Page 110 of Ancient Magic

Chapter 19

“I got it,” Skye assured Micha, despite the fact that she’d been struggling to enter Lynx’s mind since Azra had made his unexpected entrance into the cavern. The strange magic that pulsed around the fairy was not only a physical barrier but also a mental barrier. Thankfully, Azra had unintentionally offered her a small shred of hope. But only if she could keep Micha from giving in to his savage thirst for revenge. She crossed to stand directly in Lynx’s path to the pedestal, risking a quick glance toward Micha. “Keep the vampire from interfering—”

“With pleasure,” Micha promised.

“But keep him alive,” she completed her request.

A growl rumbled on Micha’s lips as he halted his advance toward the male, who appeared lost in his mental connection with the fairy.

Good. That should make things easier for her.

Micha wasn’t nearly so pleased.

“Why?” he demanded.

“The magic of the crystal is causing interference,” she confessed with a grimace. “I can’t enter Lynx’s thoughts while he’s holding it, but I think I can use Azra’s compulsion to slip in and take control of his mind.”

He turned to study her with a strange expression. Did he sense the uncertainty bubbling inside her? Probably. She didn’t doubt for a second that if Lynx managed to place the crystal on the pedestal, the dragons would awaken and release a hellfire that would destroy everything in its path. It was up to her to keep that from happening. But she’d never done anything like this. And certainly not when they were facing an end-of-the-world scenario.

Peri would know what to do. And so would Maya. But she didn’t have their power. Or their courage...

Stop it. With a fierce effort, she pushed against her insecurities.

Meeting Micha’s steady gaze, she squared her shoulders.

“I’m ready,” she assured him.

“You got this, Skye,” he murmured, his voice low and his gaze steady. “I believe in you.”

Closing her eyes, Skye concentrated on her powers that were tightly knotted in the center of her heart. This wasn’t the same as using an incantation. Or tapping into the spells that were stored in her charms.

This was her own special gift. The magic she’d been blessed with that had marked her as a seer when she was a young girl.

Concentrating on her carefully restricted powers, she peeled away the barriers she’d erected. It wasn’t a perfect system. If she was tired or she’d stretched her magic too far, then the barricades would leak. Or if a vision was particularly strong, like when she touched Micha, the power would burst out.

Skye released the last of the barriers and there was a heady rush of pleasure as the magic crashed through her. She trembled, savoring the intoxicating sensation. Sometimes she forgot how glorious it felt to have the full force of her magic flowing through her body.

Then the reminder of why she was so careful to keep it locked away slammed into her.

First was the smell. Not the musty odor of the cavern or the rich, coppery scent that was embedded in the marble. Those were natural scents that she’d noticed from the moment they’d entered the vast space.

No, it was the stench of emotions that wrinkled her nose in regret.

Lynx’s panicked desperation. Azra’s bitterness layered with a hint of insanity. Micha’s grim determination.

Even her own fear of failure.

The next thing to hit her was the tension that pulsed through the cavern. The smothering force squeezed her in a painful vise that tightened with every beat of her heart. It felt like a hurricane about to unleash its fury in a torrential explosion.

Shuddering as the various sensations washed over her, Skye focused her concentration on the fairy, who continued a slow, plodding path toward the center of the room.

He was still protected behind the crimson glow of the crystal, but she could sense the threads of compulsion that Azra had woven through the shield and directly into his mind. She could actually see the connection. It looked like an inky line power-drilling into the back of the fairy’s head. Weird. Her own magic appeared in a shimmer of silver and gold, barely visible as she delicately coiled it around Azra’s link. Her touch was delicate, as she sternly resisted the urge to smash through the barriers keeping her out. She didn’t want either male to realize what she was doing as she crept along the black thread of compulsion inch by inch.

After what felt like an eternity, she reached the fairy’s mind.

“Lynx,” she whispered, forming the image of a net wrapping around the male’s slender body to reinforce her commands. “Stop.”

She breathed a sigh of relief as Lynx’s steps faltered, his body stiffening as if he was battling against two separate impulses. And he was. The inky strand of vampire power writhed in frustration, trying to cut through her shimmering magic. Skye tightened her grip on Lynx’s mind, coating the compulsion in layers of shimmering gold.

---