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"See? That's the spirit!” Then she winced. "Oh, sorry. Bad choice of words."

I laughed, a deep, genuine laugh that echoed through the enormous chamber. I could feel it in my physical body which brought me great joy.

"Indeed it was, sweetheart. Though I think I'll forgive you under the circumstances."

She grinned up at me, then grew more serious.

“I’m just wondering how we can finish this and get you all the way back into your body.”

“I don’t know,” I murmured. “I wish I did.”

“I mean, the spell seems to have worked—but only partway,” she went on.

I nodded in agreement, but I was momentarily distracted from what she was saying.

There was a small silver chalice resting on the table beside my body, the same one Celeste had used earlier when she'd attempted the first version of the spell. For some reason, I found myself wanting to touch it. Not with magic, the way I generally moved objects around the house, but with my actual hand.

I reached towards the chalice almost without thinking. And though I did not exert any magical influence at all, my fingers closed around its stem.

For a moment, I was so astonished that I couldn't move. I could feel it! I could feel the cool, smooth silver beneath my fingers and the slight weight of the cup as I lifted it from the stone table. The sensation tingled through the fingers of my physical body, making me feel the tug of it even more clearly.

"By the Ancients!" I exclaimed.

Celeste turned towards me.

"What? What's wrong?"

"Look!" I held up the chalice, scarcely able to believe what I was doing. "I'm holding it!"

She frowned.

"Well, yes, I can see that."

"No, you don't understand!" I exclaimed. "I'm holding it with my actual hand! I haven't conjured it or used any magic to move it. I'm simply…holding it!"

Her eyes widened.

"Oh my God! Garrik, that's amazing!"

"Indeed, it is," I agreed.

I turned the chalice slowly in my hand, marveling at the sensation of its weight against my palm. For a hundred years, I'd been able to create the appearance of solidity and manipulate objects with ghostly magic, but I hadn't been able to experience their physical substance in this way. And now I could—at least for a moment.

As I lowered the chalice, I felt my grip beginning to weaken and the silver cup slipped slightly between my fingers. I hastily set it back upon the table before I dropped it.

"Well," I murmured, looking down at my hand. "It seems the effect is rather temporary."

"Temporary is better than nothing," Celeste said. "Maybe it'll get stronger the longer your body stays alive."

"Perhaps," I agreed cautiously. I was afraid to hope too much.

I looked back towards the marble table and felt another powerful tug against my spirit. The connection was still there—still calling me towards my physical body. And when Celeste stepped closer and laid a hand upon my arm, the sensation grew stronger.

I looked down at her in surprise.

"How extraordinary," I murmured.

"What is it?" she asked.