My lessons went on much the same every day. I would get up before sunrise, usually with Puko's assistance. Then I would go to Gilly's cabin and we would do some morning chores such as feeding the animals or working the garden. With that out of the way, I would drink the mixture I had made on my first day, and we would eat breakfast before I sat down to copy another recipe. After that I would try to brew it. Some days I would master two or three recipes. Some days it was none.
I sat at the table in Mila's cabin well after sunset. Puko slept in my lap while I tried to neatly add to the notes in my book by candlelight. I yawned as I finished a line, and put my charcoal stick down.
The weather in the valley was getting warmer during the days now. The month was passing and I was loosing time. Time to master the art of brewing magic. Time to spend with Mila before I had to continue on. Time to find out how to fix the barriers, or even why they were failing in the first place.
I groaned and laid my head down on the table.
"Wren," Schula whispered from the bed. "Get some sleep. You're going to make a mistake in the book and get upset."
I closed the book gently. I traced a finger along the delicate copper vines that climbed up the front cover with a sigh. I looked down at where Nassir was trying to sleep in front of the fireplace and back up at Schula. She stretched and sat up, pointing to the door. I nodded.
I set Puko down gently at the foot of the bed where he usually slept and followed Schula outside.
I followed her up the slope and to a spring that flowed out of one of the caves nearby. It pooled into a pond before spilling into the valley below.
"If we're going to stay up talking, I'm taking a bath." Schula yawned and pulled off her boots.
"In the middle of the night?" I asked.
"Well you're not here to warm the water in the middle of the day," she teased.
I laughed and started removing my own boots while Schula tossed her tunic aside and climbed in the water.
"It's cold," she complained. "Warm it up please!"
"I'm coming, hold on." I smiled as I slipped in with her, bringing out enough fire to heat the pool. I took off everything but my pendant. That, I never removed. Schula sighed and laid her head back.
"I don't know why you're even complaining about the cold," I said. "You're made of ice magic."
"It doesn't mean I like cold baths," Schula answered. "I don't have to be harmed by the cold to enjoy a hot bath, Wren. I kept you cool in the desert, you keep me warm in the bath!"
I splashed a few drops her way and she giggled.
"I like seeing you smile," Schula said softly. "You've been very hard on yourself since we left the Wyldes."
"I suppose so. I just... I feel like I need to make it right."
"Not on your own you don't," she scolded.
I chose to ignore that and look up at the night sky instead .
"Do you miss it?" I asked. "The Wyldes."
Schula hummed and tilted her head.
"Hmm. I miss the feeling in the air. The... it's like..." She scrunched her nose in thought. "The Wyldes is like living in a bubble of magic that you belong to. It feels right, but you don't even notice it until you leave it."
"We'll get back there," I said. "We'll figure out how to fix the barriers, and then we'll..."
"Kill DuVarick?" Schula finished.
We hadn't talked about it out loud until now. I bit the inside of my cheek, cursing myself for even starting the thought out loud.
"Schula," I said. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything like that."
She shook her head and frowned. "He may have sired me, but he's no father. I used to just think that he was cruel, but that all the kings were like that. And all of them have their own cruelties and vices, but not like DuVarick. He's mad, Wren. And he needs to be stopped before his madness harms all of the Wyldes."
I laid my head on her shoulder. "I want to repair the barrier, and I think I can learn how to do that with the witches. But to stop DuVarick..."
"We'll figure it out," Schula insisted. "It's the fae, Wren. They will play their games in the courts for some time before any actual fighting breaks out."
"Even though we... we..."
"Icehold will rebuild. We didn't stop it, only slow it down. The armories, the training holds. If anything we helped slow DuVarick's progress by taking them out." Schula stretched and yawned. "Now, before our whole night is consumed by darker deeds ahead, tell me about your studies."
I groaned. "Schula, it's so tedious. I mean, I'm fascinated to learn about this side of myself. And Lark. But every day I copy spells and try to brew them. The ingredients are different, and the methods vary some, but it's the same sort of thing every day. I wish I could learn something more useful to our current plight."
"I don't know, it's all rather fascinating if you ask me," Schula said. "It looks like you have a world of possibilities ahead of you if only you knew what items to throw together to make it happen. What sort of spell did you learn today?"
I snorted a laugh and looked over to her. "I learned how to make a wood varnish that doesn't peel after a few years."
"Oh." Schula coughed. "Well at least you are doing something useful. You're learning how to make things. You'll have all the time in the world to experiment with new spells and potions after we earn some peace. All I've been doing is cleaning and repairing our equipment. I think I've folded and un-folded our sleeping mats about a hundred times now."
