“You can bring it to your fingers, but now I want to see if you can move past things that will stop it. You need to be able to push through even when something is in your way.”
“That sounds like a lot of mind work, Westley.”
“It is. But it will make you a stronger witch after.”
She groaned, and I smirked.
We started as we always did. I ran at her. Gabriella dodged me, pulling her magic to her hand. But I moved before she could even touch me.
We went in circles, where Gabriella tried to throw her magic at me but could never reach me. I could see Gabriella was getting tired, so I switched the plan.
“Alright, now I want you to pull your magic into your hands and hold it.”
She leaned on her knees, looking at me like I was crazy. “Are you fucking insane?”
I waved my hand, waiting for her. She shook her head, but pulled her hand up, and I watched as sparks formed in it—but they disappeared as quickly as they started.
I watched her try several times before she finally managed to hold it. I watched her eyes sparkle with happiness, and I knew we were just beginning to learn how powerful she was.
We did this for the next couple of days. I wanted to see how long she would hold the magic. I figured the more she tried, the easier it would become.
“Can we change this up?” she asked, turning toward me. Her entire body was shaking, and I knew it was because I was pushing her.
“What did you have in mind?” I asked as I leaned onto one of the punching mats I’d pulled out.
She pointed into the trees, and I raised an eyebrow at her, confused. “The woods?”
“No, the lake.”
My eyebrows shot up. “You want to go into the lake?”
She nodded. “Yes. You said it helped you, so I figured, why couldn’t it help me?”
I couldn’t deny that I was a little surprised at this. I thought she would never want to go near water in winter after how cold she was from the last time. “You want to go in the water? You do realize that’s like a shock for your system.”
“You do it.”
“I’ve been doing it for years. You looked miserable last time you were in it.”
“Oh, I was. It was fucking cold. But I want to go back. Besides, it was actually refreshing when we went. Sure, I froze my ass off, but after that shock set in. It was nice.”
I was a little surprised. “Just to make sure I’m hearing you right, you’re wanting to go into the water?”
She nodded. “And water is resistance. So, it goes with my training.”
I had to give her that. I waved my hand. “Alright, after you.”
I followed Gabriella as we walked. When we got to the lake, she paused. I pointed at her shoes and her jacket. “Take those off. You’re going to want to put those on when we get out and head home right after to warm up. I don’t want a repeat of last time.”
She snorted as she started to tug her shoes off. She yanked off her jacket and turned to me. “Should I get naked?”
“God no,” I said too quickly. She raised an eyebrow at me, and I forced a smile. I was already having a hard enough time keeping my cock in my pants. I didn’t need to have any slip-ups. “Stayed clothed. Unless you want a repeat of what happened last time I was naked.”
Her face went red, and she quickly turned around and started stepping into the water. I watched her shiver. I slipped off my shoes and jacket and followed her.
She got up to her hips, her arms wrapped around her middle as she shook. “Keep going,” I said, moving past her. “Otherwise, you’re going to get stuck in that spot.”
I dove under, allowing the water to soak through me and the cold to hit me. I felt every nerve in my body come alive. I popped back up to the surface and found Gabriella still frozen. She was shivering as she stood there, and I chuckled. “Ella, just go under. Get it over with.”
