“There’s a disturbance up by the water sprites’ pool.”

Delia leaned forward in her seat. She had tried not to react when she saw Theron, her mother’s head assistant, hurrying up the path. She didn’t want her mother to know that Young Mages: Learning Dedication and Control wasn’t as riveting a read as she’d promised. But that was too intriguing a declaration to ignore.

A disturbance in Elmsrest, a sanctuary for fae creatures, was rarely boring.

She wasn’t the only one who had taken note of Theron’s distress. Her mother was conducting a lesson on Elmsrest’s nocturnal plants, and the kitchen yard was crowded with students and assistants eager to learn from her. Delia could taste the disappointment in the air when her mother took Theron aside to speak to him in private. But no one would say anything.

Boring.

Marking the page she was on with a bit of scrap paper, Delia slapped the book on the table before her and called to her mother’s turned back, “What sort of disturbance?”

Theron glanced up at her, an annoyed pinch to his brow. Her mother asked him a question; he answered her in a low voice, turning his shoulder toward Delia.

Irritation flushed Delia’s cheeks. Electric power, barely contained, numbed her fingertips.

“What sort of disturbance?”

Her mother glanced over at her then. “Cordelia! Contain yourself!”

Gasps rang out around the yard. Delia followed everyone’s gaze to the table and jumped back, hands flying up before her, when she saw the smoke rising from the book's cover.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

“Sorry. I’m sorry.”

With a flick of her hand, she called forth a whip of water from the barrel sitting at the back of the yard and dosed the book, stopping it from bursting into flames.

Oh no. It’s ruined.

It was hard to keep the smile from her lips. The display of power had been an accident, but if not for her audience, she would have counted it a happy one.

Delia’s mother may have been attuned to the fae, but her father was a mage, and it was his blood that rang strongest in her veins. Whether she had inherited any of her mother’s instincts for working with creatures didn't matter. She was compelled to learn mastery of the elements that called to her. Unfortunately for her, she shared a double affinity for water and lightning. A powerful and dangerous combination, and a veritable nightmare to learn control over when one was opposed to all forms of formal education.

Officially, she was meant to be her father’s pupil. Who better to train a young lightning mage than the master of lightning himself? But her father had never tied her down to lessons.

“You can’t cage a creature of lightning,” he said whenever her mother voiced her disapproval. “She can learn more through experience now. The time for more will come later.”

This seemed like a good opportunity to learn from experience. Her feet itched with the urge to roam.

Fiery crisis averted, Delia clasped her hands behind her back and tried to appear contrite. “I apologize for the disturbance. I'm not sure you heard my question.

Are the water sprites in distress?”

Theron waited for her mother’s nod to answer. “They’ve fled their territory. I noticed their absence and went in search of them. They were in great distress. Something about a shadow lurking in the water.”

“A shadow?”

“What do you want me to do, mistress?” Theron spoke over her, but Delia refused to be ignored.

“Send me.” She stepped out from behind her table, leaving the ruined book behind.

“Cordelia...”

“I can handle it.”

“I’ll take her there,” Theron said. Delia dipped her head in thanks.

“Fine, fine.” Her mother waved a dismissive hand, clearly eager to end the conversation. “Take Aren, Luce, and Loretta as well. Find the disturbance, but if it’s fae, don’t attempt to speak with it.”