History of Magic (Ember Academy for Young Witches Book 2)

by L. C. Mawson

  “So... You think that she’s mostly upset about failing the trials?”

  “Well, she has always wanted to be an Amazon. This was her one shot, and she lost it because someone else decided to pick on her. Wouldn’t you be upset in her position?”

  I sighed, knowing that she was right.

  And annoyed that I had to be walked through something so simple.

  “Yeah. I’ll... I’ll go talk to her.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  I, thankfully, found Willow in her usual spot in the gardens, lying on the grass to read.

  I hesitated before approaching, however.

  What if Charlotte was wrong? What if Willow just hated me?

  I took a deep breath to steel myself.

  I was still here to apologise. I shouldn’t have used our relationship to make a point, and I should have paid more attention to how Willow was feeling about everything with the Amazons.

  Instead of just talking to her about my worries for Natalie.

  And if she still hated me after that...

  Well, I’d made this bed. I supposed I would have to lie in it.

  Even if the thought had my heart twisting in my chest, as if someone was trying to crush it between their fingers.

  “Hey,” I said as I finally approached, though my voice came out as barely more than a whisper.

  My mouth went dry, and I tried to swallow as Willow looked up at me, her gaze as cold as ice.

  “Can we talk?”

  She regarded me carefully for a moment before nodding, sitting up.

  I went to sit beside her, though I kept a reasonable amount of distance between us, not wanting to push things too far if that wasn’t what she wanted.

  “I’m sorry,” I said when it became clear that she wasn’t going to say anything until I did. “I shouldn’t have used our relationship to make a point. I just... The stuff Natalie and Lauren were saying got under my skin. I’ve been the victim of Lauren’s strand of bullying one too many times myself, and... And it hurt.

  “It also hurt when she directed it at you, but... Well, you seemed fine, and I was so afraid of dumping all of my trauma on you by admitting how upset it made me, that I didn’t think to look past that. But I’m sorry. It must have looked like I didn’t care, and I’m so sorry for that. I do care. Really. I just... I didn’t want to risk caring too much and you thinking that maybe I was too much.”

  I forced myself to stop talking, despite every instinct telling me to keep rambling and not let there be a second of silence.

  A second where Willow might interject to tell me that I was still wrong.

  And that she didn’t want to talk to me ever again.

  Eventually Willow managed a weak smile. “I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t... I shouldn’t have just told you to guess at what was bothering me. It felt like you were putting more effort into figuring out what Natalie was feeling than what I was, but I didn’t give you the benefit of the doubt as to why. I just assumed that it was because you really wanted her as a girlfriend. And not just that you liked her, I could deal with that, but that you wanted her instead of me. That you would leave me if she was an option.”

  She sighed. “I’m sorry, she’s your friend, and I went and pinned my insecurities about our relationship onto her.”

  I held out my hand, letting Energy crackle across it.

  Willow frowned. “Amelia, you don’t have to...”

  “I know. And I’m not offering up my feelings about Natalie, but I am offering up my feelings about you.”

  Willow hesitated for just a moment before taking my hand as I focused on how much I cared about her.

  On how much it had meant to me when she’d agreed to help me lift the curse from my mum.

  And then after, when I’d been scarred, and she’d kissed me anyway.

  And how familiar her magic felt to me, and the way it drew me in.

  How I could sit and just count her freckles for hours.

  Willow leaned forward to kiss me as I felt a cascade of emotions in return.

  How she’d admired how determined I was to lift the curse.

  And then the terrifying ache in her heart as she realised that I’d taken the curse into myself in its entirety to save her.

  How willing I had been to sacrifice myself to save someone else, whether it had been her or not.

  Willow pulled away from the kiss a little. “Elven folklore is full of heroes who throw themselves at danger to save others. I always loved those stories, but then I grew up and thought that no one could ever live up to them. That no one would ever act like that.

  “But then I met you. Your magic drew me in, too, Amelia, but it’s your heart that’s kept me here.”

  She kissed me again, and I leaned close, tucking my hands beneath her jacket to place them on her waist.

  Her Energy crackled at my touch, a wave of desire rushing through me via our connection, stoking my own feelings.

  Willow gasped as she felt what I was broadcasting, but then she pulled away.

  “We, um... We’re still in a public place.”

  My cheeks turned crimson as I realised that she was right.

  “You could come with me to my room.”

  The words were out of my mouth before I really had any time to consider if the offer was a good idea.

  Or to realise what I was implying.

  Willow’s cheeks turned red. “I, um...” She sighed. “Amelia, I’m not sure that either of us are ready for where that might lead. Not now. Magical beings can be easily drawn into their feelings, remember? It’s important to keep some level of intentionality to things.”

  “So, not now, but... Sometime in the future?”

  Willow smiled, her cheeks getting even redder. “Probably not too long, I don’t think I have the patience, but only if that’s what you want. You’re still getting used to magic, which is never the best time to get too... emotionally intense.”

