That evening, Jacob finally received contact from the citizens of Agartha, finalizing our travel dates. Friday, Cove and I would teleport to a portal area in Delhi that acted like an international airport.

Our first pair of escorts would be waiting for us and transport us deep into the mountain range to meet with our second pair of escorts. Our second pair of escorts would be citizens of Agartha, who’d lead us through the network of tunnels into their home city as Agartha, like Ventosus, could not currently be teleported to from the outside. Cove and I would work with the Agarthians, creating a portal that would network them with us in time for our yearly Winter Festival, which kicked off the end-of-the-year tournament.

Jacob, and the people of Ventosus, hoped from there that the other ancient cities would follow in line, connecting us all for one of the most significant events of the year, the Festival of Winter, which began on the Winter Solstice and ended the last day of the year, kicking off the Winter Tournament.

Mere days after returning from Agartha, Cove and I would be mostly healed and ready for the next world.

With two days left before the aforementioned series of events, there was no time for rest.

Cove called me into the training room early Wednesday morning for a round of fitness exercises, followed by my first true lesson in physical magic. As instructed, I wore baggy red sweatpants and a baggy-black t-shirt beneath my coat, which I shrugged off at the smaller training room entrance, hanging it next to Cove’s navy blue one.

Ani ran off to greet Ranch, startling Cove, who’d been meditating in the corner. He rose and forced me through our daily exercise regimen. When I finally collapsed against the floor, letting the cold stone leech the excess heat from my body as I panted with exhaustion, my lesson in Physical Magic finally began.

“Physical magic, like mental magic, is adjacent to spacetime magic. This makes learning easier and gives us spaciotemporal mages like us a leg up.” Cove’s breath was easy as he spoke; the only sign of his physical exertion was the tiny beads of sweat dripping down his face.

“It’s any magic used to alter a physical body directly. As you’ve experienced, we can use it to enhance our strength,” he said, referring to when he’d increased my strength in What Lies Ahead.

“There are two types–permanent and temporary. Permanent physical magic requires a great deal more initial energy but, as the name suggests, permanently alters your body. Most physical magic users use permanent magic for essential skills such as healing or to alter their appearance, such as dying their hair or changing their eye color.” Cove’s hand drifted to his right eye as he spoke, hovering over it briefly.

I flipped over, and pushed myself up into a sitting position, sitting crosslegged opposite Cove. The information he’d provided had been mentioned in one of the many books I’d read, but the same question occurred to me as it did when I’d read about the magics initially.

“Healing, I understand, but why use permanent magic to dye your hair or change your eye color?”

Though at an initial glance, it sounded similar to dying your hair or wearing colored contacts, the application made it sound as if you’d be lucky to ever regain your initial eye color. Cove flashed a grin.

“That leads to the next type, temporary magic. It uses less initial energy but is a constant draw on your energy. When you stop feeding the change, it returns to normal.”

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My insides squirmed at the thought of using permanent magic to alter an appearance. The difference between the two made it understandable, but your appearance was inherited from your family, and you’d permanently lose that connection with the permanent magic. As much as you tried, it was doubtful you’d be able to remember the exact color of your hair. I’d never been attached to my appearance per se, but the idea of losing that connection to Mom, Ember, and even our dad…

For now, and for better or worse, permanent magic would be outside my realm of abilities. It required too much power at the onset from a wellspring I didn’t have. Instead, Cove opted to teach me a simple trick, using temporary magic to change strands of my hair.

“The opposite of mental magic, physical magic requires you to look inward to make these changes. It requires an awareness of your body.”

I listened closely to Cove’s words, turning my attention inwards.

“Recall the feeling of finding your magic, pushing it through our connection. Instead of following that connection, however, keep your focus inward.”

I grabbed at the magic buried beneath my chest, doing as instructed and pushing it through my veins. Warmth flooded my veins, and Cove cleared his throat.

Opening my eyes, I noticed he’d backed away, fanning himself. My hands brushed against each other, and my nerves tingled. I jerked them apart, losing grip of the magic I’d been pumping through. The heat vanished.

Cove tossed me a sympathetic look. “You pushed it out of your body. Try to keep it internal,” he suggested. “Oh, and focus on a single area. Remember, the goal is to change the tips of your hair.”

I closed my eyes and tried again. This time, I gritted my teeth and imagined pushing it up through my head as I would through my hand when sharing my magic with Cove. The familiar tingle of warmth traced my intended path, scorching past my scalp and into my hair.

There was a faint burning smell, and my eyes opened only to receive a splash of water.

“Your hair was on fire,” Cove explained unapologetically. “You got it there but weren’t working on changing the color. Try again, and make sure to picture the color you want.”

I tried yet again, grabbing a warm piece of magic and shoving it up through my roots. As it scorched past my hair this time, I imagined a cold blue color. If my magic worked according to my will, perhaps thinking of a cold blue would prevent me from setting things on fire.

I breathed in, nearly tasting the lingering burning scent. I breathed out, right into another cold splash of water.

My eyelids dripped droplets onto my knees as I opened them to glare at a contemplative Cove.

“Were you thinking of blue?”

“Yes. How did you–?”

“The flame was blue.”

My shoulders drooped.

“You got the color-changing part down,” he encouraged. “Just keep it inside.”

I tried again.