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I don’t know what it is, but whenever I’m practicing my magic, I get this nervous butterfly feeling in my stomach and it never seems to wane.
“Want to start with me, Shadow?” Brax asks, discarding the weights as he turns and gives me his full attention.
“Uh, yeah?” I’m aware it comes out as more of a question than the confident answer I was going for, but a moment ago this was just a thought, and now we’re digging deep into it. I just want to magically have the hang of it without facing failure. I feel like I’m sinking in enough of that already.
His big hand engulfs mine, pulling me away from the others as the two of us stand closer to the cliff’s edge. The breeze picks up a little, ruffling the hem of my oversized tee as I nervously cling to him.
“Do you want to try mind magic again or do you want to see if you can go full gargoyle?” he offers, cocking a brow at me as I consider my options.
The mind magic was natural last time, I’m sure it would be easy enough again, but really, Creed was right. This is about feeling defenseless, and the thought of turning my fist to stone is exactly what I’m in need of.
“Gargoyle,” I breathe, and Brax’s grin spreads wide.
“Good answer, Shadow.” He releases my hand and takes a step back.
Without a word of warning, he turns to stone. Not just his arm; but head to toe. His shoulders somehow manage to widen, his fists clench at his sides, and he slowly cracks his neck from side to side. The last time I saw him in full gargoyle mode, a blade pierced his back at the hands of the Amayans. There was never a moment to appreciate his true beauty.
His eyes, one brown, one green, darken yet glitter under the morning light.
“Take your time, Raven. Focus on the magic,” he rasps, his stone lips moving and making me gape more.
Clearing my throat, I shake out my arms in hopes that it will help me focus on what I’m supposed to be doing instead of ogling him. I close my eyes as I take one final breath before settling my gaze on the wisps of magic dancing over his skin. It almost looks like electricity zapping around him since the magic is coming from every inch of him instead of just one single strand.
I take a tentative step toward him, my fingers extended in his direction, excitement dancing over my skin as I touch the strand of magic. My arms go heavy at my side, dropping me to my knees with a grunt as I hear the guys behind me call out my name, but I shake my head.
Fuck.
I just need a second.
My eyes squeeze shut as my fingers plead to release the tendrils of magic, but I’m not falling at the first hurdle. I refuse. Exhaling, my nostrils flare as I take another deep breath, working my way through each inhale as I slowly wiggle my fingers.
It’s strange. They’re thicker, heavier, slower… but stronger.
Blinking my eyes open, I glance up at Brax, who is standing patiently before me. There’s a softness in his eyes, a silent understanding, and it fills me with the strength I need to push on.
I nod, more in confirmation to myself than anything else, but he tilts his head at me in response, encouraging me on.
Curling my hands into fists, I press my stone knuckles into the ground and push up onto my feet before taking a big breath and standing tall. Everything begs me to slump back to the floor again, my head light and my vision slightly blurred with disorientation, but I breathe through it, gulp after gulp. Brax andthe others remain silent, giving me the time I need to learn and adjust.
Slowly, oh-so-fucking-slowly, my shoulders relax and my arms sway slightly from side to side as I clench my fingers tighter around the strand of magic transforming me. Taking my time, the magic drifts over me, the initial weight that knocked me off balance slackens, and I can manage a little better.
“Just high-five me for today, Shadow,” Brax murmurs, lifting his stone hand for me.
Two minutes ago, I would have laughed in his face, but as the magic tingles up past my elbows, it doesn’t seem so unachievable. Wetting my bottom lip, I take what feels like my one-thousandth deep breath before I raise my right hand. It feels good until I get three-quarters of the way up to his and I start to falter, my body straining in the strangest way, but I grit my teeth and push through it until I feel his palm against mine.
It’s the briefest moment before I drop my hand back to my side, releasing the tendrils of magic in my grasp.
“Fuck, Dove. You smashed it,” Zane hollers as I hear someone clapping behind me too, but my gaze is fixed on Brax. I don’t know why I’m seeking his approval, but he is the gargoyle, after all.
“You did good, Shadow. I can’t deny that I’m impressed with the fact that you even managed a high-five too.” My body tingles at his approval on top of Zane’s. “But I think you might need to save any more mirror magic until later because classes start in thirty minutes.”
My eyes widen in surprise and I nod in agreement.
That clearly took me a lot longer than I realized.
Lips press against my temple as I’m pulled in against a firm chest and I look up straight into Eldon’s eyes.
“You are a badass, Little Bird. A. Bad. Ass,” he says with a smirk as he pulls me toward the patio door, and I shake my head at him.
