Zia still stood off at the outer edges of the circle, looking at me with a mixture of apprehension and dread. What did this chick have against me? And why were all of my ancestors thirty years old? Andwhyhadn’t Gramps told me about any of this before shoving me into a pool with a bag of soul stones!
“She’s not Elia,” Zia muttered then looked me straight in the eyes. “You better hope you’re as powerful as her.” She reached out, placing both of her hands on my exposed forearms, and then fire coursed through me as if I were being burned alive…
That’s what it felt like—a magical surge, powerful and hot, poured over me. The heat sank into my skin, my muscles, then into my bones. It pounded against every fiber, every tissue, every cell. It was pain, unlike anything I’d ever felt before. The energy built and built—white-hot—until it peeled awayeverythingexcept … power. So. Much. Power.
Holy Mother Mage … what was this?
My activated power? Had this been with me all along?
I whimpered as my nerves fried.
Raiden grinned. “She’s takinga lot,” he said.
Aine nodded. “A lot more than Elia did.”
I gasped, but each breath only seemed to stoke the flame of energy.
“Geoff had passed out at this point,” Than commented.
“So had you,” Zia muttered.
What were they talking abo—?
Blackness danced at the edges of my vision as raw energy pulsed through my body, seeping out from my skin. The power crawled up my spine and exploded from my head.
“Ahhh!” I screamed as a flash of white stole my vision.
Darkness swallowed me, and then I felt a hook at my belly button before I was submerged in water.
I sat up, coughing and sputtering in the hot spring water back on High Mage Island. Steam hung in the air. Grandfather Geoff stood on the ledge of my pool, hovering over me. His robe clung to his thin frail frame, and he leaned on his cane, grinning at me.
“Ha!” he exclaimed, grinning. “You did it!”
I glared at him while still coughing. “What. The. Mage. Was that?” I growled.
I felt like I’d died for a second there.
His eyes ran over my arms and legs, “Oh, you got a lot. I canseethe power.” He looked like a kid in a candy store.
“Theywere crazy, andyoudidn’t properly prepare me for that,” I retorted.
He shrugged. “Sorry. No time. Hurry and change. We need to get to the records hall before midnight.”
I groaned.
Rage was so going to kill me.
“What do I do with these?” I pulled the bag of soul stones out of my pocket. Gramps indicated the changing area with a flick of his head. “Keep the bag by your suit should you need them. The stones should be safe in this realm.” He grimaced. “For now.”
For now?
Great.
Chapter Two
Reyna,my grandfather, and I stood in a courtyard outside a giant building titled “Records Hall.” Three steps led up to a large stone patio just outside a set of sliding glass doors. The front of the building was all windows while a soft glow just inside the entrance held the darkness within at bay. Despite the light inside the building, I couldn’t see anyone, which hopefully meant we were alone. Several stone benches were scattered throughout the courtyard, which was surrounded by a waist-high hedge. We crouched behind the boxwood despite the pitch darkness of night.
“Why are we hiding again?” I whispered.
