Refusing its exit, the magic built and grew until my entire body hummed with barely contained energy. Sparks danced along my hands, skimming the surface of my skin, and I could feel my hair lifting gently from my scalp.
This time, I wouldn't fail. I wanted out.
My eyes snapped open. I raised my hands once more, the air around me shimmering with green light.
Luce regarded me with interested eyes and that smile. I smiled back at him, matching him edge for edge.
"Let's dance." With those words, I unleashed a torrent of raw, unfiltered magic directly at the curved wall of the bottle. The sheer force of it sent ripples through the air, distorting the space around me like a mirage.
The magic slammed into the invisible barrier with a deafening crack, sending shockwaves reverberating through the confined space. I gritted my teeth, pouring every ounce of strength I had into the assault.
For one sweet moment, the containment spell rippled. Then it firmed up again, absorbing the brunt of my attack. The energy rebounded back at me, slamming into my chest.
I wheezed and staggered. Every nerve in my body burned, screaming in protest. My knees buckled and I hit the floor hard, barely catching myself on my hands.
"Halo!" Luce's hands steadied me. "Are you okay?"
I couldn't respond, too focused on simply drawing air into my lungs. My muscles spasmed and twitched, aftershocks of the backlash still coursing through me. It was like being struck by lightning, every cell in my body overloaded and short-circuiting.
Frustration and anger welled up inside me, white-hot and all-consuming. A low growl tore from my throat as I shook Luce's hands off and forced myself back to my feet, swaying unsteadily.
"I'm fine," I bit out through clenched teeth, even as my body screamed otherwise. “Break!”
My jaw set against the pain, I lifted my hands again, summoning every last ounce of power I could muster. The air around me crackled and sizzled, charged with arcane energy.
"Halo, stop!” Luce shouted, but I was already unleashing the spell, a blinding bolt of raw force that slammed into the enchanted glass with concussive impact.
For one breathless moment, I thought I’d done it. Cracking noises filled the air, hairline fractures spider webbing across the bottle’s interior. Then, with an almost audible snap, the containment spell reasserted itself and the cracks vanished as if they'd never been.
This time the backlash hit me like a tidal wave. Luce caught me before I crashed into the far wall. Pain exploded through every inch of my body, and I gasped for breath.
"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results," Luce said dryly, cradling me against his body.
Snarling, I lashed out with a blast of power, catching him square in the chest. Luce yelped in surprise, staggering back a step.
Then, to my utter disbelief, he started laughing. "That’s all you’ve got? Do it again!"
He snorted, patting the scorched spot on his shirt where my magic had struck him.
I gaped at him, momentarily speechless. The smug daemon was mocking me! Fury boiled up inside me, hot and vicious, and I was sorely tempted to blast that infuriating grin right off his face.
With effort, I swallowed my anger and rolled my eyes skyward. Let the overconfident twit act like it was nothing more than a love tap. No sense in arguing when I had a splitting headache.
Exhaustion settled over me like a leaden shroud. I dragged myself over to the soft looking bed and flopped down face-first onto the pretty quilt.
For the moment, we were well and truly trapped.
Frustration made my head hurt more. One minute I was going about my business, kicking butt and running the shifters, same as always. Next, I'd been dumped into this bizarre snow globe from hell with only a hot daemon for company.
And yes, he was hot, and that made the entire situation that bit more infuriating.
I wanted to scream. Or break something. Above all, I wantedoutof this blasted bottle so I could track down whoever or whatever was responsible and make them regret the moment they'd come up with this idea.
But I couldn't. Because apparently the reserves of mystical energy currently at my command were no match for the magic of whoever—or whoevers—had bound Luce and me into this bottle.
The bed shifted as Luce lowered himself down on the opposite side. "I get it. I feel the same way."
I turned my head to squint at him balefully, head pounding. "Do you? Do you really?" The words came out sharp and laced with venom. "Because from where I'm lying, it doesn't look like you're doing anything to get us out of here."
