Not how to command it—but how to invite it. How to speak to it in a language that was both her own and unique to this world.
The veil between them—between her and the energy—lifted.
It flooded her senses.
The hum of the village rose around her as people gasped. Threads of magic coiled up her arms and shimmered across her skin. Her body heated at the villagers’ stares, but she ignored them. Their awed whispers danced around her like the glow bugs from back home.
“Isha…” Marina’s hushed voice snapped through the stillness.
Isha spun.
His eyes locked on Alice—and widened in alarm.
Alice’s hair stirred in the invisible current. Her skin glowed with an inner light. Power crackled along her arms, luminous and breathtaking.
“Isha, no!” Geoff choked out, his voice raw as he stepped toward her.
Isha’s low hiss, barely audible above the humming of his sword, was lost in the air. A blinding arc of energy crackled along the blade, a hum of power vibrating in the air. Marina’s shout cut through the cacophony of alarms blaring around Alice, who remained completely unaware. A wave of warmth washed over her as she basked in the beautiful, vibrant energy, feeling it flow through every inch of her body.
Alice’s heart pounded. Her instincts took over.
Geoff reached her at the same instant Isha raised his weapon.
“No!” he shouted, wrapping his arms around her waist and twisting to shield her with his body as magic flared out of his back. At the same time, Alice raised her hand.
Their energies merged.
A glowing shield snapped into place, doming around them in a cocoon of light. The burst from Isha’s blade slammed into the barrier—and shattered into harmless sparks.
Geoff turned to her, stunned.
She smiled, breathless. “I think I’m starting to get the hang of it.”
Geoff choked out a laugh. “Yeah, I think you might be.”
Alice’s eyes were drawn to the regal figure of a woman as she stepped from the open doorway of a grand white stone hall.
Queen Magika.
Her lavender robes fluttered in the wind. Her dark curls lifted in the swirling magic. Her eyes—brilliant and ancient—locked onto Alice with a flash of startled curiosity.
Alice barely had time to register the Queen’s presence before Geoff’s arms tightened around her.
“I wish I could take you away,” he whispered.
Alice turned her head, her eyes shimmering with power. “Where?”
“Anywhere that would keep you safe.”
Her eyelashes fluttered and Alice swore her heart thumped out an uneven rat-ta-ta when Geoff lowered his head.
Her mind flashed to Bálint, wondering if his kisses would be any different. As their lips met, pure energy surged around them—and they vanished.
Coming Next:
A fractured portal. A forbidden island. A bond tested by fire, water… and fate.
Adaline wakes on the mysterious Isle of the Elementals, where whispers ride the wind and the land breathes with ancient power. Here, nothing is what it seems—and within her stirs a force she doesn’t yet understand. As she begins to unlock the truth of who she is and what she might become, the island calls to her in ways that both terrify and thrill.
