“Give it a try,” he challenged. “It’s instinctive to us. You won’t manage complex spells, but most simple magic happens because you will it into being and have enough power to do so.”
Feeling incredibly stupid, I bit my lower lip, looking around for something to do. I’d never actually had any magic, but I’d suffered through plenty of practical lessons until I could drop the subjects in high school. For those blessed with power, it took focus, determination, precision, and confidence to work a spell.
I willed the bottle Cassius had just open to tilt, trying to pour a glass. The bottle jiggled a little as it slowly slanted. White wine splashed a little, but most of it ended up in the glass.
I gasped, pure joy erupting inside me, like a kid on Christmas morning. But the moment I looked at the self-satisfied grin on Cas’s face, I did my best to hide it.
“It can get addictive—using power that doesn’t come from within,” Lucian cautioned. “It doesn’t cost anything. It doesn’t give you a headache or tax your own strength. You shouldn’t do it too often.”
“Yes, which is why the matter of Kleos’s power reserve is a high priority,” Gideon said.
“What’s that?”
“Kleos used to drain herself in crystals that have been stolen,” I summed up for Cassius’s benefit, trying not to smile as I tipped the wine over each glass in turn, getting smoother by the third. “I’ve been assigned to Gideon’s team working on it.”
“So has this man,” Gideon said, throwing his arms around Cas’s shoulders. “He’s just accepted the job.”
Ugh.
“Great,” Kleos and I said at the same time.
Only one of us meant it.
12
SILVER
Istayed up all night, levitating objects around my apartment, and making tennis balls borrowed from Lucian fly for Amavi until she settled in for a nap in the crook of my knee.
I wasn’t the kind of person who tried to forbid a dog to sleep in my bed.
After deliberating for a while, I finally resolved to try a task I’d put off as long as I could, worried about messing it up: setting up my windows.
I’d renovated every square inch of this place with my own hands, and much of my elderly neighbor’s upstairs, but I tried to install windows thrice, breaking the glass I’d purchased each time, before finally giving up. I meant to save up to hire a specialist before winter, but pretty dresses took precedence in my budget. Plus, I didn’t mind the cold.
Simply willing the glass to move up to the right place, I lovingly carved the wooden frames and commanded them to stay in place until they were dry and fixed.
No wonder people found this addictive. Not only was magic useful as fuck, but it also felt better than sex, alcohol, and dancing all night while watching fireworks.
I practically skipped to work, guilty about enjoying myself so much, and all the more concerned about Kleos’s lost magic.
Walking up the stairs all the way to the seventh level, I breathed in and out—and instantly regretted it when I took in a whiff of sweat underneath the lemony cleaning products. Protectors, like everyone in the guard, trained every day, and unfortunately some still hadn’t discovered deodorant.
“I ’ear we’re togezer again. And who is zis beauty?”
“Amavi.” I turned to grimace at François, who offered a palm to the pup at my feet. “And I hear you come as a pair.”
“A, oui. Ze pisseur,” the blond Frenchman sighed. “’E’s a coward, but he doze ze paperwork well. Besides, ’ave you seen ’is shielding spells?”
I had to admit that Irwin didn’t completely suck at protective magic.
“If he pisses on anything I own, you’re the one cleaning it.”
“Non merci. ’E can do ’is own cleaning. You know where we’re meeting?”
“The conference room opposite Gideon’s office.” I led the way, though unfamiliar with this level.
The magic buzzing under my skin seemed to echo through the hall, responding to a similar resonance.Cas.
