Swimming in whatever liquid in a magical bottle prison was not on my list of things I wanted to do. Time for desperate measures, and I’d decided to recall all my scattered power back to me, bit by bit.
I just needed to not let Luce distract me, either with his commanding presence or his sexy…squash that thought. I shook my head slightly.
"What are you doing, Rissa?" Luce's sharp question shattered my fragile concentration.
I huffed out an exasperated breath and snapped my eyes open, fixing him with a withering glare. "You just have to have everything explained to you, don't you? You're like a five-year-old."
He raised an eyebrow, unmoved by my biting tone. "Excuse me for wanting to know what you’re doing."
I rolled my eyes so hard I thought they might get stuck in the back of my head. I spoke in my most annoyingly patient tone, the one I used to annoy shifters who’d started to buy into the entire ‘alpha’ nonsense. "I'm trying to meditate, daemon. To gather my power back to me. But I can't very well do that with you talking at me and nagging for an answer, now can I?"
Luce held up his hands in a placating gesture, but the smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth told me he was enjoying pushing my buttons. "My apologies, kitten. Please, continue your meditation. Don't let me interrupt."
I narrowed my gaze at him, trying to decide if it was worth the energy to smack the smug look off his face. No, I needed to conserve my focus. Shooting him one last scathing glance, I closed my eyes again and attempted to re-center myself.
I could feel all the bits of my power, tiny sparks scattered across the globe, glimmering like distant stars. Now I just had to reel them in, one by one, until I had enough juice to blow this pace wide open.
Easier said than done. There was a lot of it out there, I’d scattered it deliberately to appear less powerful. And I’d always hated sitting and meditating. Even harder Luce's distracting presence alternately setting my nerves on edge and reminding me that good sex was readily available.
Down, girl.
Locking onto the nearest flicker of power, I began the painstaking process of drawing it back to me. It was like trying to siphon honey through a pinhole. Slow and tedious, requiring me to concentrate on the process while being boring as anything. Sweat beaded on my brow as I maintained the tenuous connection.
"So, Rissa," Luce's rich baritone cut through my concentration like a knife. "Care to share with the class why you didn't mention this yesterday? Could've saved us both a lot of trouble."
Now he was just trying to be annoying. And at the moment, he didn’t need to try hard.
I gritted my teeth, ignoring him. Just a little more... there! The first wisp of power settled into me, a faint but welcome warmth spreading through my veins. I released a slow breath and cracked open one eye to glare at Luce.
"Maybe I like keeping a few cards close to the vest. Ever think of that, lord daemon?" I flexed my fingers, settling the tingle of magic. "Maybe I just enjoy watching you squirm when you’re standing up."
He barked out a laugh, the sound oddly pleasant. "Careful. Keep talking like that and I might start to think you actually like me."
"In your dreams." I snorted. Damn him and his insufferable charm. "Now shut up and let me work, or we'll be stuck in when Numir gets the urge to pee."
Luce mimed zipping his lips, but the mischievous flicker in his expression informed me he wasn’t done pushing my buttons. Fine. Two could play that game. But we’d play later.
I narrowed my focus again, casting my senses out into the world like a net. Nearby, another flicker. A wisp of power, dancing just at the edge of my perception.
Gotcha.
I latched onto the thread and tugged, feeling the answering pulse of my own magic. It was faint, but unmistakable. A slow grin spread across my face as I followed the next trail, my mind's eye soaring over land and sea.
There. A young boy, lost in the woods, his fear a living thing. My power wrapped around him like a blanket, soothing and guiding, until he stumbled into the welcoming arms of his tearful mother.
Back to mama, magic.
And now there. An old woman on her deathbed, her life force guttering like a candle flame. My magic eased her pain, granting her one final moment of clarity as she whispered her goodbyes.
Its job done, the wisp rushed to me when I called.
The next bit of power led me to a woman in labor, her brow slick with sweat as she strained to bring new life into the world. My magic swirled around her, easing the contractions and lendingstrength to her weary muscles. With a final, triumphant cry, the baby slid free, its lusty wails echoing through the room.
A fierce surge of protectiveness washed over me as I watched the new mother cradle her child close. This, too, was part of who I was. A guardian, a nurturer, a fierce defender of the innocent.
Satisfied, I let that thread of power remain where it was. There would be time enough to reclaim it later, when mother and baby were resting peacefully. For now, it was right where it needed to be.
I continued my search, sifting through the countless strands of magic that crisscrossed the globe. Some were bright and vibrant, pulsing with life and purpose. Others were faint and wavering, waiting for a new task to brighten them.