  “Well, that might be true, but... Patience has never been something I’ve been good at.”

  Willow’s smile widened, and she leaned forward to kiss me once more, though she kept it frustratingly quick.

  I suppressed a groan, deciding that it was time to change the subject before I got too worked up.

  Thankfully, Willow did it before I could. “So, how’s your training going?”

  I grimaced. “Not good. They’ve moved the final trial up to next week.”

  Willow stared at me, her smile fading. “Will that be enough time to prepare?”

  “I’m not sure. Hopefully.”

  “And if you fail?”

  I cringed. “It seems like a lot of the Amazons want to figure out how I’m so powerful. Even if I told them what I know, there would be questions. Questions best answered with me in their custody.”

  “Is there anything I can do to help?”

  “Actually, yeah. I think healing magic will help me in the final trial, but I’m not very good at it. At least, I’m not very good at Witch techniques. But Charlotte suggested that you might know some Elven techniques.”

  She nodded before taking a dagger from her bag and slicing it across my hand before I had a chance to pull away.

  “Hey! What was that for? And why do you have a knife in your bag?”

  “Calm down, it’s sterilised.”

  “Okay, but why do you have it?”

  She sighed. “It was a gift from my father. Now, let me heal you so that I can show you how to do it.”

  I nodded, holding my hand out.

  She put one hand over mine before placing her other on the ground, threading it between the grass.

  She closed her eyes. “You need to focus on the nature around you and pull from its energy. It works best if you can put the wound right up against a living plant, but this will do.”

  She pulled her hand away and opened her eyes. I glanced down to see that the wound across my hand had healed.

  She then took her dagger and drew it across her own hand.


  I got a better look at the knife. It was silver and relatively simple, though there were small, intricate carvings across the top of the metal, in a swirling pattern.

  “Is that an Elven blade?”

  “It’s Fin’hathan,” she said. “My father gave it to me when he started training me. I stopped carrying it for a while, but... I guess I just miss home.”

  Once she’d finished, I placed one hand in the grass, just as she had, and tried to sense out with my magic.

  The response was nearly overwhelming.

  Yes, there was power there.

  Though if I’d thought that the wild edge to my magic made it more volatile, that was nothing compared to the chaotic power I was tapping into here.

  Still, I channelled it as best I could, focusing on Willow’s wound.

  The energy flowed between us, almost knocking me back as the wound closed.

  “Sorry, I should have warned you. Things have been out of balance on Earth for a long while now. It can make tapping into the magic more draining than it should be. I guess I’ve just gotten used to it.”

  “Out of balance?”

  “Climate change has kind of screwed things up. The Earth is screaming... But, unfortunately, there isn’t much we can do.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Don’t we have magic?”

  “Magic that we can’t use against Humans without risking exposure.”

  “Surely something like this is worth it.”

  She shrugged. “You’d think so. But no, there are reasons to fear Humans learning about magic, and none of the people in charge are going to change their minds. Even Queen Freya can just live in the Underworld with the rest of the Demons. Away from Humans and their mistakes.”

  Willow muttered that last part, glaring at the ground.

  “You really wanted somewhere to go away from Humans, huh?”

  She sighed. “I just... I like it here, at this school. I like not having to hide. But I’ve only got a couple of years left, and then what? Back to hiding?” She shook her head. “Being at a Human school was tiring for me, and I don’t think I’ll do well in the rest of the Human world, either. But now I know that the Witches don’t want me, and there are so few Elves, the only sect that really keeps away from the Human world are the Fin’Hathan.”

  “And you’d never become an assassin.”

  She just kept looking at the grass.

  But, eventually, she looked back up at me with a weak smile. “Well, as much as I’d like to be selfish and spend every moment I can with you, you should probably spend every moment you can training for this final trial.”

  I nodded, not unaware that the reason why she’d want to spend every last moment with me is that they might be the only moments we had if I failed the trial.

  But no, I couldn’t let myself think that.

  Not even for a moment.

  “You’ll have every moment you want with me after I beat the trial.”

  Her smile widened a little, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes.

  Chapter Fifteen

  I sighed as I realised that I was back in Maria’s tower.

  “You look exhausted,” Maria said as soon as she spotted me.

  I sighed, rubbing my eyes. “Well, I do come here when I’m supposed to be sleeping.”

  “You are sleeping. Which is why it’s even more telling that you look like shit.”

  I gave her an unamused look. “Thanks.”

  She shrugged. “It’s true.”

  I shook my head as I made my way over to her cauldron, staring at the swirling mixture within so that I didn’t have to focus on Maria as we spoke.

  I didn’t have the energy.

  “The Amazons have moved up the date of my final trial,” I finally said. “It’s next week. I look exhausted because I’ve spent the last several hours practicing healing magic.”

  I lifted my gaze to see her giving me a worried look.

  “Next week? Truly?”

  Was that concern in her voice?

  Concern for me?

  I nodded. “They don’t want me to pass. Esme thinks that learning healing magic will help because that’s weighted pretty heavily, but I’m worried that they’ll test me on something I’m not ready for...”

