Page 60 of Salt in the Seas
The whole room went still, her words confirming their suspicions.
Sylmar stroked his beard thoughtfully. “It’s possible the combination of you each giving and receiving the memories made them stronger.”
“So I helped draw Gaeren’s memories out?” she asked, “and then I took the memories from Cyrus? How is that possible when I’m not a noetic?”
Even Sylmar seemed stumped.
“So much for magic not changing,” Aeliana mumbled.
“Just because our understanding shifts doesn’t mean the magic has changed.” Sylmar continued studying her, like she was a bug he needed to identify. “Have you received memories any other time?”
She shook her head. “Even the images from Durriken have been more like what’s happening in the moment rather than a memory.”
Velden and Sylmar exchanged a glance. “You see what Durriken sees through your brand?”
“Of course. Isn’t that just because of the brand?” Even as she asked the question, she knew it was more than the brand. She hadn’t seen things when she’d been branded to Mayvus and Gaeren. Unless—had they seen things from her? A new thought occurred to her that left her insides cold. “I think I actually saw Durriken’s memories when we trapped him in Islara.”
Sylmar straightened. “You never said anything.”
“There was a lot going on. I thought it was Durriken’s magic, not mine.”
Sylmar rubbed his hands over his face.
“I’m sorry,” she mumbled.
He waved away her apology. “If it is his magic, I suppose youcould be tapping into that through the brand. Anything else we should know?”
“I also saw visions in my Awakening.” Aeliana let the words tumble out. Now that she was confessing one thing, it seemed she would confess it all.
“What sorts of visions?” Velden asked.
“Little snippets of memories, or maybe future memories. I can’t remember them all, and they faded soon after I saw them. But I remember seeing Durriken with his collar removed. When we took it off, that vision came back to me as if confirming it had been prophetic. It gave me peace that I was always meant to free him.”
Sylmar’s face grew more somber. “What else did you see?” he asked.
She shook her head. “I remember so little. I saw Cyrus dead in the water, just like he was that night by Lovers’ Falls. I saw a girl Arvid and Vera had killed back in Lorvandas. I saw the sprites and the winex. I saw people I don’t know. The visions have all become too blurry for me to recall unless they’re things that have already happened.”
Sylmar’s eyes closed. “That could still be a symptom of your bloated magic at that time. It doesn’t necessarily mean anything.”
“Same for the things Durriken showed me?” she asked.
His brow furrowed, and his scars puckered. “That could be his magic, like you suggested. Even if we retest you and you show an affinity for noetic skills, it could just be a result of your brand on him. Although the distance should be impacting it. The closer he is, the easier it would be to use his magic.”
She shivered. “Then I’ll remove it. Free him. If nothing else, it will help us know for sure if that was the cause for the change.”
Sylmar opened his eyes and studied her. “You could. But he may want the brand for his own protection now that Mayvus is back.”
Aeliana winced. She’d put off updating Durriken, but she couldn’t wait any longer.
“At this point,” Sylmar said, “I’m not sure we can test you again. Not if your brand is interfering with your magic. The tests were already going to be skewed toward constructive somatic skills becausethat’s what you’ve learned. But if your true primary spoke lies on either side, we should be able to get a sense of that. We may never know whether this new spoke or the constructive somatic spoke is your primary until you’ve trained more. One will eventually outpace the other, and you may show affinity for skills on the opposite side of your primary spoke. But until then, we’re likely going to be stuck training and developing both spokes equally.”
Velden rolled his eyes. “I’m sure you’re terribly disappointed to have to do that.” Then he leaned toward Aeliana. “It’s like Winter Solstice for him, being told he can train someone along two spokes simultaneously. You’ve made his entire year.”
Aeliana tried to smile, knowing Velden was lightening the mood for her sake. It was something she always appreciated about him, but this time it wasn’t working. “So, now what?”
“Like Gaeren suggested,” Sylmar said, “if it’s not coming from Durriken, I’m inclined to believe you rest on the constructive noetic spoke. It’s adjacent to the constructive somatic spoke, and it’s clear you’re showing an affinity to tune in to memories. We’ve likely switched your primary and secondary spokes.”
Aeliana frowned at his choice of words. Noetic progenies usually spoke of tuning in to the mind, whether it was memories, emotions, or thoughts. But she’d been training as a somatic progeny up until now, and she’d learned to adjust the body, whether it was healing or creating protective barriers. It would be hard to change her thought process.
