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I let go of her hand and held my breath, watching her. For a moment, the magic inside her continued, pulsating under her skin, but then it faded, and the light went out.
“No, no, don’t let go,” I urged.
She opened her eyes. “I can’t.”
“You can. You just need to know what you’re looking for.”
“Something doesn’t feel right,” Liv said, shaking her head. “I can’t do this.”
“Let’s try one more time,” I said. “If you just learn to access it, it will change everything. Here.”
I held out my hand. She eyed me dubiously, but after a moment’s hesitation, she took my hand again. She closed her eyes without me telling her to do so, and I pushed my magic toward her again. This time, her magic rose to meet mine very quickly.
I watched as she glowed and took my hand away.
Almost immediately, the light faded again.
“Just hold on to it,” I said. “You don’t have to touch me to find your own magic. It’s just a way to start.”
“I can’t do it,” Liv said again.
“You just have to practice. It’s like your training—when you’re fit, working long enough at it, it will become more natural. Let’s do it again.”
“I can’t, Colter,” she said. “I don’t want to.”
“Why not?” I asked, frustrated.
“It’s too much.”
“Why are you fighting who you are?” I demanded, the frustration clear in my tone.
“I’m not fighting who I am. This isn’t me, Colter.”
“Of course it is! You’re an angel.”
“I might have angel blood in me, but I’m not an angel. I’m just a human.”
I took a step or two away from her, taking a deep breath to try to stay calm.
“I know this is all new, but if you just—”
“I don’t want to do it,” Liv said again, cutting me off.
“You have to try.”
“I don’t have to do anything! I know you think because I’m being kept here, you get to call all the shots, but this is still my body and my choice, and I’m not going to do something I’m not comfortable with.”
“You have to figure out how to protect yourself,” I countered.
I couldn’t have her be vulnerable. She had to know how to protect herself, and the only way to fight magic was with magic. No training could make a mere human strong enough to battle enchanted beings. “You have the tools right there; you just have to know how to use them.”
“Can we just let it go for today?” Liv asked.
“One more time,” I said. “Then we’ll let it go.”
“No,” she said.
I was getting angry now. Didn’t she understand how serious this was? Didn’t she know how many people wanted to use her for personal gain?
