Page 121 of The Storm of the Empire

Neither spoke, so I closed my eyes and again did the reverse of what Hazel had been teaching me. The magic I called upon felt stretched, so far off. I tried to pull it, but it I couldn’t get enough of it. The more I grasped at the power, the more it slipped through my fingers.

I fell to a knee, gasping.

“Luka!” Jaxus grabbed me, hauling me to my feet.

I struggled to catch my breath while Jaxus dragged me to a chair. I sat with my elbows on my knees until the sickness passed.

“He over-extended his magic before he knows how to use it fully,” Kiera said from the doorframe. “Shame on you both. What were you having him do?”

Jaxus and Nyx exchanged a look. So they hadn’t run any of this by their mates. Wonderful.

“Someone spill it,” Kiera demanded.

“I asked him to see if he could foresee when my brother would wake, if at all,” Nyx said, his voice monotone.

Kiera put a hand over her mouth. “Can he do that?”

“I managed to channel it with the eggs.” I sat up, feeling better.

Kiera searched my face. “And you were able to not?—”

“No lost memory, no strange voice. I felt like I used to.”

“That’s—wow. And you just tried to repeat it?”

I nodded.

“You amateur. You used your magic well once and then tried to do it again so soon with your mate across the kingdoms?” Kiera scolded.

“When you put it that way,” I muttered.

“You two should know better, even if he doesn’t,” Kiera said when the other males were noticeably silent.

Jaxus kicked the floor, muttering an apology. For what, I didn’t know.

Nyx stared at his brother, not saying a word.

“I’ll try again when Hazel gets back.”

Kiera crossed her arms. “She’s not going to be happy.”

“I need to. You know that as well as I do. Look how much you sacrificed to make sure he’s okay.” I lowered my voice, like it would prevent Nyx from hearing me. “He’s the fabric that holds all this together.”

“Which one?” Kiera asked, glancing at Nyx and Kol.

“It’s Kol. He holds us all together,” Nyx said firmly.

“It’s not one of them,” I corrected. “I think it’s both of them.” I corrected.

“He did what?”Hazel asked, marching in, having obviously just flown back from the Storm Kingdom. I was filled with relief to see her home safe and would have rushed to her, but Kiera was following behind her and had clearly caught her up with yesterday’s antics before she even found me, so she looked less than pleased.

I’d slept late, more drained from the previous day’s raid than I thought, so I was just processing my existence while drinking a strong cup of tea. “Good morning.” I greeted her, putting on my best innocent smile.

“Good afternoon. You did what?” Hazel growled.

Kiera waved with a smile. “Should I leave you two to it or…”

“Oh no you don’t get to leave. You started this conversation, so we’re going to have it.” I blew out my cheeks waving them both to sit down. “I’ll make more tea.” I got up to get more water boiling.

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