I barely slept last night. I had too much to think about after my conversation with Anna. She told me not to worry too much. That not only would they considerably increase the security around the place, but our facility was much better hidden than Kelpont’s, given the forest that surrounded us.

She also mentioned that the chances of a leak were low since this centre had many fewer staff members and patients. This meant it was easy to keep tabs on everyone, even those who were discharged or turned out to be immune.

When I asked her about my family, she said they’d still be able to visit me like we agreed. Though it was necessary that they adhered to basic safety measures. Bringing visible camping equipment seemed to be the easiest of the bunch. That way, no one would think there was another reason for visiting the forest. To make it more convincing, they would need to stay the whole weekend. Although, knowing my mother, she would gladly do so.

They also mentioned giving my dad a security card and registering the car’s licence plates into their database. This granted access to the underground tunnel the staff already used to come and go each day.

Additionally, while Mary was allowed to tag along as she was already aware of everything, any other friends and relatives were completely out of the question. If they asked, all my family could tell them was that I fell into a coma due to an unknown illness. It had been that way all along, so it wasn’t anything new.

It still scared me, though. Having no magic, no weapons, nor flight to protect myself, I was too vulnerable. To make things worse, I could turn feral at any moment, and while it was somewhat helpful against Lily’s father, I knew I wouldn't be as lucky against a group of people, much less a gun.

I don’t have many options.

Fake swords won’t do much, and I can’t use the bows we have, so weapons can already be discarded.

That leaves magic and flight as my options.

Magic could be useful… If we had any damaging spells, that is. And it doesn’t seem like anyone will discover one soon either.

Looks like my best chance is to rush my flight training.

If I can’t fight, all I have left is to run.

Although I hated the idea of escaping by myself, I didn’t know what else I could do. I’d only get in their way if I stayed. I shook my head out of that thought.

That should only be my last resort. I need to keep working on my magic while we’re safe.

Psychic spells may not be reliable, but they are far from useless.

Maybe I should focus on that.

Breakfast time arrived so, after getting dressed, I headed down to the cafeteria. I hoped Sylvia didn’t notice my lack of sleep. We couldn’t let her know about the incident. At least not yet. If her ex was really involved, it would be terrible for her. The pain and current situation were stressful enough for her.

Speaking of pain, my wings hurt a little. It was the result of yesterday’s training, no doubt. I was also quite hungry, so once I got to the cafeteria, I grabbed a tuna sandwich, two slices of ham, an apple, a glass of milk, and some cookies. It seemed excessive for my size, but I felt like I needed it. I was the last one to arrive at the table, and I saw they already had a stool waiting for me next to Allison, who was sitting on her now usual floor cushion.

Allison spoke to me as I sat down. “Slept well, little one?”

My eyes widened at her question, “Huh?”

Calm down.

She asks the same every day.

“Yes! I did, Allison. Did you?” I replied before she repeated herself.

She let out a short sigh before returning to her usual smile. “It could’ve been better. I went to bed later than I’d prefer. I would’ve liked to sleep more, but I don’t want to mess up my sleeping schedule.”

“Why?” Lily asked.

“It’s a good habit to have, Lily. It will make things easier once we return to the outside world. If I wake up later, it will be difficult to readapt when I get a job again. Same for you and school.”

“I won’t go back to school. I’ll stay here.”

Dr. Blake chuckled. “School or not, you won’t escape your education that easily, young lady. I recommend you enjoy the rest of your summer break as much as you can, because I’ll personally make sure you continue with your studies starting next month.”

Lily groaned in response. “Do I really need it? I’m too small to work, anyway.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure, Lily,” Anna interjected. “You’re quite talented with magic, after all. I’m sure your abilities will be useful in the future. Healing is one thing that any hospital would appreciate, for example.”

Lily remained silent with a troubled expression. She didn’t seem convinced. Being a fairy, she probably expected to live the rest of her life leisurely. Knowing her background, it was possible too. Though, only if she did claim her grandfather’s inheritance.

Anna patted her head softly with her finger. “It’s only a suggestion. You have plenty of time to think about what you want to do.” She then turned to me. “Changing the topic, will you go back to flight training today, Nora? The construction workers won’t be coming anymore, so you can go out earlier if you want.”

