Page 130 of Kingdom of Chaos
I’m relieved we’re done trying to dig for more magic. I didn’t mind learning to manipulate faelight, or wind control, but we’d worked on compulsion, a power I honestly wish I didn’t have. It’s just as creepy and invasive to use on someone as it is to have it used against me.
“Enhancing them?” I ask, and he nods.
“But how?”
He reaches up, and for a second I think he’s going to tuck my hair behind my ear or cradle my face, but his fingers find the curve of my neck. Then he gently lifts the chain of my necklace until the pendant is dangling in the air in front of me.
With everything that’s happened, I’d almost forgotten about the lunacite pendant entirely.
“With this,” he says, nodding toward the stone.
Immediately, I remember how it amplified Titus’ powers back when we were fleeing Grimspire Castle, and a shiver runs down my spine. I’m almost a little scared to use it.
“You already know it’s a power amplifier,” Talon explains. “Since your magic’s coming easier now, if used properly, this will help you channel it more precisely. Stronger. Faster.”
“Or blow something up,” I mutter, trying to keep the unease out of my voice.
His mouth quirks. “We’ll aim for stronger. Not explosive.”
“I’ve been wearing it this whole time. Why hasn’t it kicked in before now?”
“There has to be intention behind it,” he explains. “The gem amplifies what youchooseto channel, not just what’s swirling inside you. Until now, you haven’t tried to tap into it directly.”
“So, like, do I have to be holding it? That’s what Titus did.”
Talon shakes his head and lets the pendant fall gently back against my chest.
“No, it’s not about touch, it’s about focus. The amplifier’s already in contact with you. What matters now is intention. You have to reach for it, concentrate on your magic, and consciously draw power through the stone.”
He steps back and moves behind me to give me space. “It’s like opening a door from the inside. The gem won’t do it for you, you have to want it.”
I nod slowly, nerves churning in my stomach. I close my eyes, draw in a steady breath, and reach inward—past the noise, past the pressure—to the well of power I know is there.
I don’t even touch the pendant. I don’t have to. It’s already against my skin, already humming like it’s waiting.
I try to picture the power moving through it, like a lens sharpening a beam of light. Focusing, concentrating.
At first, nothing happens. Then?—
A sharp crack snaps through the air nearby as I feel the shadows at the edge of the room ripple to life, slithering across the floor toward me like they’ve been summoned. My breath catches.
“Locklyn,” Talon warns gently, “try to focus. Don’t fight it, just direct it.”
I try. I really do.
But the power pouring through me is like a firehose with no shutoff valve. The pendant grows warmer against my skin, glowing brighter, until?—
BOOM.
A table ten feet away explodes in a cloud of splinters and dust, knocked clear across the room as a shockwave of faelight bursts out from me. One of the overhead lights sparks and dies.
Talon’s there in an instant, wrapping his arms around me from behind, steadying me. “Hey. Breathe. You’re okay. You’re okay.”
I clutch his forearm, chest heaving.
“That wasn’t me,” I whisper. “It was the pendant.”
He shakes his head. “No. It was you. The pendant just revealed how much magic’s in you now.”
