Tempest found me a magic tutor a few days later; an old friend from his time at the Academy who was now a Magic Researcher.

  Her research lab at the Royal Institute looked like it was normally a bright and airy space. Currently, it was a cluttered mess. A bewildering array of crystals and twisted metal sculptures stood in the space in a series of concentric circles. His old friend was minutely examining one of the larger metal sculptures as we arrived. She looked over, waved at us, then bashed the pillar with a hammer a couple of times.

  I leaned towards Tempest. “Are you sure about this?” I whispered, wincing as she smashed it a few more times at a slightly different angle.

  “It’ll be fine,” he assured me, the picture of calm. “Thea’s brilliant. She’ll be a fantastic instructor.” He smiled indulgently in her direction. Something sparked and a curl of smoke rose towards the ceiling. The hammering was now punctuated by the occasional swear.

  Somehow this failed to alleviate my doubts.

  When Tempest had told me we were going to visit a magical research lab, I’d been imagining bubbling beakers and a big cauldron, not a modern art museum. I waved at the installation. “What’s all this for? Part of her research?”

  “It’s a Testing array.” Tempest straightened and took a deep breath. “The is device uses the resonance of –”

  I stopped him with a raised hand. “Short version will do fine, please.”

  He sighed, deflating. “We need to know what your magical element is,” he said slowly, “and what you type of magics you can wield. This –” he gestured at the clutter “–will tell us that.”

  “I thought you said I was a Wind mage. Shouldn’t it still be the same?” I asked.

  His friend approached, a tuft of her wild, curly hair standing on end and smouldering. She smiled at me proudly. “An excellent question. I’m not certain what Tempie thinks this will accomplish either.”

  I suppressed a snigger. ‘Tempie’ glared at me like he could shut me up by will alone.

  “Theodora Pennywhistle.” She thrust her hand out for me to shake. Theodora was a short, charming woman with dusky skin and wild hair she kept tied back with a scarf. Her bright eyes oozed enthusiasm behind coke bottle lenses.

  I took it gingerly, half expecting to end up electrocuted. “A pleasure.”

  She gave me a friendly nod before turning on Tempest, bristling with annoyance. “What’s this all about, Tempie?”

  “It’s a … precaution. Please, humour me.” He bowed slightly.

  She narrowed her eyes. “And you‘d rather use an unstable and less accurate portable array in private.” She confirmed, suspicion thick in her tone.

  “Yes.” He returned her stare, his face blank.

  She huffed unhappily. “Fine.”

  “Sorry, unstable?” I interjected. I shot the nearest crystal an uneasy glance. “What do you mean by ‘unstable?’”

  They ignored my question. Instead, Theodora shoved her hammer at Tempest and guided me to the center of the art display.

  “Wait! Seriously. How unstable is this thing?” I asked again.

  “It’s perfectly safe,” she assured me breezily. “Please stand here, Lord Dusk.” She pointed to a three-foot-wide metal ring resting on the floor.

  “Uhm, ‘Violet’ is fine.” I stepped carefully into the ring, eyeing the large, and more importantly, sharp bits of metal and rock surrounding me.

  She beamed at me. “Lord Violet, then. Stand there, don’t move, and Do. Not. Touch. Anything.”

  “Yes Ma’am.” I liked my limbs exactly where they were.

  Theodora stepped back out of the array to where Tempest waited. She held out a hand to the nearest sculpture and focused, her brow wrinkling in concentration.

  A soft humming filled the air. A series of symbols etched along the metal spire it lit up. One by one, the various crystals around me began to glow.

  The crystal next to me began to flicker.

  I eyed it nervously.

  The crystal beside it brightened and the nearest hunk of metal began to buzz.

  “Hah! You’re a powerful little thing, aren’t you.” Theodora crowed.

  “Thank you?” I shouted above the insistent buzz.

  The humming was getting louder, and the hunk of metal next to me had started visibly vibrating. I shifted further away.

  “Nearly done!” She shouted, sounding a bit strained. “Be ready to run on my word.”

  Fuck. Another small step took me to the very edge of the ring.

  “Wait for it. Wait… Just a second more… Go!”

  I dashed out of the ring, leaving the creaking array in the dust, and nearly levitated over a workbench as I dove into cover.

  Behind me, something cracked and groaned wildly, and a series of loud bangs and small explosions tore the air. As the noises slowed to the mere occasional ping, I dared to peek out over the countertop.

