Sun had been able to read more of the journal in the days following the winter solstice. Kalys had halted her extra lessons completely to give her time to do so. And partially as a reward for how well she did organizing the celebration. Apparently it had gone over quite well with their guests. Maybe next year she would make the polar plunge part of it for everyone.
As much as the image amused her, she preferred keeping it between just the two of them.
She still had classes at the Academy, and she still spent lunch with the boys, though Nick was in and out pretty quick. His timetable was crammed with extra lessons, and he needed the extra time to study. If he wasn't in class, he was usually either in the library or one of the training halls.
She missed spending time with him, but he was working hard to ensure graduation with the next batch. Because there had also been talk of him graduating straight into a tiered position, he was also trying to qualify for that as well. A tiered position would come with a higher pay, which would make getting their own place happen faster. The boys seemed to view it as a way for her to be free; she didn't have the heart to point out that it likely wouldn't happen unless the guardianship was dissolved. But it was nice to imagine.
In the days following their dip into that icy lake, she had been tempted to go back there. It was a deep-seated yearning she'd never experienced before, almost like it called to her. She wanted that peace and quiet again, unlike any she'd ever felt in her life, even outside of winter.
And in those moments between chores or classes or whatever else she had going on, she considered going back. Every day that temptation grew a little more.
In the journal, one of the writers—the fourth one, Aris Illusen—mentioned the sound of the Traverse, that he could hear it when the weather cooled. Her heart had quickened its pace at that. Had he found a way to block it out? He was in early adolescence when he started hearing it, so she hadn't learned if he'd found a way to block it out yet. Or at least to make it easier.
She was eager to get back to reading—for once in her life.
But before she went home today, she was going to make a detour. Today had been particularly difficult; the muttering and shrieks were wearing her down. And she was curious to see if it would be the same as the first time.
It took her a while to find the lake; she only had a general sense of its direction, but with her auric manipulation, she was able to find it quicker than if she had just been walking about blindly.
She didn't have the same capability as Kalys and couldn't just change the state of the ice, so she found a thick, heavy branch and placed it beside her. She stripped off her uniform; she didn't have a jump this time, so she was down to her underwear and singlet. Besides, the less wet clothes she had when she came out, the better.
She set her clothes on a rock she brushed of snow, picked up her branch, and started smashing the ice. When her feet touched the water, she let out a breath, trying to brace herself. There was a lot more effort involved this time around, having to smash the ice as she went, so she stopped at waist deep. She was already losing feeling in her feet and legs, and she welcomed it.
She took a deep breath and dropped under, curling into a little ball. She felt the water flood her ears, felt the pain of the cold on her skin before it passed, and basked in the ice song without the voices. Knowing the sound wasn't just some random otherworldly sound brought her comfort for reasons she couldn't explain. The numbness spreading through her body felt good. If it weren't for the pain in her lungs, she would have stayed under.
She broke the surface, gasping for air. She wondered what it would feel like to breathe in that water, to feel the ice quelling the burn in her lungs. She quickly pushed the unbidden thought away; that was crazy thinking. She'd fucking drown.
She took another breath and dropped back under, just one last time, then she'd go home.
Sun made sure to make the most of that last submersion and stayed under for as long as she could. When she resurfaced, her body was numb; she couldn't feel her extremities.
Time to go.
Without the fire to warm herself on, it was a lot more difficult to get her limbs to cooperate with her brain, but she eventually managed to redress. And now that she knew her way from the lake, it was quicker to get home.
Forcing her body to move at enhanced speeds did help warm her up, and by the time she got back to the mansion, her shivering was mostly under control, though she was still wet from her underthings.
"Sun, why are you so late and wet!?" Mika gasped out, looking her up and down.
"Playing in the snow," she shrugged, her teeth chattering just enough to be noticed.
"I'll run you a warm bath," she said, ushering Sun to her room.
Sun didn't argue; a warm bath didn't sound too terrible. Before they could make it to her room, however, Kalys appeared before them.
"Why are you wet?" He asked.
Why was he home so early?
