Page 44 of Light Magic

I considered. Too many people were involved. The less people involved, the better. At least for now.

“I think I got what I need at the moment, but thanks for the offer. If I need help, I’ll call you.”

“Please do. I mean it, Ariella. We’re here for you.”

She meant it. They all did and that warmed my heart a little more. “Thanks,” I muttered.

I ended the call before she asked more questions.

My mood soured.

I glanced at the table, where all the books were, waiting for me to go back to them. I had hoped Raika would have a solution for me, but I should have known better.

Levi was beside the books, looking at me.

He probably felt disappointment in me, and the sudden will to give up on all of this. Thankfully, he didn’t say anything. He picked up a heavy book and extended it to me.

With a sigh, I pushed up and walked to him. I took the book and sat down across the table from Abbie. Levi pulled up a chair, sat down, picked up another book, and started skimming through it.

I watched him for a moment. What the hell was he doing? He shouldn’t be this nice to me, damn it. It made the bond act up, and my feelings stir.

His eyes met mine, the blue suddenly dark. His jaw tight, he reached for the book on my lap, opened it, and pointed to the page.

I chuckled, and I almost kept staring at him to contradict him. But I wasn’t ready to deal with that can of worms, so I glanced down at the book, determined to focus.

The book was about dragon eggs and baby dragons. I frowned and considered throwing the book across the room. Instead, I took a long breath. It wasn’t the fault of the little dragons that they had gotten my magic. It wasn’t even Raika’s. She had done what she had to survive. I would have done the same in her place.

Reluctantly, I skimmed the page.

I got to a chapter about growing eggs and slowed down to read it. Apparently, the eggs needed the constant influx of their mother’s magic to grow strong and make it to the end of the cycle and hatch. If the mother died, the eggs rarely made it.

Other dragons could give them magic, but since it wasn’t the same, there was still a good chance the eggs would perish.

And if other supernaturals tried to infuse them with magic, it was considered a foreign power, and the eggs stored it away, keeping the dragons safe. When the dragons hatched, this foreign magic was stored in their bones, where it couldn’t hurt them.

“When a dragon dies, isn’t his magic stored in his bones?” I asked out loud. I already knew the answer, but I needed to hear it from someone else.

“Yes,” Abbie and Levi said together.

My magic was a foreign power the eggs had gotten from Raika, and supposedly, it was now either stored inside the eggs, or if the eggs had hatched, inside the dragons’ bones.

A feeling started deep in my gut, and I tried keeping a lid on it before I got excited and lost it.

“What is it?” Levi asked, probably feeling it.

I told them what Raika had told me and explained to them what I had just read. By the time I was done, Maggie and Lacey stood around us, listening too.

“The dragons might still have my magic,” I finally said.

“That sounds possible,” Abbie agreed.

“That is great!” Maggie exclaimed.

“What are you going to do now?” Lacey asked.

I picked up my phone again. “I’m going to make another call.”

11

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