Free Web NovelChapter 362: Today is the Day
"Hawk! How did you do that?" Ethan cannot contain it. He crowds around Hawk the moment they are back at the hotel, and the other three follow, everyone asking variations of the same question at once.
Hawk is sitting on the edge of his bed, trying not to move. His ribs are making themselves known again.
"Oh. Sorry, Hawk." Taylor says, realizing he has nudged him.
"It’s fine." Hawk waves it off. He looks at them for a moment.
"I don’t know how I did it. I just did." He goes quiet, thinking. "Actually, I think it might be the breathing thing."
"The breathing thing?"
Hawk nods slowly. "Yeah. You know how every time I move the wrong way my ribs light up. To manage the pain, I’ve been breathing the way the hospital physiotherapist showed me. A specific pattern. And when I called the fire just now, I was doing it without thinking."
He watches his friends’ reactions carefully. No suspicion. No skepticism. Just curiosity.
"You might want to try it yourselves and see what happens." Hawk says.
His friends exchange glances. Then Ethan shrugs. "Why not? Anything that could help."
Carter nods. "Beats getting screamed at and knocked around by that Baroness."
J.C. says nothing. He nods slowly and follows along. But something is sitting uncomfortably in his chest.
Why does it always have to be Hawk? Why does he get to be the one who makes another breakthrough?
Does this mean I am worse than him?
He keeps it to himself and listens to Hawk’s instructions.
Hawk tells them what he knows, which is not much. Just the pattern. Just the rhythm of it.
What he does not tell them is where it came from.
He can still hear Theo’s voice from that night. "The more you do it without thinking, the more powerful your control becomes."
Theo had said it to keep Hawk focused, to make sure the fire stayed contained and away from the group during the fight. There had been no intention of teaching him anything. It was a practical instruction for a practical emergency.
Hawk knew that. And yet when he followed it, when he actually did exactly what Theo said, he found that his control over the fire had genuinely shifted. It surprised him enough that he kept doing it after, quietly and without mentioning it to anyone. On his back in the hospital. Eating. In the shower. Sitting at the window watching the snow. Any moment he had with nothing else to occupy his hands, he ran the breathing pattern.
After several days of doing it without stopping, the difference became undeniable. His fire magic felt smoother. Easier. It no longer cost him as much to call it forward.
Sharing it with the rest of the group did not feel like cheating. Theo had never said anything about keeping it to himself. It was just a breathing technique. There was no reason it should be a secret.
And yet Hawk cannot quite shake the feeling that he has somehow betrayed her.
He pushes it down. She never said anything. It is not a secret. It is just breathing.
He spends the rest of the day going through it with them and doing it alongside them.
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"What language is that?" Liam asks.
Theo startles so hard he nearly comes off the chair.
"Liam!" He exclaims.
"Sorry. I didn’t mean to do that. You were completely absorbed." Liam is not looking at Theo. He is looking at the writing on the paper.
"What language is that?" He asks again, tilting his head slightly. "I have never seen letters like these before. They are beautiful."
Theo clears his throat. "It is nothing. Just something I saw somewhere and it stuck in my head. That is all." He says it casually, already reaching for another sheet of paper and sliding it slowly over the writing while he speaks. "What brings you down here? Did you need something?"
If Liam had not caught the motion, the way Theo’s hand moved almost imperceptibly to cover the page, he might have taken it at face value. But he did catch it. He cannot think of a reason for it that makes sense, so he lets it go. For now.
"Hm? Yeah, ehm. I’m okay. Yeah." Theo clears his throat.
Liam crouches down until his eyes are level with Theo’s. He smiles gently.
"Thea, I want to apologize for how I was in the car yesterday. I was feeling hurt that you would not answer my question. Please do not take it to heart. It was not about you. I just could not accept the idea that there is something you know that I do not."
Theo watches him apologize and ramble and finds himself frowning.
What is this boy going on about?
"...will you forgive me, Thea?" Liam finishes, with soft eyes and a softer tone.
Every hair on Theo’s body stands up. freēwebnovel.com
Do not look at me like that. Do not use that tone with me. I know your feelings are for Thea, but good grief, boy. No.
Theo closes his eyes for a moment to settle himself. When he opens them again, whatever showed on his face before is gone.
"What are you going on about, Liam? I am not distracted because of your question. And I was being honest when I answered it. I genuinely cannot tell you right now because I simply cannot. I hope that one day I will be able to tell you everything." His tone is cooler than usual.
Liam does not notice. He is too relieved to notice. The only thing that registers is that Theo’s distraction has nothing to do with him.
"Yes, of course. Thank you, Thea."
They leave the study together. At the door, Liam glances back at the table once.
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A few hours later, Liam slips back into the guesthouse study.
He crosses to the desk quickly. It has been cleared. No papers, no pen, no trace of the strange letters anywhere on the surface.
He checks the bin beside the desk. Empty.
His curiosity sharpens into something closer to certainty. He does not know why, but he is convinced those letters matter.
Liam sighs and drops into the chair, staring at the empty desk.
He sits there for a moment, picturing Theo with his head down, writing. Then he jerks upright.
He pulls out a sheet of blank paper and a pencil from the desk drawer. He has an idea.
He lays the paper flat on the surface and starts rubbing the pencil lightly across it in long, careful strokes.
A few seconds later, he is smiling.
It is working.
The desk has a soft leather writing mat, the kind that cushions the hand and makes long writing sessions more comfortable. Theo’s pen had pressed through the paper and left faint impressions in the surface beneath. Liam’s pencil is picking them up one stroke at a time, the letters emerging slowly from the grey.
He works quickly, glancing at the door every few seconds, ready to sweep everything off the desk if he hears footsteps.
No one comes.
When the last letter appears, Liam exhales, folds the paper carefully, and pockets it. He leaves the study at a pace that is just barely not a run, crosses back to the main house, and does not stop until he is inside his own room with the door closed behind him.
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Today is the day.
Rhaenas has enlisted Claudia’s help to quietly move Leila and Maurice out of the way. The plan is to run the operation from the guesthouse, which Linus has confirmed is the most secure and private location available in all of Solarys.
When the time draws close, Claudia and Miranda invite Leila and Maurice out, citing the hospital’s equipment list as the reason. It is a long list, and a plausible one. Neither of them suspects anything.
Linus has cleared the guesthouse of all staff. Every maid, every groundskeeper, every house worker has been given the afternoon off with no explanation offered. In exchange for the use of his property, Theo agreed that Linus could be present to observe. He had not wanted to say yes at first. Then he remembered that Linus might hold answers to questions he has, and he gave in.
Everyone who needs to be here is here. They have gathered in the guesthouse living room and are making cautious attempts at getting to know each other.
Elder Loujt is struggling to focus. Linus is not sitting with the group, but Elder Loujt can feel his presence from across the room as clearly as a pressure against the back of his neck. There is nothing he can do about it. This is Linus’s house, Linus’s property, and Elder Loujt has no alternative location that offers the same level of security and privacy.
He swallows his displeasure and says nothing.
"First of all, welcome to Sonia, Mr. Loujt, Mr. Dae, and Mr. Huri. We all know why we are here, so I am not going to make this long. The snow has been going on for too long. We are going to stop it today."
Theo looks around the room.
"I want the eight of you to sit according to your element. Water with Water, Light with Light, and so on. This is not a social exercise." Theo says.
People begin moving, quietly rearranging themselves. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
"Here is why. For mages to work together effectively, the single most important thing is trust. You need to be able to trust the person beside you with your life. So before anything else, I want everyone with a matching element to link their magic with each other. Get familiar with the other person’s mana. Learn what it feels like."
