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MORGAN
The same scene played out as it had for days; Griffin and Emily embracing and kissing each other. I watched as if it was a play and I was the audience. My heart broke a little more each time.
“A heart is such a fragile little thing. Easy to break. Power, on the other hand, will never break.” Samara appeared next to me, her red eyes bored into my soul. “Through power you can get everything you want, even him.”
I nodded and wiped at the tears on my cheeks. “I’ve been practicing, like you showed me.”
She nodded, “What have you found out?”
“She’s part of your bloodline. Her mother is Asena or something like that.”
“A virus, that’s what they are. We’ll end them, you and I, and then we will take what is ours.” Samara grinned darkly, and I couldn’t help but smile too.
The dream disappeared and I woke up in my bed just as the sun started to rise. Samara had become a familiar face. I figured out who she was when we got back from New Orleans, and since then she started appearing in full form, instead of just a voice. The dreams were mostly the same, Emily and Griffin together, me watching on the outside.
I didn’t tell Samara about the Ancient One at first, sharing the information felt wrong. Samara promised to help me get stronger, to train me from my dreams. When the time came, we would end Emily, and Griffin would finally see who he was meant to be with. All Samara wanted in exchange was information on Emily and what they were planning to do. A fair trade in my opinion and they would never suspect anything.
I wouldn’t let Emily charm Griffin. Magic couldn’t force someone to love you, but it could influence them, and I was sure Emily was doing just that. I saw the slip in Griffin’s resolve after he rescued her. I saw him softening, and I vowed to be there to remind him that he wanted to end the bond. I told Samara when Emily went missing, and she convinced me to help them. She wanted me to befriend her, no matter how hard it was. Samara had a plan, and if I kept helping her, she promised that she would remove the curse from Griffin.
Emily and I had our first magic training session this morning. Griffin wanted me to help her control her magic and that’s what I would do. I went through my morning routine, feeling excited for the near future. Soon I would have Griffin to myself, he’ll forget Emily ever existed. I smiled at the thought of finally being his.
The bar always felt so strange in the morning—void of any life, quiet, and dim in the morning light. I waved a hand and the mess from last night cleared itself.
I was about to pull out my phone to find out where Emily was when a knock on the door startled me. I sighed deeply and forced a smile on my face. For Griffin, I would do anything. I yanked the door open and she smiled at me. Her blonde hair tucked under a gray beanie, her hands were shoved into a matching sweater. The bruises on her face had started to fade, the deep purple replaced with a sickly yellow-brown.
“Hi, sorry I’m a little late. Cassian got caught up in something and insisted that he would drop me off,” she explained. Her breath formed a cloud in the cold air.
I stepped aside to let her in. “No problem. You still staying at the apartment?” I didn’t like the thought of her there in Griffin’s space.
“Yeah, the guys think it's safer.”
“And classes? Are you going to move back to the dorm?” I asked while leading her into the bar.
She shrugged. “I decided to put that on hold for now until we can get the whole ‘imminent war’ issue sorted.”
“Priorities, I guess. I haven’t trained anyone before so we’re just winging it. Let’s just get a feel for your magic today and then we can do spells.”
Emily nodded and looked around the bar. “Is it safe here? I don’t want to break anything.”
“It’s fine.” I waved a hand at the windows and the blinds fell, dimming the light further. “Take a seat.” We sat at the booth and I lit a candle in the center of the table.
“I haven’t tried to use my powers since the kidnapping, they might not be completely back yet.”
“Close your eyes, put your palms on the table and take a moment to breathe,” I said, and she did as instructed. I grabbed a mix of herbs from my bag and added them to the candle, cedar and vanilla filled the booth. Emily breathed deeply and smiled. I hoped that it would help her powers. “Try to see your magic in your mind, touch it, coax it out. Fire is the strongest so focus on that.”
Emily nodded but kept her eyes closed, and her fingers twitched. “I can see it, it's not trapped anymore, but it’s hesitant.”
“It’s only hesitant because you are. You’re safe here. Picture it as a flame in your palm, small and calm.” My eyes fixed on her hands as they turned pink.
Sweat formed on her brow, and she frowned in concentration. After a few minutes I started to wonder if it would work, but then smoke twirled in her palms, and seconds later a flame appeared. It licked at the air around it and danced in the smoke from my herbs. Regardless of how I felt about Emily, magic was beautiful, and whenever it was practiced so close to me, I could feel mine pulse in answer.
“Open your eyes,” I whispered.
She did, and her lips parted at the sight of the flames. “I’ve only seen it like this once. I was experimenting in the shower at the hotel.”
“Magic and control go hand in hand. If you lose control, your magic will lose control, and as you know, the results can be devastating.” I snapped my fingers and sent a puff of wind toward her flame. It sputtered and went out. Emily looked at me, and I could see the flames in her eyes. “Even when your emotions get crazy, you have to focus on keeping control. Fire especially, is very volatile.”
“What else? Are there rules to practicing?” Emily asked, folding her arms on the table.
