Page 146 of Our Radiant Embers

He exhaled and shifted against me. His lids fluttered open. “Adam—my magic is gone.”

“Circle,” I said and caught Gale’s eye once more. Had he drawn it?

“Fuck.”

That just about summed it up, yeah. I bit my lip and tasted blood, the pain sharpening my thoughts. Would the dam hold until Summers got here?

“Can you still feel the magic?” I whispered even though there was noise around us. It sounded like the crackle of an inferno, like wind that whipped the ocean into a frenzy. The gaping void where my magic should be left me dizzy. “How bad is it?”

“It’s…” He turned his head to take in our surroundings, eyes a little unfocused. Then he grasped my hand. “Jesus, Adam. Look at Christian.”

Look at him?

I let my gaze soften, and the room was suddenly awash in light. How—? The circle should have torn away Liam’s ability to see magic, but somehow, it hadn’t. Blinding brightness was gathered under the domed ceiling, so thick it seemed almost dark, greedily lapping at the walls. And Christian—Christian was on fire, burning up, bright orange shining through his pores as though his skin had grown so thin it had become transparent. More magic swirled around him, rainbow colours ready to strike, and oh God, he was going to crack open.

“Stop it!” I yelled. “It’s too much!”

As if he’d heard me, Christian swayed sideways, staggered, and almost fell out of the circle. A trail of orange light followed, blazing like a shooting star. My uncle rushed forward to catch him, unaware of the magic that condensed around them, drunk on its own potential, stalking them like a predator. Together, they stumbled towards my aunt and the girls.

“Nova,” Liam muttered, and yeah, Christian might be one now. It didn’t quite compute.

“Your turn,” my father told Gale.

“Don’t!” I scrambled upright, Liam rising with me, and I started forward only to collide with the circle’s barrier. I’d forgotten. My head was spinning, the taste of panic like smoke in my lungs. “Gale, don’t! It’s too dangerous!”

“Scared you’ll lose your special status?” Christian sounded barely conscious, but that didn’t seem to stop him from mouthing off.

Halfway to the central circle, Gale hesitated. Fuck, if only he could see what Liam and I saw—the dark brew of agitation, the ever-faster swirl of magic around the perimeter of the room as though seeking a way out, washing up against the walls.

“I’m sorry, Adam.” Gale ducked his head, unhappiness in the curve of his shoulders. “If there’s a chance that I could become like you…It would solve so much.”

“Gale!” I called, my voice twisting high on the name.

He turned away and took another step towards the centre of the room. Another. I wanted to scream. Again, I threw myself against the circle’s barrier and bounced back, Liam there to break my fall. I clung to him.

Gale stepped into the central circle.

Magic gathered around it like a thick bundle of lightning, an echo of the thunderstorm that seemed light years away down here in the crypt. It streamed towards him—only fire at first, as though it was naturally drawn to him. Then water. Air and earth hovered in flashes of white and green, ready to lash out. I held my breath, and God, I’d never been the praying kind, but now I did pray, please, please, please. I’ll do anything.

Green light brushed Gale’s shoulder. He flinched as though struck by a jolt of electricity.

“Fucking get him out of there!” Liam yelled while I—I was frozen, words beyond me. No. Not Gale. Please, not Gale.

He swayed, barely perceptible. No one else moved.

I jerked my magic to me and she tried, she tried. Couldn’t break through. Adrenaline rushed in my ears, and that’s when I noticed it—a tiny fissure in the circle that trapped Liam and me, just a hair’s width. No—not a fissure, but a deliberate weakness built into the pattern. Gale’s work? If I pulled my magic towards me, guiding her through that infinitesimal crack…And if Liam did the same…

“Liam, there.” I pointed.

“Got it,” Liam said, and oh, I loved him. So fucking much.

This time, I was more intentional in calling my magic to me. She pooled around the crack and intertwined with Liam’s. Impatience tugged on me and I willed it down, forced my attention to stay on task rather than flick to Gale. I needed to get this right. Come to me. My magic licked at the circle, the multitude of colours that represented Liam’s slightly more tentative.

Had the crack widened?

A thump. I looked up just in time to see Gale fall—and then our circle broke and I was running, threw myself down next to him. He wasn’t moving. I slapped his cheek. He wasn’t fucking moving. But breathing, breathing. I dragged him away from the epicentre of where magic now formed a pillar of blinding light, colours flickering, mixing, a nauseating neon show. Plain to see even though I was no longer touching Liam.

Liam. Where was?—?

---