Page 111 of Balance

But nothing happened—assuming that he was attempting to summon more magic mushrooms. A second later, a long line of what was almost assuredly French expletives only reinforced my suspicions.

“How do you know so many French curse words?” I asked, crouching down beside him. “I thought you were a kid.”

“I was a teenager!” Miles snapped. “Teenage boys curse a lot.”

“Not all of them…” I muttered, trying to control my roaring pulse. Freaking out would normally be my thing, but Miles clearly needed a moment, so I had to keep my calm. Once the shock had passed, we could decide what to do next.

But I knew what it was like to feel disconnected from your ability.

“I’m sorry.” Miles recovered more quickly than I expected, turning to me and burying his face between my shoulder and neck. He was shaking and I tentatively raised my hand, petting his shoulder. “I didn’t mean to yell,” he said. “I just…”

He didn’t seem to be able to put it into words.

“Is there something blocking your ability?”

“How are you so calm right now?” he asked instead.

I shrugged, locking away my fear. For now at least. I had, after all, already mentally prepared for the possibility of a long and hard winter lost in the wild before any of this had come to light. The best thing about imagining the worst-case-scenarios was knowing how to react when they came to fruition. This would be so much easier if he hadn’t gotten hurt.

Besides, I had to be calm. I needed him to know he could depend on me. “How far do you think we walked yesterday?”

“I don’t know.” Miles sounded lost, but was slowly in the process of pulling himself together. “Maybe three miles?”

I pursed my lips atmaybe.

But before we did anything, there was something else that needed to be established. He hadn’t answered my earlier question—and the reason why could make all the difference.

“Do you know why you can’t do your mushroom thing?”

“No.” He pushed from me, glaring at the ground. “I canfeelit. It’s like I actually used my abilities, but nothing is showing up. I don’t know why.”

So his ability wasn’t being blocked… just the product of it?

“Could it be the forest?” I pressed, recalling his earlier statement that the roots messed with his powers. Though it wasn’t likely, since it hadn’t been an issue before now. “Or something different about the ground here? If you’re sure it’s not you, then it has to be our surroundings.”

My second question seemed to stir something in him, and he glanced up, eyes wild. Before I could even ask, he’d slammed his hand onto the earth and closed his eyes.

I watched with a sense of detached curiosity. There was really nothing I could do to help.

I’d never felt so useless.

“We’re right in the middle of a witch’s circle!” Miles exclaimed, opening his eyes. Surprise colored his flushed expression. “I can’t believe I didn’t feel it earlier.”

I tilted my head. “What do you mean?”

“There’s a witch nearby.” He stood, holding on to the tree for balance. His focus moved around us, frown deepening. “One more powerful than me—at least fornow.”

Now that was surprising. “How powerful does someone have to be to be more powerful than you?”

“I haven’t graduated yet,” he emphasized once more. “Until I complete my education, anyone with Er Bashou-level magic would be stronger than me.”

That didn’t sound fair; did this mean his Er Bashous were stronger than him right now? If I recalled correctly, we all had three Er Bashous: one who worked with us, and two proxies.

In my case, Dr. Stephens was one of my proxies, and then Bryce.

There was a lot I didn’t know about my abilities, and I’d never officially been trained.

Did that mean thatBrycewas technically stronger than me?