"I was playing in the snow," she replied. His eyes narrowed slightly, but he didn't say anything about the lie.
"Get changed; we're going to begin your training."
She just nodded. Though her body didn't feel up to any kind of training right now, it would be best not to argue with him. She quickly scurried to her room to change out of her wet uniform.
"Why is she really wet?" Kalys asked Mika.
"I don't know; she gave me the same answer she gave you. Does it really matter?"
It mattered to him, yes. Not only was she soaking wet in the middle of winter, she was home later than usual with a lacking explanation. He didn't want to keep her under lock and key; he didn't want home to be a prison, but he didn't like when she was unpredictable.
He walked towards Sun's room to wait outside for her. They would be starting small today, and their training could easily take place in the dining room.
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She emerged from her room a minute or two later, still looking too cold for just having played in the snow...
"Come."
She followed obediently to the dining room, where they sat at the table. There was a beautiful glass jug full of water sitting near Kalys's seat. He gestured for her to sit, and they settled into the hard wooden dining chairs.
"I have read your academy reports," he told her. "They've neglected the hydrokinetic side of your abilities to focus on the other. It may be too late, but I don't want you using that at the Academy or in front of anyone outside those you trust."
She nodded, absolutely fine with that. "I don't like using it at all. But if they threaten consequences like they did at my demonstration..."
She wouldn't screw over the boys like that.
Kalys let out a barely noticeable sigh. "Whatever consequences they impose, I'll fix."
There was no bravado to it; it wasn't brimming with confidence; he merely stated it as fact. He had more power, wealth, and influence than the superiors at the Academy.
"Promise?" She pressed. She may not know him well, but she knew he had a sense of honour, even if she didn't entirely understand it.
He gave her a nod, his eyes boring into hers.
"All right then," she agreed.
She didn't much like the thought of him having to fix her problems for her, but she would swallow that embarrassment to make sure Nick and Zen didn't have to suffer the consequences of her actions.
As to why the Illusen family didn't want this ability getting out to the public, after reading the journal, she understood it. Considering he'd never read it, she wondered how much of it he understood or if he was just following the rules handed down to him.
"Thank you," she added softly.
Kalys didn't reply; instead, he took the jug and poured some of the water into a small bowl.
"Show me how much control you have," he commanded. "Pour the water back into the jug. Without touching it."
He tacked on that last bit like he expected her to be a bit of a smart arse about it. She had to admit she'd been tempted but had stomped it down quickly. He wouldn't like his time to be wasted, and she felt she pushed her luck enough as it was at times.
"I already know I don't have that much control," she said. "I will spill it."
"I just want to see what you can do."
She let out a breath and steeled herself for the judgment about to come her way. She reached out with whatever power allowed her to do this—she still didn't know; it didn't work the same as auric manipulation or casting—and tried to grasp the water. It felt like trying to pick it up with her fingers. Instead of one fluid motion, it was a sad little splashy, drippy string of water that lifted from the bowl. By the time she got it back into the jug, more than half of it had ended up on the table.
She internally winced at that pathetic display. She could make big waves, ripples, but those didn't require precise control.
She had the sudden urge to apologize, but she kept her mouth shut.
The water that had spilled on the table suddenly lifted up and joined the main body in the jug. He made it look so effortless.
A small sphere of water lifted out and hovered there.
"Try and hold it," he said.
When she reached out with her power again, there was a strange sensation this time, a foreign power. Her brothers, she realised. It was hard and glacial and so distinctly him. But there was something else there, a peace that reminded her of being under that lake. She had never felt anything like that before outside of the lake. A multitude of new sensations lately.
She tried to take the water from him, but she couldn't seem to solidify her power the way he did. Forcing her power into shape felt much like trying to mold water with her hands and just as futile as trying to pick it up with her fingers.
"Our power is the water, Sun, not an external force you must use to bend the water to your will," he told her.
She hadn't known it worked like that. Water had always been something she had a sense for when it was around her, but she had thought it akin to auric manipulation. She had been trying to use it the same way because it was all she knew.
"Water is much like... an extremity, and just like our extremities, we can control it. But just like any muscle, it takes exercise and training to hone and strengthen."
