What does she find attractive? Who would she want to spend her life with?She dated the Earth Mage, Ben, who was now Life Bonded to Asha. If that was her type, then I really never stood a chance with her anyway. Ben was large—broad and tall with massive hands and muscles covering every inch of his physique. He was affable and confident, his kind personality and humor drawing everyone to him like flies to a Mage Orb.
The complete opposite of me, really.
It was for the best.
I pushed all inappropriate thoughts of Faylinn from my mind, focusing on the task at hand.
“The wall at the end of this hallway is a false wall. It’s imbued to only recognize certain signatures. I’ll have to ask Art and Gene to add yours to the configuration, which shouldn’t be too much of an issue. To use it, you just press here—” I pushed my hand through the stone, a slight buzz coating my skin where the ‘wall’ touched my body.
Faylinn gasped, her eyes rounding as she took an unconscious step forward before resting her thin hand on the wall. When she met rough stone, not air, she gasped again before muttering quietly to herself as she pushed firmly against the stone. She released her hand before placing it against the wall in odd intervals and different pressures, each time yielding the same result: the false wall appeared as stone to her, but an easy pass-through for me.
Stepping back, a frown marring her face, Faylinn turned her quizzical gaze to me as she pulled her ever-present journal from the waistband of her pants.
“How,” she stated, flipping to a blank page in her book. I caught sight of a few sketches of what appeared to be Bond marks and a page made entirely of a chart, but nothing I could concretely discern. Maybe, one day, she’d trust me with those secrets. Charcoal pencil at the ready, Faylinn raised her eyebrows expectantly, and my lips quirked at her expression.
So fierce. So thirsty for knowledge.
I was certain Faylinn was irked at not knowing how this particular piece of magic and magical engineering worked. Art and Gene really were some of the brightest Mages I’d ever met.
They really need to spend some time with Faylinn.
“It’s a blend of Air Magic, Earth Magic, and even a dash of Alois’ magic,” I explained as Faylinn’s pencil flew across the page.
“I thought Truthsayers and Keepers had no innate magic.”
I nodded my head in agreement, finally removing my hand from the wall so I could turn and face her fully.
“That is true, to a large extent.” When she opened her mouth to question further, I held up one palm. “I will explain everything, but let me explain the mechanics of it first before we get into the ethereal, okay?”
Faylinn nodded her head once, her pencil jerking a slight line on her paper with the movement.
“Art and Gene—you’ve met them briefly—in the Magical Developments department created a device to channel different types of magic at different times. Obviously, there is no true wall here. We cannot make physical objects completely disappear. But what they are able to do, is create theillusionof a real wall.”
Faylinn’s eyebrows hit her hairline as she nodded furiously, her mind inevitably now drawing the conclusion of how the wallworked. When she didn’t interrupt me, though, I kept speaking. It was one of those inventions that I was rather fond of and impressed with.
“Art and Gene attached the string of flat discs around the walls, ceiling, and floor”—I traced a rough square where the ‘wall’ touched each of the devices—“creating a controlled area for the release of magic. When the devices register a magical signature, the wall disappears, allowing that person to pass through. If, however, the wall doesn’t recognize a person’s essence, the devices are activated and a combination of the magics I mention are deployed, creating the illusion.”
Faylinn stopped writing and gazed at the wall, her face full of awe.
“Those are some of the most incredible manipulations of magic I’ve ever seen,” she breathed, and I nodded in agreement.
“It truly is. Art and Gene are two of the smartest people I’ve ever met. I think you’d benefit from spending some time with them, even if their eccentricities can be a bit much.”
Faylinn chewed her lip in thought, now searching the edges of the hallway for the devices. If you knew what to look for, and really strained your eyes, they were just barely visible in the dark.
“Most intelligent people I know are a bit eccentric,” she muttered as she rolled her bare foot in my direction. I chuckled and saw Faylinn’s lips quirk in response.
“So, Lord d’Refan’s magic . . .” she prompted, snapping her journal closed and tucking it into her waistband again.
I sighed, rocking my head side to side as I contemplated how much to tell her.
“Is not up for discussion.” Alois’ silky voice was hard as it slid through the space, causing Faylinn to jump in surprise and my shoulders to stiffen slightly.
Fuck.
A second later, Alois’ black boot crested through the false wall, followed shortly by the rest of his black-clad body. Predictably, his face was a mask of icy frustration, his ire bouncing between me and his Rune Master before he settled his gaze on Faylinn. Alois’ eyes whirred in his head, the frequency and pace higher than I’d ever seen. Faylinn was uncowed, however, and simply straightened her spine before regarding him with a cool look.
“This space is off limits,” Alois growled at her, but Faylinn didn’t flinch. She simply shrugged her shoulder before gesturing one lithe arm in my direction.
