I couldn"t deny it.
Even as cliche as it was.
I"d fallen in love.
Two weeks later "Oh. My. That"s quite interesting."
I spoke these words and continued to look in my crystal ball as I did, delighted I"d learned this very useful skill from Valentine.
I was right then watching the Dax Lahn of the other world. He was wearing clothing that was unusual, but not unattractive. His hair was short, cut to a length it curled around his collar. And he didn"t have a beard. But there was no mistaking he was as his twin by the forbidding look on his face.
"Is he angry?" I asked.
It took a few moments to realize I did not receive a reply.
I looked to Valentine who was sitting with me but her eyes were distant and aimed at the carved leg holding up the table.
"Valentine," I called, and her attention came to me, then to my crystal.
She looked back to me. "It seems you"ve mastered that."
I had. It wasn"t difficult.
It was, strangely, second nature.
As Valentine instructed, all I had to do was what I"d always done in the little experimentation I"d attempted.
Tap into the current that was continuously vibrating through me, allow the quickening, and for crystal ball gazing, simply send out to the ether what I wished to see. Then, with a swirl of sapphire smoke, it appeared.
"I have," I replied, wishing to whisk away the other world Lahn from my orb and conjure up visions of Noc, who would undoubtedly have set sail on Frey"s galleon by now and be nearly to Hawkvale, if not already there.
But this I would not do. It would be intrusive. I would not wish someone watching me without my knowledge. Thus I would not do that to Noc, as much as I wanted to see his face, share in his adventure, even if I had to do it gazing in a crystal ball.
Valentine made no reply and again seemed distracted, something that was out of character for her.
From the moment we"d arrived in lvkyla two weeks ago, she"d attended me six times.
In those times, I"d learned what an astral plane was. I"d learned how to put myself in a trance to travel along it in order to communicate with her as well as Lavinia. I"d been given my crystal ball and taught how to use it. I"d learned how to focus my thoughts (through chanting in my head, this Valentine shared was casting spells) and my power in order to move small objects, at first lifting them from where they lay, and advancing to moving them across the room to me.
It was not slow going. I felt the instinct born, if not bred, in me, and Valentine sensed it as well.
She was just teaching me how to manipulate it. She was teaching me how not to let it control me. She was also teaching me not to fear it.
This last was important, for with each pa.s.sing lesson, I felt the power rising in me and it would be easy for it to grow out of control.
However, I was safe with Valentine. And I was safe with my power. I simply needed to become accustomed to it, nurture it...
And wield it.
In our other sessions, she"d always been fully engaged.
Now she was not.
"Is there something on your mind?" I asked.
Her eyes tipped to me. "Perhaps our session will be short today," she replied, not, I noted, answering my question.
This I found annoying.
And oddly insulting.
"Are you my sister?" I requested to know rather abruptly.
"Of course," she replied immediately.
I nodded. "I do sense we have somewhat of a kindred spirit. I"m independent and had to be due to life circ.u.mstances. You"re quite the same for reasons you haven"t shared and do not need to if you don"t wish. What I wish is to make certain you know, should you need to discuss anything, I"m not only here to be trained. I"m here to offer anything you need of me, and you"ll have it if I can give it."
Her distraction cleared, she studied me closely and came to a decision.
"You know I wish to maneuver the Circe in my world to be with the Dax of that world," she stated.
"I do," I confirmed.
"And you know both Circes are witches, quite powerful ones," she went on.
"I know that as well."
"Thus, Circe sensed my preliminary operations and blocked them."
"Ah," I murmured, seeing her issue and hoping I, too, would sense it if someone was meddling in my life.
"I have made some further efforts, she"s still blocking me," Valentine shared.
I didn"t quite understand.
"You can"t find this surprising," I noted.
"It isn"t. But it"s frustrating, for this will undoubtedly mean two things. One, any interference I, and it is my hope that will be a we, wish to conduct will have to occur not through your training, as I"d hoped, but when we return to my world, which will mean a delay I don"t much like."
"And?" I prompted when she said no more.
"And such interference will need to happen traditionally."
I arched my brow. "Traditionally?"
"By means of..." her lip curled, "non-magical matchmaking."
I didn"t try to swallow the amused chuckle that came through my lips.
Valentine didn"t find it humorous.
She stated, "It"s common."
"My dear sister," I whispered, feeling my lips remain curved as I held her eyes. "It is not common. Not the way I do it. I"ve made many a match, in the past doing it in order to amuse myself by severing the results of such efforts at a later date. But this..." I kept smiling. "An intrigue. One I can look forward to. And I do. I very much do. And I can promise you, you will too."