I didn’t bother asking Allison if she wanted to help. I already knew her answer as we looked at each other. “My wings might complain since they’re not used to it, but yes, I was planning to go after this. I’ll probably work on my mana for a while before that, though. I don’t want to exercise right after eating.”

Once breakfast was over, we went to the training area. Lily came with us this time. She didn’t need such basic training anymore, so it was likely that she simply wanted to stay away from Anna and Dr. Blake because of what they said.

The training began, and I concentrated on the mana as it flowed through my body. As I gained full control of it, I opened my eyes to continue where I left the day before. Studying my surroundings, I was surprised to see that Allison was meditating properly for once.

Lily was also focused on her own training, mercilessly ripping leaves from a plant, only to make them grow back again. She was relatively far from us, clearly wanting some time for herself.

I then looked at Sylvia. She was reading a book Dr. Blake lent her before we went out. Sensing my gaze, she glanced at me and gave me a questioning look. To avoid breaking my concentration by speaking, I merely smiled at her. She seemed to understand and smiled back with a nod before her eyes returned to her reading. At least she seemed more relaxed now.

My sight shifted to the forest next. I searched for any signs of animals living there, and I did spot some small creatures at first. The biggest thing around was a pair of jackalope bucks fighting each other behind the shrubbery. I was surprised to see them. The large rodents were known to be shy around people, but they still had antlers. They were perfectly capable of hurting someone if they felt threatened. I wondered if the rangers were aware of their presence.

Ignoring them for the time being, I looked to the sky and focused on the clouds. I named their shapes in my mind. As I kept staring, I noticed a small brown dot moving below them. After a few seconds, the mysterious dot got closer, and I identified its shape to be that of a hawk. I wondered if it had found something to eat near us.

That seemed to be the case, as it began descending rapidly after circling around us a few times. I tried searching for any rodent or small animal it could be aiming for, but most critters had already gone into hiding, leaving only the pair of horned rabbits, which were too big to become its prey. The predator, however, kept coming closer. It was only then that I saw what its target was.

“Lily!” I screamed. I stood and ran as fast as I could, reaching out with one hand in an attempt to intercept the bird. There was no way I could save her in time.

Please, stop!

Lily screamed, and everything turned white instantly. A thick cloud had suddenly appeared in front of me, completely blocking my vision. At the same time, I felt a sharp pain in my chest that forced me to kneel.

A loud noise behind the cloud caught my attention. It sounded like a big rock crashing against the ground. The wind took no time in clearing the weird fog, and what I saw left me speechless. There was no rock.

Lily was there, curled into a ball. She was crying, but looked otherwise unscathed. The hawk was next to her; part of it, at least. Fragments of the bird’s wings and legs were scattered on the floor as if it were a broken statue instead of a living being. I felt pity for it, but I was glad it wasn’t able to harm her.

“Are you okay, Lily?” I asked, getting closer to check on her.

No answer. She merely nodded as she wept.

I sighed in relief. No longer feeling hurt, I got closer and picked up the half wing that had fallen closer to me. Despite it being clearly frozen, it didn’t burn my fingers like I expected.

“How did you even do this?”

The fairy stopped crying and stared at me in confusion.

“It wasn’t her, Nora.”

“Huh?” I turned around to see Sylvia and Allison were right behind me.

“It was you. The mist came from your hand,” the giantess added.

Lily flew to me and hugged my face tightly. “Thank you, Nora! Thank you so much!”

“I-I wh-what?”

Did I just discover a new kind of magic!?

Anna told me that she discovered hers in an emergency.

To think the same would happen to me…

More importantly, what type of magic was it?

Ice magic?

After processing what they told me and making sure Lily was safe with Sylvia and Allison, I walked to the shack. There, I grabbed an empty duffle bag I saw previously and returned to the crash site. Allison then helped me place all the frozen pieces we could find in it. It was disgusting, but we needed them as proof of my magic. It also wasn’t a good idea to let them defrost in the middle of our training area. Oddly enough, Allison had trouble picking them up because of how cold they were.

I looked at the leg in my hand in confusion. I could tell it was cold, yet it didn’t burn me like I knew it should.

Maybe my own magic can’t harm me?

Why did it hurt me when I used it then?

At least the pain left almost as soon as it came.

When we got back to the main building and failed to find Anna, I took out my phone and sent her a message to let her know we needed to see Dr. Blake urgently. Thankfully, she replied this time, and she told me they were so busy they couldn’t leave the lab for too long, so they granted me permission to enter alone and meet them there. After I told the others, Allison led Lily and Sylvia to her room whilst they waited.

