Page 30 of The Alien in the Archive

“Okay,” she nods, eager as always. “What do I do?”

“Take a seat,” I command. “Close your eyes.”

She hesitates, her eyes flicking up to mine…then she smirks. “You’re awfully bossy, you know.”

“You didn’t come here to be coddled, Page,” I murmur. “So sit.”

Now, she obeys, lowering herself onto one of the ledges to sit cross-legged, her hands resting on her knees. Her breathing is steady, but I can feel her tension like a glowing thread between us. She’s nervous. Excited. And gods, she’s sobright.

“Close your eyes,” I say. “Let your thoughts go quiet.”

She closes her eyes for a moment, shifts uncomfortably, then she looks up at me. “What if I get overwhelmed?”

I sit down beside her. “I’ll be right here.”

Page closes her eyes once again, her brow furrowing as she concentrates. For a moment, there’s nothing but the quiet chirping and purring of the lumivix.

“I’ve never actually done this on purpose before,” she mutters. “I’m not sure if it’ll happen.”

“It takes time,” I reply. “Every magister had to start in the same place you are right now.”

“In a creepy basement?”

I snort. “Focus, Page.”

She smiles, forming small dimples in her cheeks. Then, like a ripple through water, her energy shifts.

It’s beautiful.

I feel her reach out, tentative but curious.

Her breath catches. “I can hear them,” she murmurs. “Like…tiny whispers.”

“Good,” I say, though the tension in my chest tightens further. Her psychic energy is brighter now, pulling at me. The Elixir in her blood activates, courses through her, the scent of it sweet and cloying in the air. It sings to me, and my hunger claws at the edges of my control.

It’s beenso long.

“Now tune them out,” I coax. “Push them away.”

She tries. I can feel her struggling; her mind flickering between focus and overwhelm. The lumivix, curious about her presence, press back, their psychic energy brushing against hers. Her breathing quickens, and I see her hands clench into fists.

“I can’t,” she says. “They’re…it’s too busy.”

“Breathe, Page,” I urge her.

“Ican’t!”

Her mind lashes out, a sudden blast of energy rippling through the cavern. The lumivix scatter, antennae dimming as they retreat to the shadows. Even I feel the force, but it has the opposite effect on me.

It draws me in, closer. Because I know that probably hurt.

“Page,” I start, taking her hands. Her skin is warm, so warm it nearly burns. My fingers tighten around hers, and for a moment, the hunger surges again. It’s a storm inside me now, a riot of instinct and restraint. I want to pull her closer. I want to taste her, her lips, her tongue, herblood?—

But I somehow control myself. For her.

She’s gasping, looking around wildly. “Where…fuck, where’s Ashlan? Is he okay? Did I?—”

“It’s alright,” I say. “You didn’t hurt them. Ashlan will come back when he wants to.”

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