Page 152 of The Shadow Wand

What if Vogel catches up to me before I gain any control over my magic?

“Vogel can’t find me,” I roughly insist, grabbing hold of Lukas’s hand. “If he does, he’ll force me East. He’ll turn me into amonster...”

Lukas eyes the hand I’m clutching him with, his brow tightening as he takes my wand hand into his, his fingers weaving through mine as his grip on me tightens. “Elloren,” he says, giving me an intense look as my magic cyclones through my lines and clamors against his shield, “you’vegotto get hold of your magic. You’re going to punch right through my shield. And if Vogel chooses to send out a search spell and happens to guess our direction correctly, you’ll bring about everything you fear.”

I struggle to do what he’s asking of me. To gain control of my magic and tighten my lines against it, but my affinity flame is whipping out in chaotic streaks too powerful to subdue. My mind circles into panic as my magic slashes fiery tears in Lukas’s shield and I rail against the nightmare I’m caught up in.

There’s a massive forest around me filled with trees that would strangle me with their limbs if they could and rip the affinity lines clear from my body. Beyond that, I have no truly safe place to train. Even the Eastern Realm is a danger to me. We’ll have to sneak in somehow, since the Vu Trin want me dead.

And the Wand in my stocking, the Mythical Force for Good, is no match for Vogel’s Shadow Wand.

Ithidesfrom Vogel’s Wand.

My heartbeat ratchets up as I face the full horror of the situation head-on. “I’m scared, Lukas,” I confess, my voice growing hoarse as my magic slams against his shield with riotous force. “I can’t control it. I can’t control the magic in me.”

A look of deep concern flashes over Lukas’s features as he holds on to me, the line of his jaw hardening.

In one decided movement, he closes the distance between us, pulls me in, and brings his mouth to mine, blasting fire straight through my lines.

I gasp against him as Lukas’s magic blazes through me, staggeringly hot and strong, his fingers threading through my hair then clenching tight, keeping my mouth firmly against his. The full strength of his affinities flashes through me, feeding into my violently out-of-control power with scorching heat. Melding with it then reining it tightly in, rapidly restoring the shield.

I cling to Lukas as he kisses me deeply and his magic sears through me in a fierce, contained inferno. Wave after wave of blisteringly hot magic. Burning away my fear as the heady sense of his controlled power keeps rushing in to take hold of my own.

Then Lukas draws back, his green eyes blazing.

I’m thrumming with magic now, my breathing uneven and my skin feverishly hot, every part of me lit up by our combined power. But with Lukas’s control now coursing over and through my lines, my magic is no longer chaotic and fitful.

It’s reined in and deadly.

Lukas’s mouth lifts into a half smile as he moves back a fraction and reaches up to gently caress my cheek with his hot palm. “That’s better.”

I swallow, flushed and overwhelmed by the strength of our combined power. And desperate to maintain control over it so that Vogel won’t find me. “I need your power to survive this,” I say, coming to a full reckoning.

“You won’t always,” Lukas firmly counters. “Not after you have some control over your own magic. And, Elloren, youwillgain control over it. But you need to get hold of your emotions, and fast. Once we’re out of the Realm, I’ll teach you how to control your power and shieldyourself. It’s complicated magery, but we’ll work through it. I’ll teach you every last thing I know about magic.”

I nod stiffly at this and force myself to breathe evenly as Lukas’s thumb strokes my shoulder, a line of sparks chasing his warm caress. I hold his stare, his eyes set tight on me in the deep-red light.

“Elloren, you’re stronger than you think,” he insists, adamant. “I’m sure of it. I always have been. Even though you don’t think you’re equal to this. You are.”

I want to believe him. I want to be strong enough to face this and fight back. And Lukas’s unwavering faith in me fortifies a small piece of my battered courage. He’s never coddled me, even though, sometimes, I’ve hated him for it. But he’s always believed in me.

“Sometimes I feel like you understand me better than anyone else,” I confess. “Better than I understand myself.”

His lips lift with a slight trace of amusement. “That’s because I do understand you better than anyone else. Elloren, our affinities are a perfect match. I know you inside and out, as I suspect you know me. And I can read your emotions in your fire.”

I nod, the prickling flush heating my neck as affection for Lukas warms my lines. “It’s more than that.”

“I know it is,” he agrees, a rakish glint in his eyes. “We’re both rebels from the same background.”

Gardnerians.Born into the same oppressive culture. Both of us forced to wrestle with the same lies and myths and religious strictures.

“That’s part of it,” I agree, “but it’s more than that too, Lukas.”

Something deep with import flashes in Lukas’s gaze, the silence between us growing emotional and charged. “I know,” he admits.

“You help me to be strong.”

Lukas shakes his head, his brow creasing. “No. We help each other be strong.”

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