My mother always told me that girls were born with magic. We were the entrusted guardians of all magic, and all magical creatures that roamed the forests sprang forth from our gifts. It was our blood, our heritage, that brought new beasts into the world. But Mother warned me. I was never to speak about our gifts in front of the boys in our village. “When a little girl is born, she is blessed with the gift of magic. The magic of creation, of life, of liberation,” Mother said. “Little boys don’t possess any magic of their own, and you mustn’t make them…
