Page 18 of Sigils & Spells

“Take your energy?”

“Yes.”

I freeze. Can I? Is it even possible?

“I guess we could give it a try,” I say hesitantly.

“Good. Take my hands.” He drops his hands away from my head and into my lap.

Keeping my eyes closed, I take his hand in mine.

They’re warm and dry and practically vibrating with power.

I frown and open my eyes again, even though it hurts to do so. “Do you have magical powers?” I ask.

He laughs aloud, the sound echoing through the lab. “No. No magic in my family that I know of.”

I work to sense the energy behind the power coming from him.

“I think you have a bruja or two somewhere in your lineage,” I say. “Did your grandfather happen to mention if he was one of the people who helped that witch use her power?”

One corner of his mouth quirks up in a grin. “Only when my grandmother was not around. Abuela Maria didn’t like to hear him talk about it.”

“I think perhaps she was able to draw out the magic running through your grandfather’s veins — I can feel your magic, too.”

“Then let’s see what we can do,” he says softly.

I hold my hands flat against his, closing my eyes and sinking into myself.

Energy courses through him, and I slowly open a channel between us.

The strength of the energy that flows from him shocks me, and I nearly pull my hands away. Only at the very last minute am I able to force myself to relax, to accept what he offers so willingly.

“I think this might actually work,” I say—and then I’m overwhelmed.

His magic flows into me, his strength, his confidence, and also flashes of memory. His grandparents—his grandmother cooking, his grandfather telling stories. His mother, young and healthy, vibrant. Then again, later, on her deathbed, wasting away. His father, laughing and healthy, then coughing and ill. I feel his determination to take care of the people he loves, his guilt over having shot his friend.

A tear trickles from the corner of one of my eyes, and I hear his quick, indrawn breath. But he doesn’t say anything. Instead, he continues pouring himself into me. His power, his love, his honor.

All of it combines with my magic and they swirl together, mine sparkling and pink, his shining with a bright white light.

I weave them together, braiding them into a glittering tapestry.

When I’m done, Angel breathes out, “It’s beautiful.”

“It’s us,” I say simply.

I feel the magic filling me from head to toe, sliding through my body and leeching out my very pores. My headache disappears, then the cuts inside my mouth, and within moments, I felt better than I have in as long as I could remember.

Then I open my eyes, reach out, and cup his cheek in my palms. The combined magic flows back into him, and his cuts heal and bruises fade even as I watch.

I lean forward to kiss him, and he stops me with two words. “The cameras.”

With the flick of a finger, I disable the ones in the lab. “There. They should be off now.”

“Wow. Can you unlock the cage?” he asks.

I try, but there’s something in the silver-infused bars that stop me. “No,” I finally say.

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