Page 79 of Kingdom of Chaos
That makes sense. Imogen is a proud creature, and needing our help, especially Titus’ last night, was probably humbling for her.
Going to his bag, Talon pulls out the map of New York City that Violet gave us with the location of the Silent Order’s headquarters marked. He lays it out on the small table in the corner of the room and the rest of us crowd around him.
Over the next half hour, we strategize on the best vantage point and how to spy on the Order undetected. It’s decided that Titus and Ensley will go first, then Talon and I will relieve them at nightfall. I hug Ensley tightly before they leave, and tell her to stay safe. She promises she will.
After they go, Talon insists we work on my magic, so we spend the next few hours holed up in the cramped hotel room doing just that. The times I get stuck, he has me close my eyes and center myself, finding that tangled ball of magic inside me,the one with threads that connect to him. It works every time to jumpstart my powers.
I practice my fire magic in the bathroom, keeping close to the sink and shower faucets just in case, which ends up being a good call because I almost set the room on fire twice. Shadow magic is a little easier to summon and control, but neither type comes to me easily, which only adds to my frustration.
“You shouldn’t beat yourself up,” Talon says after we call it quits for the day. “Most creatures spend years developing their magic, learning how to manipulate and control them. Yours appeared full-force overnight. You didn’t get the luxury of training wheels the rest of us had.”
“Was it like this for you when you first started accumulating powers through Shadow Striker?”
Talon thinks for a moment. “It was and it wasn’t. There was a lot of new magic I had to sift through and learn how to master, but I’d been familiar with my own powers for years, so I had a sense on how to control the new ones. This is all new for you, so it’s going to be more challenging than it was for me.”
I sigh. I don’t want to complain. Having magic is all I’ve ever wanted. But this is daunting.
“Hey,” Talon says, pulling my attention back to him when I become introspective. Getting up from his seat across the room, he comes over to where I’m sitting on the end of the bed and crouches down so we’re eye-to-eye. “If anyone can do this, it’s you. I believe in you. You have an inner strength that makes you unyielding. You’re going to learn to control these powers. You were always a force to be reckoned with, but now you’re going to be unstoppable.”
My breath catches in my throat. There’s no doubt from the intensity in Talon’s eyes that he means what he’s saying. But I don’t understand how he sees me that way. I’ve never felt strong, at least not in the ways that matter in the creature world. Andyet, when Talon looks at me, it’s like he sees the version of myself I wish I could be instead of the one I know I am.
“I don’t understand how you see me that way,” I confess.
His gaze searches my face before locking on mine. “I don’t understand how you don’t.”
I shake my head. “Everyone always treats me like I’m weak.”
I don’t say it out loud, but even those closest to me have treated me that way. My parents. Ensley and Becks. I never doubted their love or that they care about me, but without magic I’m someone to protect. To shelter. Breakable and vulnerable on my own.
The truth is, even though I know it comes from a place of love, I still resent it.
“I’ve never seen you as weak. From the first moment I laid eyes on you, I only ever saw this beautiful and strong female. Brave enough to declare I was a snake shifter because I had, and I quote, ‘a sketchy slimy vibe.’”
I burst out laughing, remembering that first day he walked into Sloan’s with his knit cap, drawing the attention of everyone in the restaurant. “I said that because you were glaring at me.”
He lays a hand on his chest. “Me? I wasn’t glaring. I couldn’t detect your magic and it confused me. I couldn’t figure out why. Of course, now it makes sense.”
“I guess that explains why you were always staring at me then.”
“Does it?” he asks with a grin as he cocks his head.
A lock of dark hair falls over his forehead that I desperately want to brush back in place. I sit on my hands to keep from reaching out.
His gaze dips down to my mouth and the energy in the room changes, becoming charged when it wasn’t a moment before.
There’s nothing between us. There can never be anything between us, I repeat to myself, remembering my conversation with Ensley about Talon just that morning.
Just then, the lock on the door clicks open. Talon is on his feet a split second before Ensley and Titus step into the room. Ensley’s face, lit with excitement and hope, has me rising quickly, my pulse already racing.
“What happened?” I ask, heart pounding.
“I think they have him,” she says, her smile wide and bright. “We found him, Lock.”
I glance at Titus, who gives a confirming nod.
“Sit down,” I say, barely able to contain the rush of anticipation. “Tell us everything.”
Twenty-Two
