Shocked murmurs went throughout the classroom. I was confused. I’d met Luka face to face— I knew he was real. What was Lucien playing at?
Lucien waved a hand. “Don’t consider me a heretic. I’m merely making a point. What I’m saying is, it does not matter if the gods are real or if they are not. Our belief in them makes them come to life. We harness power and blessings through them because we believe they help us, and guide us. Without faith, the gods in our lives mean nothing at all. If you believe your god will help you, then he will. If you don’t… well, you’ll have a hard time using your magic besides, trust me.”
A couple people laughed, but this concept made sense to me. I’d asked Luka for help when I was possessed, but I didn’t believe he would aid me, or that he wanted to. I hadn’t received his blessings or his aid until I’d chosen to believe in him myself. My decision to have faith my situation would improve made all the difference, versus when I’d been convinced that all would remain hopeless. Even so, having that faith had been the most difficult thing in the world.
Lucien went on. “Many fae have used this concept of belief to trick humans, and even other fae. For example— a home could be disguised by the illusion of a ruin, tricking the viewer into thinking the home was destroyed, when really, it could still be standing. If a fae believed that the home was still there, they could open the door to the ruin, and the illusion would fall away. What you see is not necessarily what is there.”
Theo’s eyes narrowed. Lucien went on for another hour, speaking on all the intricacies of fae intention, and how our thoughts led to the manifestation of our magic in the real world. At the end of the lecture, Theo’s look was contemplative. He stared at the chalkboard, as if mulling an idea over.
“Something on your mind?” I asked Theo.
He rubbed his chin. “Maybe. I need time to investigate.”
“Is it about the Alicorn Court?” I whispered. We were no closer to finding the mythical fae court than we had been months ago. Clues had dried up.
“Yeah, but it’s just a theory.” Theo shook his head. “I don’t know. I’ll get back to you later if it leads to anything.”
I sure hoped it did. Most of the semester had been taken up by fighting the leshane. It’d left little time to look for the alicorn stone.
And there wasn’t any time to waste. Each day that passed was another day closer to Droga rising from the dead. If we didn’t have those stones before that happened… gods save Malovia.
As well as the rest of us.
That afternoon, Emma and I took a carriage to Dolinska. We were planning to get dinner at her mother’s restaurant— our first official date in a very long time.
Emma snuggled against my side to ward off the cold. Snow was falling, and it had coated the top of the carriage. We stepped out in front of a small stone diner.
“You okay?” I asked Emma. Her steps were slow today.
“Yeah,” she replied. “Just… feeling out of it. I want to go out to eat, but I’m not sure how much energy I have to go shopping around Dolinska later.”
“We won’t go far,” I promised. If she was too frail, we’d return to the university after our meal. I knew going out could really wear on Emma, and at this time of year, I didn’t want to push it.
As we walked inside the diner, warmth surrounded me, along with the smells of freshly baked bread and a wood burning stove. Ivy and small lights hung from the ceiling. The chairs and tables were all mismatched, and vintage paintings hung on the brick walls. A sign behind the antique bar said Evonna’s Place.
The clinking of glass and silverware could be heard as waiters ran out food to customers. The place was absolutely packed, which made me a little nervous. There was a pandemic going on in the human world at the moment. Most supernaturals weren’t affected— the magic in our blood made us immune to the disease, save for our disabled. Viruses, colds and flus had to mutate to affect supernaturals… unless the individual was already immunocompromised, such as Emma. A couple of vulnerable fae that mingled in the human world had caught the virus, and although