Chapter 163

ISLA

I had been waiting in the war council room with Joseph when the magic came surging back into the kingdom. In case anything went wrong, we were instructed to stay in the below-ground chambers and monitor any potential problems with the magic.

I had no idea what to expect when the magic returned, up until the very moment the wave hit us.

It felt like an earthquake, like the entire kingdom was shuddering on its axis. There was no noise or even sense of danger–I knew that I would be safe, especially as the earth began to settle around us.

Despite having never felt the magic in the air before (something my parents had both frequently referenced and something I always believed to be a figment of their imagination), I felt it then. All around me, the air was charged with electricity, humming all around me.

I turned to Joseph in shock, ready to ask him what he felt, but something deep inside me suddenly seized and I fell to my knees.

Joseph reached for me and managed to grab onto me before I completely collapsed. I gasped as power surged through me, a feeling so strange and sensational that my limbs started trembling.

“Isla!” He cried out desperately. “Isla!”

My body slumped to the floor. My chest heaved as I fought to catch my breath.

Joseph cradled me in his arms, stroking my hair. “Isla, what’s happening? What’s wrong?”

“Something feels… different,” I said softly. “Not wrong, just… different.”

I clenched and unclenched my fist, watching my fingers move through the air. At the edge of my fingertips, tiny sparks shot out. I gently waved my hand through the air, startling at how the wind seemed to bend and sway to my will.

“Oh,” I breathed.

Joseph cupped my face with both his hands and studied me. “Isla. The magic. It’s inside you now.”

As soon as he said it, I knew he was right. What was going on inside me was not a change, but rather, an awakening. The magical blood that ran through my veins was finally at its fullest potential.

Whatever Mila and Felix had done in the mountains had worked.

I sank back onto my heels, Joseph finally releasing me from his grip. Truthfully, I was a little disappointed to no longer be in his arms, but the thrill of finally having magic of my own took the sting out of it.

“I can’t believe it,” I whispered. “I never thought I could have magic of my own.”

Joseph smiled at me. “We should return upstairs and see if there is any word from Felix and Mila. Maybe there are updates on the magic throughout the kingdom.”

He grabbed my hand and led me back upstairs to the throne room. I reveled in the fact that he did not let go of my hand the entire time.

The next few hours were busy–now that magic had returned, the kingdom was in a bit of chaos. Joseph was immediately swept up in phone calls and frantic messages from Fresonia’s nobility. Since Felix and Mila were still away it was his responsibility to manage the unruly nobles.

While most seemed thrilled about civilians regaining their long-lost powers, others had concerns about no longer being the most magically superior beings in the kingdoms. I nearly rolled my eyes when I heard that. I knew exactly what it was like to be a rather un-magical commoner, and their elitism annoyed me.

If Mila were here, my best friend would have laughed along with me and made the perfect cutting-yet-gentle comment about the kingdom’s most tempestuous nobles. But she and Felix had yet to return to the castle, and I still had yet to see her.

As the day wore on, I seized every opportunity to sneak away and test my newfound powers. They seemed to be element-based, not dissimilar to my mother’s magic, with the ability to manipulate air and water being the most prominent.

At the nearest chance I would ask Mila to take me to that famed Library of Magic so that I could learn about the powers that now flowed through my veins. Although I was thrilled, I was also terrified. I had gone twenty-six years of my life without magic.

What would change now?

I was exhausted, ready to fall asleep on my feet, when Mila walked into the throne room.

For a split second, I could only stare at my best friend, my heart pounding in my chest. A few weeks ago, I never thought I would see her again. Now, she was here, looking happier and healthier than ever, and everything had changed.

My legs nearly gave out, overwhelmed with the emotion and exhaustion of the day. The tiny brunette ran towards me, pulling me into a tight hug.

“You have no idea how much I missed you!” Mila shrieked.

I laughed. “You’ve been so busy!”

Mila grabbed my arm and dragged me over to a couch tucked behind the thrones. “Tell me everything that’s happened since I’ve been away.”

I squinted at her, confused. “Don’t you have queenly duties to attend to?”

“Yeah,” Mila said dismissively. “This.”

For the next several hours, I rehashed everything that had occurred since her death, blushing every time I mentioned Joseph. As soon as I mentioned my powers, Mila’s eyes grew huge.

“Isla, that’s incredible,” she whispered.

She then filled me in on her side of things–starting with Sofia and Samuel and ending with her and Felix renewing their vows and healing the magic. When she mentioned her parents, I nearly cried.

“They must come and stay here,” I told her.

“I can’t believe they’re real,” she responded, tears in her eyes.

The light of the day faded into night and the conversation had turned to the topic of Isabella and Charles. While I was in favor of feeding both to the dragons for their cruelty, Mila pointed out that they both needed forgiveness more than anything else.

“Isabella was always awful to work for when I was her maid,” I grumbled.

Mila leaned forward slightly, her eyes glittering. “Speaking of being a maid, I wanted to talk to you about that.”

I sat up a little straighter. “I know I’ve been neglecting my job lately but I can report back tonight, if that’s what you want.”

Mila shook her head. “That’s not what I want at all. I don’t think you should be a maid anymore.

I said nothing, my heart thudding in my chest. Was she firing me?

Mila smiled at me. “I was thinking that you needed a promotion.”

I stared at her for a moment, not fully comprehending what she was saying. “Mila, I’m perfectly happy being a maid. I don’t need any sort of promotion.”

Mila shook her head. “I want you to be the first-ever Fresonian Ambassador of Magic. You’ll do work both domestically and abroad as a sort of liaison for the magical needs of the kingdom.”

My breath caught in my throat. What Mila was suggesting was not just a promotion, but moving up several classes. “I helped with all this so that you would be safe, not so I could get rewarded.”

“I’m not promoting you as some sort of reward,” Mila said, linking her arm through mine. “I’m promoting you because you’re the best person for this job. You understand both sides of the issue–what it’s like to have powers and what it’s like to not. I trust you more than anyone to do this.”

The Ambassador of Magic. It had a nice ring to it.

I dipped into a curtsy. “Then I accept, my Queen.”