Dusk of the Realm

18

Serena felt the flow of magic through her veins before she even opened her eyes.

It must have come as a surprise to the Curers, as well as the Fae sitting at her bedside, when she threw herself from the bed upon an updraft of magic with a wild whoop of excitement. She may not have mastered weaponry by the time she was seven, but she had definitely learned a few good uses for her magic. She utilized one now as she rode back down to the floor of the curative wing on an invisible slide, grinning at the feeling of having her life back at last.

Someone caught her hand at the bottom of the slide to keep her stable as she landed, and she turned her expression of childish delight upon Tarin, who, despite probably having been unhappy with her before, could not seem to help smiling brightly back at her.

"Feeling better?" he asked, his tone sarcastic but playful at the same time. Serena stuck her tongue out at him, as she would have done as a child.

"Feeling spectacular," she responded. She burst out laughing again just because she could - not in amusement, but in joy. Her magic. Her magic. Everything was back now, everything was as it used to be. She could finally start building her life back up again.

"I'm glad," Tarin said, releasing her hand. She frowned at him briefly, and when his smile faltered as well, she realized what it was she wanted to ask him.

"The things that Eris said. Should we be worried about them?"

Tarin shrugged, but she did not miss the slight hesitation he gave just before the gesture, though she was clearly not meant to notice it. "I always try to keep a close eye on things anyway, Princess. I don't think it's something you need to concern yourself with; just a dying soul trying to rattle you."

Serena narrowed her eyes at him. "I hope you're not lying to me, Tarin. You promised me that you never would."

Tarin's eyes widened slightly, and Serena had the feeling that she was about to receive more information. However, that was when she heard a voice call her name; a voice that she had not heard from for a few days now, if she had to guess.

"Lyla!" she called back. Spinning away from Tarin, she rushed at her friend, who simultaneously reached for her and pulled her into a tight hug.

"Are you okay? I wanted to see you the day I got here, but they said that you needed to rest. And then yesterday, they told me you had been brought here, but they wouldn't tell me what was wrong with you. They wouldn't even let me in all day today until now!"

"Whoa, take a breath, Lyla," Serena laughed. "I'm fine. Actually, I'm better than ever. Watch this!"

Then she cupped her hands together and focused on drawing her magic into her palms. She could feel the energy pooling there, and after a second, could even see it coalescing into the image she was holding as solidly as possible in her mind.

Her face split into a grin once more as she was suddenly holding a handful of dandelions.

Lyla gaped at her. "I don't... How did you do that?" she exclaimed.

"Magic!" Serena answered, tossing the dandelions at her friend. They both broke into giggles, but Serena cut them short when she felt a sudden piercing pain shoot through her head. She clapped a hand up to the spot and groaned, and Tarin was beside her in an instant.

"With your magic back in your system, your head will recover quicker than ever," he said, immediately knowing what ailed her. He had probably forced Holly to give him every little detail while she had been unconscious. "Until then, you have to lay down. No more playing around with your magic until you actually feel better."