Her Cinder Throne (Completed)

Chapter 12

As if sensing her thoughts, Tanwyn shifted abruptly so that she couldn't see his back.

Cole nodded at his ring. "Are you a human, then?" She knew it couldn't be. He had the features of a fae, and none of the fae walking around seemed to stare at him as if he was a different species from them.

"Most certainly not," Tanwyn spit out. "I'm purely Eldritch."

"Forgive me for noticing the obvious," Cole said, raising one eyebrow, "but you use the ring you said the humans use."

Tanwyn's mouth twisted and he looked away. After a few seconds, it was clear he wasn't going to comment any further.

"Why don't you have wings?" Cole tried again. "All the other faeries have wings, but your back is bare. Are you sure you're really a faerie?"

Tanwyn exhaled and his fists shook as he tightened them at his sides. "I lost them. It doesn't matter."

"You lost your wings?" Cole asked, barely containing her laughter. The idea of Tanwyn simply misplacing his wings was too ridiculous an image.

Tanwyn, on the other hand, looked anything but amused. His face went blank, unreadable. "I said it doesn't matter what happened to them. They're gone and I use the ring now. However, this is good news for you."

"Why? Now you're not as dangerous as the others?"

Tanwyn's smirk spread across his face. "Oh, I'm more dangerous than they could ever dream. But that's not why."

"Then why?"

"I've grown used to using the ring and know its limits and its strengths. I'll be able to tutor you to use it as efficiently as it can be used."

Cole wondered how good of a teacher a faerie who had misplaced his wings could be, but she still followed his direction to stand a few feet away. Once she was in position, he instructed her to slide the ring on her pointer finger and hold her hand up.

"The most important aspect of magic is to feel it in your blood. With the ring, the magic will flow through you and you should be able to access it."

Cole sighed as she tried to sense any different feeling her body. Nothing but discomfort in the beating sun hit her, and a strange itching on her skin. She quickly scratched her arm, earning a glare from Tanwyn.

"Pay attention!" he said.

"Well, it feels like ants are crawling all over me. Is that the magic?" she asked, hoping that she wouldn't have to experience the sensation any time she needed to use magic.

"No, it's the glamor wearing off. You're returning to your normal self," he said, nodding down at her arms. She glanced down to see Sparkstone dust creased into the skin of her elbow.

"Now please listen to my instructions."

"But I don't even know why I'm learning magic in the first place," she grumbled.

"Do you want to make it out of the palace alive after killing the prince?" Tanwyn asked. "Do you think there's any way a human could escape from all the palace guards? They'd track you down before you could even reach the gates, and no matter how strong you think you are, you wouldn't be able to take down twenty armed men."

Cole grimaced. "Can't I kill him in secret?"

"Of course, and that's what you're going to do. But the guards will be looking for someone to take down, and if you do anything that draws their attention, you'll need to protect yourself." He tapped her hand, still hovering in the air, the ring glinting in the sun. "So you need this magic to work, and work well."

Cole still thought a lesson in stealth would better serve her, but she wasn't going to argue with the faerie who had sent her to the palace in the first place.

Tanwyn stepped back. "You'll want to imagine something pooling in your stomach. Like rain or blood. Just imagine it filling the empty space in your middle, bursting through your skin like sunrays. That is how you active the magic in the ring."

Cole closed her eyes, trying to imagine the cavity below her ribs filling with something. She imagined cool water, bubbling from a spring and falling into her stomach like a waterfall into a pond. She focused on it, brightening the blue and hearing the waves lapping against the sides of her stomach. Soon, it was as if she could feel the coolness of the water. It spread through her, filling her up. She opened her eyes as the buzzing entered her mind and shook her sight.

"Aim the power and focus it out into the world. Imagine a force, something that could destroy."

Cole didn't think of anything in particular. Just destruction and damage, and then she flicked her wrist.

Nothing happened.

The buzz fizzled into nothing and when she glanced down at her ring, the crystal had emptied of nearly half of the red liquid. Tanwyn saw it too, and a curse fell from his lips harsh and strong.

"W-what's wrong?" she asked, staring down at her palm as if she would see the magic stuck up somewhere in the lines that crossed across it.

"You're not a natural," Tanwyn said. "I didn't anticipate humans taking longer to learn to harness the magic. Your bodies are not used to it, and they will resist the magic as long as they can."

"Why did the ring change?" she asked, nodding to it on her finger.

"The gem is an indicator of how much power you have left to cast magic. When the liquid is all gone, you will be unable to do any magic until you refill it."

"How do you refill it?"

Tanwyn's mouth tightened for a moment. "It's a difficult process. I'd rather not have to do it too much, so it would be helpful if you concentrated and listened to what I teach you."

"Fine," Cole said, looking back at the target. She had no idea what magic should feel like, but she wanted to learn. She wanted to have every tool at her fingertips when she eventually killed the prince. If magic would ensure that she could make it out and be able to take her mother far away to live in peace, she would learn the art as well as a human could.

Tanwyn set her up to try again, and though she concentrated on the imaginary pool in her stomach, it always fizzled when it reached her palms. Try as she might, nothing ever happened, and her ring slowly drained down to almost nothing. Despite the lack of progress, Cole still felt as if she had run a thousand miles. Her muscles ached and sweat beaded at her temples. It was worse than a day's work in the mines, and her breath came in short spurts as she strained her hand toward the target in one last effort to produce any sort of magic. 

Her ring only went empty, and immediately the cool sensation in her stomach left as suddenly as it had arrived. She felt empty and drained, as if she was missing something.

She straightened up, her hand dropping to her side, a furious blush growing on her cheeks. She'd spent an hour on the task and had nothing to show for it. She wasn't used to failure like this.