Chapter 484: Grounded (2/2)
Tessia reluctantly looked away frois “Princess?” I shook my head “Don’t ask”
“Oh, okay,” she said, her face falling “Um, you don’t have to come with us, I know you’re busy…”
“Actually, I was, uh…” I trailed off, otten to continue channeling King’s Gaish and unsubstantial I gave myself a little shake, all too aware of Ellie’s eyes onthat we could…work together On your core Helping you get the hang of it, I mean”
“Oh!” Tessia’s eyes widened, and she took a sry, I can train now”
“You just said you were starving,” Ellie said I glanced back at her, and she glared fiercely at me “Arthur Leywin Don’t you dare force her to train without lunch”
“I’ll just grab so and jogging to the kitchen “Go ahead, Ellie!”
“Oh, fine, I’ll just go get lunch byher hands up and letting the curtain fall back across the entrance
“Hey, what ais say from outside as he followed my sister “Does no one want to spend time with me?”
Their back and forth was lost to thened to a drumbeat in my ears I followed Tessia to the kitchen and pretended not to watch as she quickly scarfed down a couple pieces of bread slathered with butter and honey Her back was to me, and I didn’t think she’d noticed my presence When she started to turn around, I ducked back out of the kitchen and waited
When she came around the corner, I couldn’t help but chuckle
She froze, her hands halfway to her hair as sheforward, I brushed crumbs from the corner of her mouth “Not very princess-like of you to ”
One of her sharp brows raised slightly as she withdrew a handkerchief and dabbed it at the corners of her er the only princess around”
I let out a surprise laugh, and the tension melted away
“So, what did you have in her “Unless this talk of training was just a ruse to get h, and for aback inwhat Mo it off I only need to be present “Well, I thought, seeing as how you’re a white core now, you should learn how to fly It’s a natural extension of your power, provided by the expansion of your mana reservoir and increased attunerined smile spread across my face as I rubbed the back of my neck “Sorry You probably don’t need a lecture on why you can fly now, considering”
I couldn’t read the expression on Tessia’s face Her eyes flicked toone, but after a moment she walked past me, headed for the door “I understand how the Lances fly, and I understand how Cecilia flew, but perhaps this theoretical knowledge will helpsuddenly that I could reverse time as I’d done in the keystone, I followed her is were already gone
“There is a quiet garden just down that street over there,” Tessia said without looking back
We walked in silence, passing a sprawling three-story estate that was ale with a pond out front full of glittering, golden fish, and the bare bones of a home that appeared to have been torn down and was currently being rebuilt—well, ons Their round like the ribs of soreat beast
Tessia paused to watch theic”
“Yeah, it’s pretty iain with that unreadable expression, then continued on We slipped through a gap in a tall hedge to our right and found ourselves in a walled garden Dozens of different kinds of flowers grew, all of the us like a sunflower turning toward the warmth of the sun Several scents, both sweet and bitter, layered over one another
“Do you knohat any of these are?” I asked, just wanting to say so
“No, but they are beautiful,” she saidand volunteer to educate ons have shi+ed away froht back towith the lady of the city “I expect that’s Myre’s doing Or Kezess’s, more accurately I’ us stew, or he wants us to take away so from our time here Othere’d be at his castle somewhere Maybe at Myre’s cabin, where I stayed when she trained me before the war”
“That seeht herself off guard with her oords “I guess, probably not for you Since you’ve lived two lives”
“In a way, so have you,” I said gently I bent down in front of a thick-stemmed purple bulb It had a faint aetheric aura “You lived Cecilia’s life alongside her”
“Aolden flower Sparkling pollen rose up into the air, buzzed around her arm like a swarm of bees, then settled back into the puffy flower “I’ you”
“If you consider the keystone, I’ve lived dozens of lives, and seen the course of an uncountable number more” The words came out without consideration, and I felt their effect i over my shoulder, I found Tessia motionless, her eyes fixed at a spot between two beds of flowers
She gave herself a little shake and straightened “How old does that make you now? A few hundred years? A few thousand? You are more asura than e of e of my mind, perhaps aveand pale “I’m sorry, Arthur I knoe made a promise, but I don’t think I can be with someone who is several thousand years older than I aenuine smile “I’d only ask that you make no hasty decisions, Princess Eralith”
She rolled her eyes “Here you go with the princess thing again Callbut princess, or I will take up Regis’s name for you in return”
I raised both hands “Please,but that”
She plucked at her gunht of the garden “Okay, then With that settled, shall we begin rass a into a cross-legged sitting position, I settled my mind and focused on my core and the atmospheric aether, which was thick in the air Tessia sat across fro isn’t quite the saaze “You don’t shape theit purpose
and destination Instead, your enhanced sense for mana and the ability to manipulate the ath the jump in power from silver to white core allows you to create push as the ht
оvelcаve~c`о/ and patience, but even a high-silver core e would drain their core in e Cecilia spent so , but it’s difficult to equate her use of the ability to my own” Tessia looked up into the sky “She simply…flew Nico, on the other hand, cast a wind spell that carried him like an invisible chariot”
I are of Nico’s abilities, granted by a staff he had apparently designed hi the battle I had no doubt that Gideon and Emily would have loved to study it
“Don’t try to control the ently “Instead, sih the air Will it, like Cecilia did You won’t have her inherent ability, but you do have soht Use it”
We sat still and silent for several long moments Mana swirled around Tessia, but she didn’tto fly afterafter gaining insight into King’s Ga the Godrune then, to better think through the path Tessia needed to take, but so held me back
Instead, I remained silent This was her journey I…needed only to be present
A minute passed, then five After nearly ten minutes, she opened her eyes “I don’t understand why I can’t do it I’ve flown before”
I stood and held out a hand to her “Can I try sorabbed a hold and pulled herself up, her palainst mine “Of course”
“Raise your arms out to your sides,” I instructed as I lanced back ather up by her ar into the air Her arround
“Don’t concentrate Feel Feel the cool wind, the warround I could feel theReleasing soed the ainst her and providing lift “Like this”
Suddenly the weight of her inher support but no longer bearing her weight
A tense shi+ver ran through her “Don’t let go,” she said breathlessly, her voice tre with equal exciteht here,” I assured her as she drifted up and away froround
A breeze htly She let out a nervous giggle “I think…I think I’m ready to try it onmy smile
Slowly, she did so A frown creased her brow as she looked straight forward, then down to seeher slipped away She fell
I stepped forward and sround My lips trereat, Tess Really That was—”
“Yes, well done, Princess Tessia,” a voice said from nearby
Tessia’s eyes ide as she looked at so over htened her skirt I did not need to turn around to knoho had spoken
“Come, Arthur It is time we discussed recent events”
Aether raced froh to fully activate the Godrune and suhts to split into several individual threads I quickly calculated the best way to handle the confrontation
Tucking a stray lock of gunmetal hair behind her ear, I stepped away from Tessia “It looks like we’ll have to continue this lesson later Perhaps Sylvie can give you some more instruction in my absence”
From across the city, my bond’s voice entered randdaughter to be with you,” Kezess said froan to fold around arden and the interior of Kezess’s tower containing the Path of Insight “But neverh for that later”
The aetheric spell shi+vered to a stop at , and the bare stone roo arden in Everburn Only then did I turn to regard the lord of dragons, taking in the slight twitch of his brows “Why don’t we fly? Mount Geolus is close enough, and I would like to see more of this land of yours”