Page 19 of Acolyte (Tempris #2)

“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.

“What was that for?” Taly asked.

“You didn’t answer my question,” Azura replied as though it should’ve been obvious. “Have you met Kato yet?”

“You mean Skye’s asshole of an older brother?” The same one that had discovered her magic and threatened to give her over to the enemy. “Yes, we’ve met.”

Azura sighed, and her eyes took on a faraway look.

“I know he’s a little grumpy right now,” she said, “but once he lets go of all that anger, he’s not so bad.

And I know, I know, you and Skye have history.

But just wait. Just wait until you see Kato’s abs before you make any life-altering decisions. ”

“I have no interest in Kato,” Taly said, hoping that would buy her a few moments of silence. “Or his abs.”

“That’s too bad,” Azura replied sadly, “because you two definitely have chemistry.”

“Shut up.” Taly turned, facing the opposite direction. She tugged on her aether, harder than she intended, but it was no matter. The spell began to form, and she imagined a bubble. When she had been attacked by shades in the streets of Ebondrift, the spell had looked like a bubble.

“Aiden’s not too bad either,” Azura went on. “In fact, your boys are in a three-way tie as far as I’m concerned. I’m still not sure which I’d choose if I had the option.”

Ignore, ignore, ignore, Taly chanted silently, even as the edges of the spell stuttered.

Azura was still talking—something about Aiden and transmutation charms.

And now just earth mages in general—how they had an almost primal —

“I don’t want to talk about Aiden either,” Taly snapped, pulling out a little more aether and testing the barriers of the enchantment.

Azura rolled her eyes. “Let me guess—because of Skye ?” A snort. “Shards, and we’re already back to Skye, Skye, Skye! Can you never talk about anything else?”

“You brought him up,” Taly pointed out, taking several long breaths. Too fast—the spell was progressing too fast.

The shimmering film of golden energy surrounding her began to ripple.

“He’s never far from your mind, dear.” Azura stopped in front of a gilded mirror, preening. “And I suppose I can understand your infatuation. After all, the boy is handsome. A little lean, but I know you like your men lanky.”

Taly hissed. She could feel time beginning to unwind, but it was twisting and tangling, and she didn’t know how to reel it back in. She reached out a hand, plucking at the translucent web and trying to pick out the snarls.

Azura completed her circuit of the room, coming to stand behind Taly’s chair.

“I know you’re listening,” she said, eyeing the spell with a slight frown, “so don’t even try to pretend otherwise.

The only thing about Skye—and don’t ever tell him I said this…

” A pause. She drummed her fingers against the back of the chair.

“Well, it’s that wife of his—so possessive. ”

Taly’s breath caught in her throat, and she lost her grip on the spell just as the web coiling around her tightened and snapped into place.

Her aether extinguished, and she scanned the surrounding room. There was no flicker of magic, no remnants of the spell she’d been trying to cast.

Overall, nothing seemed out of place. The room looked about as normal as a room in a magical palace could look.

So why did she feel so nauseous? Why wouldn’t her hands stop shaking? Had she failed?

No . At least, she didn’t think so. She’d felt… something . A tug. A release. So where had the magic gone? What had she done?

“It’s that wife of his—so possessive.”

Slowly, Taly turned to look up at the Queen. The woman still stood behind her chair, fingers drumming against the frame.

“It’s that wife of his—so possessive,” she repeated.

“Stop it,” Taly hissed as something in her chest tightened to the point of pain. “I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing now, but that’s not funny.”

Azura was still unmoving, still just… standing there. Ignoring her. Not even looking at her. “It’s that wife of his—so possessive.”

Taly shot to her feet. “I said stop it! I’m tired of your fucking bullshit!”

“It’s that wife of his—so possessive. ”

Shards, that word— wife … Why did that word hurt so much? Why did it make her stomach turn? She had always known that Skye would eventually take a wife—a proper lady that would make a proper Duchess. That was a certainty. That was his duty.

“It’s that wife of his—so possessive.”

Taly hugged her arms around her body, swallowing past the painful lump that had lodged itself in her throat.

They had only kissed a handful of times over the course of a single day, and he had thought her human at the time.

There could never have been anything between them.

Was never going to be anything between them, though she realized now that a part of her had begun to hope. Now that she was fey, like him…

“It’s that wife of his—so possessive.”

Apparently not.

Someone began to clap, slow and mocking. “Well, well, well…”

Taly whirled around at the sound of the voice, only to find— Azura . She leaned against the windowsill, smiling and looking entirely too pleased. “This is a nice little hole in the fabric of the cosmos you’ve managed to carve out for yourself.”