“But Druids… there’s a reason not many of them exist anymore. A reason why other species shudder when they’re mentioned. I don’t think Druids pull from their own abilities. I think they pull from… everything.”
“Everything that is magical, you mean.” Because she had tried to pull from elements before, like a proper Witch, with no luck. Which made sense, if his reasoning was correct. There was nothing magical about plucked herbs or tainted air. Not when they were already plucked or bottled. Druids needed something trulyalive.
As if reading her thoughts, Castor continued, “I don’t think there’s anyone alive that truly understands magic. It comes and goes as it pleases. Blesses some lands, evades the others. Is natural only to a few. But there are some things that it seems to be a constant in. Land, rivers, runes…” His gaze cut to hers. “People.”
Something about the way he was looking at her sent heat to her core. Swallowing hard, she asked, “How do you know all this?”
Castor’s lips twisted. “Elyria might have thought it was safer to erase their history. But it doesn’t mean Tafari did. While I didn’t have a whole class about Druids growing, I still learned they existed.”
“Suza,” Cassia blurted. She’d seen the blotted-out space on the map. Been told to never ask or acknowledge the land to the west. She’d only heard the name once, from Echnav. “What happened to them?”
“That’s a question for a Shaman.” He stopped abruptly in front of her, then grabbed her hand. He gently tapped the center of his chest with her knuckle. Her stomach swooped to the floor. “Try. Pull from me.”
“I can’t,” Cassia whispered, suddenly unsure if she was terrified he was wrong… or right.
Castor nodded. “Yes, you can. You’re a Witch, but you share very old and powerful Tuathan blood with your brother.” Keeping her hands intertwined with his, he spread her palm over his heartbeat. “What if you are a Druid? What if you haven’t just been pulling the right places?”
Hearing the words, she swore she felt a tingle against her skin, like it was ready to fuel whatever spell she desired. Throat tightening, she argued, “There has to be a reason there are no more Druids. Maybe you’re wrong and they never actually existed.”
Castor tightened his grip. “Try.”
Try.
She’d tried her entire life. And gotten nowhere. This time would be no different. No matter what Castor believed. No matter how long he stared at her with such sickening encouragement that it made her want to throw something at his head. Shecouldn’t.
Reluctantly, Cassia closed her eyes. She focused on the sensation of his shirt against her hand… She tried to imagine her body soaring to life with a magic she wanted to borrow.Come alive, she urged.Do something.But no matter how much she concentrated or shouted commands in her head, nothing happened.
“You’re not pulling from me.”
Peeking one eye open, she asked, “How do you know?”
Castor’s lips turned up at the corners, just slightly. “You can do this.”
One small smile and her stomach fluttered, urging her to do whatever he said. She really was pathetic. Closing her eyes again, she heeded his advice. Instead of focusing on only her, she thought about his body. How his heartbeat pounded beneath her fingertips. The heat that radiated up her arm. Anything that remotely felt like magic or power or whatever Druids pulled —
And then shefelt it.
A spark.
Cassia pulled on it. Heat exploded from her gut, licking up her spine until she felt it buzzing underneath her palm. Vibrations radiated from her skin, alive and alert. Her hands shook, unfamiliar with the weight and sensation pulsing through her appendages. She gasped, unable to believe what was happening. Unable to believe what she was feeling.Magic, like she never had before. And it washers. She couldn’t decide what she should do first.
The last two days played in her mind. There were so many things going on. So many things she needed. She needed—
With a crash, the door flew open. Cassia dropped her hands. The magic flowing through her veins disappeared. Castor dropped to the floor, gasping for breath. She dropped with him and grabbed his neck. Blood poured from his nose. Before she had time to process what was wrong or why the door had flown open, Castor pulled her up and jumped in front of her. Lifting his hand, he caught a flying black brick midair just inches away from her face. He turned to her, clearly stunned. Breathing labored, his lips began to move.
Heart pounding, Cassia couldn’t hear what he was saying over the roar in her ears. It wasn’t a brick. It was a book. Andshe’dbrought it to them.
Castor’s hand on her arm brought her back to reality.
“Do you know what this is?” he asked again.
Silently, Cassia took the book from him and flipped through the pages. She’d been thinking of artifacts and Quinn and—
“What the hell?” Finn mumbled, rubbing his bleeding temple as he entered the training room. “Why did I just get hit in the head by a flying book?”
Cassia moved her gaze from the trembling book to Castor, whose quiet elation made her even more queasy, then to Finn. And then back again. Unsure of how to explain or comprehend their current situation.
She had magic.
