“Ican’t do that,” Trivia gritted out. “Youhaven’t even been able to project anything into my mind. What makes you think I can do it?”
Midas leaned closer, his eyes intense. “Because you are linked to Pandora’s soul.”
Trivia could only stare at him, her thoughts too muddled for her to keep up.
“Your personas may have split when her box absorbed you,” Midas went on. “But your souls are still connected. I can sense the tether between you two. She wants to get out because that will sever your bond completely. It will lock you in while giving her freedom. As long as you two reside in the same atmosphere, you are connected.”
Trivia shook her head. “You’re wrong.Shehas the power here. It’s her box! She can control what I see. She can use the darkness against Gaia and Sol. I can’t do any of that.”
“Because you haven’t practiced. She is centuries old. She has far more experience than you do. And this box is madefrom her own magic.Of courseshe’s better at it than you. But I promise you, the potential to access her powers is still there. You just have to reach it.”
Trivia’s mouth twisted as she stared at Midas, full of doubt. He couldn’t possibly be serious. If Trivia held as much power as Pandora, why did she feel so helpless? Why was she a prisoner here?
It didn’t make any sense.
“Go ahead and try,” Midas urged. “See what happens. You’ve already made great improvements over just a few days.”
She couldn’t argue with that. Though each day wore on her brain, drilling into her skull with relentless fury, she had far more freedom than those early days of floating in the dark void.
With a sigh, Trivia closed her eyes, picturing that same beach. A grassy hill overlooked the sparkling sand and the cerulean waves. The rushing water was a soothing rhythm to her ears.
If she concentrated enough, she could hear Sol’s laughter as he splashed water at her face.
Her throat tightened with emotion, and she suddenly found she couldn’t breathe.
Something prickled along her defenses, and Trivia instantly shielded her mind. Brick by brick, her wall slid into place, and she fortified it with another. Midas’s magic slammed into her. Bricks crumbled, but she rebuilt them over and over. A wall of stone appeared on top of it. Then steel. Then marble. She envisioned every hard surface shecould think of and threw it up before Midas could intrude on her private thoughts.
These are mine,she thought.Sol is mine. No one else’s. You don’t get to see this. It’s only for me.
Fire burned in her chest, melting away the hopelessness that had dragged her down for so long.
“Excellent,” Midas said softly. “Now, project your construct to me. Spread your awareness.”
Trivia faltered. She had been so focused on closing off her thoughts, and now Midas wanted her to open up to him?
She strained against her instinct, which was to keep fortifying. Keep shielding.
“Don’t let me in,” Midas said quickly as if reading her thoughts. “Project.You are still in control. You choose what I see. That’s the difference here.”
Trivia licked her lips, her mind struggling to keep up her defensesandfigure out how to project. Shielding and clearing her mind had become second nature. She knew exactly how to do those things, like stretching a familiar muscle.
But this was foreign to her. She wasn’t sure what to do first.
She recalled how it had felt when she’d first spread her awareness—when she had pictured the tide coming in, inch by inch.
It had been the first time she’d accessed Pandora’s construct.
So, how could Trivia make it her own? How could she show Midas what was in her mind?
I can do this,she thought.I am powerful. I have strength.
Her brow furrowed, and her breathing turned sharp. She pictured her mind stretching and spearing toward Midas. The ocean stayed with her, floating in her thoughts as she reached for him.
Trivia envisioned grasping Midas’s wrist, her fingernails digging into his skin. And with that grip, she channeled her mental construct into his mind. She urged her magic forward, probing into his thoughts.
Midas sucked in a sharp breath, but Trivia kept pushing. She flooded images of the sea, the current, the beach, the field… She poured it all into his mind, holding nothing back. With a cry, she felt herself buckle, collapsing to the floor, but she couldn’t stop. She heard his low groan, felt his pain.
But she couldn’t shut it off. She didn’t know how.
