Page 21 of The Changeling Prophecy
Chapter Seven
Theyspentmostoftheafternooninthefrontcourtyardofthecastle’smainentrance,asJerahexplainedtherulesoffaemagicandguidedFlorianthroughafewsimpleexercises.Itcameeasilytohim—partofhimfeltlikeheshouldn'tbesurprised—andtheprideinJerah'sfacerivaledhisownaweashesummonedinhishandaglowingorboflight,justliketheorbsthatlitthecastleinterior.
“See? All you have to do is speak it into existence,” Jerah said, grinning at him. “Just remember there has to be a target, even if it's yourself. If there's no one there to hear it, to be affected by it, then the words aren't of any use.”
“Right,” Florian said with a nod, though his attention was still on the glowing light in his hand. Though the orbs in the castle seemed to last indefinitely, it felt as though the light might flicker out and vanish the moment he lost focus.
“We can keep having lessons like this,” Jerah continued. “I'll have Kade let August know you'll be staying here, but I can have him start sparring lessons with you tomorrow. He should show you how to shift, too.”
“Shift?” Florian repeated incredulously, the light vanishing from his hand as he looked up at Jerah with no small amount of trepidation. “Like turn into a wolf?”
“Of course,” Jerah said flatly, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “You're a Changeling, after all. You should be able to shift just like him, like any shifter, once you've seen them do it.”
“I don't know,” he said, shaking his head. It had already been hard enough to wrap his head around being able to change his appearance whenever and however he wanted. Turning into something else entirely seemed far more impossible. “I mean, I guess I can try, but…”
“That's all I ask,” Jerah said with a nod.
As they'd been practicing, Florian had seen a few other fae for the first time: workers that gave them a wide berth as they tidied the courtyard and the gardens, and a few heading into the castle with polite waves to Jerah and curious glances toward him. He wasn't sure whether or not they had any idea who he was. Though their eyes all gleamed in the faint daylight that itself seemed more like the pale light of dawn, they otherwise looked perfectly normal.
Lost in thought, Florian didn’t notice that the person approaching them from the castle was not another fae, but Kade.
“You wanted to see me?” he asked, coming to stand in front of Jerah.
“I did,” Jerah said, nodding. “Can you send a message back to August for me? Let him know Florian is going to be staying for a while longer, so he doesn't need to worry that he’s not back yet.”
Kade's eyes flickered over to Florian as he said it, but looked back to Jerah after only a brief moment of consideration, his expression unchanging.
“Of course,” he replied with a nod. “I'll go now.” He turned and walked away, just as abruptly as he'd arrived.
“Does he have to go all the way back to the portal?” Florian asked incredulously, watching him leave.
“Unfortunately,” Jerah said, leaning back with a sigh. “There's no way to make contact between worlds, so he'll have to pass through the curtain, give August a call, then return. It's a bit of a walk, but he's quite capable.”
“A... call?” Florian repeated, brow furrowed.
“Of course. I mean, cell phones aren't a thing here, but it's convenient to have for when we're Earthside.”
That was somehow unexpected. Of all the strange things that he'd learned in the past few days, this hardly topped the list, but for some reason this in particular seemed to tickle him. Imagining his father, who had just been showing him how to conjure magic, carrying around a cell phone—or serious, apparently-werewolfKade—seemed comical.
“Sorry, I don't mean to laugh,” he stammered, realizing he'd been chuckling at the thought. “I just... Didn't expect that to be the way you'd contact him.”
“Well, magic doesn't work on Earth,” Jerah protested, though he was grinning as he said it. “We don't need to use them often, but it'd be worse to have no way of reaching anyone on the other side.”
“Of course,” Florian agreed, though he'd broken out into a full-on laugh now. “Of course.”
“Well, I think that's all we'll do for today,” Jerah chuckled, waving his hand. “I have some of my own business to attend to, so why don't you go explore and relax until dinner, then we'll regroup to plan for tomorrow?”
“Sure,” he said. Jerah led him back inside the castle, heading down one of the side corridors, while Florian headed up the main steps.
So much of the castle was the same, however fantastic; and before he knew it, Florian felt his mind begin to wander over the day’s lessons. The magic had come to him easily enough. So far, it seemed as simple as paying particular attention to his words, and focusing as he said them, then the power flowed from those words with no extra effort on his part. His magic was not as effortless as his father’s, but he hoped that would come with time and practice.
Then all at once, Florian realized that he was lost. He wandered for a few moments longer, trying and failing to get his bearings. “I need one of those servants to help me,” he muttered, focusing on the summons as he spoke. And with a familiar faint pop, one of the shadowy, barely-visible figures appeared at his side.
“Will you show me back to my room?” Florian asked. One of its faint arms came up and gestured for Florian to follow, then it began to drift down the corridor, matching his speed as he followed.
The servant led him back the way he came, turning to the left at a junction where Florian must have taken the wrong turn. From there things started looking more familiar, and when they went up another staircase, Florian knew where he was. But he let the servant lead him all the same, until it stopped in front of his door, gestured once more, then vanished.
The early start to his day was catching up to him, so he laid down on the bed that had been made in his absence, closing his eyes and ruminating over the day's events. Just this morning he had anticipated that he might spend one more day here before heading home. And now... Now, this would be his home for the foreseeable future. He would really have to ask about more clothes now, smiling to himself as he fell asleep.
