Space

“I’m a spatial mage.”

All six of them stared at her, uncomprehending.

Then Uthien frowned. “Wait…spatial? Of course. Space… Space!”

“Uthien, are you about to have another breakthrough?” Morenna asked warily. “Last time you started muttering a word I just told you, the next time I looked you could suddenly fly.”

“No, no, that’s not even my—it’s just that it makes so much sense!”

“It…it does?” Espa asked plaintively.

“Wait, I’m confused,” said Ophia. “What does your power have to do with shadows, then?”

“Nothing,” Morenna sighed. “It has no relation to shadows at all.”

“But you always use shadows,” said Rakkan, frowning. “Every time you teleport or anything, you stepped into the darkest spot first.”

“Yes, I noted that as well,” Uthien added.

Morenna folded her arms, her shoulders tense, and looked away from them. “Yes, I…am careful to do that. Always. It’s… Well, Aldan, you’re the strategist. Let me pose you a challenge: how would you defend against someone who can sense everything, be anywhere, move any object smaller than herself instantly to any location… Oh, and my trump card, the trick I’m careful never to reveal to anyone who’s going survive to tell: selectively control the distance between any two objects. Imagine firing arrows at someone a few paces away who can stab you without stepping closer while your arrows just keep flying forever and never get there. Go on, Aldan, what would you do?”

“There…is…no defense against that,” Aldan whispered. “I would kill her while she slept.”

Morenna nodded, eyes downcast, looking tired now. “The name ‘shadow magic’ is…a mutually useful lie. Those who fear shadow mages spread it to make us sound spooky and untrustworthy, and make it hard for us to find friends and allies. Shadow mages embrace it because it conceals the true scope of our abilities—both so defenses planned against us fail, and more importantly, so people think defenses can be made. If not for that, nobody would tolerate a shadow mage’s existence. As it is, there are people in this castle who leave candles burning in their windows and outside their doors all night just because I live here. I hate to think about what they’d do if they knew that didn’t work.”

“I’ve noticed that,” Rakkan commented. “Seems like a fire hazard, you ask me.”

“Well, it’s a stone castle,” said Uthien, “and there are water mages on staff. At worst a fire would take out a few rooms.”

“The point is,” Morenna continued impatiently, “if Zaurgan has the same kind of power I do, you need to understand the full scope of it. He is not limited by the shadows, or by anything. If we make this a physical fight…”

“I thought we already established that fighting him was not the move,” Vanerra said quietly.

“Exactly,” Ophia nodded. “Aldan was right—both that there can’t be any defense against that, and in his plan for what to do about it. The counter to a shadow mage is political—wait, no, it’s social. You have to make it so they can’t afford to or don’t want to fight. We don’t need to worry about Morenna because she’s on our side. Honestly, sister, out of the seven of us I think you’ve done the most to prove your goodwill. And Zaurgan…”

“I see what you mean,” Uthien said, frowning and nodding. “I was a bit skeptical of your analysis, Aldan, but this really drives it home. All we can do about him is make it too costly for him to attack us.”

“Remember,” said Aldan, “Zaurgan is willing to get most of you killed for the sake of his plans; that’s not the same as wanting you dead. He definitely wants Morenna dead, though. To make him leave her be, we must make it clear—to Zaurgan and to the entire court, and the rest of the world—that we stand together and she’s one of us.”

“Anyone who comes after Morenna comes after all of us!” Espa declared.

“And then, all his decades of political effort go up in smoke,” said Uthien. “It’ll require some careful positioning…but coming out of here as conquering heroes is the perfect first move.”

“I…um, look.” Morenna, by this point, looked even more uncomfortable, her cheeks and ears bright pink. “You don’t need to… I mean, it’s not necessary to force…”

“Morenna,” Ophia said gently, stepping forward and taking both of her hands. “Never mind helping me break through… You saved my life.”

“You saved our mother’s life,” Aldan added.

“You gave me the sky, sister,” Uthien said, almost tremulously. “On top of saving my mother’s life and my own—”

“You were only attacked because I was there!” Morenna protested.

“That was totally Linnea’s fault, though,” said Rakkan. “She went after you so hard the whole castle knew about it.”

“Never mind the power I’ve gained,” Uthien insisted. “I don’t much care for power. The freedom, to fly where I please… I can never repay you.”

“Right, well…” Morenna tried to pull free, taking a step back from them. “You don’t need to worry about me. I mean, you don’t need to repay—”

“That’s not what this is about,” said Ophia, holding onto her hands.

“If anything, it’s all of us who have something to prove, not you,” added Espa. “For the way we’ve ignored you all these years… Just because Papa did. It was…unforgivable.”

“You were children,” Morenna protested weakly.

“Sis, look,” Rakkan said gently, stepping forward. “Forget about debts and favors. Forget about politics and alliances. We have a lot of time to make up—with each other, as well as you. We’ll be here from now on, because we like you.”

“You’re the one who made this happen, Morenna,” Aldan said. “All of it. Without you… I don’t know how we would have ended.”

“You are our hero,” Ophia whispered, finally pulling Morenna into a hug.

While Morenna stiffened up, staring wide-eyed over Ophia’s shoulder, Espa rushed forward and hugged her from behind. Uthien reached out to grasp her shoulder; Vanerra stepped up and took one of Morenna’s hands, squeezing firmly.

“Aw, bring it in,” Rakkan exclaimed, wrapping his arms around the entire group of girls. With a flex of his magic, he leaned backward, lifting them all off the ground and prompting shrieks and squeals.

As soon as he set them back down, the others piled on, and Morenna found herself completely imprisoned in the group hug, baffled by the unaccustomed warmth…totally unsure where to put her hands.

She could have just teleported away from them, of course.

For some reason, she didn’t.