feathers splayed threateningly. Its beak alone could have pecked both her eyes out with one snap, and the look in its own beady eyes seemed as though that was exactly what it wanted to do.
Kyra immediately went for her dagger, her fingers wrapping around its hilt.
‘Do nothing,’ Naal sternly called out from behind the great bird, then gave two high pitched, domineering whistles. The effect was immediate; the hawk slowly lowered its wings, tucking them tightly to its body, then moved to the side to let Kyra pass. It gave her a smug side glance as she did, proud it had spooked her.
Just left of the colossal mountain’s peak, was a circular pit surrounded by cascading steps carved into the thick ice. And standing in the centre, with her hands clasped behind her back and clad in thick billowing robes of silky lilac, was Naal.
‘Good evening, Kyra,’ she said warmly as Kyra approached.
‘It is, isn’t it?’ Kyra replied, wide-eyed as she gazed around at the immense darkening sky, streaked with dusk’s pastel palette.
‘I promised I would teach you how to wield your magic,’ Naal said. ‘Though our course has been changed, I would still like to uphold my promise as best I can.’ She sat down where she was, lithe hands clasping her knees. ‘Sit before me.’
Kyra obeyed, begrudging the cold that bit into her legs the moment they touched the ground, even with the mothsilk cloak between her and the snow.
‘Close your eyes.’
‘What does this have to do with magic?’
‘Close your eyes, Kyraena.’
‘It’s just-’
‘Kyra.Close your eyes.’ Mimicking Naal’s position with hands on her knees, Kyra finally let her eyes shut. ‘Normal magic, the kind of magic used by humans and fae alike, is easy enough to wield if you have the patience to do so. Warden magic, however, is a power that takes much greater concentration. Before you learn how to use either, you need to know how to differentiate the two.’
‘How do I do that?’
‘Keep your eyes closed, Kyra.’
‘They are!’
Naal continued as though there had been no interruption, ‘Ordinary magic resides in the body. Your blood, your bones, your organs. It lives and thrives in the physical being. The more connected a person is to their body, the more connected to their magic they will be. For a few moments, remain perfectly still and focus on nothing but your breath.’
Kyra wiggled slightly in an attempt to dislodge a lumpy bit of snow beneath her, then she forced herself to be as still and placid as Naal was.
It was damn near impossible.
Her left nostril whistled softly with each breath out. After the fifth exhale of trying to ignore it, she aggressively rubbed at her nose in an attempt to clear whatever blockage was causing the annoying sound.
‘Be gentle with yourself.’
‘My nostril is masquerading as a fucking flute, Naal,’ Kyra snapped back. ‘I’m trying to shut it up.’ There was a beat of silence. ‘If you’re laughing-’
