I made myself a plate quickly before thanking her. As much as I wanted to sit and eat lunch with her, the Horlow Mage wanted to see me and I couldn’t reject an invitation from him. He had been teaching me since I arrived here and it still felt like an honor each time he let me come back and learn more.
Nearby, Mage Harlow held up his hand, catching my eyes, from where he sat with three other Fae men. His long silver hair hung down his back, while his face held the wrinkles of age and time, his eyes did not. They were vivacious and clever and didn’t miss a thing. His still strong body was encased in his training attire which reminded me of comfortable white pajamas
I smiled, walking over to them, and sat down.
“Hello everyone,” I said, my face flushed. I set my food down and grabbed my utensils.
The pointed eared, gorgeous men murmured their greetings but barely paused in their eating.
My stomach flipped a little as I took a bite of the stew. It was richly seasoned, and oiled with flavors I had never tasted bef
ore coming here. I didn’t know how they made any of the food, nor what meats the stews consisted of, and I didn’t ask.
In such cases, it was often better not to know. But God, was it good.
“What are we doing today, Horlow?” I asked after swallowing a large bite of potato and sage.
Mage Horlow smiled at me. “You will find out soon enough,” he said. “Eat, and then we will go.”
The conversation flowed around me and I found myself relaxing in a way I hadn’t allowed myself to do in... years. It was nice being surrounded by people who didn’t care who I was or what I was or anything else.
My mother’s illness had caused so many issues in the years preceding her death. Then her passing, followed quickly by my imprisonment in the magical realm, was a whirlwind of emotion I was still recovering from.
My life had been fast and grief filled for so long, it was nice to simply be calm and still. And strangely content, despite my situation.
I ate the fresh vegetables and meat, relishing every morsel as I swallowed them down, then cleared our plates away.
When I returned to the table, Horlow was waiting for me.
“Shall we go?” He indicated to the door and together we walked outside, towards one of the many training arenas.
The Fae were a fantastic combination of magic, spiritual understanding, and warrior combat skills. I had magical skill and untampered power, but I didn’t know physical combat, and my mother had kept so much from me in terms of actual intellect concerning magic. I was lucky he agreed to train me in the first place.
It was no wonder the Witches and Warlocks found the Fae people to be a threat.
They lived ten times as long as any Warlock and could accumulate ten times the knowledge if they so choose. It was amazing that the Fae had not taken over the magical realms and tried to usurp the power of the Council.
Once we’d reached a training area in the woods, Horlow stopped. It was simply a cleared, flat area, with an earth floor and trees all around.
It was beautiful, serene and calm. I couldn’t imagine a better place to tap into your magical powers.
“Today, I would like to work on several protection spells,” Horlow said, his rich voice vibrating in the air around me.
“Several?” I repeated, surprised he wanted to spend so much time with me.
Usually we got in a single lesson, physical, magical, or spiritual, then Horlow was off doing whatever it was he did for the rest of the day. He was always busy.
He nodded very matter of factly. “Yes. I believe you will be leaving us soon, so you need to be as prepared as possible for the onslaught of magic coming your way.”
My eyebrows shot up my forehead. Leaving soon?
“How do you know this?” I asked. I hoped I wasn’t disrespectful with my tone, but this was news to me.
Had he heard from Tavlor as well?
Horlow shook his head.
“Call it intuition,” he murmured, and I knew that would be my only explanation.