I swallowed down my angry response. I loosened the fists at my sides. This powerful man was teaching me things that no witch or warlock could or would, so I needed to stay respectful of those gifts. I needed to try and remind myself that he was doing this for my own good. He wasn’t like my mother, who purposefully hid things for me in order to keep me from asking questions and discover who I really was. There was a reason for his avoidance.
“All right.”
Horlow actually laughed, which surprised me. The Fae were not the ‘laughing’ kind of people, especially not Horlow.
“I know you want to know everything, Ava, but you are young, and powerful and need to learn patience,” he said.
I snorted through my nose.
“Yeah, I agree with you there,” I said, although I thought waiting twenty-three years to escape my mother’s realm showed I was plenty patient. And respectful.
“What you need to know for yourself is that you’re capable of anything,” he said. “Your emotions, your reactions, also dictate how you handle your magic. It’s why I like practicing outside. It’s peaceful out here. It’s hard to get angry about anything when you’re here.”
I nodded.
“When you get distracted, when you get emotional, that’s where you make the most mistakes,” he said. “It’s okay. You are like most. But you need to get a handle on it, or it will be a detriment to your education.”
I chose to wait, and not ask more questions. He would tell me when he thought I was ready. What he was already telling me was more than he usually did.
“What sort of mental barriers do you have up at the moment?” he asked as he walked around the area slowly.
My mouth dropped open.
“Ahh... I’m not sure what you mean,” I replied. The breeze tickled the back of my neck. The leaves of the trees whispered around us, singing a soothing song. If my guard was up, I didn’t realize it.
I’d been told by Tavlor that I had decent mental shields in place, but I wouldn’t know how to describe them to Horlow. They were natural, not particularly curated. I tried to call them up on my own, but I wasn’t sure if the magic listened to me or not. I couldn’t actually feel anything either way.
“Perhaps it is better than I show you.” Horlow spoke casting words and tilted his head forward, keeping eye contact with me.
My mind filled with the image of people dying from mortal wounds, all around me. The clang of metal blades meeting rang in the air.
I twirled around, pressing the palms of my hands to my temples, aghast to watch the horror before me.
And then it was all gone, and I was back in the forest, the coolness of the air wrapping around my heated skin.
I gasped loudly, needing to catch my balance. My head spun. I put a hand to my chest, feeling the pounding of my heart beneath my breast. I swallowed; my mouth was dry. I took a breath, then another, trying to steady myself.
“Oh, my God,” I said. “What did you do?”
I struggled to breathe. Was this some kind of vision? Or was this all Horlow?
I conjured a bench seat. My knees gave way and I dropped down, staring up at Horlow in dismay.
He tsked and shook his head as though disappointed. “How could your mother not teach you any mental barrier techniques?”
Even though he was referring to me, it sounded as though he was muttering to himself.
“She didn’t teach it, so to speak. We had natural barriers she said,” I said, feeling compelled to answer, “but I don’t seem to have any defenses against your particular skills.”
The locket around my neck began to vibrate with heat but I ignored my mother’s call. More than likely she would be shouting back some defense.
“What was that in my head, Horlow?” I asked him.
He shrugged. “Some of my memories,” he said. “Nothing too personal or offensive to you.”
I gaped at him. “Seriously?”
He clearly must not have realized what he had just shown me.