Lady of Light and Shadows by C. L. Wilson Page A

see the weaves that make up all living creatures. The silence is the source from which your magic springs. You call the magic from there and let it flow through your body. And when it fills you and becomes you, then you can direct it as you do your own limbs. The process takes effort at first, but eventually the path will become as easy to find when you seek it out as it currently is when you travel it instinctively.”
    Once again he guided her through the meditative exercise to find the silent, shining place where the world was lit with glowing threads of magic.
    "All around you is Air. You will see it as a soft whiteness. Summon it to you.”
    "I see it, but how do I summon it?”
    "Much the same way as you asked the fireoak to share its essence with you. Open yourself to it. Imagine that you are a cistern and magic is the water that must flow to fill you.”
    Ellie gave it a try, but no shining white light answered her call. "It's not working.”
    "I will show you what I mean; then you can try again.”
    The shadowy world evaporated in an instant when Rain set aside his sword belts and settled behind her. He pulled her back against him. Tingling warmth raced up her spine as his body pressed against hers. He surrounded her. His thighs cradled hers, his arms covered her own, his fingers interleaved with her own.
    "What are you doing?" Her voice came out a bit thready.
    "If you were my chadin, my pupil, I would be able to enter your mind to observe your efforts and guide you. Since our bond is currently unfulfilled, I cannot enter your mind yet, but by holding you close this way, you will be able to feel what I do as I call and weave Air. I'm hoping you will be able to emulate my efforts and perform this exercise on your own." Against her cheek, she could feel him smile. "And besides, shei’tani, not a moment passes that I do not seek an opportunity and excuse to touch you”
    Pleasure shuddered over her. "If you think I'll be able to concentrate with you snuggled up against me like this, think again," she warned him.
    His lips brushed her ear. "It is good to know you are not unaffected by my touch." His low voice whispered across her skin, echoed in her mind. "But do try to concentrate, ajiana. When we are done, I will reward us both.”
    Her heart began to pound. How did he expect her to focus when he said things like that?
    He began to murmur in Feyan, quiet, liquid syllables, words she couldn't make out that played in her mind like a peaceful song. The sound of his voice flowed over her and warmth seeped into her skin, making her feel drowsy. His fingers, long and capable, stroked her hands. The starch in her spine wilted, and she relaxed against him, tilting her head back against his shoulder.
    "Now, Ellysetta, I will call Air. Can you feel it gathering inside me?”
    "Yes.” The Air stirred almost imperceptibly as it responded to Rain's call. The magic didn't come to his hands, as she had always thought it would. Instead, it filled him from within, welling up and permeating his body, until the Tairen's Eye signet on his right hand began to glow faintly.
    "I do not need much Air. The strength of the weave depends on the amount of magic called and the way in which it is woven. For now, I only need a gentle breeze, so I call just a little Air and release it in a loose weave. All the elements have their own natural patterns. Weaving magic is learning to bend those patterns to a particular purpose.”
    Ellie felt the power concentrate in his hands, fed from the inner spring within him. His pale hands grew luminous as the energies gathered in anticipation of release.
    "A breeze is a soft, sinuous pattern, with very little disturbance in the threads." His fingers flicked out, and thin filaments of white energy flowed out in lazily undulating lines. When the weave touched the stilled portion of the river, the water's surface rippled in response.
    "Did you feel how I released the Air?”
    "It felt like a sigh.”
    "Aiyah.