Page 23 of Shattered Illusion

“Shit. Still too hot. You okay, sunshine?”

“Yeah,” I mutter, still feeling slightly dazed by the grace of my magic in full form.

A shiver wracks my body as the water cuts off, leaving me bereft of the warmth my fire instilled.

“Can you tell me what happened?”

I fall backward onto my ass, blowing a breath as I take in exactly what happened. “I let my emotions get the better of me.” I shrug with a self-defecating snort. “I couldn’t latch onto it, so I got pissed and forced it to do what I wanted. And my anger over it fueled the flames. No pun intended.”

“Alright, so that’s something we need to work on. How about we try something a little less…hot?”

I snort. “Hit me with, Thaddy.”

“Come on.” He reaches down, and I take his hand, getting to my feet. “On your left foot is a rune that I think is for speed. I know there isn’t a whole lot of room in here, but you can easily loop it a few times to get used to the feeling.”

Left foot. Got it.

Thaddeus stays in the center of the room, leaving me ample room to work without fear of me running him over if this works.

I think about the path from my heart to my foot as I close my eyes. My magic simmers around my heart, ready to be used. Or to mess with me. I’m not sure which. Only whatever happens next will tell.

The pink sparks flood my ghostly hand, and I shake it trying to release some, but it’s being stubborn as hell. It doesn’t seem as volatile as it did with the fire rune, so I go with it, sending it my foot.

Heat encases my foot for a minute before I attempt to try it.Just a step, Bailey. That’s all. Start with a step then go from there. What’s the worse that could happen?

Pain. That’s what could happen. And damn, does it deliver.

I slam to the wall with a cry, falling back onto the unforgiving ground with a thud that could rival the sound of Thaddeus hitting his stomach.

“Who put that damn wall there?” I grumble, prodding the tenderness on my forehead.

Thaddeus still hasn’t spoken a word, or moved a muscle from where he is dead center in the room. I tilt my head back to find out why, only to find his face bright red, crinkles around his eyes, and his hands cover his mouth. Trying to stifle the laughter he’s hiding.

Bastard.

“Walk it off, sunshine,” he gets out between chuckles, slapping his hand over his mouth again.

The. Fucking. Audacity

My hand shoots up in the air, and I flip him the bird, refusing to do as he’s instructed.

Jerk.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. That was just too good to pass up. But I think we did enough for today.” I go to object, but he slices his hand through the air, stopping me. “That was a lot of magic you used, and the blow-back in exhaustion will set in at some point. Better we cut it off now instead of later, where you overuse too much and you black out.”

“Fine,” I mumble. Not ready to throw in the towel yet. “Wait, we didn’t even try the transmutation rune.”

“I know. But Professor McHale normally doesn’t press the issue with new students if they’re unable to shift right away. So you’ll be okay.” I don’t know why, but those words sound kind of ominous. “Let’s go dry off and change and get some food. Sound good?”

“Sounds fabulous.” My stomach grumbles in agreement as Thaddeus helps me off the floor. “On the plus side, at least I’m not naked.”

“Not going to lie, even I’m surprised your clothes withstood the flames.”

We both chuckle as we head out of the containment room and back toward the faculty wing.

We both quickly dried off and changed, meeting in the hallway again fifteen minutes after arriving at our rooms. Now, we are trailing through the castle as he points out where my classes are and gives me a small rundown of the history of the place.

“When I first left the fae realm five hundred years ago, Jasper’s grandfather, Josiah, welcomed me here at the castle and put me up in one of the dignitary rooms.”

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