Page 52 of Secrets of Graves and Gold

Maybe it’s time I put Sulla’s teachings to use. Now, while I have a few moments to gather myself, rather than in a desperate jab if this comes to a battle.

Soon I might not even have the choice.

My heart thumps faster, but I can’t back away like I did about opening the underground storeroom. Eventually I need to find out whether I can count on my control when it matters most.

The soldiers don’t know we’re here. All I need to do is ensure I keep it that way. Something concrete with a clear counteraction.

An idea forms in my head. My hopes rise with it.

I glance around at my men, confirming their positions in the forest around me. My heart aches at the thought of any harm coming to them.

I simply can’t let that happen. They came all this way to defend me, and now I need to return the favor.

Girding myself, I let go of Toast’s reins to extend one hand in front of me while lifting my other arm toward the treetops. Guiding my focus with my body.

Julita’s presence shivers in the back of my head, but she doesn’t speak, maybe not wanting to distract me when she can tell I’m up to something.

I picture the effect I want to see and squeeze the power in me into the shape I’ve imagined.

Darkness condenses through the trees between us and the road. The shadows thicken and stretch, forming a wall no mortal eyes should be able to penetrate in the gaps between the trunks.

My breath hitches with the energy streaming out of me. Overhead, the shadows should be stripping away from the uppermost branches to balance out my magic. The remaining leaves and the branches they’re clinging to will be glaring with unmuted sunlight.

But no patrol will see the blaze from the ground.

Through the thunder of my pulse, I will my cloak of shadows to hold steady. We all stay crouched in silence.

The soldiers trot by, their gazes skimming over the woods on either side of the road. For a second, one leans a little over in his saddle, squinting our way?—

And then he’s straightened up with a rough chuckle as if chagrinned with himself. The patrol rides on without stopping.

I have the impression of Julita clapping her hands. Now that’s a worthy trick.

I keep pouring my magic into the darkness draped over us until the hoofbeats fade away and my head starts to spin. With a sharp exhalation, I pull my hands back to my chest, yanking my power in with it.

My magic squirms against my grasp, but half-heartedly. It settles into a soft vibration within my ribs that feels almost content, like a purring cat.

I sink back on my ass and swipe at the sweat that formed on my forehead. Relief surges up from my gut.

I did it. I worked with my magic instead of fighting it, all while keeping it on a tight leash. I stopped the consequences from harming anyone.

I really have harnessed it, and for once I didn’t need a godlen’s intervention to hold disaster in check.

An instinctive need to reassure myself of my men’s safety grips me. I turn toward Alek where he’s crouched across from me and pull him to me in a tight hug.

He returns the embrace with a rough noise in his throat. Casimir slips closer to me through the brush and wraps his arms around me in a hug of his own, as if to reassure me that he’s grateful rather than horrified by my efforts.

I squeeze him back too and then look up to find Stavros standing over me.

“Are you all right, Lady Thief?” he asks. “The conjuring didn’t rattle you at all?”

I drag in a slow breath. “No. I feel fine.”

His mouth curves into a half-smile that’s fond if restrained. “You did well. I think we just might make it to Eppun after all.”

Alek grips my shoulder. “That was fantastic. And using your magic a bit means it won’t hurt you as much if you have to hold it back later, doesn’t it?”

I nod, my nerves settling at their joint show of support.

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