Chapter 5

Lessons and truths

Alex left and I was the only child again. Adriana had to go back home and I couldn't see her again until school was out. I guess extra incentive to behave. Only now, I had magic lessons on top of everything else. Puck was interesting… I think I know where Alex got most of his personality from.

"Ok, Tai, I got everything ready. You just need to grow the tree." Puck said as he led me to large pot of dirt.

"Will it grow in normal soil?" I asked.

"I got some dirt from Avalon." He said.

"You really want this to work." I noted.

"The seed wants to grow, but it's too young right now. You have to push it along with your magic." He explained.

"Ok." I said and took a deep breath.

I felt Puck's magic. It was powerful and dangerous. It felt like mine. Or was mine like it?

"Focus, kiddo." Puck told me.

"Right." I said.

I focused and found the seed. It was tight little bundle of stuff. I poked and coaxed it to loosen up. Once it had done that, it was time for it to put down roots. Pushing the roots down was easier than making the tree mature.

My knees wobbled and I lurched. Puck caught me. "Easy, Tai. Don't hurt yourself."

I blinked and saw a little sapling. I coughed after I found I was holding my breath and felt something wet pass through my lips. I touched them and they came back with blood. My heart pounded like I'd gone for a jog.

"I don't… feel good." I said weakly.

"You pushed your magic to its limits. You did a good job." He said as he tried to hide his frown.

"No, I didn-" I gestured before I started coughing.

"Aw, fuck, that's blood." He said as he eased me to the ground and stepped back.

His eyes glowed green before a beam of light hit me. The blood that had begun to wet my tongue stopped and it became easier to breath. My heart slowed down.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Talia, there's something I have to tell you." He calmed himself. "When you were a baby, you were very premature."

"I know that." I said.

"What you don't know is that you almost died of internal bleeding. You were supposed to die in that hospital. But that night I decided to teach Alex how to heal injuries. I used you as an example. Your magic is essential to your life. You will die if you exhaust it." He explained. "Your magic, as is, won't last for another 20 years. Right now, 80 to 90% of it is keeping you alive. You need train your magic, make it stronger. That's the only way you'll have a normal lifespan. Being able to do magic is a happy side effect."

"… My magic is keeping me alive?" I gapped at him.

"Yes. But the constant use and no training for 16 years has overtaxed it." He said.

"How much magic is supposed to keep me alive?" I asked him.

"10%." He said after a minute. "That's only because I'm one of the strongest Children of Oberon there is."

"Fuck." I stared.

"This is my fault. I knew you were wouldn't be in tune with your magic as Alex. You just discovered your powers after 16 years." Puck helped me up.

I scoffed.

"We'll do a smaller thing next time. Something easy." He said.

"I think I feel hungry, but I'm not sure." I said.

"We better get you something to eat just in case." He teleported us to the kitchen and made me a small meal.

"Hey, Puck, Talia. What're you doing here?" Broadway walked in.

"Getting Talia some food." He answered.

"Lesson not go so great?" He asked.

"Yeah…" I said.

"That's too…" He began to sniff the air. "Does anyone else smell blood?"

I looked at my hand and it was still partially sticky. I looked at Puck. He used his magic and it was gone. "Must have been your imagination."

Broadway hummed, unsatisfied. "Must have been."

He left and after a few minutes, I turned to Puck. "Hey, Puck."

"Yeah, kiddo?" He asked.

"Does David know?" I asked.

"About me or your powers? Because the answer is yes for both." He got a beer for himself.

"Why don't I get to drink?" I asked.

"You're a minor. Alex doesn't get to drink either yet. I'm thousands of years older than everyone in this castle." He sat down.

We sat quietly for a minute until I grabbed it and chugged it down. "Fuck you."

"You've got some balls, kid." He smiled.

"You can't stop me from drinking if you tried." I frowned. "Bleh. What is this?"

"Some cheap shit. Honestly, I'm surprised he lets the clan drink this." He got another beer with his magic. "Tell you what: I'll talk to him about it. It'd be better than you pilfering his cabinets."

"Fine." I said.

We ate and sat for a bit. "Talia, it's going to take some work for you to get to your full power. But you'll be happy in the end."

"Bitch, you just told me I was supposed to die when I was a baby. And that I'll die in 20 years if my magic stays weak. Happy my ass." I muttered.

"Ok, so tonight was a bit of bummer, but you'll rest and tomorrow, you should be a-ok." He said.

"Nice to know almost choking on my own blood gives me the night off." I sniffed.

"Talia, my magic may have healed the wounds, but you still need to be careful." Puck finished his beer. "I really don't know why he lets the clan have this."

"Whatever, Dad." I rolled my eyes.

"Well, daughter, I think it's your bedtime." He smirked as he snapped his fingers for show and we were teleported to my room. I was tucked in bed with my fox and my nightclothes on. "Good night, Tai."

"Hey, Puck, where do you go during the day?" I asked.

"Finally got curious? I'll be close by if you figure it out." He smiled as he turned out the light and left.

"Jerk." I said and went to sleep.