I entered the basement and walked through the empty main corridor until I reached the actual lab’s door. There was an intercom next to it, so I pressed the button and called for them.

“They are on their way,” Gary quickly replied.

Soon enough, the door opened, and both Dr. Blake and Anna came out. They immediately focused on the bag before looking back at me. I hoped the bird was still frozen.

“Let’s find a better place for you to show us, shall we?” Dr. Blake said as he led us to one of the rooms in the corridor. Once inside, he took the bag from me and placed it on top of the table. His eyes widened as he opened it. He then carefully emptied its contents onto the table between us. “Now, could you explain what happened to this guy?”

I shrugged. “Turns out I can use ice magic. That’s what the others told me, at least. I couldn’t see anything when it happened.”

Anna took out a pair of tongs from a drawer below the table to grab one of the fragments. She examined it carefully before dropping it on the table. “Well, I have mixed feelings about this. First of all, I’m impressed, Nora. You actually discovered a new type of magic. A very dangerous one at that. How did you even hit a hawk with it? More importantly, why would you do such a thing?”

I could sense a hint of worry in her voice. It was clear she wasn’t happy about me using this new magic on a living being. “It was aiming for Lily.” I replied. “I tried to-”

“How’s Lily!?” both of them asked instantly.

“She’s fine. A little scared, that’s all. She’s in Allison’s room with her and Sylvia.”

Both relaxed, knowing she wasn’t harmed.

“I keep telling her to be careful,” Anna said. “The world can be very dangerous for someone her size. I hate that it had to be this way, but at least this will make her understand. I just hope it wasn’t overly effective.”

“Do you think you can do it again for us?” Dr. Blake asked.

“I can try, but I honestly don’t know how I did it. It just happened.”

He ruffled my hair. “Don’t worry, it’s all right. I’m sure you’ll get it if you keep working on it. There’s no need to rush.”

“And we don’t have time for that right now, anyway. We have to go back, Dad.” Anna placed the fragments inside the bag and closed it. “We’ll talk more about this later, Nora. Thanks for bringing this to us. We’ll analyse it and see if we can find anything noteworthy regarding this new magic of yours. Will you go back to training?”

“Yes, I want to see if I can do it again.”

After I said that, Dr. Blake walked to another cabinet and took out a small video camera. “I’d really love to see your training in person, but like Anna said, we’re busy right now. Would you mind using this camera to record any progress you make?”

“Sure, I can ask Sylvia to film it. I don’t think she’ll refuse if I give her something to do.”

“Have fun then,” he said, handing me the device. He took the bag from Anna’s hands and went back to his work.

“How is Sylvia doing, by the way?” Anna asked once the doors closed. “With all the chaos around here, I haven’t had the chance to ask.”

“I think it’s a bit early to tell,” I replied. “She looks better than when I met her, but she spaces out a lot. Did no one tell her demons become younger?”

“I don’t know,” Anna responded. “We assumed they told her back at Kelpont, why?”

“She thought I was a child. A real one, I mean.”

“Well, you’re a real demon child,” she responded with a smirk.

I sighed, “You know what I mean.”

“Yeah, sorry. Did you tell her the truth?”

I nodded. “Yeah. I did consider not doing it, but I think it’s best she knows.”

“I would’ve liked to wait until the counsellor arrived in a few days, but I guess things went well enough.”

“Yeah, she’s worried about many things, but I think most of them will clear with time.”

She nodded and turned around. They were already walking into the lab when Anna stopped and looked at me. “Small advice on your magic. I know it can be uncomfortable, but try to remember what you thought and felt at the moment it happened. That’s how Jack and I did it after we discovered our own.”

“I’ll try. Thanks, Anna.”

“No problem, Nora. Good luck!”

After that, I walked back to Allison’s room and knocked. I could hear her steps getting closer before the door opened. “Are you done, little one?”

“I am. How’s Lily?”

“Much better now. She went back to her room, though. I doubt she’ll go out for a while. Will you return outside?”

“Yeah, I want to control my magic as soon as possible. I mean, you never kno-” I shut my mouth the moment I realised what I was saying.

Allison tilted her head in response. “Hm?”

“Ah, sorry, I just don’t want to freeze someone by mistake, you know. I need to get the hang of it soon.”