  The thing I’d been standing next to had exploded and peeled open like a flower. Most of the crystals had deep cracks running through them and several had even shattered completely. I swooned back down to the floor, my narrow escape leaving me lightheaded.

  “Well then. That’s that.”

  Theodora’s voice rang out in the sudden stillness. She stood up, brushing the dust off her skirt and sadly surveyed the ruins of her equipment. Tempest was huddled on the floor beside her, his arms covering his head and his eyes a bit wild. A stab of petty glee ran through me.

  “So,” She asked conversationally, glaring down at my brother. “What haven’t you told me?”

  Tempest slowly rose, flinching as the occasional bit of debris popped or clicked. “I have no idea what you are referring to.”

  She poked him in the chest, glaring at him over the rims of her skewed glasses. “Don’t you dare, Tempest Grey Dusk! I calibrated this thing according to the assessment you gave me! It should have easily held up to an untrained Wind mage, even one as strong as your brother!”

  Full name. Ouch.

  Tempest wilted. “Violet’s original assessment… it may have been altered.”

  Her eye twitched. “… are you insane? Do you have any idea how dangerous that could be?! By the gods, why would you do something so reckless?!”

  He sighed in defeat. “It was for his own good, believe it or not. He’s Shadow.”

  Theodora stilled and shot me a pitying glance. “Poor boy, no wonder he’s so powerful. That must have cost a fortune to cover up.”

  “Wait just a second here. What’s wrong with me?!” I demanded shrilly. “What’s Shadow?! Am I cursed or something?” I gripped the counter, the worn wood right beneath my fingers, and tried not to panic. “… Am I dying?!”

  “You’ll be fine, calm down.” Theodora gave me a reassuring pat. “Your brother on the other hand…” She glared at him. “No promises.”

  “Then what?!”

  “Did you tell him nothing?” She asked my brother in exasperation.

  He shrugged.

  Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

  Theodora sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose beneath her glasses. “Very well. On top of your own Element of Wind, you have a second one. It’s rare, but it happens. No one knows why. The problem is that yours isn’t one of the normal four, like most twice-blessed have. It’s so damned rare, you’re basically a fairytale.

  “Light mages are said to be gifts from the gods. Then there’s those with Shadow magic. That’s yours, by the way. Most people think they bring bad luck. Some even claim they’re Dark mages. As if the two have anything in common,” she scoffed. “A Shadow mage is what you are. A Dark mage is what you choose to become. Idiots.

  “Anyway, both Shadow and Light mages are insanely powerful. Which is why the array broke. Which I could have accounted for. If I’d known.” She glared harder. “Tempest.”

  “You didn’t think that was worth telling me?” Learning that Tempest had held back such an important fact hurt. “What if I’d hurt someone?! Or… I don’t know, done something creepy?” I finished lamely.

  He looked down, contrite, and nudged a piece of rubble with his toe. “It seemed foolish to worry you until we knew for certain. I apologize.”

  Theodora shot him a scathing look. “‘Until you knew for certain.’ What were you expecting?! He fell off a horse. Your magic is a fundamental aspect of yourself; It doesn’t just change. Especially not from something as mundane as falling off a damned horse.” She paused, as if savouring the moment. “Except this time.”

  Tempest turned to stare at her so fast he must have given himself whiplash.

  “He’s thrice-blessed.” She informed him smugly. “Wind, Shadow, and the smallest flicker of Fire.”

  “Is that better or worse than having Shadow magic?” I asked.

  She snorted. “It should be impossible. Thrice-blessed are made, not born. What in the hells did you fall on, a pile of ancient magic swords?”

  “Truly?” Tempest looked more pensive than surprised.

  “Yes. I could have shown you,” she replied testily, “if someone had told me I was testing a Shadow mage instead of blowing up my array!” Theodora turned and pulled a book off her shelf and thrust it into my chest, knocking the breath out of me. “Read this. Don’t try anything until I say so.”

  I nodded. I wasn’t stupid enough to disagree.

  She stomped over to the door and threw it open. “And don’t blow it up!” She added angrily over her shoulder.

  I winced as the door slammed closed behind her.

  Something began to creak again, sending Tempest and I scurrying back behind the counter, the book clamped tightly in my arms.

  We stared at each other.

