She’s not to be deterred. She breaks the kiss before things can get interesting, pulling away abruptly.
“Mywhat?”
I rest my forehead against hers, feeling her hand fist in my shirt. I know she wants to shake me. I can hardly blame her.
“Your eyes glow… when you channel your power.”
She wheels away and I feel a surge of her power rip through the web of my spell around her. Guess we’ll be doing this without a buffer. Shit-fuck-damn. I brace my back against the door frame, putting myself between her and the exit, crossing my arms over my chest. Rather than risking her bringing the walls down around us and praying to all the Gods that we both survive this, I put a shield around our apartment. No sound will get in or out unless I allow it. It will also help contain any magick Ash may cast without meaning to.
“What do you mean ‘my power’? Flint, I don’t have any fucking power.” She paces the small bathroom, hands tugging at her messy curls.
I remain motionless, following her with my eyes. I might appear relaxed, but I’m braced to counter anything she might accidentally whip out in her distress.
“I’m not Fae. I’m human.Justhuman. This is crazy. Maybe I really am finally losing my mind. I mean, whynot? My brain is clearly fucking broken. If it worked like it was fuckingsupposed toI’d remember mylife. If it worked appropriately, I wouldn’t lock patrons in the shopovernight.”
She seems to come to a realization and whirls back to me. The silver in her eyes shines like a beacon and I feel the flame of hope in my chest burn brighter.
“I’m not Fae. Ican’tbe.”
Her eyes dart to mine again and I tense, thinking she’s going to rush me.
“Flint. It can’t be true.”
“It must be. There’s no other explanation.”
“No! That’s not possible. I don’t want this, I can’t— I don’t know what to do with it?—”
“Yes.” I’m losing patience, which I know is the last thing either of us need. She needs me to be calm and rational. “Yes, you do. I bet you’ve always known. Don’t fight it.”
“If I’m Fae then… th-th-that means that…”
“It means what, Cas? It means that you have power. It means that you’re more than you know. It doesn’t change anything.”
“If I havepowerthen why didn’t it manifest when I was fighting off Brett? Why did I needyouto ride to my fucking rescue? Not once, buttwice.This can’t be happening.”
The mirror on the wall spiderwebs with the force of her emotion. I wince, blowing out a deep breath.
“It must have been blocked, love. It happens.” I hedge. “Especially if there’s been a significant upset in your life. But having magick is hardly the end of the world.”
“You mean kinda like waking up andnot having any fucking memories?”
I don’t flinch as she sings from rage to fear to despair, but I’m thankful that at least some of the block on her powers remains. Better we get there slowly rather than her using flaming whips or worse.
Water runs into the tub; a trickle at first called by her power, but it quickly increases to a rush. Guess I spoke too soon. Her eyes grow wide.
“Yes, exactly like that.” I still don’t move toward her. It feels too soon and I don’t want to push her over the edge.
I’m terrified and elated. Surely, if she’s conjuring now, then she’s closer than ever to remembering. I’m still not sure if it’s too much, too fast or if I’ve made a grave error.
She stares at the tub in disbelief.
“Love.” She ignores me. “Casie!” Her wide eyes finally meet mine.
“Am I doing that?”
"Yes. So I need you to focus on your breathing and ground yourself. Like the day in the flowers? I need you to calm the power you’re pulling.”
"How?”she almost wails.
