Midnight's Blossom by Corinn Heathers

Author:Corinn Heathers [Heathers, Corinn]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Amazon: B07BYRF4D4
Goodreads: 39724266
Published: 2018-04-04T03:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

Learning the Lies

Over the next few days, I pushed my fears aside and focused on the magic. Trying to reconcile with the prospect of returning to Solaria without her—or forsaking the Empire entirely—filled me with far too many conflicted emotions to process. Instead, I did everything I could to avoid the thoughts entirely, falling back upon the concentration and breathing exercises that Mother had taught me when I was just a child.

Magic was wild and unpredictable by nature, loathe to follow the order imposed upon it by people who wished to make use of it. Without calm, careful contemplation, it could easily rage out of control. Some Aspects were more prone to this than others.

Light was pure and strong, and it crystallized into a natural structure that made those with the rarest Aspect incredibly powerful. Affinity for light mana sought out souls that innately rejected chaos and unpredictability. Water moved rapidly, but was endlessly mutable, changing its shape to fit the path it was directed through. Earth was ponderous, slow and cautious; hard and unyielding, but could be wielded by those souls blessed with patient deliberation.

Fire and wind were forces that defied order by their nature, but they could be tamed by mages with aggressive and forceful natures. From the Academy masters I'd learned that mastering one's fire Aspect was much like saddle-breaking a wild horse. Wind was harder to hold onto, but less likely to fight back. It sought to escape, to flee, to reject confinement and required a stern, authoritative disposition to master.

I'd learned all of this at the Academy, and from Mother before that, and the House Alcyone tutors who helped word-wean the young prospective mages of the family. The Five Aspects was a book every Solarian child was made to read, and I could almost recite passages from memory.

Nobody ever taught me anything about the sixth Aspect. Even asking questions would have cast suspicion. Yukari's surprise at my continued survival was understandable; it was only through Mother's machinations that I'd been able to enroll into the Academy at all. She sent me to the Academy to learn as much as I could, to strengthen my tenuous link to my mother's magic, and to make friends and allies outside of House Alcyone. That method would have held, I'm sure, had I not stumbled upon the relic.

Mother was trying to protect me, but she couldn't have possibly predicted that I would find my fey parent's spirit blade. Eiri's legacy had touched my soul from beyond the void through the magic she'd left behind, and… unknowingly put me in great danger. Now I had little choice but to learn how to master it, if I wanted to survive.

Shion placed another series of targets before me. I knew what I had to do to complete the exercise; Yukari's seeking spells had discerned the nature of my magic. The power of a necromancer was rooted in three areas—control, deception and corruption. These exercises would determine the length and breadth of my magic and give me a starting point upon which to build a foundation of knowledge.

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