  “So, you were suspicious.” I said dryly.

  He grinned archly. “And I was right to be. It seems Detective Logan Daniels left you one last gift.”

  Something popped, and a chunk of debris lodged itself in the counter above us.

  ———————————

  We eventually escaped Theodora’s lab through a smashed window and retreated to the manor.

  I had claimed the corner near the windows with the sofa and coffee table as mine. Shortly after, a pair of overstuffed armchairs had mysteriously appeared, along with an obscene number of cushions. I usually spent my afternoons there, reading.

  After lunch, I draped myself across the sofa and began casually leafing through the book Theodora had given me. A maid had cleared away our lunch dishes and left coffee and some tiny cakes for us as an afternoon treat. They were from a café in town owned by Louise’s Aunt Marlene, and they were the best I’d ever had.

  I had just taken a bite and washed it down with a sip of coffee when the study door flew open and Theodora stormed in. She closed the door behind her with enough force to rattle windowpanes, right in the face of the pair confused-looking footmen who had been trying to intercept her.

  Tempest barely glanced up from his desk.

  “Thea. To what do we owe the pleasure?”

  Without a word, she slammed a piece of folded paper down on his desk, making his inkwell jump.

  He gingerly picked it up, holding it at arm’s length and staring at it sideways like it was a friendly cobra that hadn’t decided to attack just yet. “And this is?”

  “An estimate,” she snapped. “For the repairs to my lab and the replacement of the array.”

  He unfolded the paper and stared at it, aghast. “Thea, for this much, I could rebuild your entire building! Doesn’t the Institute have a fund to cover repairs like this?”

  She snorted. “Of course it does. Except I didn’t blow up an array as part of my research. It happened because I was doing you a favour! I’m not paying for the damn thing, mister ‘I-may-have-lied!’ Do I look like I can afford that?!”

  “Do I?!”

  Theodora looked pointedly around his big office full of expensive, elegant furniture. At the rare books lining his shelves, and the fine art hanging in his walls. At me, sitting in my nest of pillows wearing hand-tailored clothes and a small fortune in jewelry.

  My fork froze halfway to my mouth. How fast could I make it out the nearest window?

  Tempest slumped in defeat. “I’ll handle it.”

  She nodded, apparently satisfied.

  “Is there anything else I can help you with?” He asked dryly. “Perhaps an expedition you would like me to fund?”

  She rolled her eyes. “I did agree to tutor Lord Violet, and there’s no better time to start than now. …Unless you think you can find someone else to trust with a thrice-blessed Shadow mage.”

  He rose, stammering in alarm. “No, of course not –”

  “Then stop being obtuse, Tempie.” She ignored his spluttering and turned towards me.

  I swallowed nervously.

  “How are you feeling, Lord Violet?” She smiled warmly, pushing several pillows out of one of the chairs and siting down.

  “Intimidated,” I answered honestly with a shaky smile of my own.

  She laughed, pouring herself a cup of coffee and selecting a tiny cake off the tray. “You’re in good hands, Lord Violet. I promise. Now,” she pulled some folded papers out of her pocket. “Considering the nature of your Talents, I think we should focus on –”

  “Sorry,” I interrupted hesitantly. “What do you mean, ‘my… Talents?’”

  Theodora froze, her eyes going wide. She glanced over at Tempest in bewilderment.

  He sighed. “Assume he knows nothing. Start from the basics, it will be easier.”

  “Really? At his age?”

  “Please.”

  She looked at me in askance, and I shrugged sheepishly. It’s not like he was wrong.

  “… All right then. Talents are unique extensions of your elemental attunement,” she explained patiently. “Some people are better at using their magic, while others can do things with it that others can’t. Your brother, for example, is a Water mage with a Talent for Ice magic.

  “Elemental branching Talents like Tempie’s are common, while others are a lot rarer. Figuring yours out took some effort thanks to the state of the array, but I believe I’ve isolated them all. Oh my, these are quite good,” she remarked, going back for a second cakelet. “Where did you find these?”

  “Thea…” Tempest warned.

  “Right! Sorry!” She shoved the second cake into her mouth and continued. “As a Wind mage, you have Body and Control. Both are passive, oddly enough,” she mused. “I would have expected at least one of the two to be an active Talent.”

  “And that’s… good?” I hazarded.

