A Kiss of Magic: A Kiss of Magic Book One Read Free

nonsense.”
    “It isn’t nonsense! It’s the truth!”
    “It is not the truth!” her mother said, her voice suddenly shrill. “You are simply not applying yourself! You’re lazy and you’re…you’re spoiled! That’s what it is. Well, we’re not going to put up with your slacking any longer! You will test out tomorrow or you will find yourself without any means of supporting yourself! Your father and I will not spend lavish amounts of our hard earned money to support a daughter who isn’t even going to try and give it her best effort!”
    “Lavish amounts? Lavish ?” Yasra was incredulous. “I have to beg you for extra money just to get myself a new dress when the old one gets threadbare! And even then I’m loath to ask it of you because you always kick up a fuss about it…complaining about it every step of the way!”
    “Well we wouldn’t complain if we thought you were applying yourself…at least trying to study a house of majic. Yasra, all we ask is a little show of majic. One glimmer of hope.”
    “I can’t give you the impossible! I’m a non, Mother!”
    “Stop saying that! The more you think like that, the more you’ll block yourself mentally from being able to cast majic.”
    “No daughter of ours could possibly be a non,” her father said, his deep voice booming dangerously. “You will test out tomorrow, Yasra. If you fail again…well, then you’re no daughter of ours.”
    “Test out or find yourself and your little friend here on the street,” her mother said, nodding to Bess harshly. “Yes, that’s right. We know you are lovers. It’s disgusting and a disgrace!”
    Yasra was so shocked she couldn’t even form words as her parents went back toward the door. Even if she could form words, she wouldn’t want to. What did it matter what they thought of her and Bess? None of it mattered.
    “Test out tomorrow, Yasra. This is your final chance,” her mother said before turning her back and heading down the stairs with her father.
    Bess slowly shut the door behind them, clearly just as shell-shocked as she was. Yasra slowly sat back down and suddenly…suddenly she felt so light. Not lightheaded…but light. As if a tremendous weight had been lifted off of her.
    Free. She would be free of her parents at long last. Finally, when she failed tomorrow, they would stop hounding her to be this amazing child of power they were supposed to have had. They would finally accept that she was a non and they would leave her alone.
    Sure…the idea of being cut off financially was worrisome…even a little frightening, but she had saved enough money to potentially start a small business of her own. Books weren’t that expensive and she had a vast library there in her bedsit. She could rent a small store and use her personal books as stock. She would hate to see some of them go, but it was more important that she kept food in her and Bess’s bellies. And Bess could help her as a shop girl. Tidying shelves…finding books. They would continue to live there together, but as equals.
    Bess came over to her and knelt down before her, taking her into her arms and giving her a consoling hug.
    “I’m sorry. I’m sorry your parents think that about us. I must not have been discreet and they—“
    Yasra cut her off with a loud laugh. “Do you think I care what my parents think of our relationship? Oh Bessy, don’t worry! This is a good thing! I’ll finally be free of them and you and I can live in peace!”
    “Oh Yasra,” Bess said with a frown, “I don’t think you really appreciate how expensive life can be. You aren’t really cut out to be a servant in a house. You’re much more finely bred than that.”
    Yasra frowned a little. “I’m perfectly capable of supporting us. I’ve been tracking the household accounts for months now. I’ve had to. They were giving me so little money and I knew this was coming one day. So I put a little aside every month and now I’ve got enough saved up so we