Page 88 of Their Chosen

I laughed, knowing how particular he was about his hair and pictured the breeze leaving me and dancing around him. I felt it when the magic took shape, listening to my will as it finally left me.

I opened my eyes as it did and watched as Lennox got a face full of hot air, closing his eyes against the assault and trying to keep his hair in place. I laughed at the image and immediately groaned in pain.

Despite the agony, I kept smiling as the guys all laughed. Lennox acted put out, a frown on his face, but his eyes danced with the light of humor. That, and I sensed his pleasure at my being able to access my magic. I felt on cloud nine right now, my injuries pushed to the back of mind for the time being. I had just used magic. I could barely believe it. The reality of this new world finally sank in, leaving me near speechless at the possibilities that it presented.

“That was amazing,” I said, awe lingering in my voice.

Jude laughed. “Yes. Magic has that effect on people. Now, do you think you can use his magic to remove your glamor?” he asked, sobering me again.

I closed my eyes and pulled up Baer's magic again. I asked it to find my glamor and pull it off me. I could feel it come up against the glamor, as it tried to pull it away from my skin, but after several minutes, it had made no headway.

I opened my eyes to face Jude sadly. “No. It's doing the same as if Baer were trying to remove my glamor. It's not responding at all,” I told them all, disappointed.

“Well, it was a long shot. You're still new to all this. Like I said before, magic is like a muscle that you will need to access and use in order to build strength. Hopefully, when your ability to use the magic is stronger, you'll have better luck,” Jude told us, trying to encourage me.

“What about my healing, though? I'll have to heal at the human rate, right? What if the trials start before I'm healed enough to compete?” I questioned all of them, worry and fear consuming me, both my own emotion and theirs.

“Arryn, you have healing magic, correct?” Jude asked, turning to look at him.

“Yes, but you know as well as I do that it can be quite complicated,” he said, his fear at Jude's suggestion evident.

“But if you work with her, she might be able to heal herself slowly and steadily,” Jude continued to suggest.

“It's possible,” Arryn mused out loud as he thought about it, weighing the risk against the reward.

“Arryn,” I said, drawing his attention. “Honestly, I've never hurt like this before. I'm putting on a brave face, but if there's a chance I can heal myself, even a little bit, then I want to try,” I told him, dropping all pretense and letting him feel what I was feeling.

He grimaced as the pain seemed to hit him. “Okay.” He capitulated when I pulled back the feelings. “How did you block that from us?” he questioned me.

“I'm not sure. I've gotten so used to blocking off pain, even from myself, that I don't even realize I'm doing it,” I told him honestly.

The guys all winced at that admission, and their concern and anguish came back to me. But no pity. Thankfully. I didn't want their pity. I didn't want anyone's pity.

Arryn approached me, kneeling beside my bed in front of me. He leaned in and kissed my brow. When he pulled back, I felt his focus. He glanced at Jude. “Can you tag along like before as I provide her instructions, help guide her?” he asked nervously.

“Yes,” Jude said and touched my arm again.

I closed my eyes and dove back into the magic, watching the threads again. “Can you find my magic?” Arryn asked me softly.

“I think so,” I told him, not sure if I could or not, but trying to remain confident.

Baer's magic greeted me again eagerly, and I caressed it lovingly as if it had feelings before I asked it to allow the others forward. It moved back and let the others push closer. The purple magic came forward first, and I felt it, this cold, dark crispness that must have been Lennox's winter magic. I greeted it in the same manner before reaching for the next one.

The green magic came forward, and I instantly knew this was Arryn's from the calm and soothing nature, like a lazy summer day by the pool, happy and relaxed.

“I've got yours,” I told him, smiling at the sensation.

“Good,” he said, even as his nerves spiked and caused my heart rate to increase in response.

“Arryn. You must control your emotions if she's going to do this,” Jude instructed.

“Sorry, Jude,” he replied, thoroughly chastised by the older Fae. I felt him pull up a calmness that was similar to the emotion I used when I got ready to fight. I knew it immediately as his battle mentality, one that most fighters came to rely on to get through what was to come.

My own pulse calmed, and my fears subsided in response to his control. “Go ahead,” Jude told Arryn.

“Picture the magic seeping into all of your cells. Send it out to do an assessment,” he guided me.

I did this and felt the magic spread throughout every inch of me, before it came back to my palm, and I got the picture in my head of just how much damage had been done. She had torn through muscles, almost down to the bone in several areas. I couldn't stop the gasp at the images I got from the magic.

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