She nodded, but she was more focused on trying to control the water. It was finicky, and it still dripped like a bucket with a leak, but she managed to hold the bulk of it. Knowing the power was in the water kind of helped, actually. Though going by the results, not as much as she'd hoped.
"Typically Illusens learn their control over water before auric manipulation," he told her. "So we don't pick up any bad habits. You have an uphill battle."
What's one more? She sighed at the thought, the water sloshing onto the table in her distraction. "Sorry."
He didn't say anything before shaping the water back into a sphere. "Again."
-
The next day at the Academy, Sun still felt drained from the training with Kalys the night before. They hadn't even done anything physical, but she'd had combat training that didn't leave her that depleted. What little peace and contentment she'd managed to grasp at the bottom of that lake had all but evaporated. Falling asleep in the cellar had been easier, though. Almost as easy as that first night in it.
"You look like shit," Zen said as she approached the boys at the gates.
"You're getting too comfortable greeting me that way," she mumbled tiredly, stifling a yawn.
"You all right?" Nick asked.
"Kalys started training me last night; it was more exhausting than I would have thought."
"Did it go all right?"
"Maybe," she shrugged, unsure if it had or not.
She certainly hadn't improved in leaps and bounds, but Kalys had been more patient than she had been expecting. It hadn't really helped ease the tension in her, but at least it hadn't made it worse either.
They headed inside to get to class. Unfortunately, they were waylaid in the halls.
"You look tired, Sun," Seph called. "Up too late sucking dicks?" He and his stupid friend snickered.
"Pissed I took all your business?" She retorted.
Zen let out a little cackle.
"All right, you each got one in," Nick sighed. "Can we just get to class?"
He ushered Sun forward in the hopes of avoiding any escalation.
"Don't know why you protect this dirty slut; her own father cast her whore mother out before she could even be born," he spat, his scathing glare focusing on Sun next. "He knew whores could only birth filth."
Sun froze, the words hitting harder than she would have thought. And she couldn't help but wonder if there was any truth to it. Nero's own family may not have known about her, but that didn't mean some kind of gossip hadn't spread that they were unaware of.
Nick sighed, and before anyone even registered the movement, he had whirled on Seph and punched him right in the face, Seph dropping to one knee holding his nose.
Nick was very rarely a violent person, so she and Zen stared at him in shock for a moment. He had never instigated a physical fight before.
"Piece of shit," Seph hissed, launching at Nick and tackling him.
When Zen saw Vaan get ready to attack Nick as well, he dived in, kicking him back. Sun looked to Cullen, wondering if he was going to get in on it as well. The boy just shoved his hands into his pockets and watched, expression bored. Other students nearby saw what was happening and came to jeer at them, drowning out Sun's own voice yelling for them to stop. When Vaan pulled out his dagger, that was when Sun and Cullen jumped in, trying to grab his arm. Cullen at least recognized this was going too far. Vaan lashed out, elbowing her in the face and cutting her across the cheek. Then she felt his aura flare, and his strength tripled as he threw her against the wall. Cullen reacted, trying to stop his friend. Everything escalated as they all funneled their energy into their strength. Sun tried to help Cullen stop them, yelling at the boys, trying to pull them apart. None of them were listening.
"Enough!" A voice shouted above them all, and all six of them were flung apart and pressed against the walls by chains that snaked their way around them.
The other students quickly dispersed, and they saw one of their instructors standing there, arms up and commanding the chains. Instructor Tate was their Casting teacher and an expert in it. He had even invented new ones, which was quite a feat.
"What in the bloody hells is going on here!?" Instructor Tate demanded.
All of them were sporting more than a few injuries, their uniforms and hair rumpled and mussed. None of them uttered a word, but Sun hadn't seen Nick glare so fiercely since they lived on the streets. He didn't often get angry, but he was incensed right now. She was a little relieved he at least had the presence of mind not to teleport out of Instructor Tate's hold and keep going at Seph. But he looked like he wanted to.
Bollocks, they were going to be in so much trouble.