Glancing at myself in the mirror, I secured the buckle on my waist, and polished the silver academy crest for like the twentieth time. I only had one suit, so I had to thoroughly clean it after the mock battle, but it was as good as new now.
A sense of accomplishment filled my chest, but I didn’t let it linger; there was still much I needed to do before my journey was fulfilled. Taking a settling breath, I pressed my hand on the enchanted screen. “Call Mom.”
The mirror rippled twice before my mother answered, and soon the glass surface seemingly disappeared, until I was staring at her sweet face. “Hi, Mom. Bless me?”
“May Goddess Danu bless you—Oh, honey,” she gasped. “You look so beautiful…” Mom cupped her chest, admiring the warrior suit she had made for me as though she’d never seen it. I supposed that after four years apart, it was indeed like seeing it for the first time.
We talked every week, but I hadn’t really worn it for her after the day I first tried it.
“Love you, Mom.”
“I love you too, honey, but is everything okay? You only call me at the end of each week to tell me how it’s going.”
I smiled, feeling so happy I could burst. “I’ll still call you on Friday for details,” I lifted my wrist so she could see the new ribbon, “but I wanted to pop in for a second because today I’m giving the Bright Warriors Tour.”
Emotion instantly rushed to my mom’s gray eyes, mixing with pride, and driving away the traces of exhaustion her expression had carried. Her pink hair was held by a now messy braid. Her fingertips were red while a couple had healing bands wrapped around them, and the way her seamstress apron crookedly fell over her chest told me she had been sewing all night again.
Mom had spent a lifetime accepting any orders she could get to make enough to raise me and pay for my place at the academy, even if it meant she often had to go without what she needed.
From a young age, I understood the sacrifices my mother made for me. Now that I was older, I appreciated her even more for that. Ella Bloom was the main reason I wanted to make it into the queen’s guard, because then our future would be set forever. No more working until late hours of the night, no more sacrifices…
We would get to live in the palace, and she would never have to work again. It was time for me to take care of my mom as she’d done for me, and achieving that one dream would bring so many others to pass.
“I made it happen, Mom, I was chosen with Aedan to give the tour.”
“I’m so proud of you,” she whispered, unable to say anything more as tears brimmed in her eyes.
A few gathered in mine too. If anyone understood how much this meant to me, it was her.
I didn’t care who my father was when I had been given such an amazing Mom. So, no. I was not letting Cara—that shallow, sanctimonious bitch—or anyone else for that matter, come between me and my dream. I had worked too hard. Sacrificed too much to get here, just to lose the biggest opportunity of my life because of her entitlement.
My mom and I smiled at each other, and the silent moment between us meant everything I needed it to mean.
Wiping the tears that escaped me, I took a deep breath. “I have to go, Mom. I love you.”
“I love you too, honey.”
After her face vanished from the mirror, I brushed my hair one last time and slipped the valuable vial into my belt, heading out to the bridge to meet with Aedan again.
“Hey, C,” my bestie greeted with a dazzling grin when I stepped onto the multilevel landing.
He really had reserved his best outfit for the occasion, and the sight of him gave me pause. My friend looked extra handsome in his royal blue and gold warrior suit. The deep hue contrasted strikingly with his fair skin, heightening the brilliance of his midnight hair and eyes to the point of awe. He looked like a powerful and rightful descendant of the House of Mar.
“Wow, that suit is just…”
“You think?” He made a face, pretending he didn’t like it. “It’s a bit flashy for my taste, but my dad gifted it to me, so I have to wear it.” He shrugged, totally downplaying the situation and it wasn’t lost on me that he was doing it because he knew I only had the one outfit my mom made me.
My fist crashed against his stomach, punching the air out of him.
“Hey! I’m proud of my badass warrior suit, you don’t need to pretend yours sucks so I won’t feel bad.”
“Whew!” He wiped his forehead exaggeratedly. “Good. Cause I can’t really stop the guys from swooning at the sight of me in it, so…”
“Shut up.”
Hooking my arm with his, we made our way to the first floor, immediately finding the younglings, their teachers, and chaperons arriving at the institution and gathering around the double doors that led to the ancient Elementals’ Sanctuary.
“You ready?” I asked, pulling out the vial, and he nodded, doing the same. We broke the wax seals and uncorked the small bottles just as the kids and teachers were guided to the main garden to wait for us there.
“One, two, three.” With Aedan’s count, we threw our heads back, drinking the contents.
A sweet and citrusy flavored syrup grazed my throat on its way down, and suddenly a madness of tingles rushed through my form, popping and crackling along my every inch until it settled in my cells—just like I assumed real magic had once done for our race.
Our wide gazes fell to our tingling hands, and I reached for a plant with budded flowers next to us. I imagined the tiny bud opening and twirling as it grew, and the moment my fingers touched it, the petals opened for me. The daisy turned as though stretching after a long nap, staring back at me in its full glory.
I couldn’t describe what it felt like to be able to do that, all we had ever done with the tiny amounts of magic given to us during class, was to enchant our weapons—like my bow and arrow that could appear and disappear when needed—or prepare defensive potions like the ones Aedan so masterfully created.
Lifting his hand between us, my friend briefly closed his eyes—visualizing his intention—and when he opened them again, the air right above his palms shimmered. The shimmer turned to drops of water that fell onto his skin, remaining as tiny glass spheres while he played with them.
He’d literally extracted the moisture from the air and turned it into tangible water drops.
I couldn’t help but giggle at the mix of awe and joy coursing through me, reflected in the brilliant smile capturing my friend’s face.
