Page 96 of The Cursed Fae

“We have work to do. Canterwald is probably going to call me down for another pop quiz,” I pointed out.

Laz hung his head and feigned dramatic disappointment. “Fine. Let’s do magic.” He ran the pad of his thumb over the skin above the waistband of my jeans. “Maybe later we could...?”

He batted his lashes and gave me puppy dog eyes.

I pretended to consider it, but I had more important matters to deal with than Lazlo’s ego.

“We’ll see,” I teased.

This time I leaned in for a quick kiss, something to appease him so we could start practicing. He captured my mouth. For a second, I ignored all my troubles. I even forgot to be annoyed with him. Ridiculous as it sounded, he actually left me weak in the knees.

He pulled away first. “You ready?”

Laz retrieved a textbook from his backpack, and I spent the next hour trying to wrap an invisible shield around the hardback. Emphasis on “trying” since the spell wasn’t working.

“You need to clear your mind,” Laz said as he tapped one finger lightly on my temple. He smiled and lowered his voice. “You have way too much going on in there.”

A question occurred to me. “Can you read my thoughts?”

Laz tipped his head back and laughed. “No. That’s a rare ability. Usually, only bonded pairs can view each other’s minds.”

Well, that was a relief.

“Though I could guess something is distracting you,” he added.

A lump formed in my throat. “Oh, yeah? What’s that?”

“Me.” He flashed me a bright grin.

Honestly, of all the thoughts fighting to be heard in my head, the ones regarding Laz were barely contenders. Lena and Mat took center stage. Keeping her alive in all senses of the word was my top priority.

“Someone thinks a lot of himself,” I said with a coy smile.

Laz chuckled softly. “Close your eyes and clear your mind. Just like before.”

After all the grief I’d taken over the ghost summoning spell, I really didn’t want reminders. Still, I let my eyelids fall shut.

I inhaled a cleansing breath, filling my lungs to capacity. Laz gave my shoulder a quick squeeze before stepping back. I exhaled a rush of air. With a few more deep breaths and a lot of willpower, an endless sea materialized in my mind’s eye.

“Are you ready?” Laz asked after a minute, his voice low.

I focused on the sound of waves lapping against a distant shore and mumbled, “I think so.”

“One more breath, then go for it,” he urged.

Magic swelled in my core. I let it build until the power became too much to hold inside. Thrusting my hands forward, I called out the incantation. Bands of energy shot from my palms with a force that nearly knocked me off my feet.

My eyelids popped open, and I saw the blue and gold waves rippling over Laz and through the wall behind him. He held the textbook in his hands, and it was still visible to the naked eye.

“Don’t tell me. It’s too much unfocused strength,” I said before he had the chance.

He shook his head, his gray eyes shiny.

“That was definitely a lot of power,” he wheezed, bending at the waist to catch his breath. He inhaled sharply through his nose and exhaled through his mouth a few times. He straightened, his cheeks flushed and a tear leaking out of the corner of his eye.

“Are you okay?” I rushed forward.

Laz halted me with a hand. “I’m fine.” He sucked in more air and wiped the moisture on his cheeks. “I can honestly say that’s a first.”

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