She raised an eyebrow, somehow knowing there was more to it than that. Still, she let it go. After Sylvia accepted recording my training with the camera, the three of us returned to the forest.

---<>----------<>----------<>---

Arriving at the training grounds, I selected one dummy as my target and tried to recreate the event. As expected, nothing came out when I tried. I kept going for a while with no sign of getting closer.

“Are you sure you’re not missing anything?” Sylvia asked, keeping the camera up.

I groaned and turned to face her. “I don’t know. I can feel the mana flowing, and I keep thinking about protecting someone like Anna said. I must be doing something wrong, though. Maybe it’s because I know this guy won’t harm anyone,” I said, pointing at the dummy behind me with my thumb.

Allison, who was ‘meditating’ next to her, opened her eyes and joined the conversation. “Are you sure you were thinking about protecting her when you did it?”

I frowned at her. “What else would I think then? I was scared that the bird was going to kill her.”

She shook her head and explained. “What I mean is that there are many ways to protect someone. For example, if you only wanted to shield Lily, then maybe an ice wall or something like that would’ve come out instead. Perhaps you thought of getting rid of the hawk?”

I lowered my head as I realised what she meant. “Okay, I get your point.”

Now that she mentions it, what I hoped back then was for the hawk to stop.

Freezing it did just that, didn’t it?

It can’t be that simple… Can it?

I had to try it, at least. Thinking about stopping an object that was already standing still felt weird, anyway. I supplied mana into my extended hand as I pictured the dummy encased in ice.

Freeze!

As a result, the same mist from before appeared in front of me. Although the cloud was much thinner this time, it was clear I had found the way to use my ice magic. I stared at the result.

The affected area was roughly the size of my fist. In other words, it was tiny. I imagined that I had been empowered by adrenaline or something like that the first time, so it didn’t surprise me too much. Perhaps using that much mana at once was what caused it to hurt. I looked back to my audience in excitement. They smiled at me and gave me the thumbs up.

Motivated by my success, I continued freezing random spots of my target until I began to feel tipsy. I immediately recognized this feeling as the sign of mana exhaustion. It had to be. Even though my knowledge came from games, books, and shows, it was clear to me.

This first training session taught me that I could use my spell around eight times before I felt that way. Casting a stronger spell most likely meant I got to use it fewer times. I wanted to keep going and see how far I could go in that state, but I didn’t know what could happen if I went dry. That was something people never seemed to agree on. It mostly depended on the media.

Games were all the same. If you had no mana, the only consequence was that you couldn’t cast any more spells. While this was bad news if you were in the middle of a fight, all you had to do was to drink a potion to replenish it.

The other sources were less consistent with it. There, the result could go from being the same as with video games, to the caster getting sick or weak. In the worst cases, it could lead to the actual death of the individual. It was because of the last one, as well as the pain I felt earlier, that I didn’t dare go further.

Even if nothing dangerous were to happen, it was clear that the dizziness would increase. That wasn’t a feeling I wanted to have by the time I switched to my flight training. It was hard enough to deal with my fear of heights alone. Fortunately for me, my mana seemed to be slowly replenishing by itself. I still felt lightheaded, but I could feel it fading while I rested. Because of this, I waited until it completely disappeared.

Allison, who ignored her training to watch me until I was stable enough, could finally continue meditating. I was convinced at this point. Her slow progress wasn’t a lack of talent for it. It was her own negligence. Satisfied with her finally focusing on it, I sat on the floor next to Sylvia and relaxed.

Sylvia’s voice came from above as I closed my eyes. “Are you okay, Nora? You look pale.”

I gave her a reassuring smile. “My mana is low. I think. I feel a bit dizzy, that’s all.”

Allison’s eyes opened the moment she heard me.

I couldn’t help but laugh. “I said I’m fine! Go back to your training!”

She groaned in response before getting back to it.

“Seriously, she’s worse than my mother sometimes...” I muttered, causing Sylvia to chuckle as well.

---<>----------<>----------<>---

I was more or less back to normal after an hour, so we worked on my flight training next. Like the day before, I closed my eyes when Allison raised me high above her head, and I began flapping my wings up and down.

Unfortunately, the session wasn’t as good as the last time. My muscles complained too much to continue after the first few minutes. Having reached my limit, we went back to the building to let the others know of my progress with my new magic.