Page 75 of Changeling
“Tell me what I must do,” he says.
Here we go. “All right. The curse is relying on that initial burst of magic when each incubus attempts to leave its homeland, and after that, it resorts to your mind’s reinforcement to maintain its power.
“I’ll need to gather my magic, then touch your skin. It may take some time for me to be able to see the ancient spell, to pick apart what is your magic and what is the curse. Once I’ve found it, Remy and Laurence can lend me their power, and together we should be able to separate the spell, then destroy it.
“I’m not sure what you’ll feel, but if you’re able to direct your magic to aid mine, all the better.”
He lets out a chuckle with no real humor. “I’m to bend my magic to the will of a faerie’s? If you’d told me this when we first met, I might have harmed you. And now, if anyone so much as threatens to harm a hair on your head, they’d better be able to outrun me.”
I melt a little inside. “Is that your way of saying you’ll help?”
“Of course I’ll help.”
We smile at each other, and I stretch out my hand. He takes it in his, and I give him a squeeze. “Ready?”
“Yes.”
I glance at my friends. Laurence has an arm around Remy’s shoulders, and Remy is leaning into his side. They look peaceful. “We’re here when you need us,” says Laurence.
“Thank you.” I take a deep breath and close my eyes.
Earth responds first, warming beneath my rump, ready to answer my call. Air and water come in a swirling mist from over the river, so lively and eager as to spray my cheeks with little droplets. Playful. I grin.
Fire is more of a challenge for me. I fear it still. But with the lantern nearby, the flame responds to my summons readily enough. I must trust that with all my practice, I’ve learned to control it.
Last, the most flighty of the five sources, spirit, to whom I call with my soul, requesting strength, power, and skill.
When the energy I’ve gathered around us buzzes and fizzles with purpose, we’re ready to begin.
“Can you feel it, Dominus?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Relax and let me in.”
His soft sigh is quiet to my ears as he struggles to obey. Poor Dominus. He’s used to being in charge. I know he prefers it. Stars,Iprefer it. But together we can do this.
I envelop him with my magic, its tingling, pulsing tendrils pouring over his skin, in his veins, through his mind. Dominus’s energy is light and colorful, like the rainbow visible when admiring an opal up close. The ancient faerie curse is darker, an oil slick with teal and purple stria. The two are intertwined and bound to each other as tightly as I’d expected.
An impossibly intricate puzzle, much like uncovering my wings, only infinitely more entangled. Too much.
Overwhelmed, I lose my concentration, and the vision disappears.
I blink open my eyes, and my shoulders slump. I’ve made a promise I can’t keep. “It’s worse than I thought.”
Dominus doesn’t react, just waits for whatever else I have to say, so patient. His kind eyes hold no judgment.
“I’m afraid I can’t do it,” I admit with reluctance.
He grips my hands, and I allow myself to be pulled into his lap. I collapse against his chest and press my nose to his neck, inhaling his deliciously perfumed scent.
“That’s all right.” He pats my back.
Failure sits heavy and unwanted in my gut. I won’t accept it. In all my research, nowhere did the text say you must succeed at the first attempt. “Let me try again.”
Dominus studies my face, then nods. I give him a quick kiss, or I steal one myself. Maybe both.
Remy says gently, “Sebastian, when you see the magic, don’t try to solve anything right away. Sit with it. Let your magic become familiar, like a greeting.”
