The Untold Forest by Elisa Menz (web ebook reader txt) 📗

were friends now. Just that morning, he had explained he no longer wanted to kill her, so, yeah! They were definitely friends!

Regn grumbled while listening to the elf explaining how the skinny human guy had a talent for discovering hidden meanings and revolutionary interpretations of ancient textbooks and lore. His magic intensified and materialized his natural talent.

“Your brother has a knack for knowledge. His intuition allows him to see things trivial to others, and thanks to it, he can develop new theories. After years of training, he was able to conceive a new method to combine different magical archetypes to help establish unique spells.” The elf kept babbling until Regn’s head began to spin.

“You better stop Ystävä, you are going to confuse everyone, and you are making me blush.” Maeve’s brother seemed like a nice guy. Clever and annoying, but nice.

“So... you are saying little Maeve can perform spells?” Kniv was intrigued.

“Not yet, no. She should study and train for years. Besides, as I mentioned before, her magic is different.”

“Let me show you.” Finn took his sister’s hands. “What do you sense when you touch someone?”

Maeve let out a sigh, concentrating. After a few seconds, her face lit up with a radiant smile, and Regn couldn’t help but fluster at the myriad of inappropriate thoughts that crossed his mind.

“I guess... these feelings... those are yours, right?” She asked hesitantly. “I experience what goes through your heart. It’s very clear, but I can tell these are not my emotions.”

“Tell me.” Finn encouraged her.

“I... you are happy here. You love what you do. You are so excited about everything you learn and everyone you meet. And you hate housework.” Both siblings chuckled at this. “You see me, and you are elated, but... my presence brought you pain as well. Mother and father...”

After a fleeting pause, Finn smiled before kissing his sister’s knuckles. His eyes turned watery, but he nodded to Maeve to continue. “You adore Ystävä. You admire him so much, and...” Another smile. Regn would surely die. “You... you are a little worried about burning something.”

“Oh shit, the oven! I’ll be right back.” Finn let go of her and sprinted towards the cabin, making Ystävä roll his eyes.

“By the Ancients... that boy.” He stood in front of Maeve once more. “Let us try something else. Now, I want you to try to alter my emotions instead of sensing them.”

Is this possible? Nevermind. If Maeve touches me, she will know how I feel? Regn gaped in mild horror when Maeve touched Ystävä’s cheek, and after a few seconds, the elf laughed uncontrollably.

“How did you do that?” Kniv asked, looking more and more impressed by the second.

“I’m not sure. I remembered a stupid thing Finn once did and how funny it was, and like with the Tree, I tried to share the emotion through my hand.” The elf regained his composure after a few more giggles. “I think that covers the basics of your powers. Your magic manifests as the ability to sense and transmit emotions. You should be careful, though.”

“Why?”

“If you don’t master it, every time you touch someone, you will learn their dark little secrets. Sometimes, emotions are more treacherous than thoughts.” The elf gave her a meaningful look. “You don’t want that, trust me.”

He turned to the others. “Right! I’m famished. We should all rest for now. I brought those fruit pies for you, Maeve, but your brother is a bottomless pit of gluttony.”

While walking back to the cabin, Regn struggled between his eagerness to be closer to Maeve and the fear of her discovering his feelings.

Hakken

He secured his bundle while Maeve enveloped her brother in a hug. Clearly, they weren’t ready to be apart so soon, but after a great deal of investigating and arguing, neither Finn nor Ystävä could tell for certain what this red dust was. They needed to leave and find a way to put their hands on that dust so the Warlocks could analyze it.

Maeve chose to go with them, and he couldn’t be happier. After the amazing discovery she had made about her magical powers the day before, Hakken kept a close eye on her and realized she was somehow different.

She held an air of confidence and serenity. He wasn’t sure how her magic worked, but everyone gravitated around Maeve now, basking in the pleasing aura flowing from her.

“We will see each other soon, so no crying, little mushroom.”

Hakken smiled at this, seeing that Finn was about to burst into tears himself. Maeve smiled warmly at her brother and moved to tell her goodbyes to the elf who offered her a hand.

“Don’t be silly. You are family now.” She threw her arms around his waist, eliciting a rare smile from him. Hakken heard her whisper. “He loves you, you know. You have nothing to worry about.” The elf flushed, and his eyes softened a little.

They were about to depart when Ystävä raised a hand. “A moment, please, there is one little detail.” He then recited an enchantment, and the tingling sensation of magic washed all over his body. By the looks of it, Maeve, Kniv, and Regn also felt it.

“What was that?” Regn squirmed.

“A simple spell, nothing to worry about. Since you now know the unspeakable secret about ‘the Warlock’, I just made sure you cannot share this knowledge with anyone else.”

“Are we going to die if we try to tell someone?” Regn was now edgy. Hakken had to admit he was pretty nervous himself.

“Nothing of the sort, young Regn. You simply won’t be able to share the information. Your mind will remember, and you can speak about it amongst yourselves, but any third-party involvement will shut your mouth,” the elf explained, grinning.

Finn gave Regn a friendly slap on the back. “Be grateful he didn’t give you diarrhea.”

“Let us go, children, we still need to meet with Hurtig and the others, and she will give us an earful if we are late.” Kniv bowed respectfully to both Warlocks before getting on his way.

Things were less awkward between Maeve and