Chapter 108: Ice-Filled Room
Soleia froze. "...What did you hear?" Surely her sister didn’t know about her being a nullifier. Reitan wouldn’t even know about this concept.
"Something about you conjuring ice to fling at Florian? No wonder you felt so ill afterward, but good job on that. I’ve been wanting to do that for ages."
Soleia’s shoulders relaxed imperceptibly. "Oh, that..." She laughed awkwardly, her fingers twisting the fabric of her dress. "That was really an accident I don’t know how I did it―"
"Well, I know how I did it. The answer is the stone that hangs around your neck." Celestina gestured to the glittering aquamarine, and all of a sudden, the stone felt more like a collar that was weighing Soleia down than a jewel to showcase. "Does Father know?"
"No, of course not!" Soleia said. Her blood felt hot and her face was flushed. "Father mustn’t know. Not yet."
"Whyever not?" Celestine asked, placing both hands on her hips as she cast Soleia a look of doubt. "He would be so proud. You know how much he has been hoping you will awaken your powers one day."
"I know," Soleia said. "And that is exactly why he must never know."
Not until she figured out how to control it. Soleia stared at the palm of her hand. Even with the aquamarine around her neck, she could not feel even the slightest bit of magic that she felt when she conjured it at the alleyway. There was no tingle, no buzz― just painfully normal.
She had tried time and time again in the past few days, using the stones that Sir Ralph had given to her, but she felt nothing. None of the crystals — high quality or not — seemed to resonate with her. She could barely even conjure a snowflake, much less ice.