Galen dusted snowflakes off his hair as he peered into the distance. Even summers in Zamsune were not safe from the occasional snow flurries. The Yubal mountains were in the background, making a beautiful view. Galen held a bundle of firewood under one arm and was walking toward Thuraya’s house. The wood was uneven in length, standing testament to his skill with an axe. He entered the cabin and saw Thuraya giving Nessa lessons at the kitchen counter.
Nessa was not an eager learner and was restless, especially during her sit-down lessons. Thuraya taught the theoretical and Galen covered the practical. Nessa had fun doing spells, but she did not like Galen critiquing her. Galen was relieved that she already knew Oxuri as it was one less thing to teach her. The most frustrating concept to get her to understand was keeping her magic a secret. Vera's feeble lie of not wanting to offend people only worked so well, and her inherent loquaciousness made her want to blab to anyone who would listen. Since Thuraya and Galen never brought people home, her main target became Senior Officer Usoro. The officer kept true to her word and randomly showed up every week or every other week. Thuraya and Galen had to stay on alert and bend over backwards to make sure Usoro did not find out they were asteris.
Teaching Nessa stirred up thoughts about Severin. Galen tried not to think about him because the happy thoughts always dragged up the unhappy, but moments popped up here and there. Less than four months have passed since their last conversation, and Galen still felt a lingering melancholy from that day. Severin, an enthusiastic learner, was the complete opposite of Nessa. Although, he did have over twenty years on her. Galen wondered if he made a mistake; if he could have avoided their falling out. He often spiraled into countless what ifs. Nessa or Thuraya were able to snap him out if it most days. Galen set the firewood down by the fireplace, and endeavored to stop his thinking right there. He had better things to do.
Nessa's voice called out from the kitchen, "Galen! Show me how to do that one spell again!'
"Which spell?" Galen called back, "What have I told you about being more specific?"
"The one where we turn water into ice."
"Have you finished your lessons with Thuraya?"
Thuraya answered for her, "Yes, she's done. Go out back. Galen will meet you there."
Nessa cheered and ran out the back door. Thuraya walked to Galen, crouching in front of the fireplace. She threw in a few logs and lit the wood with a match. She said, "I'll start dinner."
"Thanks." Galen went to get two glasses of water from the kitchen. After filling the cups, he met Nessa out back. She was poking a bug with a stick. "Nessa, grab this."
Nessa took one of the glasses of water and set it down on the ground. Galen set his glass next to hers. He said, "We want to do this without Oxuri. Remember the first step?"
"Yep." She closed her eyes. Her brow furrowed in concentration. Magic gathered in her hand, and purple wisps encircled her fingertips.
"Good. Now visualize the water freezing."
"I am."
"Compel your magic to do what you visualize." Magic pooled in Galen's hand. He forced the magic into the water, freezing it.
Nessa's brow furrowed further and her eyes squeezed tightly. The magic in her hand flickered before fizzling into nothing. She opened her eyes and saw her water did not change. She sighed, "I can't do it."
"You can," Galen encouraged, "What went wrong?"
"I imagine the water freezing, but I can't make my magic move. It stays stuck to my fingers."
"Let's step away from freezing the water. Bring magic to your hands." Nessa's fingertips glowed once more. "Try to pull the magic from your fingers like you're stretching dough."
The magic surrounding Nessa's hands moved up a little. She looked up, "I did it! It moved."
"I see that. Can you pull it more?"
The magic rose higher. "Look!"
"You're doing great. Turn back to the water and try to freeze it now. Stretch your magic to the glass."
Nessa nodded, completely focused. The purple extended from her hands and reached the glass, but nothing happened. She recalled the magic with a frustrated huff. "It didn't work."
"Were you visualizing the water freezing or were you just stretching the magic to the cup?"
"Just stretching."
"You have to do both. Try again."
Nessa grabbed her magic for a third time. This time she visualized the spell and stretched her magic. When she touched the cup, the water froze. She grinned and jumped around. She yelled, "I did it! Galen, I did it!"
Galen smiled and watched her bounce around. Thuraya came out of the back door and asked, "What did you do?"
"I froze water with my magic," she said excitedly.
"Congratulations," Usoro appeared from the side of the house with a smile on her face, "An impressive feat."
Galen and Thuraya froze. They turned to each other with a frantic look in their eyes. Nessa responded, "Yeah, it was super hard for me."
Galen took over, "Nessa, why don't you head inside with Miss Thuraya. I'll talk with Miss Usoro."
Nessa nodded her understanding. "You don't want her to know that we're asteris. I got it."
Usoro's smile widened, and Thuraya proceeded to bang her head on the door frame. Nessa gasped, "I wasn't supposed to say that."
Galen pinched the bridge of his nose. He needed a second to comprehend what just happened. He asked, "Is there any chance you didn't hear that?"
Usoro laughed, "No, I heard it loud and clear. You three are asteris."
Thuraya's banging grew louder. Nessa ran to her side, pulling her away from the door. A red mark laid on her forehead. Nessa said, "Miss Thuraya, you'll hurt yourself."
Thuraya sighed, "If I only I knocked myself out. Nessa, go inside."
Nessa pouted but did as Thuraya ordered. Galen pleaded, "Please don't tell anyone, especially not anyone in the military."
Usoro said, "If you do me a favor, I won't tell."
Galen inhaled sharply, "Blackmail."
Usoro shrugged, "Blackmail. Extortion. Call it what you want. Do you accept?"
Thuraya asked, "What do you want us to do?"
"Get me out of the military and out of this country."
"What?" Galen asked incredulously, "You want us to smuggle you out of Zamsune?"
"Uh-huh."
Thuraya snorted, "How will we do that? The military is Zamsune's honor. Its pride. They won't let you leave easily."
"You'll figure it out if you want me to keep your secret."
Galen shook his head, "Can you give us the night to make our decision? This is a lot."
"Affirmative," Usoro said. She straightened and gave them a quick nod before turning and marching away.
Galen frantically paced. He clutched his hair and asked, "What are we going to do?"
Thuraya sat on the back steps, resting her head in her hands. "We can't risk this getting out."
Galen made nonsensical gestures, "How will we do this?"
"We'll think of something. It's fine." Thuraya soothed.
"Fine? We're being blackmailed!"
"I am well aware of that," Thuraya snapped, "We have to do it."
Galen sighed, "Yeah, we do."
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