Page 98 of A Blightress of Wrath
Hedidn’t miss a beat, asking again, “Tellme what you learned,Karus.”
Thesmallest moan left my lips and my eyes drifted closed asIbegan to fall to the strokes of his fingers, winding in tight circles at the center of whereItook my pleasure from him.
“Somethingabout trees and bark,”Ianswered, gripping his arm in earnest to keep up his pace.
Hestopped his movement, andIgave a whine which he returned with a smile. “Whatelse?”
Inan exasperated huff,Isqueezed high on his thigh. “Ican’t remember what exactly it was about, butI’mhappy to reread itlater.”
Heshook his head, pulling his hand away from under my nightgown, replying, “Ofall the books here,Ibelieve these few pages hold a deeper secret than one would assume just by reading this terrible chapter title.”
Ipursed my lips, adjusting my body and clenching my legs together, longing for more than his fingers to touch me.
“Let’spractice your shield,” he instructed.
Abit of a smile crossed my mouth as he donned the same tone and languageIremembered from being a channeler under his tutelage.
Hecontinued, “Youform your shield around yourself, andIwill read this passage to you.Iwill stop reading when you successfully keep me out.ThenIwill let this book fall to the floor and mix the lemon on my tongue with more of what your body has to offer.”
Ibolted from the bed, my shield up instantly with the ache between my legs painful in the promise of what was to come ifIcould just prove this one thing to him.
Hegave me a smug smile and stood himself, pressing lightly on the shimmer of green that surrounded my body in a bubble.
Hishand didn’t press through, but the shield bent at the shape and he began to read, “Passingthrough the thicket of trees inFelgrenForest, one might believe that these ancient towers survive mostly due to their dense root systems or the leaves they grow in spring to soak in the warmth of the sun, butIhave come to understand their secret.”
Igasped asRevich’shand fell through my meager attempt to keep him out and he tsked, unbuttoning his vest fully and tossing it to the floor.
Iswallowed and tried again, the formation of a green shield circling me once more.
“Listencarefully,” he said, continuing where he left off. “Thetrees inFelgrensurvive due to their protective layer of bark.Withoutsuch a feature, they would succumb to the harsh rains of spring and the frozen bite of aFelgrenwinter.Notto mention the dry heat of summer, which would shrivel the trees to mere stubs without such a protective layer.”
Revstepped forward, pausing and pushing again on the shieldIwielded.Iinstinctively stepped back, my body begging me to hold my power so we could move on from such a dry reading about trees.
Hisfirst attempt a failure, his chin rose and he pushed harder.Icocked my head in a silent challenge, crossing my arms at my chest.Pullinghis white linen shirt from his waistband, he lifted it up over his head, somehow keeping his place in the book, and tossed it behind him on the floor.
Ibacked up once more, my back hitting the blue chair by the fireplace.Hetook advantage of my surprise and pressed on my shield again, this time shifting through its weak surface with relative ease.Hetraced his hand lightly across my collarbone.
Ipulled on my power and forced him out again, complaining, “It’snot fair.Ican’t focus while you distract me with all ofthis.”Igestured to the definition of muscle across his bare torso.
Heshifted the book in his hand. “Atthe time when you will need a powerful shield the most, how will you focus if you do not practice first?Youwill have distractions, you may at times not wish to shield at all, but you cannot let anything through,Karus.Promiseme you will try.”
Iknew he meanther.
Iunderstood then his real purpose in this exercise.Hebelieved this book held the key to holding my shield for longer and stronger than whatI’dbeen able to produce before.HebelievedI’dbe able to keep theBlightressout.
Inodded, straightening my back against the chair, focusing on my intent to keep him out.Themuscle at his chest rippled as he pressed a hand to the back of his neck, the book open in the palm of his other hand and he continued, “Themost fascinating truth about this layer is that it is continually renewed from within.”Rev’seyes rose from the page and he stared at me for a moment.Inodded, taking a deep breath and focusing on the magic that radiated from within my body.
Icould pull power from the forest floor, but there would always be this spark of channeling magicIhad been born with.Andcombined with the power ofBaron, it was strong, whole, a charred maple tree in a grove, its verdant leaves swaying in the breeze.Iclosed my eyes and continued to listen.
“Layersof these trees, grown from the nutrients of the sun and the earth, eventually become bark, thus dying off to add protection and promising the tree’s survival.”
Ipeeked an eye open, not much liking that last line, but he kept his head to the page and continued. “Likethe bark of a tree, so must you protect the life you build with a layer of your own in the form of a magic shield.Theseare easy enough to produce, harder yet to strengthen.Nospell has been found to aid in the shield you can form around yourself just by thought alone.Perhapsit is the fact that your power comes from the trees ofFelgrenthemselves that any channeler is able to achieve this feat with nothing more than a simple instruction from theirBaron.”
Myeyes flicked open at the snap of the book shutting.Hetossed it to the bed and closed the gap between him and my power radiating in a thicker haze than it had before.Hemoved his hands to the top of his waistband, unbuttoning them at the same time he pressed again on my power.
Icrossed my legs, clenching them together and attempted to focus.Idwelled in that place inside of me which held my strength in magic, a tall tree of life, marred by the destruction my power could bring.Takinga deep breath,Iwatched his hand as it pushed on the surface in front of me.Itdidn’t bend to his will, and the surface didn’t break.Iexhaled in relief.
Then, his power flared.
