Astrila's mouth drops open and she gapes at him, shifting closer to Kōri's side. "How did you know?"

Something flickers in Kayi's eyes as he smiles. "I saw your footprints earlier, they were barely even there. And your magic took over your body easily. It's rare and I didn't think it would have just happened."

"I don't understand. How is there a connection?"

"It is very hard for your magic to be strong enough to take over, even while you are adjusting. Combine that with how light you are on your feet, and it is an indication that your magic is stronger than that of normal selkies."

Astrila frowns. "How do you know if that is true?"

Kayi's smile grows. "A couple of reasons. The first is that my magic is stronger as well, and the second is that I have an Aos Sí ancestor who is not a selkie."

"Do you know what they were?"

Kayi's smile falls away to be replaced by a disappointed frown. "No, that knowledge has been lost to time. All I know is that they had an affinity for air."

Astrila nods thoughtfully. "Can you do it?"

Kayi raises an eyebrow at her, even though his mouth tips up into a tiny smirk. "Do what?"

Astrila has to hold in her laugh. He knows what she is referring to, he just wants her to say it. "Can you run over the snow like I can?"

Kayi smiles. "Yes, but not as well as you can, I think. That's all I can do, but I suspect that you can do so much more. Just like that path you made to find me."

Astrila is gaping at him once again. "There is no possible way you could have known that I did that."

Kayi shrugs. "I felt the wind rush past me as I was entering the water, and you found me quite easily, so it was an educated guess."

A small smile blooms on Astrila's face and Kayi's smile grows wider. "I'm curious, what did that path look like?"

"It was just a tendril of air that led me here, but it was shimmering, just brighter than the snow."

"Did it move?"

Astrila shakes her head. "I could wave away the air within it, but not the tendril itself."

Kayi nods. "Interesting. I wonder if you could control the air itself."

Astrila shrugs at that. "Maybe I could, but no one is able to teach me." Kayi bursts into laughter and Astrila scowls. "What?"

"No one can teach you? Astrila, your magic can talk to you! That's the best teacher you can hope for."

Astrila sighs. "That doesn't mean it will teach me."

"Yes, but it is capable of doing so."

Astrila's mouth tips up into a smile once more and Kōri takes the chance to speak. "King Kayi, what exactly were you doing here?"

When Kayi answers, it almost seems to Astrila like he is purposefully being vague. "I was swimming."

Astrila smirks and questions his response before Kōri can. "Why?"

He moves to wring his hands together, to fiddle with them, but stops himself. He tries to hide his unease with a nonchalant but amused tone. "Are you two interrogating me now?"

Astrila grins and takes a quick glance at Kōri to see that he has realized it as well. Her father is trying to hide something. "Maybe we are. Will you give us an answer?"

He hesitates, and Kōri leaps on the chance. "Have you been sneaking away to just swim?"

Kayi sags. His secret is out. "How did you figure it out?"

Astrila smiles. "We wouldn't have if you weren't being so evasive. Why were you hiding it?"

"Because I'm the leader of the community and I should be working."

Kōri scoffs and shakes his head, sighing through his nose. "Just because you're the leader of the community doesn't mean that you can't have time for yourself. None of us would deny you that. So you don't have to sneak off. It would have been better if we had known, because what if we needed you? If we knew you were here, not roaming around the island checking on things, we could get to you so much quicker."

Kayi sighs and his face falls slightly. "Alright, I understand."

Kōri smiles. "Good. We'll leave you to your swim then."

"It's over anyway, I have to get back to work now."

Kōri raises an eyebrow. "Do you want to keep swimming?"

"Well yes, but-"

"Then have your swim. We're alright at the moment, so go relax, have fun. We know where you'll be if we need you."

With a bemused smile, Kayi shifts back into his dark seal form and slides beneath the ice.
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What type of Aos Sí do you think it is in their ancestry? Do you think she'll be able to control the air? Will her magic teach her? Tell me your thoughts!

Happy reading and I'll see you next chapter!

~Goddess of Fate, signing out.