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“Yes. I’ve nearly mastered shielding.”
“That’s a specialty of hers.”
“I’ve also been working on sensing magic.”
“Oh?” Curious, I spare her a quick glance. “That’s fairly advanced magic.”
“I know. But with everything going on, I wanted to help where I can.”
“You were hoping to use it on me.”
She winces, then nods. “I figured that if I could sense it, then I might be able to help Ridley and Fearghas determine how best to save you.”
My cheeks flush, and I force myself to stay facing her. The last thing I deserve is to save my pride. I hurt her. I hurt everyone, and I will face it head-on. “Saving me was not on you, honey. Hell, it wasn’t on anyone. That was my mistake and one I will never make again.”
Her bottom lip quivers. “I felt so guilty for lying to everyone; I wanted to make up for it in some way.”
“That is also on me, and they know it.”
“Rainey threatened to shoot me.”
Unable to keep it in, I throw my head back and laugh. Magnolia watches me like I’ve lost it, again, so I do my best to pull it back.
“It’s funny that she threatened to shoot me?”
“Mags, Rainey threatens to shoot everyone. Hell, she actually shot me and played target practice with Fearghas. Her threat just means you’re a legitimate part of the group.” I wink at her and shove open the door to my gym. Thankfully, due to Winnie, there is no dust, but the air is definitely on the stale side, so I cross the floor and throw open the balcony doors. When I turn back around, Magnolia is staring in awe as she turns in a slow circle around the room.
“This is awesome.”
I follow her gaze, studying the treadmill, heavy bag, and weights strategically placed throughout the room. “As I told you before, physical capabilities are just as important as your magical ones. More so, even.” Briefly, the feeling of complete helplessness as I’d cowered in the corner, magicless, believing I was going to die, pops into my head.
My physical abilities had done shit that day, though I wonder if perhaps I wouldn’t have survived as long as I did if my body hadn’t been trained to fight.
Shortly after my mother was murdered and my father began force-feeding me tonic, he taught me to fight. Told me to channel my hatred of him into learning how to physically use my body to defend myself. I’d hated him for it, despised every moment, but it morphed into an addiction as I grew into adulthood.
My mother murdered. Tonic forced down my throat daily.Memories fresh, thanks to the shadow magic, make me feel as though I’m reliving them over and over again.
“Are you okay?”
“Huh?” I shift my attention back to Magnolia, only to find her watching me curiously.
“You froze up for a minute. Are you okay?”
“Fine, sorry. Being trapped in memories came with its own set of consequences. My past is not exactly a pleasant trip.”
“Sorry.”
“No worries.” I clear my throat and move back toward the center of the room. “Now, as you might know, witches are probably the most vulnerable of all supers.”
She actually looks surprised. “Really? But we can hit from a distance while the others have to get close.”
“Yes. But hunters and the others who come for us know that little trick. If you ask Rainey, her main objective when fighting witches is to get close because she knows they typically can’t handle the hand-to-hand.”
“So, you learn to fight; then your magic is secondary.”
“Yes. Consider yourself a weapon. Your body is the hilt, your magic the blade.”
“Okay.” She shrugs out of her sweatshirt.
