We started as soon as we were back in Julian's home and didn't stop for hours. The training started out small. It was mostly concentrating and meditating. We sat on the grass in the back of the estate and listened to the birds and noises of the nearby forest. It was to learn control. Control over my new power and my own worst thoughts.
My parents were safe, I told myself. I didn't have to worry about them. But Damien did need my help.
The training wasn't physical but it was mentally exhausting.
But necessary, Julian said. I had to learn to control what I had within me. It could go rampant or help me. While my light magic on its own could protect me to a degree from many dark faeries, it wasn't guaranteed. Especially with Robyn who was using Damien's powerful magic.
Training stopped at sundown but it wasn't because he wanted to, it was because I couldn't stop staring at the sunset.
The sun painted gold across the skyline. While it was perfectly normal and looked familiar to the sunsets back home, here, it made the green of the trees of the mountainside dance. Colors began to peak in the trees and sprites started to rise along with the night.
Just like the Royal Gardens in Blackdown Keep, the night came alive with them. Unlike the Keep, the sprites were everywhere, not just contained in a small garden of a small courtyard but all over the back of Julian's estate.
Slowly, I could see their glow in the trees in the mountains and then as the sun finally set behind the lake, more appeared. They appeared at the gates, in the hedges, in the trees, in the flowers.
I couldn't hide the awe in my voice. "This is breathtaking."
He approached next to me. "An advantage of being a Lord is being able to live in this home. It's the closest one to the mountains and the lake." He looked at me as I turned to him. "It has the best view at night. You're watching it with your fae eyes. You see more now than you did with your human ones."
I couldn't look away as they called out, a sweet melody soft against the evening sky. "How do you get used to it? I can watch them all night."
He scratched his chin. "Well, you do see it quite differently from everyone else. Not only do you watch the magic of the day and the night, you also see the life within it." He turned to me again. "You'll feel more in tuned to everything around you as your magic starts to fully restore, as you get stronger."
I frowned. "Should I be scared?"
"No. Embrace it, don't fight it." He looked at his phone then cursed. "I have to get going, something's come up. We'll leave it here for today. We'll start again in the morning."
He hesitated as he watched the door then me.
"What?"
He placed his hands on my shoulders. He was warm to the touch.
I watched his grey eyes as he struggled to start his sentence.
"Just do me a favor and don't leave the house."
I frowned about to open my mouth to ask where he would get the idea of me leaving when he interrupted.
"I know, I know. Just promise me you won't ever leave the house without me. Keeping you a secret is of the utmost importance."
I almost sighed. Another cage. Instead, I nodded. "I understand."
He let me go and stepped back, watching me expectedly.
When I wouldn't move, he said, "Well? Go on, inside."
I rolled my eyes and shook my head as I started to gather the fruit bowl that we'd left out for snacks throughout the day.
