Thornbound~Volume II of The Harwood Spellbook by Stephanie Burgis

Author:Stephanie Burgis [Burgis, Stephanie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Five Fathoms Press
Published: 2019-02-24T16:00:00+00:00

10

I could see increased wariness in many of my students’ eyes when they assembled once again after lunch. Whatever poison Annabel had been dripping into all of their ears during the meal had apparently had an effect.

“Ladies!” Ignoring the tension in the room, I clapped my hands briskly together. The last of my students, Miss Stewart, stepped into the parlor, followed by the Boudiccate’s beautifully-attired trio of politicians. Westgate, of course, was nowhere to be seen; he’d driven one of my sister-in-law’s gigs to the nearest estate owned by another magician, some six and a half miles from Harwood House. He wouldn’t be back for at least another hour.

I, however, had magicians right here in front of me. Westgate might not think them worth training, but I knew exactly how much potential every young woman in this room carried. All they needed was direction.

“For our next lesson,” I said, “we shall take on a practical challenge, rather than any theoretical work. Please note, though, that this will involve working together at every step. Not one of you has yet developed the strength to work this spell alone.” I swept the room with a gimlet gaze worthy of my own mother at her most severe. “This is not a moment to attempt to prove your skills by leaping ahead of the rest of the class. When it comes to magic, you must build your strength gradually, as you would any other muscle, or risk breaking it irreparably.”

“As she would know,” Annabel murmured from the back of the room.

I didn’t even pretend not to hear her. “Exactly so,” I said grimly. “That is why I will not allow any of my students to risk their own powers or safety in my school. Understood?”

I myself had been—notoriously—rash enough, strong enough and fortunate enough to survive any number of risky magical gambles across the years, all for the sake of proving my own powers to a skeptical and hostile world...until that final gamble, last year, when my luck had run out. That last spell had nearly killed me—and although I had survived it in the end, multiple experts had confirmed that if I ever drew on my shattered magical resources to cast even the simplest and most trivial of spells, the act would kill me instantly.

I would fight to the death to keep any girl I taught from ever sharing my own final magical experience.

I could see the frustration in many of their faces now, but a reluctant chorus of acceptance rippled around the two half-circles of chairs.

“In that case....” I stepped aside to reveal the large white basin of water that sat upon the high table at the front of the room. “I’d like two volunteers to begin with, please.”

“Pardon me, Miss Harwood.” Lady Cosgrave’s voice was sharp-edged as she tapped the commonplace book in her hand, ignoring the hands of all of my students shooting up before her. “Doesn’t this mark a significant alteration from the syllabus that you presented to your students last night?”

“Yes,” I said.

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