"You pissed her off that quickly?" I laughed at his comment. It was a kneejerk reaction and I felt bad after doing it.
"Everyone, go. Let's keep her happy." James ignored me as he spoke to the others before sitting down at the table in the center of the room. Est and Callisto were gone without another word. I stared at James as he sighed heavily before burying his head in his hands. With every crash of the waves it was as if James relaxed, taking pleasure in a moment of comfort.
"What did you do?" He finally asked me. He didn't look at me but I took the opportunity to sit down next to him anyway.
"I melted a spoon. Callisto thinks it's pyrokinesis regardless of what spell I'm using."
"Perfect, so you'll be able to heat up some leftovers if I bring you back some food from La Voisin." He smiled as he faced me.
"It might be the only thing I can do." I laughed at the absurdity of his answer. It felt nice to joke around with James. "I guess that means you need to bring me some deep fried cheese."
"Cheese? That's all you want off the menu?"
"Well, I don't know, James. I guess you also need to take me back there so I can get a better look at the menu." I nudged him.
"Yeah, yeah. Maybe they'll let you heat up your own cheese." He laughed it off and then started to gather items and bring them to the cauldron on the table.
"It feels like you're judging me for my lack of powers." I teased him while watching the items he gathered. I couldn't quite tell what he was trying to make with the items he had. There was ember essence and phoenix feathers, but a third item I couldn't identify was also brought to the table. It was a deep crimson color with shimmering gold and orange hues. The bottle glowed with a faint darkness, almost smokey in nature. "What are you grabbing?"
"We're going to make a flameforge elixer. I think you're a little too excited about the thought that you are doing something with your magic that you are forgetting your prophecy."
"What?" How could I ever forget my prophecy? I thought back to what might've given him the impression that I forgot or didn't care, other than joking about fried cheese, and nothing came to mind.
"A flameforge elixer will help amplify your fire-based magic." He stopped moving and faced me. I felt like a student staring at their teacher waiting for the next instruction. He handed me the unidentified liquid. "Dragon's breath extract. It's extremely potent. Mix it with the ember and phoenix feathers slowly."
"Before I do that can I ask why you seem to think I forgot about my prophecy?" My hand gripped the dragon's breath extract bottle, trying to take my anger out on the inanimate object rather than the person who was trying to help me. But his words annoyed me. I've lived by my prophecy, whether I wanted to or not, for a decade. He didn't know what that was like.
"I'm sorry," he sighed. "I phrased that poorly. You aren't using pyrokinesis, Rhea. At least, I don't believe you are. Your prophecy is to be the strongest witch in fire magic, which could mean you one day gain the abilities of pyrokinesis back, it means you aren't starting there. Pyrokinesis uses your mind, it's not elemental in nature."
"Oh." I felt stupid for taking my anger out on him. There was nothing to be angry about. He was clarifying a point, and I took it personally. Well, at the very least he was bad at explaining things. He was no Celeste when it came to teaching and guidance. "I thought—never mind. Now that I know what you mean, let's make this potion."
"Remember," James cautioned. "Add the dragon's breath extract slowly."
I mixed the first two ingredients just as I always would in the cauldron. Then I opened the bottle of dragon's breath extract by popping out the cork holding the liquid inside the bottle. There was a little spark, almost as if two rocks were scraped together to create it. The smoke surrounding the bottle began to move, almost as if the bottle were breathing in and out of the newly opened top. I moved the bottle over the top of the cauldron and James reached for me. I stopped moving, surprised by his own sudden movements. He pulled his hands back, as if he decided he didn't need to help, and then slowly moved them away from his body, as if to remind me to move slowly.
It was kinda cute to watch him worry, knowing how proficient he is in potions. I found myself smirking as I slowly released the liquid into the cauldron.