I yawned. "At least I will have learned a few of the basics before this big witch meeting thing. I wonder what it will be like."
"I wonder if any of them will know how the barriers were made," Schula added.
I grimaced. "They had better, or I've spent a month here boiling frog skins and peeling bitterroot for nothing."
Schula nudged me. "Hey, you've also gotten to see Mila again."
I smiled at that. "Yes, and I'm forever grateful that I have. I missed her something fierce. I wonder if she would settle in the Wyldes with me if I asked."
"You can offer after we know what our lives will look like when we get back," Schula said. "Somehow I don't think Thanantholl will want a witch in it any more than a witch would want to be there."
I shrugged and stood out of the water. "I'm about to fall asleep in this pond. I think I'm going to head back."
"Well I'm not staying here if my bath warmer is leaving," Schula teased. "I hope you feel a bit better. You need to relax and get some sleep. I hate seeing you like this every night."
I smiled and began pulling my clothes back on. "Well even if I'm learning things that can't help me with DuVarick, I don't know when some of these things may come in handy."
"That's the spirit," Schula mused.
Once we were dressed and our boots were back on our feet, we strolled slowly back to the cabin. The crickets were out in full force tonight, playing their music under the bright moon. We yawned a couple more times each before we were even in sight of our bed.
But then I heard something that made me stop. Footsteps. They were light. None of the witches walked this lightly, and tilted my head to hear better.
"Wren," Schula hissed, facing the direction we had come from. I turned to face the same way, but I didn't see anything.
We waited in silence for several long heartbeats. Nothing moved, not even a breeze. Just the crickets and the moonlight.
"An animal perhaps?" I asked.
Schula shook her head. "Don't discount your instincts. We both thought we sensed something, then something was there."
We stared at it for another moment before she sighed and spoke again. "Well, whatever it was, it's gone now."
I shivered. "I wonder if we should investigate, or tell someone."
Schula nodded slowly. "I'm going to stay here and see what I can see, but I think I'd feel better if Nassir gave the area a once-over as well."
I nodded. "I'll get him."
"Right, I'll signal if I find anything. I can't imagine what would be in this valley that I couldn't handle, at least for a moment."
I was tense, my feet didn't want to move.
"Go, one of us has to stay and mark the spot or we'll never find it again."
She was right. I gave her one last nod and ran off.
I ran as fast as I could. My boots hit the ground hard, and I rushed down to Mila's cabin. Luckily we weren't that far from it when we heard the noise. Nassir must have felt my panic as I drew close, because he was already awake and at the door. Puko was in his arms, feathers ruffled.
"Wren," he said. "What is it?"
"I don't know," I admitted. "Schula and I felt something. Over that way, on the hill. Can you come take a look?"
Nassir's face darkened as his expression grew stern. "Show me."
I led the way back. It killed me to go slower so Nassir could keep up, but I was relieved to see a white figure bobbing up and down in the grass as Schula looked around the spot where we felt something was off. Puko elected to fly, and I looked to see how he was acting. For such an odd bird, he was usually very intuitive. But he didn't act like anything was wrong, he just followed at a leisurely pace.
"Schula!" I called.
She perked up from where she was studying the ground. "I can't find a thing. Nassir, do you sense anything wrong around here?"
Nassir took a knee on the ground and pressed his palms into the earth. He took a few moments to reach around with his magic.
"Nothing," he said after a while. "There are footprints, but of too many people to separate. It could be anyone in the valley."
I made a frustrated sound in my throat and Schula's shoulders sagged. "Maybe we did imagine it."
I shook my head. "Let's tell Mila about it in the morning. Whatever it was is clearly gone now, but if it comes back we should be ready."
"Now that sounds like a reasonable course of action," Nassir said as he wiped his hands on his breeches. "For the moment, you both need to dry by the fire and get some sleep. I've slept enough, I'll keep a watch of sorts until sunrise."
"But-" I started.
"No." Nassir turned to me kindly but firmly. "I will do this. You will rest and continue your studies. You never know what will be useful later."
"There is nothing left to be done tonight," Schula said, taking his side. "Look, even Puko isn't bothered. Let's just get back to bed."
"Alright," I sighed.
We walked back to the cabin, Puko closely following overhead. We didn't feel anything else on the way back and by the time we reached the bed I was so tired that I didn't even have one last protest in me. All I could do was take off my boots and roll onto my side before falling asleep. Schula did the same and as promised, Nassir kept watch over the valley.
The night finished peacefully. No further events to bother us.
I did end up dreaming about stirring potions though.
And as night crossed into morning, Puko woke me up before sunrise. Once again, it was time for a day of potions with Gilly.