Page 38 of The Sirin Sisterhood (The Sons of Echidna #2)

Lucy

Despite an overwhelming feeling of inadequacy, Lucy stayed for the next lesson, taking a seat right in front. Shecouldn’tunderstand what Agata was explaining to the students as they were handed an apple, but when the witch walked past, skipping Lucy, she raised her hand.

“Teach me,”she asked, ignoring the looks the others were giving her.

Agata’s brows shot up. “Teach you what? ”

“This lesson, whatever it is. Teach me your magic.”

Agata’seyes ran up and down Lucy, openly judgmental, but she begrudgingly offered a small apple to her.

“What do I do with it?”Lucy examined the fruit. It was small enough to fit in one palm, with yellow, translucent skin and honey-gold flesh underneath.

“Preserve it. When winter comes, we eat what we grow in the warmer months. If our magic fails and fruit rots, we will starve.”

It seemed easy. Too easy. Maybe their magicwasn’tas strong as hers.

Lucy was confident as she felt for the golden strings coming from the apple.

They were weak, the fruit picked days ago, but enough to pull on.

In less than a few seconds, the apple shriveled in her hand into a dried piece of brown and wrinkled fruit.

Lucy presented Agata with the result, but the witch wrinkled her nose.

Anykind ofpride Lucy had withered up like the apple.She looked around, noticing everyone else still holding pristine fruit.

“Youdidn’tpreserve it. You killed it.”Agata took the apple from a young witch next to her.“See? This one will last a year, looking exactly like it does now.”

“Idon’tunderstand,”Lucy muttered, looking at her attempt. What was wrong with dried fruit? Shedidn’twant to admit that her apple looked revolting compared to the others.

“Magicisn’tabout forcing things to obey you likeyou’resome cruel god.

You take away its will and choice and then act surprised when the apple loses its sweetness.

”Agata was looking down at Lucy, making her feel tiny.

“We work together with nature, spirits, and guardians. We create relationships, leave offerings, and make bonds.”

“You want me to negotiate with an apple?”Lucy frowned.

“You sound like it is beneath you.”

“It’sa piece of fruit.”

“Then our lessons will teach you nothing. Respect can not be taught;it’ssomething you need to discover in yourself first. We exist alongside everything in this forest. Neither is bigger or grander than the other.

Once you understand that,you’llbe able to speak the magic that resides within everything. ”

Agata dismissed the class. Lucy was the first to leave, heading back toward Lai andKlein’scottage.She’dbeen so proud of her magic mere minutes ago. Now, it left a bitter taste in her mouth. Force it? Shehadn’tforced anything.

“Cruel gods...What does she know?”She sat at the wooden desk and grabbed another apple from the plate. This one was a little bit wrinkly, but still ripe and juicy.

Preserve ,Lucy ordered in her mind, glaring at the apple, concentrating on ignoring the life-strings she could feel from the fruit. Concentrating would have been much easier if itwasn’tfor a mosquito buzzing right by her ear. Lucy waved it off and focused on the apple again.

Preserve, damn you.

Her frustration was only causing the yellow skin to wrinkle further.

Lucy was at war with her gift. Feeling cocky about her abilities one minute, then suffocated by guilt the next.

So far, the‘Lives Saved vs. Lives Ruined By Her Magic’score was overwhelmingly tilting into the red.

Whenever she felt she had the hang of it, the Irony Gods had proven her wrong.

Today was exactly the same.She’dbeen so excited to show off to the witches, only to feel like a child when Agata pointed out her shortcomings.

Lucy waved away the annoying buzzing again, the high-pitched sound making it impossible to even think.

She could bargain. She could ask nature to work for her.

“Please leave me alone.”She sighed, watching the tiny insect try to land on her arm, ignoring her pleas.

“Please stop.”

Themosquito’shum made Lucy notice the sound of her blood rushing.

Whoosh whoosh. Bzzzzzzzzz.

“Stop.”

Her temper was rising along with her blood pressure, frustration clouding her reason.

Maybe she was a cruel god.

“Stop!”

This time, itwasn’ta request. It was an execution.

A slight tug on the strings, and the mosquito dropped to the floor. The buzzing stopped instantly, leaving only the sound of soft sobbing behind.