23. Lucina #2
I call on that festering well at the base of my spine, rolling magic through my veins. It releases with a snap, a bit more aggressive than I would have liked, and the dagger flies straight through the target. Pax whistles low, then yanks it out of the ground and makes his way over to me.
“You know,” he starts, pondering the knife for a moment before handing both back to me. “Maybe whoever set your cabin on fire didn’t choose that method because they’re Rogue copy-cats.”
My brows pinch as I slide a dagger in each boot. “No?”
“What if they chose fire, because they knew you could fight, and facing you head-on would be a lot harder.”
I let out an incredulous laugh. “I mean it’s been a week, and they haven’t done anything else, so maybe staying in the Ajax cabins has effectively scared them off.”
“Or they’re waiting until the time is right, plotting something they know won’t fail.” My jaw clenches shut, and he stiffens. “But hypothetically, say they’re after you because they’ve figured out who your mother is…why wouldn’t they have told all of Pirn by now?”
“Fair point.” I shrug. “Maybe they want to wait until they can parade my head around on a stick.”
Pax grimaces. “You scare me.”
I scoff, tossing my braid behind my shoulder and propping both hands on my hips. “Okay, show me how to make fire.”
He watches me for a moment, then straightens his shoulders. “To manipulate light, you have to understand the process by which it happens.”
Pax moves to stand in front of me, feet shoulder-width apart, and he nods for me to do the same.
“You are a conduit. You are just a means for the light to pass through, so you must first make yourself permeable.” He grabs my wrist and flips it, opening my palm to the sky.
Then with his pointer finger, he draws a circle around the center.
“Put magic here, just within this circle.”
I do as he says, herding a steady flow of power into the circle he traced, and he nods when he feels the warmth that’s gathered there.
“Good. Let it seep through your skin, but don’t release it.”
I taper off more raw energy until it bleeds through my palm and settles over my hand.
“Got it?” he asks, and I nod. “Good. The magic will act as a receptor so that when you pull on the light, it will move through your skin and straight into your bloodstream. If you don’t have this circle saturated with magic, the light or fire or lightning—whatever you are trying to wield—will strike flesh. And it’ll fucking hurt.”
I exhale a heavy breath. “Noted.”
“Now, when you steal light,” he turns, spotting a lantern on one of the fence posts, “you’ll grab on to it as if it’s a tangible thing to hold. Release enough magic to take it, but keep that circle permeable. You’ll have a split second before it hits you.”
I turn to face the lantern, my eyes narrowing on the soft amber orb floating within it. I stare until my vision goes blurry and lights flash across my eyes.
“You aren’t doing anything,” he mutters.
“Shut up.” A few more painful seconds pass, and sweat beads along my hairline.
“Lucina, take it like you would take—”
Magic cracks and the light bursts through the glass lantern. I don’t even have time to inhale before pain erupts and a million needles stab through my open palm. I curse as I stumble backwards, gritting my teeth against the sharp burn.
“I told you it would fucking hurt.”
I grunt, blowing on the red and blotchy skin.
“You have to keep that circle saturated, Cin, the light needs magic to pass through it.”
He has me try again. And again. And again.
By the time we get to the last lantern, my legs are shaky, and the skin across both of my palms is thoroughly burnt and throbbing. Thanks to me and all my failed attempts, we are almost entirely submerged in darkness, the dead of night like a thick blanket around us.
“Come on,” Pax beckons to me with his hands. “I feel good about this one.”
“I don’t,” I mutter to myself.
“What was that?”
“Nothing.”
Magic blooms across my ruined palms, the heat multiplying the heavy pulse there, and pain flares hot and new. If this is how it feels to get hit by tiny, insignificant balls of amber, how the fuck would fire feel? Or lightning—dear gods.
The last lantern flickers, mocking me as all the other lanterns before it have. And I’m sick of it. Power cracks, hard enough that my shoulder jerks, and I anticipate the pain…the burn—
But something new strikes my blood. Something foreign. “Pax…”
“You’re fine, don’t freak out.” He takes a cautious step towards me, the shadows of his face illuminated only by the stars overhead. “You did it, Cin. Do you feel the way it moves?”
“Yes,” I manage to get out. “Like a string being pulled up my arm.”
“Good. That’s good. If you wanted to store it, you could. You could keep it at the base of your spine along with the rest of your power, so it’s there to use whenever you need it. But for now, pull it back to your hand.”
“Okay,” I breathe, tugging gently on that string. “Done.”
“Now is when you’d change its form. You’d think of it as an illusion, and if you want fire, you’ll need to imagine a flame and everything about it.
How hot it is, how it moves, what shade of red you want it to be.
” He jerks his head to the empty lantern.
“But since it’s your first time, just keep the form it’s in, and put it back. Everything else will take practice.”
It sounds an awful lot like a challenge, and he must see that on my face.
“Lucina,” he warns.
“I know what fire looks like, Pax, just let me try.” My brows furrow, and sweat beads along my upper lip as I slip deep in concentration. “There’s no harm in trying.”
He scoffs, crossing his arms over his chest. “Fine, but I’m not putting you out when you catch on—”
I push it back through my open palm, heat flaring across my skin, bright and burning and red. I imagine the tip of the lighter and the crank of the spark wheel. I imagine the strike of a match and the catch of a flame. Then I exhale, giving it oxygen. Giving it life.
“Fire,” he breathes, face paling.
A faint red glow cuts through the moonlight, and a single flame zips through my fingers, wild and hot and entirely mine.
“Pax,” I whisper, grinning wildly up at him. “I’ve got fire.”