Dread Mage

"Have you done what needs to be done?" Vell asked Sonder as she came exhausted back into the cabin when night fell.

Sonder sat heavily and melted into a sofa. "Mrs. Limerence doesn't seem to be satisfied with any of my progress."

"Your progress?"

"Yes. I channel the magical energy, and I can shape the raw form of it but not convert it yet. By Mrs. Limerence's estimation, I am making astonishingly fast progress. She says my magical attunment is great when put under preassure, but I worry."

"About her methods?" he asked.

"Not, but time instead. A brief respite would have been nice, as we have come so far in such a short time, but I'd rather go and find my family. I know I have an obligation to you, and in extension, to Mrs. Limerence, but finding them is my true desire."

"It's good that you long for them; it keeps you human, but learning to be a witch, as she is, wasn't just her idea." He shot her a look.

"Do you also think that?"

"Do you want the truth? There's no reason for me to keep it unless you don't want to hear it."

She nodded, and he told her.

"Rest isn't the only thing I've brought you here for. You're dangerous, Sonder. You are a banshee or are on your way to becoming one. It's a terrible phantom of the otherworld. When we were in Eraf, you transformed fully into one; you lost control, attacking both friend and foe alike. I imagine that it was because of the great duress of the situation. And I imagine that if we were to find your family and something unexpected happens, it will happen again, putting everyone in danger."

Sonder didn't know what to say, though tears welled up in her eyes.

"We're not stopping here, and I too want to find them for you, but bear with it for just a few more days to gain control of yourself. If not for your sake, then for everyone else's."

Sonder nodded, and then went to bed, crying into her pillow at the revelation Vell had givne her until she fell asleep.