Page 17 of Dead Wrong

“Let’s give it a go,” I said, a certain boldness flooding my veins as I looked to Bastien. “What should I do?”

“Extend your aura to Lorelei and myself,” Bastien said, stepping closer. “Then, we just have to make you sink again and hope for the best.”

“Sink?” I repeated, raising a brow at him.

“I told you there was a name for it.”

“Well, forgive me for thinking it would be a cooler name.”

“I’m not in charge of naming magical phenomena, Tobias.”

I sucked in a breath as a heat flared in my chest. I wasn’t sure if it was only because I’d reached for the magic in my veins or if Bastien’s banter was stirring something deeper. I pushed those thoughts away, focusing on the task at hand. It was odd, flexing the intangible muscles of my power for the first time since my resurrection. Normally, my aura was wrapped around me at all times, a blanket of power to keep me shrouded from prying scryers and fending off the magical influence of others. It was the first application of magic I’d learned from Mother—a way to protect myself and the secrets that she used me to collect.

Now, as I dug into the pitiful reserve of magic seated in my chest, what once felt like liquid lead wrapped around my body was a fragile sheet of lace. What’s more, I could feel that invisible thread connecting me to Bastien twinge, as if someone had reached out and plucked it.

Sweat beaded on my brow as I finished weaving the aura around me, my breaths coming in rasps from the effort. If Mother saw me now, she’d have more than a few choice words to share.

“Take your time,” Bastien said, reaching out to steady me.

I shrugged off his touch. “I’m fine. Ready to project.”

Bastien nodded, looking over to Lorelei, who was once again tapping her shoe against the sidewalk.

“Any day now.”

If this idiotic idea didn’t kill me, I was going to rip those shoes from her feet myself.

Pulling at the edges of the shroud I’d managed to conjure, I pushed the boundaries of the magic outward, focusing it first over Bastien. The air between us shimmered like a heat wave as it made contact. The warmth of Bastien’s skin was a calming presence as my aura settled over him.

The taste of honeysuckle danced along my tongue—a familiar sensation, I realized.

“Good job, you’re nearly there.”

Bastien’s voice caused a shiver to shoot down my spine. The connection between us thrummed with another intangible pulse.

I wanted to linger in the moment, with Bastien’s warmth washing over me in waves. It was the gentlest sunlight, his presence. Not harsh like summer noon, instead the first caress of springtime coaxing open the buds of roses and lilies alike.

But I knew that Bastien’s sunlight no longer shone for me. I couldn’t even be certain it ever truly did, if I was being honest with myself. Would Bastien have kept his true self hidden if I had been a better lover? A better person? I understood the need to hide the fact he was a Reviled to others in the Magi community, but had we not shared our deepest secrets with one another, wrapped in silken sheets?

I couldn’t be sure. Not now, at least. And the thought that itched its way through my conscious was this—would things be any different if I weren’t already dead?

“Okay, now Lorelei.”

She bristled at Bastien’s instructions, taking a step back from me.

“Are we sure this is the only way? I’m not too keen on the idea of?—”

“We could always leave you behind,” Bastien interrupted, raising an eyebrow. “I understand if you’re scared.”

Lorelei leveled a cold stare at him, her lips pursed. “Just do it.”

Pushing the boundary once more, I willed the shroud of my aura over her. The woman recoiled at first contact as the magic brushed against her consciousness, but then she lowered her guard long enough for it to envelop her.

Lavender filled my nostrils, followed by an acrid smoke on my tongue. I had to force myself not to gag.

I’d experienced hundreds of auras in my first life, but hers was the most repulsive by far.

“I’m ready,” I told Bastien, swallowing back the bile that rose in my throat. “Now, how do I ‘sink’ or whatever it was?”

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