“Do you think this is what it felt like?” Aedan asked with a slightly saddened voice. “To have magic be part of you always, like our ancestors did?”
I shook my head. “I don’t think so. My mom always spoke of what her parents could do when she was a child. If this were my real elemental magic, I would have been able to grow the flower in my palm in an instant by using the soil and water in the air, with my magic as nourishment, not just ask it to bloom for me.”
“My grandfather could raise and command the seas…” he confessed, relaying the stories he had been regaled with as a child. “It still feels amazing, though.”
“Definitely.”
“Make it special for them and get me a lot of new recruits,” Savinah, Mr. Kavanagh’s assistant told us as she returned from guiding the kids to the garden. “And have fun!” She waved to us, taking the stairs back to the administration.
“Okay, let’s do this.” I offered my hand to Aedan, but he shook his head at me.
“Nope. This is all you. You are the one who has been dreaming of this day ever since I can remember, so…” He gestured to the tall doors, “make your grand entrance.”
Hugging the living crap out of him, I faced the carved wooden doors that depicted a beautiful image of our goddess, Danu. Excitement pooled in my belly so fiercely that I thought I might pass out.
The academy tour was offered once a year to the brightest younglings from each school, to show them what their lives could be if they became an Aērelis Warrior. It was one of the most prestigious armies in the Fae realm, even without our innate powers. That same tour had captivated me as a child, and Oran Kavanagh was the only reason I had even made it into the younglings group.
I owed Aedan’s family so much.
That day had changed my entire life, and I now had the opportunity to change someone else’s. That was an honor I didn’t take lightly.
The smiling face of the purple-haired girl who had inspired me came to my mind, and I hoped I would make her proud. Extending my wings behind me, I rose from the floor the moment my bestie opened the doors for me, and I headed outside.
“She’s flying!” one of the kids squealed the second I came into view, others echoing his amazement.
I called on the borrowed magic rushing through my veins, and flew in loops above them, making the garden sparkle as I went. Weaving in and out of the tall trees filled to the brim with fully bloomed flowers, I felt them answer my silent request. Small, ripe blossoms fell in a rain of pink, white, and purple over the children, pulling giggles and excited shrieks out of them.
“She has elemental magic again, Mama!” a little girl gasped when I landed before them.
A saddened smile curved the woman’s lips when she crouched next to her daughter. “No, sweetie. None of us do. I believe she is using borrowed magic from the Solara Priestesses.”
The kids’ wide eyes glanced up at me, as though begging me to say otherwise. Unfortunately, I couldn’t.
“Your mother is right,” I admitted. “I’ve been gifted Solara’s magic for today, but that means we get to have so much fun together!” I waved my hands and the already fallen blossoms lifted from the ground, bouncing among the children. “I guess we should start with the introductions,” I offered while they giggled, trying to catch the dancing flowers.
“I’m Neil!” A boy with bright red hair waved at me, stars sparkling with excitement within his eyes.
“Nice to meet you, Neil. I’m Célest Bloom, and this is my assistant, Aedan O'Connor.”
“Sure.” Aedan made an exaggerated face at them, whispering no way as he stopped beside me, and even the teachers laughed.
“I’m kidding. He’s my best friend and we are two of the warriors about to graduate from this prestigious academy.”
“Who wants to be an Aērelis Warrior?” Aedan asked, and several waving hands rose in the air as an answer. “Well, in order to become one of us when you grow up, you not only have to work harder than anyone who has come before you, but you also need to know the history of our race.”
“Who here knows the true story of Aērelis?”
“Me, me, me!”
A blue-haired girl jumped up, desperate to be chosen, and I signaled to her.
“When the world was new, the Fae were created by Goddess Danu, the first race to ever walk the land,” she recited as though she’d heard it so many times that she knew it by heart. “Aērelis, land of the Elemental Faeries, became the most powerful place in all of the realm, because our ancestors could wield the elements. Until one day, the evil Elves stole our powers and cursed us, so we would never wield elemental magic again. The end.”
Chuckles left the parents and teachers at the cute girl's depiction, but my bestie and I exchanged an unsure glance.
“I mean, technically yeah, but I give it a three out of ten,” I admitted, cringing, and the other kids chuckled. “You did it well,” I assured the girl, “but where is the excitement, the fearless savior, the dangerous battle, and giant monsters that will give you nightmares?”
“Argh!” Aedan lunged at the kids, making them freak out. Their yelling and urge to escape turned to laughter when they realized he was being silly.
I just rolled my eyes.
“If you truly want to be one of us, then you need to know the whole story. The good parts and the bad ones we wish had never happened,” Aedan explained.
“Our story is as beautiful as it is dark, inspiring, and even heartbreaking,” I agreed, “but one day we will rise again, stronger than before, and bring justice to Aērelis.”
“Let it be so,” the adults answered almost in prayer.
“So, if your teachers and mothers allow, we would like to give you the real story of our race…” Aedan loomed ominously over the children, his voice acquiring a mysterious and foreboding tone. “But that can only be done by exploring the haunted and ancient Elementals’ Sanctuary.”
I repressed my urge to snort at his theatrics, he was such a goofball.
“It’s not haunted,” I assured, focusing on the adults while they exchanged a hesitant glance, but ultimately nodded. A naughty grin curved my lips with their permission. “Then let us enter…”
Lifting my hands, I sent a wave of magic toward the fallen, brown, and dark green vines covering the ancient entrance.
We watched them lift and untangle slowly, opening the darkened passageway into the forsaken sanctuary, the kids’ gasps reverberating in the wind.