“Ingrid,” Becka asked, glancing back over her shoulder. “I take it this is your doing?”
Ingrid nodded. “I thought, with him in the shade, that no one would notice.”
“It’s a good catch, Becka!” Sigfrid said.
“Need I remind you,” Shamus interrupted, “shifters have no interest in your magic. Whatever you’ve done here,” he gestured at the top of his head, “is non-consensual.”
Ingrid blushed deeply. “Apologies, Shamus, I forgot myself.” She held up a hand and blew across it in his direction. A moment later the petals fell from his head and dissipated into dust.
“You okay?” Becka asked Shamus. He shouldn’t have to endure being treated as an ornament in a party game. At least Ingrid’s apology had sounded heartfelt.
“She can’t hurt me,” he replied.
It didn’t exactly answer Becka’s question, but his expression had returned to neutral.
Becka gave him a quick nod and then walked back over to her seat.
“That leaves us Yaeli’s illusion and whatever else Becka comes up with,” Hanna said, popping another grape in her mouth.
“If you can’t find it, that’s all right. I’ll happily claim my win.” Yaeli’s smug grin was met with frowns from the other contestants.
Tired of enduring the low-level magic-induced headache, Becka took a moment to pull a bottle of her hot sauce out of her bag. This raised some eyebrows but didn’t shock anyone, as her predilection for hot sauce as pain reliever was well-known at this point.
At that moment, a bird landed on the blanket next to her, seeming to be interested in the bright coloring of the bottle in Becka’s hand. And in that moment, Becka saw Yaeli’s illusion and cried out in alarm.
Yaeli had reversed the nap on the bird’s feathers, causing the bird to somehow appear put together backwards, and yet in the proper shape. The effect disturbed Becka at a deep level, although she couldn’t quite put a finger on why. The finch just looked wrong.
She heard others ask what was amiss, but Becka’s attention was entirely on the bird. Missing not a beat, she set down the bottle in front of the bird, who then moved in for a closer look. Becka reached out a single finger, her focus tuned, and just barely touched the bird. In that millisecond she attempted a partial removal of Yaeli’s magic, just to see what would happen.
Instead of reversing the feather nap 180 degrees to the correct direction, Becka had managed to turn it halfway back to normal so each barb along the shaft stood out at a right angle, causing the bird to appear perpetually startled.
Becka shrank back, appalled at her impact on the bird. Yaeli’s laughter pealed out, startling the bird from its seat. It flew up and then came back down, picking at a seeded cracker it no doubt took as bird food. The others leaned in for a closer look.
Alvilda’s look of dismay was accusatory. “What have you done?”
“We should rename it the puffball!” Yaeli exclaimed, having caught her breath.
“It looks like you electrocuted it!” Ingrid said.
Hanna, laughing, choked a little on her grape but seemed fine.
Sigfrid had joined in with Yaeli’s laughter. “Electrocuted… or like a stable man did its hair!”
There was another round of laughter, which Becka joined in on this time.
Hanna cleared her throat. “It’s remarkable, Becka. Disturbing, but remarkable.”
Becka pulled on her glove, and then took a swig from the bottle of hot sauce.
“Hmm, who shall I name the winner? Yaeli or Becka?” Hanna asked.
Yaeli stood and gave a short bow in Becka’s direction. “I yield to our heir. Although we all noticed her magical change right away, it was unexpected, and I haven’t laughed like that in ages.” She held up her hand, pointed at the bird, and then wiggled her fingers, restoring the bird to its original state of being. “Any objections?”
To Becka’s surprise, there were none. She’d somehow won her first einvigi.
Mother would be so proud. Come to think of it, Becka was proud of herself too. She’d never imagined she could compete with illusionists.
As Becka bade them farewell, Hanna rose to go with her.
“May I accompany you to your next appointment?” she asked.
“Definitely!” Becka replied, smiling with the confidence of her recent win.
“This was a lovely picnic. If you were to ask, I would advise you need more of these types of events to help increase your feelings of connectedness with your family.”
Considering her upbeat mood, the fact that she’d laughed plenty, and had spent time engaging in conversation with women her age over the past hour, Hanna had a point Becka couldn’t discount.
I think I agree with her. And I like it.
Turns out Hanna wasn’t a bad relationship coach after all.
Chapter 14
Hanna, Shamus, and Lorelai accompanied Becka across the grounds to the sun patio outside of the infirmary. Becka entered, motioning for the others to wait for her.
Although the windows of the infirmary were expansive and opened daily to bring in fresh air and sunshine, the patio allowed patients quick access to lounge in the sun for its healing properties.
Today, the only occupant of the patio was Elder Alaetha, her father’s sister. She lay back on a chaise, feet up, gaze trained into the distance. She’d pulled her silvered hair back into a bun made from a single, large braid. The elder’s frame was slight, and Becka remembered Alaetha was Vott’s older sibling by a good two dozen years.
Her willingness to travel at her age was a testament to Vott’s poor condition, but Vott had always spoken of Alaetha and their correspondence fondly.
“I was not sure you’d be able to meet with me,” Elder Alaetha said, not looking her way, yet motioning for her to take a seat.
“Elder Alaetha,” Becka said, sitting down on a couch across from Alaetha’s. “I am honored to make your acquaintance. Vott always spoke of you with warmth.”
“Lady Becka,” Alaetha replied. Her piercing gaze turned towards Becka, taking her measure. “I am afraid I can’t say the same.”
Becka held her tongue, unsure of what to say, and so let Alaetha make the next move.
“I’ve been here just two days, niece. Can you guess what I’ve learned?”
Her shoulders tensed and Becka folded her gloved hands in her lap, bracing for Alaetha’s response. What could Alaetha have learned in two days? Did she know about her relationship with Quinn, such as it was? Had Maura recounted to her all of the ways Becka hadn’t yet stepped up? Did she also think the Shadow-Dweller attack was an inflated children’s story?
Becka didn’t want to know.
“I would love to learn,” she lied.
“It is a deep shame that my brother was poisoned as part of an attack on you. It looks like he will survive, but most likely at great personal cost. My first inclination was to grieve for you both equally. Through my many years I have witnessed the fae-touched jockey and vie for power for all manner of reasons. Sometimes it’s because of heated emotions. Sometimes because of political or territorial matters. I had assumed this hubbub was just another altercation.”
Becka nodded her head, inclined to allow Alaetha to vent uninterrupted.