One could not say this made me happy.
One could say this made me utterly ecstatic.
I could continue with my plotting and schemes.
But in doing so, I could do it for entirely different reasons, which I knew by witnessing the other world Lahn in my crystal, would be far more fulfilling.
I did not think of Noc"s tryst with Circe. I hadn"t mentioned it. He hadn"t mentioned it. No one had mentioned it and I found I could handle it that way.
What I could not do was think about what might happen when we were all together again in the same city in another world.
So I didn"t think about it.
"It would seem when we reach our world, the teacher will become the student," Valentine remarked.
"You will enjoy my lessons," I declared proudly. "Not as much as I"m enjoying the fruits of yours, but you will enjoy them. That I promise."
Finally, Valentine"s preoccupation gone, she smiled.
"Now, let us study this man," I suggested, using my hand to indicate my crystal. "We"ll need to know as much about him as we can so we"ll be prepared the moment I arrive in the other world."
"This study will not be difficult."
"He has no magic to block our regard?" I asked.
"No, he"s highly easy to watch," Valentine answered.
To that, I smiled before we both turned to my sphere.
And we watched.
Noc One Month Later Standing on a balcony of Tor"s palace in Bellebryn, the sun warming through his clothes, the breeze from the emerald waters of the Green Sea making a place that was the sheer perfection of a G.o.dd.a.m.ned, real-life fairytale even more perfect, he bent his head to the thick sheet of expensive paper in his hand.
It was a letter that had just been delivered to him by Tor (Noc was careful how he went about the palace and the city, considering he looked just like its ruler, without the scar, and so they arranged it so Cora was with him if he went exploring-the scar meaning he had to wear a big hat that was completely ridiculous, but at least it didn"t have the totally ridiculous feather most of the other men"s hats had in that country).
Tor had also told him that in order for that letter to come through royal post-something that meant missives arrived a lot faster than normal post, Aurora kindly having allowed Franka to take advantage of that-she"d had to have written it within weeks of him leaving.
This meant Noc read the letter with a smile on his face, that smile there for more than just getting his first letter from his girl.
My dearest Noc, d.a.m.n good start.
There is much to say but not much I can write, I"m sure you understand my meaning.
She was not wrong about that.
But he got from her tone her witch training was going well.
As you know, Valentine has been keeping me company a great deal. I enjoy her presence and our many conversations.
Yep. Her training was going well.
Noc"s smile deepened.
Brikitta has begun to show and as such, she"s ordered her clothing from when she had Timofei in her belly out of storage.
You can rest a.s.sured I shared with her this was preposterous and demanded she go into lvkyla with me to requisition a new wardrobe.
She explained this was quite the waste of coin as she would need a further selection of garments for when she grew more with her child.
I explained that I was ludicrously rich (as, now, was she, thanks to me, but I didn"t have a burgeoning family to look after) and my sister was not going to be wearing the fashions of more than two years previous while she nurtured my future niece or nephew (I"ve decided on niece and Brikitta has secretly agreed with me, Kristian will be happy with whatever, but as a man, he is very bad at hiding that he wishes another son).
Of course, Brikitta, who I"ve noted has a highly unattractive stubborn streak, flatly denied this request and when I went into town and ordered her clothing myself, she complained to Kristian.
Kristian brought his wife"s concerns to me. To say he was not interested in them and therefore did not squander much time in attempting to convince me to change my mind would be quite the understatement.
Thus Brikitta"s new garments started arriving yesterday.
She looks quite fetching in them.
Kristian agrees.
Brikitta does too, but she has not admitted this aloud.
Though, Timofei has found his way to share he much likes them as well.
He is, of course, becoming brighter and brighter as the days pa.s.s. I"m no clairvoyant but I feel fairly certain he will be Head of the Drakkar House when it"s his time. Ousting one of the Frey"s direct line to do so will be quite the achievement, but mark me, this will surely happen.
There"s not much else to tell, except both Josette and I find it highly amusing that Kristian and Brikitta"s servants have taken to calling her "Mistress Josette" due to the fact I treat her with such familiarity and we often share breakfasts and even lunches together.
I have not disabused them of the notion of doing this. She"s far superior to any I"ve known in her profession so this show of respect is due her.
At that, Noc started laughing.
Only Franka could make treating a servant with equality seem like she did it with superiority.
As I feared, there is naught else to share.
Though I do look forward to receiving your communiques.