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Focus on my intention? He sounded like a religious fanatic giving a sermon. I snorted a laugh at my own thought before I could restrain it. I risked a glance at Oliver, quickly focusing back on the task when I saw his glare.
Focus on my intention.Okaaaaaay.
I tilted my head back slightly, letting my mind settle as I focused, the fresh air tickling the loose strands of my hair. The longer I stood, the more I couldfeelthe magic that surrounded us. It was everywhere, as if every molecule of oxygen was also bonded with glittering magic. It permeated the earth beneath my feet, the sky above my head, and even in the people and animals that surrounded me. I focused inward, finding the same glittering magic woven through me, beating along with my heartbeat like a drum. I looked past the lightning that I felt, sparking but dormant, and another earthy ball of energy that must have been my shifter powers. I was definitely going to come back and explore that later.
Focus, Rowan.
I latched on to the magic inside me, urging it to go into the flask, but when I opened my eyes, nothing had moved. There was a slight shimmer in my hand, but nothing flowed into the flask the way Oliver’s had. My brows furrowed, and I slammed my eyes shut, attempting again.
“Be one with the water," Oliver’s irritating voice pulled my focus, and I pushed it away.
“Thanks, Mr. Miyagi.” I hoped he could hear my internal eye roll. I was sick of feeling helpless and entirely useless while people came to my rescue. I needed to be able to do this. I breathed deep, pulling on the magic with as much force as I could muster.
“No, don’t—” Oliver shouted, and I tried to pull back, but it was too late, as the waterskin exploded in my hand, cutting a deep gash into my palm that made me hiss. I dropped the remaining fragments of the pouch on the ground. There was definitely no coming back from that.
Nia rushed to my side, a spare cloth in her hand as she dabbed my cut gently. She looked it over before summoning a little water from the pond. It glowed brightly when it connected with my cut, and after a few seconds she pulled away, and I was good as new.
“Thank you,” I told her sourly, the disappointment in myself palpable. She handed me her fully filled water skin, and I drank from it gratefully before handing it back.
“Don’t thank me,” she replied gently. “Faerie blood is highly powerful, and traceable. I have no doubt the Queen and her lackeys are searching for you. The less you bleed, the better.” Right. Of course, she didn’t do it out of the goodness of her heart.
“I didn’t expect you to get it on the first try. It takes practice.” Oliver slung an arm around my shoulder in a comforting gesture, but I shrugged him off. I didn’t need him to coddle me. What I needed was to be able to use my magic. Determination took over, pushing my self-loathing to the side as I focused on a different prize.
My memories.
Once I had them back, I’d remember how to use my powers. And where to find this ring before Queen Tantaii found it first. I only had to make it that long.
“I’m going to turn in,” I told the group, weariness tugging at my soul. Tomorrow was a new day, and that much closer to getting to our destination. I snagged another orange off a nearby tree, heading toward the tent we had set up for Nia and I to share. I hoped to be asleep before she decided to join me so I wouldn’t have to make any awkward small talk.
Tomorrow I would be social, but today I would be me.
I strolled past the pagu’s resting area on my way to the tent, Varus catching my eye as he regarded me. I eyed the distance between him and Lithia with interest as they lay flush against each other, almost lovingly. She had already fallen asleep, tired from the long journey, but Varus stayed awake and had watched my whole embarrassing use of magic. I glowered at him, holding on to my grudge from earlier with a steel-fisted grip, ready for a sassy remark.
‘I wasn’t going to say anything,’he voiced in my head. I narrowed my eyes at him before proceeding into the tent, settling into one of the sleeping bags we had already laid out. It was not nearly as comfortable as the ones from the mortal realm, but it would do, the itchy fabric only mildly irritating if I didn’t move. I closed my eyes, waiting for the sandman to pull me under, a slight sense of anticipation running through me. Would I dream of Callan again tonight?
‘But just so you know, even children the age of five can purify water.’
If there had been enemies near, they would have absolutely heard my aggravated scream.
ChapterNine
Nia’s shout woke me, and I bolted upright in the tent. The tent was already small, but it was even smaller now that there was a large oval portal swirling right in front of us. It shimmered and faltered, not at all like the steady portal Oliver had opened to get me here. This one was weak, flickering and inconsistent, but still stayed open. I peered at it, but only darkness greeted me from the other side.
“What did you do?!” Nia exclaimed as the portal held steady in the air.
“Me? I didn’t do this!” She was crazy if she thought I was just out here opening portals while the drool dribbled out of my mouth.
Behind the portal, the flap to our tent opened, Oliver’s shocked face barely visible from the other side. “Well, I sure as shit didn’t open it,” he said. The portal surged, its inky edges writhing, outlining the circular entrance hungrily. “You’ve only had your Fae powers unlocked for a brief amount of time. They are unpredictable, as we’ve already seen.”
“Wait a minute.” I stepped closer to the portal, squinting through the darkness. The longer I looked, the more I was able to make out shapes hidden among the shadows. I took another step closer, the edges of a bedframe coming into view, the dots connecting with my memory. “I know this place!”
I must have spoken too loudly, because the figure on the bed stirred, shooting up like a rocket when he realized what was in his bedroom. He leaped forward with a growl that sounded garbled through the wavering portal, but I recognized it all the same.
Callan.
And he was in the bedroom I had dreamt about the night before. I had never seen his house before. How had it been possible that I’d dreamt it?
“Rowan?” His confusion was blatant, and I saw him eyeing my surroundings suspiciously. “What is this?”