  “Then the key would be to be ready for everything.” Maria waved around the tower. “I mean, you come here every night. That’s extra time to train. And I could help you. That is, if you would be willing to accept me as your teacher again.”

  I frowned.

  Esme had said that I would probably need Maria.

  And I did desperately need the help...

  “You have to swear to me that you will never make me harm anyone. Or do anything to put anyone in harm’s way. I have not forgiven you for using me to hurt Mr Stiles. And as long as I am your student, you have to swear not to kill anyone.”

  I wanted to ask her not to hurt anyone, but I did need her, so I didn’t want to push my luck.

  She only hesitated for a moment before nodding. “I swear.”

  I frowned. “That was easy.”

  She sighed. “Do you need me to bind myself to you to prove it?”

  I thought about it for a moment, sorely tempted to ask her to.

  But no, the offer was enough.

  Maybe it was naïve, but I believed that it was sincere.

  “Will you also help Aaron to recover from your spell?” I asked, deciding to push my luck just a little.

  She shrugged. “If you want. But I’ll need information on what the Amazon’s healer has been doing first. I don’t want to risk spells crossing and making things worse. And given the nature of the delicate work... Perhaps we should focus on that after you’ve passed your trial.”

  I grimaced, not wanting to leave Mr Stiles hurt for a moment more than necessary.

  But if Maria was right in saying that this was delicate work, it would likely take time away from training.

  Training that could mean the difference between passing this trial and...

  Well, the plans the Amazons had for me if I didn’t.

  “Okay,” I said. “So, where do you want to start with training?”

  Maria smiled, her eyes lighting up as she regarded me. “Well, I guess the first thing would be to establish your current knowledge. I know that the Amazons have an initial test at the start of their training to establish a baseline for your abilities. Tell me, how did you do? Did you know all the spells you needed to?”

  “No.” I sighed. “I only got through that first trial by using instinctive magic.”

  “You did? Amelia, that’s amazing. Have you managed to use it again since?”

  I shook my head, her praise settling weirdly on my shoulders, making it hard to find words.

  “That’s fine. The fact that you’ve used it once is enough for us to work on it from here. Now, let’s start with something basic...”

  I CURLED UP INTO MY pillow as I awoke, not feeling nearly as frazzled as I had when I’d gone to sleep.

  No, I was starting to get the knack of healing magic, and if my dreams were any indication, there was a good chance that I could fall back on instinctive magic in these trials if I had to.

  I forced myself up with a frown, however, as it occurred to me that my dreams might not have been accurate.

  After all, I hadn’t really been there with Maria.

  Not in physical space, at least.

  Maybe my small handful of successes with instinctive magic in the night hadn’t been real.

  Just an illusion of the bond I shared with Maria.

  I reached over to the space just under my pillow where I kept both my phone and wand, taking my wand and aiming it at the curtains to my room, focusing on making the fabric flicker in the air.

  I took a deep breath, just as Maria had shown me, allowing myself to relax and sink into the magic.

  My hand tightened around my wand as I knew what I had to do, pulling on the surrounding magic in the room to warp it into the shape I need
ed.

  The curtains fluttered slightly as my wand glowed blue.

  I sighed with relief as I collapsed back into bed.

  It hadn’t been a dream.

  I could really do it.

  I hadn’t managed anything more complex than moving things – Maria said that was the most basic of magic – but it was a start.

  And I had a week to figure out the rest.

  I could hear the shower on in the bathroom, signalling that Natalie had locked herself in the bathroom to avoid talking to me, just as she had the day before.

  I was tempted to just get dressed and leave just like yesterday, but I stayed, deciding that I couldn’t just leave things between us like this.

  Not when I’d have to spend every spare moment between now and the trial training.

  And then if the trial didn’t go well...

  I couldn’t think like that, but I also couldn’t stomach not settling things between us before then.

  I waited with every ounce of patience that I could muster as Natalie stayed in the shower far longer than necessary.

  Waiting until I left.

  I was tempted to actually go once I realised that.

  If she didn’t want to talk to me, I should respect that.

  But then, she might not know that the trial had been moved up, and that might change her mind about talking now.

  So, I continued to wait.

  Eventually, the shower shut off, and Natalie left just moments later, presumably using her Vampire speed to get dressed.

  She frowned as she saw me still there, in my pyjamas.

  “Did you need the shower?”

  “Yeah, but I also need to talk to you. Do you have a minute?”

  Natalie frowned, not answering me.

  I took that as a sign to continue on.

  “Look, Natalie, I still think Lauren was wrong about you. And you’re never going to convince me otherwise. But the Amazons have moved up the final trial to next week, and if I don’t pass... Well, I don’t want us to spend the next week mad at each other when it might be the last week we have.”

  Natalie’s frown deepened as she regarded me for several moments before sitting on the edge of her bed. “I’m not mad at you.”

  “You’re not? Then why have you been avoiding me?”