  “Interesting, more like.” She waggled a hand. “How ‘good’ any given Talent is depends entirely on the mage in question. Body magic enhances your body. You’re stronger, faster, and more resilient than your average person, and the more in tune you are with your Wind magic, the bigger the boost. Then there’s Control. Being powerful lets you cast big flashy spells, but learning precision spellwork takes practice. Normally. You, my lucky little duckling, have a knack for it. And it won’t just apply to your Wind magic; your Shadow magic benefits too.”

  “Do I have any Shadow talents?”

  Theodora hmmed. “Light and Shadow are… odd. They don’t really have Talents; they behave like a Talent all on their own. Theoretically, it’s possible for you to completely master all aspects of your Shadow magic with enough practice.”

  “None of which explains why you had us drag home your Runic primer.” Tempest complained.

  “It will be helpful for training his third talent,” she said casually, waving her coffee cup.

  “His… what?”

  She smirked, taking a sip. “It seems he gained a Talent along with his Fire magic, weak as it is.”

  Tempest groaned, dropping his head on his arms with a thump. “Of course he does. What is it? Weather magic? Or perhaps he’s a Transmuter, because my life’s hardly complicated enough.”

  “Close. Hexbreaker.”

  He whimpered.

  “Along with strengthening his attunement, I want to teach him how to enchant. He’ll need to have a solid understanding if he’s going to be any good, and the Academy curriculum barely covers the basics.” She shrugged dismissively as she took a third one. I fought not to protest — the apricot and rose-hip jam ones were my favourites.

  “I take it back,” Tempest groaned into his desk. “A transmuter would have been safer.”

  “Oh, stop being dramatic, Tempie.” She scoffed. He groaned again, but she ignored him. “It’s an exceptionally rare Fire Talent, essentially a form of anti-enchantment. You should be able to use it even with your limited Fire magic.

  “The book I loaned you is an introduction to the language used to build enchantments. Use the right runes, and you can make an enchantment that will do almost anything. In theory.”

  It sounded far too good to be true. “What’s the catch?” I asked suspiciously.

  She laughed. “Clever boy. There are quite a few, actually. It takes a lot of power to do, far more than simply casting a spell yourself. And the Runic language is incredibly complex and mostly lost. Most people don’t even bother learning more than how to create a few of the most basic ones. On top of that, your Element can make Enchanting tricky. As a Wind mage, you can compress your magic, forcing the enchantment to hold more power. It gives enchantments an extra kick, but makes them prone to exploding if you’re not careful.” She shrugged. “Still, enchantments are simple to make, reliable, and versatile, so you’ll find them everywhere.”

  “I’m guessing that I can break or undo them somehow?” I ventured. Not that it was much of a guess — the name was pretty self-explanatory.

  She beamed at me. “Exactly! Normally, once an enchantment is set, it’s hard to change or damage it. However, you can simply unravel them. In theory, anyway. I don’t know of any other Hexbreakers, so there will be some trial and error as we figure it out.”

  I perked up. It sounded like a neat little trick to have up my sleeve, and learning how to enchant things might be fun.

  Tempest must have noticed my growing interest. “Violet,” he warned. “Enchantments are everywhere, and not just in simple things like magelights. They’re used to create wards and high-end locks that protect priceless valuables and secrets, or barriers to seal away dangerous items.”

  Oh. Fuck.

  I was a walking skeleton key.

  Being a Shadow mage might get me killed, but being a Hexbreaker was far worse. Depending on who found out… I blanched.

  Theodora tutted. “Enough of that, the both of you. The only people who know are the three of us, and that’s how we’re going to keep it. I’m the meantime, there’s no reason not to nurture such a rare talent, and that means learning to be the best enchanter you can be.”

  She grabbed my hands and pulled me out of my pillow nest. “For today, I think you should try to connect to your Elements. Go take a walk; focus on the wind in your hair and the sun on your face. I’ll come back in a few days, and we’ll start from there.” She pushed me towards the door with a shooing motion. “Right now, Tempie and I need to have a little ‘talk.’ Be a dear, and make sure we’re not disturbed.”

  Her smile was positively predatory.

  “But…” I looked over at Tempest.

  He stared back, desperation written all over his face, silently begging me not to leave.

  “We’ll be fine,” she assured me, giving me another little push towards the door.

  “But—”

  She opened it with a smile and shoved me unceremoniously into the arms of the curious servants that had gathered outside.