House of Dreamers | book 1

𝐱

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟎

𓆱

Sweat rolled down the curve of her back as she sat in front of Caspian, his legs crossed underneath him. He had his sheathed sword placed on the light floor between them. He watched her intensely, eyes pinning her to her spot.

"Ophelia." He hummed softly, a playful smile tugging on the corner of his lips. Ophelia glared at him.

"I thought I was supposed to be learning the basics, not trying to summon the dead!"

Caspian sighed, shifting. "I'm not making you summon the dead. I'm making you burrow into your power." He watched as a bead of sweat rolled down her temple, curving along the side of her neck. Ophelia shook out her hands, breathing deeply. Caspian reached forward, gripping her wrist. "You just started, you're not going to be able to summon at will. You can do this." Caspian searched her face. Ophelia searched his face before she pulled her hand away, shifted and closed her eyes.

I can do this...

Ophelia sucked in a breath, relaxing her hands. She placed her clammy palms against her thighs. She felt Caspian's eyes on her, watching. Ophelia ignored it, fought the urge to look towards him, tried to focus on burrowing deeper into the seemingly endless well. Ophelia sighed, opening her eyes. "It's not working, is it?" She felt something deflate in her chest. Caspian stared at her for a few beats before speaking. "It's not something that's going to happen right away. Especially since you're just now manifesting your magic after so many years."

Ophelia looked to the left, thinking. She heard Caspian shift, felt him move closer. She turned, staring. She watched as he strapped the sword around his lithe hips. "Come. I think you need to take a break." Ophelia opened her mouth to protest, to say she felt fine when a wave of dizziness caused the room to spin. She blinked, closing her mouth. Caspian held out his hand, waiting for Ophelia to slide hers into it. She slowly set her hand into his, watching him. Caspian smiled slightly, pulling her up.

Ophelia pulled her hand from Caspian's, turning away from him. "Is there anything else you require from me?" Ophelia asked. She sounded breathless, even to herself. Caspian watched her, shaking his head slightly. "No. There isn't." He turned, leaving her alone in the cavernous training room. Ophelia watched him leave, watched as the door shut with a soft click.

She closed her eyes, wrapping her arms around herself. Of course, she would mess the simplest task up. Ophelia chided herself. You just started!

Ophelia tilted her head back, looking around the room. She chewed on her lip, the pinch of her teeth a way to keep herself from spiraling. The weight of the silence came shortly after. Ophelia walked  around the dimming training room. The flames in the braziers snuffed out, one by one. Ophelia took a step back, tripping over the skirt of her dress. She steadied herself. A loud clatter caused her to whirl around. Fear bubbled in her chest, and Ophelia moved back to the middle of the training room, where a medium circle of sunlight shone in through the sunroof.

Ophelia felt trapped as the last of the fires blew out. She tried to stop the shake of her hands, the wobble of her knees. She knew she was rushing into the area of hysteria headfirst.

Something reached out, brushing against the back of her head. Ophelia swallowed a scream, spinning around. Her heartbeat spiked, quickly rising as something leaned in and spoke to her. "You cannot muster your fear from me, Child."

The voice was both old and young, all at once. Male and female. Ophelia clenched her jaw, trying to keep the clattering of her teeth silent. She was met with a soft laugh. "That will do no good. I can feel the waves of fear rolling from you."