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'But what is the touch?' Fyia snapped. 'Are we bonded?'

'No!' he said, whirling to face her. 'Of course not. You said you knew how to bond …'

'I am bonded to my wolves … that does not mean I know everything.'

'The very reason I suggested starting with the basics …' He fixed Fyia with his deep green eyes, letting his irritation shine through.

'Fine,' she said, storming back to her chair, 'then let us start with the basics.'

'Indeed,' he said through gritted teeth. He too returned to his chair.

'Cruaxee magic has always been rare,' he began, speaking quickly, as though it pained him, 'even before magic was outlawed in your lands. It is unknown how it comes about, but is to some extent hereditary.'

'Your mother has a Cruaxee too?' said Fyia.

The King looked displeased at her interruption, but nodded. 'Do either of your parents?'

'No,' she said, shaking her head. 'Much as my mother would have secretly liked magic, she had none of her own.'

'And yet both you and your brother are fire- and magic-touched?' said Cal, leaning forward a little.

'My mother's ancestors were fire-touched. I don't know if they had magic … or if my father's ancestors did. My parents and I are not close, and I never had a way to find out more.'

Cal nodded, processing her words. 'Does your brother have a Cruaxee?'

'Will the answer to that question help me understand what you've done to me? Or are you merely satisfying your curiosity?'

Cal frowned. 'Well, anyway, Cruaxee have always been rare. There is little written about our kind, so you must understand my knowledge is also limited.'

'Less limited than mine,' said Fyia, trying to chivvy him along and get to the good stuff. 'What do you know about bonding?'

'There are several kinds of … connections we can make with Cruaxee. Life bonds, as you have with your two wolves, and I have with my bear.'

Fyia pondered that. The bond with her two wolves did feel different to the other bonds she'd had, but she hadn't realized she'd done anything differently with them.

Cal saw her confusion. 'You didn't know?'

Fyia shook her head. 'I've bonded with many—the same way each time—but my wolves chose to remain when I released them.'

'They chose to bond,' said Cal, with a shrug. 'We don't get to make all the decisions.'

'Can any animal I bond with choose a life bond?' said Fyia.

'I don't know,' said Cal. 'We can short bond with many, but only a very few want to bond in return. And it's not like we can speak with the animals … we get only a sense of them.'

'But there's a way to touch others with your Cruaxee …?' Fyia prompted. 'Like you did to me?'

Cal nodded. 'The touch imprints a kind of … echo of our bond onto another.'

'Why do it?' said Fyia. 'What's it for?'

'It allows us to use our bonded animal's senses, even if our animal is not present, and feel our bonded animal's sense of the person too.'

Fyia shook her head in disbelief. 'How is that possible?'

'Magic,' he said sardonically.

'What of the animal?' said Fyia.