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“Good,” Azura said with a slight nod of her head. “Now then—aether manifestation will also be important. Your magic has been suppressed for so long, you’ve more than likely lost any instinctual ability to manipulate your magic. So, in addition to meditation training, I want you to practice summoning. Every night—summon and dismiss your aether until it becomes second nature. No casting—not yet.”

“Why not?” Taly asked, trying to keep the sharpness from her tone. They were never going to get anywhere at this rate. “I’m hardly a child, and I would appreciate it if you stopped treating me like one.”

Azura refocused her attention, giving her a calculated look. One that was cold and cutting, ancient and shrewd and—

Gone. In an instant. Replaced with a smile so sweet, it had Taly inching back in her chair.

“I can clearly see that you disagree with my methods,” Azura said, each word oozing honey. “And I’ll take partial blame for that. Obviously, I’ve made a miscalculation on just how to approach your training, and since careful planning and moderation seem to offend you so deeply—well, I suppose I’ll have to think of something different.”

The Queen’s smile continued to widen. And despite the tremor of doubt that scuttled down her spine, Taly lifted her chin, refusing to be cowed.

“Cast something,” was all Azura said.

Taly sat up a little straighter. Was this another trick? The Queen was smiling, and she was pretty sure that meant this was a trick.

“What’s wrong?” Azura pressed. “You’ve made it very clear that you believe I’ve underestimated your abilities. Show me that you can cast a spell. Prove me wrong, and perhaps I’ll even consider letting you send a message to your precious Skye.”

Taly schooled her expression into something that she hoped resembled cool indifference. “Do… do you really mean that?”

“Cross my heart.”

Taly frowned, hissing out a strangled “fine” if only because she couldn’t find it in herself to admit that she didn’t know the first thing about casting.That she had been hoping to figure it out as she went along.

And so, not quite knowing what she was going to do, Taly took a shaky breath and closed her eyes, ignoring that smile and that gaze that still assessed and studied as she held out her hands, palms facing up the same way she had seen other mages do. It took a moment, a few seconds of searching, but eventually, she found it: that simmering buzz that had flared with her anger, a kind of effervescence that made her skin prickle. She gave a gentle nudge, a single thought directed at that place deep down that was already perking awake, and a golden cloud of aether immediately snapped into focus.

“I did it!” Taly exclaimed, waggling her fingers and watching the aether dance and sway. She looked to the Queen, grinning widely.

“Congratulations, dear. You managed to summon your aether—something a five-year-old can do instinctively.” Azura gave an impatient wave. “Spell. Now.”

Taly’s palms began to sweat, but the smile on her face never wavered. True, she didn’t know any spells. But the harpy, the shades—she had made them stop. That had been a spell of sorts, and she still remembered what it had felt like. Remembered that rush of magic. That wave of sizzling heat that pushed against her skin as it released. Maybe she could do it again.

Her thoughts turned inward, and she forgot about the Queen, stopped hearing the soft patter of summer rain that had started to streak the windows. It wasn’t hard to find that vast well of power simmering just beneath the surface.

Hello, it whispered, so eager, so excited—an old friend that had somehow been there all along, waiting to be remembered. It was like standing before an ocean, and when she gently brushed a hand along the surface, it surged. A wave of pure energy swept across her skin.

The air around her began to stir, and she dipped back down, gathering just a little more, imagining that golden power slipping through her fingers like water.

“So, tell me—have you let Skye take a turn around the bush?”

Taly’s eyes popped open, and the aether she had manifested hissed and sputtered as the spell promptly died. “What?”

The Queen had sprawled her body across the chair, letting one foot dangle over the side. She gave Taly a feline grin. “Skye, dear. If I recall, it’s still early in that little tryst, yes? I imagine not then.”

“I’m not going to discuss my love life with you,” Taly replied curtly. Closing her eyes and ignoring the heat warming her cheeks, she turned her attention back to the spell.

“That bad, huh?” Azura ran a finger along her pendant, feeling the sharp point of the crescent moon. “If it makes you feel any better, your love life is about to really pick up.”

“Stop trying to distract me.”

Azura pulled a face, muttering, “Alright, alright—I can clearly see that you don’t want to talk about Skye.” Another grin. “Tell me—have you met Kato yet?”

Taly bit back a curse, diving back into that well of power. A shimmer of light manifested in the air around her.

A pulse.Now?her magic seemed to say, coiling beneath her skin, straining to get free as Taly began to wave her hands, shaping the spell. The cloud of aether sparked, responding easily.

She rolled her shoulders, breathing just a little bit easier.Good. Now if she could just—

A wad of paper bounced off her head, and Taly sighed, the spell fizzling. Her eyes flicked to Azura. The woman had abandoned her seat and now paced around the small sitting area, hands clasped behind her head.