Focus, Lucy. The whispers.
Lucifer said to trust myself. To trust my Infernus.
Okay. I settled into the sounds, letting them swirl around my mind in a cacophony, mentally seeking the hallucination whisper.
The sound that came to me bounced and dived, grew in volume, then softened, almost like it couldn’t make up its mind. Trusting my Infernus, I focused on the changing melody, wrapping it around myself. But what did I do next?
He wanted me to twist it so he wouldn’t know. But this was his hallucination. I didn’t understand how he wouldn’t notice if I tampered with it, if I evencould.
Unless I didn’t. Or acted like I didn’t.
Not knowing what I was doing, I sent an image to the melody of me in the general’s arms, like I was. Then came the hard part—removing myself from the bench without my father seeing.
But maybe I was overthinking. This was a mental construct. None of it was physically real.
I pulled my consciousness from the illusion of myself and sank it into the shadows of the greenhouse. Physically, I sat there in the form of my doppelgänger, but mentally, I hid in the darkness of the illusion, watching Lucifer’s scene unfold.
If I had a face in this incorporeal form, I would’ve frowned as the general pressed his lips to my doppelgänger.
Why was my father giving me this hallucination?
I shouldn’t like the look of us together. I shouldn’t want his lips on mine. And I didn’t—I wanted Aspen’s. But why didn’t I stop the kiss? And why couldn’t I rip my eyes away from the general cradling my head and devouring my mouth like he was?
Focus!
This wouldn’t be a success until I entirely removed myself. I could do that with a shield, but my father would know. That must’ve been what the shockof cold was—Lucifer.
Could I follow his presence in my mind to his mind?
I felt around for his cold touch. It took me a few seconds, but eventually, once I pushed away the imagined warmth, he was there. I reached out a hand and grabbed hold of the cold. Then everything dissolved, and I was sitting next to my father.
“Close. But next time, touch my presence with your song, not your hand.”
I nodded, feeling warmth from hisalmostpraise. That was probably as close to a compliment as he’d get.
“Let’s continue.”
The next few hallucinations, fortunately, didn’t include the fake general kissing me again. Unfortunately, I didn’t manage to twist a single one without him knowing. It was a wonder that I almost succeeded the first time.
“You have to subtly remove yourself from the hallucination by continuing the actions I would expect from you using your illusioned self,” he said, bringing me back to the here and now after another failed attempt. “The moment you do something out of character for the scene, I know. You must know your opponent’s thoughts and expectations to trap them in their mind. That being said, crafting an illusion is more difficult than directing your power to an emotion and allowing your opponent to craft the illusion based on their subconscious.”
I leaned my elbows on my knees and rested my pounding forehead in my hands. “And why didn’t we start with the easy version first? You think I know your thoughts and expectations?”
“You did in the first hallucination,” he said in a pointed tone.
I twisted my head to the side. “You think something’s going on between me and the general?” But my question was redundant. Of course he did. That was why I was able to almost succeed on my first try. He expected us to kiss.
He raised a critical brow. “Is there?”
“Not at all. Why would you think that?”
Did he think I was lying? The general barely tolerated me, and I only had eyes for Aspen.
“Our lesson is concluded for the day,” he said, standing. “How’s your energy?”
“Good.” My head might be pounding, but I didn’t feel drained after using my Infernus. Odd, but nice.
He nodded, like he knew that’d be my answer, then walked toward the doors. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning for our next lesson. Remember to continue shielding every day.”
