Page 69 of Tangled Power
Luc could read her well enough to know she was only half sorry. Sorry her action stopped the conversation, sorry it brought his rant to a standstill, but not sorry that she showed him her support.
“I don’t think she’s really sorry,”Arie’s voice was in his head, and from Rose’s eye-roll, he was sure the exact words echoed in hers too.
She squeezed tighter.
“What I’m trying to say,” Luc said, “is that it feels like you can’t do anything right. Anything you do makes the situation worse or at least more complicated. Everything, even your own actions, is out of your control.” He paused. “And I don’t envy anyone who feels that.”
Silence fell as Luc finished. Was what he had said enough? He hadn’t told her how to regain control, but for him, just knowing someone else struggled as he did helped. The worst thing for him as a kid had been realizing no one else lost it like he did—realizing how different he was.
Juliette nodded and said, “I think we should try again.”
No one objected. The Compass Points retook their positions, Rose leading as she quickly made the internal connections. Her stream of water shot forward to the collection of trees. Luc’s earth magic joined her, lifting debris and spinning around her water again. Carter’s flame followed. Mixing with the others, its heat sent steam circling the combined stream.
This time, it appeared Juliette found a more graceful entry. Rose whipped Juliette’s wind around the steam, tamping it back down into the pillar of elements blasting across the grass. Juliette’s wind didn’t break their flow. It bound them, tightening their connection, pressing them deeper together.
Rose exhaled shakily at his side. Luc glanced at her and realized that they were doing it.
She had been right. Of course she had been right. They could do this.
The Compass Points could unify their power. They found the connections to channel enough magic to challenge a god.
Rose moved their stream of elements to the left and the right. Luc felt his magic split, no longer only flowing through Rose, but another tendril circled her as she worked. He didn’t pull it back or try to control it. He understood its intention and, for once, approved. It wrapped around her, encouraging her and supporting her.
She relaxed into his power as it surrounded her, giving their streams a final push against the trees she’d pointed out earlier. Their magic split a single trunk into a collection of woodchips, exploding at the force of their combined power.
They’d done it. She had done it. They would have never made it this far without her. He couldn’t hold back his magic as it swept her to him, his arms already waiting to catch her. He and his magic were more in sync regarding her. It liked the internal connection it held to Rose’s lake of power. He liked it too. His eyes met hers as he thought of the perfect way to celebrate this win with her. “Should we do another makeshift forge tonight?” he asked.
Rose’s stare turned suspicious, likely wondering if he was really offering what she thought he was. He nodded, and her smile lit up her entire face. She could explore his power again. She could make him a weapon.
“Yes, I think we should,” she replied.
With Carter’sfire fueling the forge, Rose went to grab Luc’s sword from her saddle bag. He still had a bad feeling about this, but with one look at Rose, at her excitement and desire to do this for him, he was powerless to stop her. He wanted her. He needed her, and his power was in stark agreement. Rose evaluated Arie’s magic yesterday—a literal god—she could handle whatever hispower was. He trusted that she knew what she was doing. He so badly wanted to believe Arie when he said Luc’s magic wouldn’t hurt Rose.
Rose wasted no time getting started. “I don’t smell any pine or cinnamon, Luc,” she called as she went to work with her hammer.
Luc didn’t need to be told twice. His magic was already reaching for her. It was funny to him that she focused so much on the scent of his power. Though he was one to talk. The rosewood and vanilla scent of her magic made him forget how to breathe. He inhaled deeply, trying to take in every inch of her. The smell was all-consuming to his senses—perfectly representative of the strength and peace she brought him.
He focused on his magic, redirecting it to break a nearby rock into tiny pieces. Mentally, he sliced one sliver of the rock off after the other, as easy as a warm knife slicing through butter.
“I won’t even begin to comment on what that activity says about you,” Rose said as she closed her eyes, and he felt her magic surround him.
“It means that I’m precise in my control,” Luc commented, letting his hand fall palm up.
“Hmph,” Rose said, not opening her eyes. “More like a unique way to de-stress, which requires your full attention.”
Luc folded his arms across his chest and kept slicing with his mind. He got a little rush each time he targeted and sliced off a particular rock section. She might have a point. “I’d be more than happy to give you my full attention,” he replied instead, his lip curving into a smirk he knew she wouldn’t see.
Carter coughed politely, indicating he was still within hearing distance. He backed up, trying to give them space but staying close enough to keep the fire hot. His green eyes danced in the firelight, though. Luc swore there was amusement in them. A flap of wings out of the corner of his eyes told him Ariehad also joined them. He sat comfortably on Carter’s shoulder, watching the Vesten Point fan his flame while he oversaw the experiment.
Hopefully, Arie and Carter would be up next for a magical test.
“Okay,” Rose continued. “I’m going back in.”
Luc wasn’t sure he was ready but took another clean slice off the rock and said, “On your mark.”
Rose’s magic danced along his skin. It was almost as familiar to him as his own. He couldn’t remember a time before he understood her magic, though in reality, that time was mere weeks ago. Her magic brought its own balance to Luc. Even as it twisted and skittered along every part of him, he knew he had nothing to fear. He relaxed into it, and her power sank into him, as if his shoulders falling was the permission it needed to make itself more welcome in his body.
Her magic swan dived into his chest cavity, burrowing into his very being. Unsure of what to expect next, he held still. Last time, she said she had been falling down a tunnel to the core of his magic.
