Everything Changes But One Thing Is True, Understand

New Soulmates

Shelby P.O.V.

Today has been so surreal. I never imagined I would get to see my sister again after so long, and then I did. And she's married to freaking Graser of all people. That's a bit much to take in, especially since almost immediately after she told everyone her tragic backstory. My eyes drift to Will again. Why do I keep doing that? I snap back to look at Jess, and she has her eyes closed. What's she doing? I tilt my head and realize she's breathing the magic and probably also checking auras. I remember everyone from the avenue had some sort of magic, and some of them are hybrids. Not hostile or bloody ones, but I know that Bee was, well, a bee and Liam I know is cold-blooded, but I don't remember what exactly he is. I don't think any of them have magicks, except maybe Graser since he's Jessie's destined soulmate, but they all have magic. My thoughts go to Lizzie and the fact that she also has a destined mate in Joel, and I wonder if I have a soulmate. I glance back at Will for a moment. Maybe if I do have one, it's Will. That'd explain why I can't seem to look away from him. I look back at the rest of the Avenue. I wonder if I had kept dating Parker I would be happier. I wouldn't have gotten my heart broken by Bee, but ultimately I would have missed so much if I had stayed with him. I think of Corey, and what would have happened if I had started dating him. It hits me that I don't have any romantic feelings for either of them anymore. I let them both go when I got with Bee, and that turned out great for them. Parker started dating Andrew and Corey definitely has a crush on Mariel. I hope they get together, they deserve to be happy. I glance at Will again. G**d****t! Why do I keep doing that? It doesn't feel like what I felt for Bee or Parker, so what's going on with me?

"Shelby, are you okay? You look like you're thinking pretty intensely." Meghan asks me. I paste on a smile. "Yeah I'm good! Today has just been... kind of a lot." I reply cheerfully. She looks at me like she doesn't quite believe what I'm saying. I give her a look, one that says I'll tell you later. "That's fair. By the way, you kept saying magicks earlier, but isn't it magic?" she drops the subject, instead switching to something I can answer. "Actually, they're different. Magic is energy that we draw in to use that can be almost anything and can be learned even if it's easier to just use instinct knowledge, while magicks are internal reserves that we can only use for things we have the specific energy pool for and are inherited powers." I explain. She nods. "I didn't think you knew the difference Gracie, I'm impressed." Jess spoke from behind me. I jump. "Gods, Nix don't do that! You scared the crap out of me." I say, breathing a bit heavier than I was. "Sorry." she mumbles. "And why wouldn't I know, it's life knowledge from being the Sword of Memphia." I continue. Her eyes widen. "I forgot about that." she says, slightly deadpan. I roll my eyes. "Clearly." "Wait, what's instinct knowledge?" Graser asks. I blink slowly. "This is why I call you an imbecile. Don't worry, I still love you." Jess speaks before I can. He takes a moment to register her words, before slowly blushing. I giggle, accidentally infusing some of my magic into it. "Shelbs, pitch." Jess warns me. I freeze, before taking a breath. "That could have been a disaster." I mumble. Andrew and Parker tilt their heads at the same time. "Why, what did you do?" they chorus. "That totally wasn't creepy." I mutter, before raising my voice. "When I was younger, I could only use my magic to raise the pitch and volume of my voice, so that and my elemental magic is what I'm proficient at. I can pitch my voice to break glass and raise the volume to level this village." Everyone but Jess all stare at me. Jess breaks the silence with a snort. "Well I don't know why you guys are surprised anymore considering everything that's happened, but my sister can do a lot more than that with voice magic. That's just why I was telling her to watch herself."

She broke them. My sister broke my friends. "Good going Nix, you gave them another existential crisis. Well done." I say, sarcasm coating my words. She puts a hand over her heart and puts on an overly excited face. "Thank you!" she says, faux cheer in her voice. We look at eachother and laugh, and this time I'm careful to not infuse it with magic. When we calm down, only Graser, Claire, and Will have snapped out of whatever trance thing they were in. "I'd like to reiterate my question, what is instinct knowledge?" Graser asks once he sees we're done laughing. I sigh. "Graser, instinct knowledge is something you instinctively know because of magic, magicks, or being a hybrid." I tell him like I would talk to a five year old. Jess frowns. "Actually, I think being a hybrid could be classed as magicks since it's an internal thing that someone is born with and it can't be learned." I frown and think for a moment. "Wait, yeah." I blink rapidly. "Hold on Jessie you just broke my entire worldview in about five seconds, give me a minute." I say. If she laughs, I don't register it. I breathe deeply, then snap out of it. "Okay, we need to do house stuff now." I decide on the spot. Jess rolls her eyes at me. "Okay Gracie. Who's village is this again?" "So you have chosen sass." I comment. She smirks at me. "You know it."