Page 44 of Bombshell

I hated that fucking word.

But thanks to Dallan, it almost felt like I’d unlocked another facet to my magic… and to myself.

He’d called me his mate last night, and instead of it making me want to run screaming for the hills, I just felt excited.

Even when I brought up children the Cthulhu seemed ambivalent about it, soothing the worries that had built up in my head over being in a relationship with anyone let alone him.

Not only that, the roadblock I’d been running into with my magic was gone now like it had never existed in the first place. Even as I walked I could almostfeelthe water magic in the air in a way that I’d only ever been able to feel my earth magic.

My baby steps had now turned into toddler steps and I seemed to finally be making progress.

I was damn near on Cloud-9 as I rounded the corner, trying to figure out how I would reveal my new abilities to Alexander.

While it was tempting to dump a magical bucket of water over his head, it would definitely end with me writing out potion formulas on the blackboard until my fingers bled.

Then I thought about what Dallan said last night about becoming invisible.

I didn’t even know where to begin with doing something like that or how water users even achieved such a feat.

Stepping up to the library doors I mused over it as I stared at the old, ornate wood.

It stood to reason that because water was reflective, I couldpotentiallyuse it to blend into my surroundings—but was that true invisibility? And how long could I even maintain something like that. A glamour was easy to maintain, but easy for most supernatural creatures to spot, but a spell of invisibility? It was supposed to be flawless and untraceable.

But the itch to try filled me even as I doubted my ability and I gave into it, opening the door to the library and calling as much water as I could to surround my body.

At first, pulling the water out of the air was no easy feat. Last night while we lay together, Dallan gently instructed me on how to do it, letting me practice until we were both tossing balls of water that we’d created to each other.

Frowning, I realized that there was no way I’d be able to tug enough moisture out of the surrounding air to cover my entire body, so that option was out.

Thinning the water out flat in front of me, I formed an almost shield-like structure. The complicated shaping made my arms and legs shake with the exerted effort and sweat began to form on my temples only to be wicked off by the pull of my magic to join the water in front of me.

I could still see through the plate of water, which didn’t feel right and as I walked further into the library, puzzling over how to create a mirror effect with it, I heard the sound of hushed voices coming from where my lessons with Alexander were usually held.

“I’m telling you she’s not ready, Arsenio,” Alexander’s voice rose just loud enough so that I could hear what he was saying.

I sucked in a sharp breath, realizing that I was about to waltz into a conversation that the two men inside definitely did not want me hearing.

There was a pause before Arsenio’s voice filled my ears. “Was that the door?”

Panic filled my chest and something about my sudden urgency not to be found shifted the water in front of me. Instead of floating in front of me like a shield, it slammed into me likea second skin, pushing me up against a nearby bookshelf right before Arsenio and Alexander hurried past me to check the door.

Am I invisible? I’ve got to be invisible. Holy shit,I thought to myself as Arsenio and Alexander stood a mere foot away from me, frowning at the closed library doors. Neither of them turned to look at me, telling me that whatever my magic had just done had been successful.

“It must have been one of the staff coming in to clean,” Alexander reassured Arsenio, though he still had a contemplative look on his face as he turned to the fae man who continued to glare at the door. “Euphemia isn’t ready for the sort of magic you need from her, Arsenio.”

Arsenio turned his sharp gaze to the other man. “Well, we don’t have much of a choice now do we? You said it yourself that her abilities have grown exponentially.”

“Yes, but she needs time to come into full potential. Short of zapping her repeatedly with the Ponderosa, I don’t know how she’s supposed to control the Source.”

The Source? It was the first time I’d ever heard anyone mention that term before. It didn’t ring a bell from any of the many, many magical artifact books that Alexander had forced me to read and memorize as a child.

“We don’t have the time to wait and see if she’s ready, Alexander. Figure it out. You’ve already wasted almost seventy years on this experiment and now the whole town is at risk. Either you find a new Guardian for the Source or I will.”

Arsenio turned and swept out of the library, straightening the lapels of his designer suit as he went.

Silence reigned as Alexander stood staring at the library doors for a long time before he finally let out a deep sigh. “Euphemia, I know you’re hiding somewhere.”

I sucked in a shocked breath and my little shield fell away revealing me to the man who blinked at me with surprise.

---