“Wait, what? What’s my power? My power is that I’m a glow stick?”
“No, witchling. It looks like your power is emotions.”
It’s beautiful and terrifying. Because the more feelings start to clash inside me, the stronger the light seems to glow.
“So what emotion is this?”
“You tell me.”
I close my eyes again and try to focus. What feeling is this? Making my skin tingle, my body hum. That makes everything feel warm, makes me glow.
My eyes fly open.
“Love.” I whisper.
As the word leaves my mouth, memories begin flickering in my mind, like water reflecting on water. A girl, with laughter like bells. Blond hair braided with ribbons. My hands cupping her face, promising her something I can’t quite hear.
“Lila.” I breathe. The name feels foreign and familiar at the same time.
Flint jerks next to me. “What did you say?”
“I— I saw someone.” My throat tightens. “A little girl. My sister, maybe? She had a gap in herteeth and she?—”
The image slips away, like trying to hold onto mist. The light around me flares then falters.
“Don’t chase it.” Flint says quickly, stepping closer. “Let it come and go.”
“No! I don’t want to lose it.”
“You won’t.” His hand hovers near my shoulder but doesn’t touch me. “You’re remembering pieces. That’s what this is.”
“Pieces of what?!”
“Pieces ofyou, love.”
The air vibrates again, softer this time. The glow ebbs until it’s just a faint shimmer on my skin, like starlight refusing to let go.
When I finally open my eyes, the clearing looks different. Sharper, almost luminous, as if I’m seeing more of it than before. Flint is watching me with an expression I can’t read.
“How long was I?—?”
“A minute. Maybe less.”
“It felt like forever.”
“In my experience, most real things do.”
I sink down on a log, legs shaking. My hands are trembling, but I don’t think it’s from fear. There’s exhilaration buzzing under my skin, the echo of something vast and ancient pressing against the edges of my awareness.
Flint crouches in front of me, forearms resting on his knees. The light dancing through the trees paints his skin in soft shadows.
“How do you feel?”
“Like my heart’s too big for my body,” I say honestly. “And like I just saw a ghost of someone who loved me. Who knew me… before.”
He exhales slowly. “That’s not a bad start.”
“Was that— was that the magick?”
